Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Dave
I barely noticed Castro in the hammock as I stomped into the house. “How was the class?” he called after me. “Worth going ?”
He got no answer .
Quick strides carried me up the stairs and into my suite, where I threw my clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower. I stood there a while, letting the water sluice down over my body, wondering what the hell had just happened .
Kissing Zara had been a dumbass thing to do. Obviously. My lizard brain had bested me .
But— Jesus Christ . The attraction had been mutual. I wasn’t crazy. And I didn’t know why she’d been so fucking offended .
Oh right—because I’d gone and made a big deal out of it. I’d thrown her attraction back in her face, as if all the sex we’d had was something to be ashamed of .
It wasn’t. Or it shouldn’t be .
Shit. I’d never been more confused .
When the water finally ran cold, I toweled off and got dressed. Though our encounter still played on repeat in my head. The impulse to kiss her had been so strong. Then she’d gotten mad, even before I’d shot my mouth off. But feeling our old attraction rear up between us hadn’t been a hardship for me. Honestly, it helped me to remember why we’d ended up making a baby in the first place .
Did she actually want me to pretend we were strangers who’d never felt a thing? I didn’t think I was a good enough actor .
I didn’t understand Zara at all. And maybe I never had. The Beringers were missing the gene for understanding how relationships worked .
Hopefully I hadn’t passed that trait on to my child along with my red hair .
When I went downstairs, Castro was sitting at the kitchen counter, eating grapes and scrolling through his phone messages. “Hey, Beri. Your sister called .”
Shit . “Did she say what she wanted ?”
“Negative.” Castro looked up. “Something wrong ?”
“Other than everything?” I stole one of his grapes and popped it in my mouth .
He frowned. “That yoga class must have sucked, because usually it makes you all Zen and shit .”
“Zara was there.” I opened the refrigerator and studied its contents. Leo had gone home to Brooklyn, so Castro and I would be the only ones here for a few days. We were almost out of food. Time to do some shopping .
“Ah. That’s why you’re a grumpy bear ?”
“I kissed her .”
“ During yoga ?”
“No,” I grunted. “ After .”
“Hmm. It didn’t go over well ?”
“We had words. I might have been a dick .”
“ Again ?”
“Yeah.” I chose a container of yogurt .
“Huh. Are you still invited to lunch on Sunday ?”
“Good question. She never sent me the directions, so maybe I was never invited in the first place.” Now there was a clue I should have heeded .
“Do I need to get you drunk already? Or can we still hike to that waterfall first ?”
I grunted . “ Sure .”
“Call Bess and then we’ll go .”
Right .
I waited until Castro went into his room—he’d claimed the queen-sized bed that O’Doul had just vacated—before I dialed Bess from the landline. My sister had left Vermont, too—visiting clients on the West Coast somewhere, and it was just as well. She’d throttle me if she knew I’d caused drama for Zara .
“Davey,” she said by way of a greeting .
“ Bessie .”
“How are you ?”
“ Fine .”
“Then why do you sound all bitchy ?”
“You can tell just from the way I say ‘fine’ ? ” I snapped, proving her point for her .
“Did something happen ?”
“Nope,” I lied. “Do you have any news about my contract ?”
She was silent for a second. “No, honey. I just called to see how you were holding up .”
Great. I’d walked into this trap for nothing .
“There wouldn’t be any news, though,” she said. “You were supposed to be thinking about whether or not you wanted to take the two-year or the three - year .”
“I know that. But I thought maybe you’d had an idea for me. I was thinking about the no-trade clause. We could drop that for the third year, maybe. If they could trade me, they might pay me more .”
She sighed. “Davey, we already dropped the no-trade in year three. That’s how they’re offering you a third year at all. Didn’t you read the deal memo I sent ?”
Awkward silence. “Not closely enough, I guess.” I hadn’t done a fucking thing since I’d come to Vermont except implode. “ Never mind .”
“Listen.” My sister’s voice went soft. “Maybe we don’t need to renegotiate your contract early. You have a lot going on. We could tell management that you’re having some unexpected family drama this summer and we weren’t as ready to negotiate as we thought we were .”
I groaned. “But they’re not going to like me any better this winter. I should just sign the thing before we tell the PR department that I have drama .”
“It’s not news, though,” my sister said immediately. “You have a child. Like anyone .”
“Don’t blow smoke up my ass, Bess. You told me yourself that we have to warn the PR department.” If some internet rag decided to make Zara and Nicole into their next gossip nugget, I couldn’t have team management caught off- guard .
“We’re going to tell them about Nicole, but it’s not a big deal to them. Do you want me to postpone the contract talks ?”
“Don’t say anything to them yet. I’m still thinking .”
“Okay,” she said softly. “Hang in there .”
“Thanks,” I grunted. We said our goodbyes, and I disconnected .
Then I whistled up Castro and took him hiking, hoping that the world would start making sense again soon. And in the meantime, I needed to go hiking and schedule another PT appointment in Burlington .