Page 54 of Branded
But I needed to get home.
And maybe I’d text Kailey, see if she was still up and wanting to watch that baking show.
Grinning now with that thought, I finished with the shampoo and soap (and bit of conditioner, ’cause gotta keep that beard soft), wrenched off the water, shook myself to get the extra water, and then slung a towel around my shoulders as I strode into the locker room.
A few sighs, but I ignored them as I went around my air-drying, returning their goodbyes as they took off one-by-one.
The room went quiet.
And…I took my first full breath of the day.
No pressure. No more expectations. No more noise.
Just me and the room and?—
A soft noise.
A flicker of movement at the door.
Sixteen
Kailey
I should have gone home a long time ago.
But I’d hung in the box talking with Oliver about the game (and his new dragon), Hazel checking in with their sitter a few times, but since Dominic was asleep, she’d wanted to enjoy the rare night out sans baby.
Then I’d drifted downstairs, running into a couple of the coaches and Pru, who was one of the main users of the program I had created.
Pru was…what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Strong and loud, confident and ballsy.
But she was soft, too. The way she melted into Marcel and how their bodies seemed to be in constant awareness of each other. Shifting and realigning so they fit together perfectly. Hazel and Oliver had that, too, along with Luc and Lexi.
It was beautiful, and I’d found myself being far more social now that I’d noticed it.
And the longer I was around , the longer that ball of nerves in my stomach, the one that was always there and the one that probably would never fully go away, had sunk deeper and deeper. But that was so much better than spinning faster and faster, the barbed edges of that tangled ball lashing out and cutting my insides to ribbons.
Maybe one day it would sink so deep that it would drop out of me completely.
Like laying an egg.
That had my lips twitching as I turned and walked toward the exit, but not before promising to call Marcel’s dad, Leo, when I had a free moment to discuss some software he wanted created—me and Leo jived, mostly because he was as much of a geek as I was. But he was so much like Pru that it was hard to be anxious with him, not when he was talking a mile a minute about stuff I was comfortable with and never got impatient with my answers. He wanted to see if I wanted the side project or could recommend someone else.
Freelancing was my gaming and book money.
So, I’d probably be down.
Plus, it was good practice for me. There would be comfortable, positive interactions with little to no anxiety (because Marcel’s dad was awesome), and I could keep building on those, continue growing and moving forward and?—
I’d instinctively started moving forward, hurrying because I was coming to the hallway that would lead me right by the guys’ changing room.
Always head down, no risk at seeing anything.
And plus, the outer door was always closed anyway.
Except today…not closed.
