Page 17 of Dahlias, Sapphires, and Cool Autumn Dusk
“It’s a small school, so I heard what happened this morning in Collins’ classroom. She has been here forever.” He took his glasses off and cleaned them with the edge of his shirt. “But that doesn’t make what she did okay. We will be preparingmonologues to deliver this year, but I wanted to let you know I willnevercall on you to do one without giving you time to prepare. I will tell you the day before, if that sounds fair? I don’t want you to worry. What she did. . .well, I am personally sorry. Not every teacher at Pullman is quite so. . .yeah.”
I nodded at him, understanding the unspoken bits. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“Let’s have a great year,” he said with another of his smiles.
As far as first days, overall, mine went okay. Collins might be crazy but she wasn’t my first insane teacher. Barrett leaned against a locker when I turned the corner, and my smile blossomed.
“I finally get out of this place, but I have to come back because you’re here, Sweetheart.”
I grinned, so happy to see him. “They just let you in?”
“I’m Barrett Lent.”
I nodded, not caring if it meant he could be there. “How were your classes? How was everything? Did you have a great day?”
“I hated my first class and loved the second a surprising amount. We’ll see how that goes.”
When I was close enough, I could smell his clean scent, so I let myself take a deep breath of him, filling my lungs and wishing I could fall into his arms. “Did you eat anything? Do you need anything?”
He shook his head. “A hug from you, but I think we’re both resisting that one. How about we go watch the scrimmage then go home? You can tell me what the fuck happened in your first period that made Jeremy text me because he doesn’t know about it. Something about the details he heard has him worried.”
I sighed. “I may have made it worse on myself and Phoenix. We’ll talk about it, but I don’t know that there’s much we can do for damage control. I just. . .yeah.”
A piece of brown hair fell in Barrett’s eyes, despite his recent haircut. I almost brushed it away, so I literally had to catch myself and tuck my hand in my pocket. “Let’s go see them play,” I agreed.
He stopped, his gaze serious as he considered my expression. “Just tell me you’re okay? That whatever happened this morning, you’re okay.”
It was so sweet, it took me a second to be able to answer past the emotion in my throat. I let myself touch the pearls before I spoke. “I’m okay. I survive things. Somehow. Today wasn’t as bad as other days. I wasn’t alone.”
“You’re never going to be alone again,” he whispered in my ear. “Sorry that it took us so long to find you.”
The building next door housed the gym and the pools. People wandered around while the guys from Dallas did stretches on the other side of the pool. As we took our seats, the Pullman guys came out of the locker room, already warmed up. Julian told me how they had to be there an hour before the competition to swim.
I spotted the twins in tiny Speedo bathing suits—Pullman colors in green, red and blue. I saw them shirtless all the time, but never in public, and heat flooded my cheeks as my heartbeat picked up a notch.Wow. They are gorgeous.
All the guys were built, and they exercised to stay in shape, but I’d never seen one of their games. I forced myself to think about something other than Julian’s and Jeremy’s abdominal muscles, fanning my cheeks. Barrett put away his phone, glancing over at me.
“Mom is still in treatment, ” he said then frowned. “I try to check on her, but that’s the only answer they give me.”
I hated that for them. “You shouldn’t have to deal with so much. I’m sorry.”
“It helps to have you. Oh, yes, I always forget about the Speedos.” He drew his attention from his brothers back to me and he grinned conspiratorially. “They hate the Speedos. In crew, we actually got to wear clothes.”
“Do you miss it?”
He shook his head and then nodded. “Sometimes?”
“You could still do it, right?”
Phoenix scooted past us, his eyes vacant.Okay, so that’s where he’s been. “Did I miss anything?”
I shook my head. “No, they’re just starting.”
“Good.” He pointed at Barrett. “You’re here.”
His oldest brother patted him on the back. “I am.”
A whistle blew.
