Page 45 of Brick Wall
Annie: lol
I push my phone to the side and return to the task at hand. I don’t want to stay in the office all night, so I need to finish my tasks. Plus, I think our conversation has slowly died out, except I realize I’m wrong when I pick up my phone to findanother text.
Sebastian: I’m at your favorite bar *popcorn emoji*
Annie: Really?
Sebastian: You should stop by.
I really, really want to. I’d like to meet Sebastian, but at the same time, I don’t want to, you know? I like him way more than he likes me, and that’s a problem.
I also have so much stuff to do. Ultimately, I say no. I’m too much of a responsible coach to go out. Also, we are friends,justfriends.
Sebastian asks if I’m going to the end-of-summer party at the camp over Labor Day weekend. Labor Day weekend is hectic in the college world because all students arrive back on campus.
We also have a scrimmage against another local college that Saturday morning to help us prepare for the Harvard Invitational the following weekend. Still, the end-of-the-year party is in the evening. I’ll be late, but my brothers knew that when they picked the date for the party.
I text Sebastian back, telling him I’ll be late, but I’ll be there, and he echoes a similar sentiment.
It’ll be good to see him. I just need to make sure I avoid Ryan and that old red shed that night.
* * *
“You’re late,” Ryan says with a fake stern voice.
“I’m late every year,” I say, walking past him and heading straight to the bar.
The big brown building is decked out for the end-of-summer camp party. My family hired a rental company to supply tables, chairs, white decor, a pop-up bar setup, and more to transform our multi-use space into a functional party location.
The large room is crowded with staff, counselors, and camp sponsors. It’s an annual event to thank everyone for a great summer with free food and drink. The place may look extra fancy, but it’s a casual affair. I’m wearing my favorite pair of jeans and tennis shoes. I did exchange my polo for a cute top before I left my office earlier, so there’s that. I also ditched the hair elastic and baseball cap tonight in favor of wearing my hair down, which doesn’t happen often.
I grab a glass of wine, find a few familiar faces, and listen to fun stories about the weeks I did not attend. It’s great to see everyone, and many of the faces here help every year, so it’s nice to catch up.
Speaking of familiar faces, how do my eyes always find his? Sebastian is moving across the room to the bar, and I find myself doing the same thing.
“Hey!” I say as Sebastian moves closer to me until we are standing next to each other at the bar.
“Hey, how’s everything going?” Sebastian questions.
“Good,” I reply. “White wine,” I say to the bartender, and I point to Sebastian to saynext.
Sebastian orders a whiskey, and we step off to the side once we have our drinks in hand.
“This place cleans up good,” Sebastian says while looking around the old camp building.
“I know, right? I think my brother did it to be funny one year, but it’s become a tradition.”
I take Sebastian in, and dang, he looks good. He’s wearing an off-white henley, dark jeans, and extra-large brown dress shoes.
I wonder what size he is…
Just a friend…just a friend.
I take a step closer to him. He smells so good—a mix of cedar, citrus, and whiskey.
“How’s volleyball going?” Sebastian asks.
“Good!” I eagerly say, stepping back from his intoxicating scent, so I breathe easier.
