Chapter 19
nineteen
Jeremy
Guess it’s just you and me.” I look up at Brinley, who’s the only person left in our group. I don’t think either of us minds necessarily, but it didn’t take long for our group to disperse.
Everyone wanted to do something different, and well, there’s not a whole lot I feel comfortable doing right now.
“I can’t believe they all abandoned us.” She crosses her arms, and I raise an eyebrow. “Okay, I definitely can, but I thought it’d take longer than five minutes.”
Brooks dipped out before we even left the house, and Jax said he needed to stay home to do the thing that was originally going to keep him out of the hot tub.
We all know he has nothing going on; it doesn’t take a genius to know that, but we all know not to question it. If they’re going to figure things out, it’s going to be on their time, not ours.
Tate went to check out the entertainment, and since she’s only here for a little while, Fletcher went with her. Ember and Declan went to find Cam and promised to find us later.
And Zeke and Avalon went to find some rides, which basically means they went to find a nice, quiet place to make out.
“You could invite Alex if you want. I don’t want you to feel like you need to be stuck here with me. I’ll just go find us a good spot for the fireworks and hang out there until it’s time.”
“First, you need to stop thinking you’re some kind of burden.
You’re not just going to sit somewhere for hours, so we have a good spot to watch fireworks.
Second,” she leans against my wheelchair, “Alex is back home for a few weeks since his family is all home for summer vacation, so he’s unavailable right now. ”
“I don’t think I’m a burden.”
I do. I totally do.
It’s hard not to.
“I’m not an idiot, Jere. You’re one of my best friends, and whether you think I can or not, I can read you.
I see the way your face changes anytime someone mentions something you don’t think you’re going to be able to do.
You try to come up with a valid reason why you can’t do it, but not one that would lead all of us into backing out. ”
“I don’t do that.”
“Whatever you say.” She shakes her head as we walk through the different crowds of people. “Hey, maybe your girlfriend will be here.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. Again, I don’t even know her.”
“But you want to.” She wiggles her eyebrows, but I keep moving. “You guys go to the same PT; chances are she lives pretty close.”
“You’d think.”
And that’s when I see her.
Even though I’ve only seen her a couple of times, I’d recognize that red hair anywhere. I’ve seen a few redheads on campus over the years, but her hair is so distinct.
Her hair barely reaches her shoulders and is a vibrant orangey-red, but when the sun hits it, the lighter pieces almost look blonde.
She’s beautiful.
I’ve been so focused on hockey all of these years that I’ve never really taken the time to appreciate beautiful women, but she’s beautiful. The kind of beauty that’s hard not to notice.
“Jeremy?” Brinley’s voice pierces through the bubble that I was in, and I know her gaze follows mine, because suddenly I hear— “Holy shit. Is that her?”
All I can do is nod.
“I get it.” She crosses her arms. “I didn’t really get it before, being interested in a girl you didn’t even actually meet, but… now I do.”
I don’t believe in fate. I never have. Not even when everyone told me that an older gentleman taking a different way home and finding me was fate. But maybe I’ve been wrong. What are the chances we’ve been in the same place, at the same time, three times over the last handful of weeks?
“What are you waiting for? Go talk to her.”
“And say what?”
“I don’t know. Anything.”
I look up at Brinley, but she motions for me to go on ahead.
This could be a horrible idea. It’s most definitely a horrible idea, but I listen to her anyway.
I don’t make it to the redhead, though, because when I get about halfway there, a guy joins her. He throws an arm over her shoulder, and she leans into him.
Then Henry joins them.
The guy messes with Henry’s hair and smiles down at him, then the three of them continue walking.
Brinley stops next to me.
“Sorry, Jere.”
“It’s okay.” I fidget with my fingers. “Maybe we should go find Tate and Fletcher; some music sounds perfect right now.”
We begin to head toward the music tent when I hear, “Mr. Moore!”
I freeze. The voice is stronger than it was the first time I heard it, but I know who that is without even turning around.
Henry.
I finally turn just as Henry catches up to me.
“Hey, kid.” I force a smile.
Henry’s eyes land on Brinley, and his cheeks turn rosy.
“You’re pretty.”
Brinley chuckles.
“Thank you, you’re very sweet.”
“Mr. Moore is teaching me how to play hockey,” Henry continues. “He’s a really good teacher.”
“I can imagine. He had some great teachers as well. Mr. Moore,” Brinley stifles a laugh, “is a great hockey player.”
I want to correct her.
I was a great hockey player.
Now I can’t even stand up by myself.
“Henry, you can’t just run off like that.”
Suddenly, she’s in front of me, and I feel my cheeks get hot. I probably look like a little kid right now, my cheeks red with nerves because a pretty girl is in front of me.
“This is Mr. Moore; he teaches me hockey.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I’m sure she has the same feeling I have. I can see in her eyes that she remembers me. This time, her eyes don’t travel down to my chair; they stay on my eyes.
“I told you, Henry, you can just call me Jeremy.” I laugh, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Smooth,” Brinley whispers, and I glare up at her.
I didn’t mean to tell the redhead my name; I truly was just telling Henry he didn’t need to call me Mr. Moore, especially since we aren’t at the rec center.
“Tristyn.” And now the guy is back to ruin everything. “Hey, sorry, I got worried when you and Henry didn’t come back.”
“We ran into his hockey coach.” She smiles at him.
“One of them.” I clarify.
“Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Vince.” He places his hand out, and I shake it. “Hey, bud, if we want to ride the loopy one, we should head over there now, so we can find good seats for fireworks too.”
“I’ll see you on Monday, Mr. Moore.” Henry waves as he follows Vince in the direction of the ride. Tristyn sticks around for a second, gives me a small smile, and then disappears into the crowd.
“Well, at least now I know her name.” I turn in the opposite direction. “Not that it matters now.”
“Why not?”
“She has a boyfriend.”
“That guy?” Brinley points over her shoulder.
“Yeah, Vince.”
“They’re not dating.”
“How do you know?”
“She’s not his type.”
I freeze and raise my eyebrows.
“I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty attractive, the kind of attractive that guys seem to notice. He didn’t check me out at all. He barely looked in my direction.”
“Maybe he’s a respectful boyfriend.”
“Maybe.” Her smile widens. “But he did check out someone… you. If you weren’t so fixated on Tristyn, you would’ve noticed his eyes never left you.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” she bends down, resting a hand on my shoulder, “you still have a chance.”