Page 56 of Ignite

“My what?”

“Your pitch. Why you acted the way you did. Why you bounce the ball even though you know it’s gonna blow up in your face. Sell me your pitch before your ass gets sat down in an office on one side of the desk while the principal sits in a higher chair on the other side.”

“Really? I knew that they did that shit on purpose,” Ryan squealed. “It’s a power play.”

“Stop being stupid.” Ethan’s voice had the authority of a coach. “You’re running out of time. Any minute now, someone will come and summons you. If you want to pitch me, you’ve gotta do it now.”

“Why? You can come and smooth it over with her. From what I hear, she’s got a lady boner for you. Bat those eyes and she’ll be jumping your old bones and forget all about me.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” Ethan’s voice hadn’t lost the authority, but he’d managed a soft chuckle. I leaned against the wall, still out of sight but able to hear everything. “I’m not going with you. If you’re man enough to get into trouble, you’ve got to be man enough and brave enough to get out of it.”

“Are you calling me chicken?”

“I’m saying, if you’ve fucked up, you’ve gotta own it. If you need to apologize, then do it. If you need to make amends, do it. People will respect you more for honesty and vulnerability.”

“I’m not vulnerable.” Ryan shot back, full of fourteen-year-old venom.

“Really? I gave you all that advice and the only thing you heard was me suggesting you show some vulnerability?”

“You want me to be weak?”

“No. I want you to be honest. The principal’s job is to get the best out of her students. She wants everyone to succeed because it makes her look good, and her job easier.”

“My dad …”

My heart lurched. Ryan never spoke about his dad. If Ethan could get him to open up, it would be a huge breakthrough and one that I’d been working towards for the last couple of years.

“I can’t talk to my dad and there was this guy I used to hang out with, but he died.”

“That’s tough, but life throws shit at you and you have to deal.”

“You’re not like most adults,” Ryan said, with more than a little admiration. “They usually blame my behavior on the lack of a suitable male role model or father figure.”

“Most adults don’t know Jack shit,” Ethan said softly. “They’re making it up as they go along. Do you want my advice?”

“Aren’t you going to give it to me anyway?”

“No. Why would I waste my breath?” Ethan was back to being a Captain-Coach. “Okay, then. I’m going to get out of here. You know the drill. If you want to come back to my morning training sessions, Felicity has to vouch for you. If she’s happy, you’re welcome. If she’s not happy, then enjoy your sleep in.”

“Everyone is turning up to your training.” Ryan paused and I smiled. The boy I loved had a severe case of FOMO and Ethan probably knew it. “What’s your advice.”

“If you can find a good role model, grab onto them and learn everything you can. If you think Rylee can teach you how to repaint your bike, then learn everything you can from her. Not just about spray-painting, but how she held onto a business when a lot of people would have chucked it in.”

“Because she’s a woman.” I could have hugged and kissed Ryan for the scorn he threw at Ethan. “That’s lame.”

“No. Because she’d spent a lot of years with her father and the only thing that would hurt more than watching someone else take over the business would be to walk into that workshop for the first time knowing he wouldn’t be there.”

“Fuck. I never thought of it like that.”

“All I know is that this town has good people. In the absence of your father and the guy who died, there are others who will want to take their place. Trust your gut. Trust your instinct. And if you can’t find one, you’ll have to be your own.”

“My own role model? How?”

“You’re smart. You’ll figure it out.”

“I want to talk to Rylee, but I can’t.” Ryan’s voice sounded small, and I almost heard the tears being shoved back down before they fell.

Why? What? I thought we were close. Ryan could talk to me about anything.

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