Page 6 of Daydream

Russ is obviously very attracted to her, but they make an effort not to be loud about it, which I appreciate. I loved when Anastasia was living here, but she should have been charged with disturbing the peace.

“Are you okay, Henry?” Aurora asks as I drop into the recliner opposite her. “You look extra pensive today. Brooding, like the tortured artist you are.”

“Coach found out I got an F on that French Revolution essay,” I say as Russ leans in to kiss her temple.

“That blows, I’m sorry. Did you try to charm him?” she asks.

“I don’t know how to charm people on purpose, and even if I did, he’d be immune just to punish me. He thinks I should have academic superpowers because I picked up a hockey stick fifteen years ago.”

“I think you’re incredibly charming,” she says.

“Who has superpowers?” Robbie asks as he rounds the corner from his bedroom. He stops his wheelchair in the space between the couch and recliner, looking right at me. “Faulkner called. Apparently it’s my fault you didn’t sign up for your classes. BecauseapparentlyI’m psychic and I’m to blame for you fucking your way through California all summer instead of prioritizing your education. Even though I was busy graduating and, y’know, being in a different state.”

Living with my friends is great. Living with my friend who is also the assistant coach is occasionally not as great. Occasionally being now, when I can’t even escape Faulkner in my own home because all he has to do is call Robbie.

“That’s dramatic,” I grumble as Robbie lifts himself into the recliner beside mine. I stayed local and I never told Coach about my summer. It wasn’t even intentional. I think I might have felt a little lonely while everyone was home or working.

I hadn’t thought of it that way until Anastasia asked me about it, and I realized I was keeping myself busy until my friends got back. I like my own company, prefer it even, but this summer I found that there’s a limit.

Plus, women like me a lot and I like having fun without commitment.

Robbie shakes his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do me a favor, Casanova. Concentrate on not getting my ass beat this year instead of getting laid. You’re the supreme leader after all and you must lead the way in morality and dignity and all the other shit.”

I don’t think he’s being serious. Robbie always laughs right before he says something sarcastic that he doesn’t mean, but it still causes an uncomfortable prickle at the nape of my neck. “The only thing I know is I don’t know how to be a leader.”

Russ leans forward in his seat, looking right at me. “You’re doing a damn good job for someone who claims he doesn’t know what he’s doing. You’re good at everything, Hen.”

“Except revolutions,” Aurora interrupts.

“It’s fucking annoying if you wanna get into it. I’d be obnoxious as hell if I was good at everything the first time I try it,” Robbie adds. “Stay focused and you’ll kill it.”

“Who told you you aren’t obnoxious?” Russ says, quickly blocking the cushion that flies in his and Aurora’s direction.

“Why don’t we get you some books on leadership?” Aurora says, shuffling to the edge of the couch just like Russ is. It makes me want to move my chair back just to increase the space between us again. “I’m skipping book club this week because it’s only an icebreaker meeting and Halle has a boner for Austen that I can’t get on board with, but I still haven’t checked out Enchanted and it’d be nice to drop by to say hi… Why are you looking at me like that?”

Russ chuckles beside her, but I continue to stare at her blankly. “I don’t understand anything you just said.”

“Enchanted,” she repeats, like somehow it’ll clear this whole thing up. “The bookstore that just opened near Kenny’s? Next to that creepy bar Russ used to work in that’s turned into a wine bar.”

She may as well be speaking French. “No idea.”

Aurora immediately gets more flustered, her voice pitching up. “We literally drove past it two days ago and I saidlook how busy Enchanted is!”

“You say a lot, Aurora. I don’t always listen to you,” I admit. “I find it hard to concentrate when you’re driving. Fearing for my life takes up a lot of mental space.”

She huffs, and the guys laugh, but I’m not joking. “Halle. The girl who used to run the book club at The Next Chapter. She’s starting a new romance-only book club at Enchanted—the new bookstore we drove past. I’m not going because I don’t like what they’re reading and it’s an introduction session for people who have never been to a book club before. But I want to go say hi to her and check out the store.”

“What does all this have to do with me failing and having to change my identity to hide from Neil Faulkner?”

“This conversation is massively reducing my quality of life,” Robbie groans. “Can you two wrap it up, please? It’s like watching aliens from different planets try to communicate with each other.”

Aurora looks up at the ceiling, muttering something under her breath before turning to Robbie and giving him the finger. She turns her attention back to me and brushes the stray strands of hair from her face. “Henry, do you want to come with me to a bookstore and buy books that will help you learn about leadership? And thus help you be a better captain?”

“No.”

Robbie and Russ burst out laughing, and I’m not sure exactly what was funny about that fact.

“But why? Emilia is at dance and Poppy is busy and I don’t want to go on my own.”

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