Page 21 of Necessary Roughness

The two were unrelated, weren’t they?

He was an asshole who earned a living publicly slandering me, and I was the guy who was supposed to stay silent and simply tolerate it.

Before I could give it another ounce of thought, I noticed someone dragging a large contraption onto the beach. Leonard was lugging something toward the water. At first, I couldn’t tell what it was.

Then, it dawned on me: it was a telescope.

A very large, unusual-looking telescope with exaggerated lenses and flashing lights. Leonard was laser-focused on it.

At first, I was amused by his antics, but that amusement shifted into pure frustration in a split second.

Couldn’t I have a moment of peace in this overpriced house? Why couldn’t I just exercise without a peculiar neighbor bothering me?

I decided Leonard and I needed to have a talk about his various hobbies. Even if it didn’t get him to respect my privacy, it would give me a chance to let off some steam.

Seconds later, I was on the beach trudging through the sand toward him.

“Lance!” he shouted across the beach as I approached.

That’s not my name.

“Good to see you!” he added. “What do you think? It’s the Galactic Gazer 3000!”

I paused. “Thewhat?”

Leonard grinned. “Also known as The Sky Snoop Supreme.”

Okay, is this guy screwing with me?

There was a hint of humor in the way Leonard spoke which revealed an underlying internal acknowledgment that maybe—justmaybe—Leonard was aware of how silly he often appeared.

Like a joke that only he was in on. I had to admit, I kind of respected it. He had spent a lifetime earning a fortune, and now his only desire was to spend his days on the beach, playing with new contraptions and devices.

The man was a legend.

I could only hope the same for myself in old age. I wanted to get to a place where I didn’t give a damn what people thought of me and my career. Especially Brett Mercer. I needed to find a way to control my thoughts about him and force him out of my mind. I had spent my entire life creating my own destiny and being disciplined, especially since making it big in the NFL years ago. I needed to apply that same discipline to this. There had to be a way to get Brett out of my head.

I had approached Leonard to tell him to knock it off, but I couldn’t be mad at him. He was living his best life. All the while, I was sitting around stewing over Brett, ignoring the beauty of the ocean and the beach surrounding me. Working out, lifting weights, all in an attempt to remove Brett from my psyche.

So far, it wasn’t working.

So, instead, I’d make small talk with Leonard and try to get on with my day.

“How far can you see with your telescope?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

Leonard snickered and the sound echoed through the air around us. “The Planet Peeper can see to the farthest reaches of the cosmos!”

Yep, he’s definitely screwing with me.

Leonard cleared his throat. “But the best thing about it? It can show you things you didn’t even know you were looking for.”

I raised one eyebrow, wondering if these were simply the ramblings of a kooky old man, or if he was getting at something else. His comment made me slightly uncomfortable, and I subtly dug my toes into the sand, trying to distract myself.

Leonard held eye contact with me. “The more you magnify things, the less they make sense.”

Is he talking about… me and Brett?

No, I scolded myself,this is not a movie and you’re not the main character.

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