Page 17 of Tempest

“Not anymore?”

“No, she doesn’t like crowds so much these days.”

“That must make it rough for her to go to your games.”

He nods, then pulls out a few different containers: one has berries, one with cut-up vegetables, and one full of cubed cheese. “She tries pretty often, though. I wasn’t sure what you liked.”

He pulls a few sandwiches out next, all labeled with black marker on the baggies. His handwriting is horrific and makes me smile.

“Turkey is my favorite.”

“Oh good, that one’s for you then.”

We eat in a comfortable silence. Gavin’s bare knee rests against mine and I like the small contact of our contrasting skin. My legs are pale and smooth, while he sports a light tan and soft hair.

When we finish all the food, I crawl onto his lap and sit with my back to his chest so I can lean my head back on his shoulder and watch the water shower the rocks. It’s nice, and it feels right when he wraps his arms around my midsection.

“Thank you for coming with me today,” he says, and I turn my face to his.

“You’re welcome.” I study him as he stares back at me with a flame in his eyes. “What is this to you, Gavin?”

“It’s a lot of things. A dream, a possibility. A chance to see if there’s something here.”

“Something more than a crush, you mean?”

“Definitely more than a crush.”

“And when the summer ends?”

“That’s months away. Can we see what happens between now and then?”

I should say no. It probably can’t end well, after all. How could it with me in New York and him in Boston? That small two-letter word won’t come, though, I can’t force it out of my mouth no matter how hard I try. Because the truth is, I want to agree. I want to take it day by day and see where it goes. The chance at something is better than the guarantee of nothing.

Right?

“Kiss me, Vaughn, and let’s see what happens.”

6

Gavin

“This might be a bad idea,” I tell Tori as we take the last turn according to the GPS. Odette’s house isn’t far from mine. I’ve been in Seattle for a handful of years now, but I don’t know the different neighborhoods well, unless it’s one a teammate lives in. Even then, I only frequent a few of their homes.

Cillian has a fancy-ass floating house in Eastlake. Fane’s partner, or one of them, anyway, is wealthy and has a nice house on the other side of town. Most of the other guys have condos spread around, but I don’t know anyone who lives in the Windermere neighborhood.

“The plus one didn’t have stipulations, Dad.”

“A plus one usually implies a romantic partner, though.”

“But I don’t have one of those. Besides, Odette is really cool, and you already know her. She might be excited to see a blast from the past, or whatever.”

Tori sounds confident, but I don’t miss the way she’s fingering the hem of her skirt.

“You’re probably right,” I say, pushing a little more cheeriness into my tone in the hopes of easing her. “Holy shit.”

The house we pull up to is not an ordinary house. At all.

“Wow,” Tori whispers beside me.

---