Page 54 of Between the Blue
“I wasn’t trying to,” I inform him. “I was only hoping I would be able to keep you long enough to get the explanation you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you a thing.” He grabs his hat and water bottle from the ground, replacing the hat on his head and snatching up his towel from the bench as he storms away.
I cross my arms, blowing out a slow breath. “So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon!” I call after him.
He stops in place, turning slowly back to me. “What?”
“For the first day of my internship,” I say with feigned excitement. “The Texas Storm’s marketing team is really anxious to get me started. Going to be a big day.” I clap my hands as I move to walk past him. “I guess the only question is if I should wear my black dress or green one. I do have a soft autumn color palette, so green is definitely the safer option–”
A hand hooking roughly around the crook of my elbow makes me stop in my place.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ben’s voice mutters in my ear, low and gravelly.
When I turn my head, I find his face only inches from mine, his eyes burning and jaw set. When I don’t respond right away, he speaks again. “You’re…taking the internship?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I question him.
“I already told you,” he breathes, releasing me so quickly I nearly stumble forward a step. “You’re not cut out for it.”
My eyes narrow on him. “And how would you know that?”
He shakes his head, his tongue pushing into his lower lip.
“Oh, maybe because you’re thecaptainof the team?” I question him, my voice coming out in a harsh whisper-yell. “Did you maybe think it may have been helpful to mention that to me when I told you about my situation? Remember, when you actuallyforced meto tell you about it? Or is honesty as hard for you as basic human decency appears to be?”
“I was honest,” he insists, his voice flat. “About all that I needed to be.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because I told you,” he says, stepping forward, sounding out each of the next words like their own sentence. “You’re. Not. Cut. Out. For. It.”
I press my lips together, incredulous. “You don’t know a thing about me,” I tell him.
“I know more than I already need to,” he retorts. “More than I ever cared to. Yet, somehow, you just won’t get the picture. Won’t let me be.” He shakes his head, walking past me to leave.
“Iwon’t letyoube?” I demand, spinning around. “Are you kidding?”
He spins back around too, meeting me halfway with a whole new fire in his eyes. “No,” he grits, leaning down into my space. “And I’m not kidding about this either.” I lean back to maintain his eye contact, watching as his jaw flexes from how hard his teeth are grinding together. “Donottake that internship. Don’t come anywhere near the vicinity of working for the Texas Storm–”
“Why?”
“Because,” he fires back, stepping impossibly closer, “if you do–mark my words– I will make your life a living hell.”
My mouth hangs open, angry tears threatening the corners of my eyes. “I don’t have another option,” I say, my voice even.
Ben takes a step back, his gaze tracing my figure before meeting my eyes once more. I swear I see something in it crack, if just for a moment. A dent in his hard exterior showing itself. A semblance of a human being making itself known, looking like it wants to make an appearance from within him. But then, in the same second, his hard shell glazes right back over. “Not my problem,” he says with a sniff, turning and walking away.
My hands fist at my side as I stare after him, my vision blurring with a concoction of emotions I can’t begin to unravel.
And still, hours later, I don’t think I’ve even started to sort them out.
The slightly too sharp rap of my knuckles against the doorframe startles Tiffany at her desk.
“Oh, Addie!” she squeaks, sitting up straight in her chair. “Happy Tuesday!” She motions towards the open chair in front of her desk, grinning.
“Hi,” I say, flashing her a quick smile before swiftly accepting the seat. “So, I was wondering–”
“How was your weekend?” Tiffany beams, cutting me off. “Do anything exciting? Did you maybe go do anything…fun?” she raises her brows. “Maybe go to a game–”
