Page 11 of Afterglow
Is This Heaven?
Fletcher
June
Treatingmyself to a stop at my favorite bookstore on the way back home from a run doesn’t cure me of the constant tinnitus of Behraz’s name in my head.
Black Squirrel Books on Bank St. is my newest haunt. Their shelves are always stocked, the espresso bar is brilliant, plus, the girl behind the counter, Belle, always has the best book recs. And sometimes they have these carrot cake doughnuts that have me questioning my loyalty to SuzyQ. Nah, that’d never happen. That place gives me a reason to live.
I walk away with three of her suggestions and an iced latte, but can’t resist swinging past SuzyQ for one of their classics, a D’OHnut. It’s vanilla, dipped entirely in a glaze, covered in sprinkles and tastes like summer.
One large sip washes down the crumbs and I frown at the caloric intake, knowing I’ll pay for it when we begin traininglater in the summer. My mind replays a conversation with Wade from the day before.
“You gonna be okay without us until dry land training?”
“I’m a grown-up.” I made a sarcastic face at him through the screen. “So, yes.”
“Hey, I’m just checking. This is the first year in a long time you’re not going home, Landon and Indi are gone, and we’re leaving tomorrow morning.”
“Your point?”
“Dude, you have no other friends.”
Ouch. True, but still, ouch.
“And?”
“Unless you count your cock.”
“Shut up.”
“Like, what are you gonna do for the next two months by yourself? There’s only so many hours of the day you can jerk off.”
My expression went flat, middle finger slowly appearing in front of the phone camera. “I’m gonna get a shit ton of reading done.”
“Oh, good. So, you’ll be reading and jerking off.”
“I’m gonna hang up now.”
“Wait—speaking of…”
“I overheard Gabe talking to Indi about Bea. She’s staying in Ottawa for the summer.”
I knew that. Because I’m a weirdo stalker who scrolls through her social media any chance I get.
“Oh, right.” I shrugged it off. “I think I saw her at Akhila’s first birthday party or something.”
And in every wet dream I’ve had for the past six years.
“You saw her, alright. You were practically drooling. Now all you have to do is get over yourself and talk to her.”
“Yeah, okay.”
He wasn’t convinced. “Come on, dude. You’ve had a hard-on for her for years.”
I ignored him.
“This is your lucky summer. I can feel it.”
