Page 19 of The Cadence
I hadn’t said that in order to draw his dark eyes to my chest, but that was where they went anyway. “It’s very nice,” he told me, and then his gaze moved to focus over my head.
He did the same thing when we went into the restaurant. On the ride, he’d had talked to his agent and they went on for a while about a deal that would have Will representing the energy bar company, the same one advertised on the t-shirt he’d given me. When they hung up, we were just pulling into the parking lot and when we went in, he walked to the table with his eyes focused on the spot where the walls met the ceiling.
“Sorry about taking that call,” he said as we sat.
“That’s fine.” I smiled. “I’m glad to get out and do stuff.”
I was genuinely happy, but that statement made Will frown again and I didn’t want that. “Why are you angry?” I asked.
“I’m not. I’m thinking about you being in the guest cottage all day with nothing to do.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, too,” I told him. “I decided that I could work for you part-time, and then get another part-time job somewhere else. You would get to pay me less and I could meet more people, too. It’s a little lonely in the guest cottage. It’s beautiful,” I stressed, “but I’m used to being with someone. Right now I feel…” I paused. “It’s that roller coaster again. Sorry.”
“That’s ok.” He handed me his napkin. Due to this being a nice restaurant, it was cloth, and due to him being a football player for the home team, the rest of the patrons were already staring at us and now they were watching me wipe away tears.
“I don’t want them to think that you’re making me cry,” I said. “You wouldn’t do that.” Not on purpose.
“No one thinks that. They think you have bad allergies.”
Now he was making me smile. “I don’t think I have those. I remember the first time my grandma took me to the doctor and they asked me if I was allergic to medications.”
“Are you?”
I shrugged, because I still had no idea. “Luckily, I was never very sick, either with allergies or otherwise.” I carefully folded his napkin and then passed over my clean one. “What’s good to eat at this place?” I asked.
“I’ve only been here once,” Will answered. “I don’t go out a lot.”
“You’re so busy, I don’t know how you have time to do anything,” I said. “You’re hardly ever home.”
He was frowning again, so now people were going to think that he’d made me cry and I’d made him angry. “That was a mistake,” he said, but it seemed like he was talking to himself.
“What was?”
“I’m going to spend more time at home. I thought that living in the guest cottage would be enough, but it isn’t.”
I understood even less. “What?” I asked again, but the server had come to our table to get a drink order. Mindful of the last time I’d been with him and overdid the whiskey, I went with water, and when she was gone, Will started talking about Fan Day and then how he’d have to go away to an island near here for meetings.
“We can’t bring anyone,” he explained. “It’s all bonding crap.”
“Is it crap?”
“I think so, but some of the guys get into it. I’m not of the opinion that a few nights in a nice hotel brings me closer to my teammates.”
“But it gets you closer to room service,” I pointed out.
“It’s not a high-rise but there are a few elevators there, too, so I shouldn’t complain. What if Miss Mozella came up to visit you while I’m gone?”
“She would have to drive, because there’s no way that I can convince her of Bernoulli’s principle—wait a minute. Are you thinking that I need someone to stay with me?”
“It might be nice to have company.”
I considered that, and he was correct. It would have been nice but I didn’t need a babysitter. “I’ll be fine,” I told him. “Pretty soon I’ll get used to this new situation. It shouldn’t take too long.” That was what the ladies fromchurch kept telling me, that I’d feel at home in Michigan just like I had in Chattanooga after I’d moved there to live with my grandma.
“You mean, you’ll get used to being lonely,” Will translated.
“No, I meant that I’ll remember how to be on my own. I’m certainly old enough to take care of myself,” I pointed out. “I started that well before most kids have to.” I picked up the menu again. “What looks tasty to you? What’s calamari?”
We chose a lot of good-looking items and ordered them, and he talked about what he’d been doing. Exercising, preseasonpractices, meetings with his teammates, and meetings with the coaches seemed to be taking up most of his day.
