Chapter 32
brOOKLYN
The rest of the holidays passed in a blur. Before I knew it, it was the last day of my internship.
Human Resources had organized a goodbye party for the interns in the kitchen. The “party” consisted of half a dozen balloons and a gluten-free cake, but it was the thought that counted.
We’d said goodbye to the players earlier, in case we didn’t see them after training. They’d all signed individual cards for Henry and me, and the petty side of me was gratified to see I got personalized messages while his contained only their signatures.
“I guess I’ll see you around. Or not.” Henry popped a piece of cake into his mouth.
He chewed, swallowed, and said, “I’m serious about that job though.
If you want to join the Hydralade family, I can get you through the door.
You might have to work your way up though, since you don’t have any experience in product development.
But there are plenty of great admin and support roles. ”
“Henry.” I deliberately set the cake knife down. “I would rather go to the manufacturing plant, flood it with your shitty sports drink, and walk into the middle of the flood wrapped in live electric wires.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means I would rather electrocute and drown myself at the same time than work for your family’s company, Henry.” I emphasized his name a second time.
He blinked. “Well, that’s a little dramatic, but point taken. Your loss.” He shrugged and nabbed another slice of cake before sauntering out.
I blew out a breath. Interacting with him wiped away any sadness I had about leaving. Thank God I wouldn’t have to work with him again.
Most of the staff had already trickled out. Jones and Lizzie were the only two left in the kitchen. They were deep in conversation, but then Lizzie excused herself, and it was just Jones and me.
He came up beside me as I threw away the empty paper plates. “Have you heard back from ISNA?”
“Not yet. Finalists don’t get announced until late January or February.” I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had hope that I would at least make it to the next round.
“Ah, right.” Jones drummed his fingers against the table. “Well, good luck. Let me know how it goes.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t point out that he could look up the list of finalists himself on ISNA’s website. “I appreciate you writing the recommendation. And I appreciate everything you’ve taught me during this internship. I learned a lot.”
Despite my complicated feelings about his rigid ways, his favoritism toward Henry, and the obvious boys’ club at Blackcastle, I meant what I said.
Working at Blackcastle had been a learning experience like no other, and as the minutes ticked down toward the end of the day, the lump in my throat grew bigger.
“You’ve been a great intern,” Jones said. “I’m sad we won’t have you with us moving forward, but I wish you the best in your future endeavors.” He gave me a stiff hug.
We said our goodbyes, and that was it.
I checked the clock. It was officially after work hours. Training ended half an hour ago, and most of the players were probably already gone.
I left the kitchen and walked to the changing room. I didn’t know why, but I had to see it before I left.
As expected, it was empty when I got there. I heard the faint sound of a shower running, but I was the only person in the changing room itself.
I sank onto a bench and soaked it all in. My night at the stadium with Vincent had been magical, but this was the heart of the club. It was where I’d worked with the players, where we laughed and joked around, where we celebrated our victories and mourned our losses.
I was going to miss it.
I blinked back a prickle of tears. Get it together. I’d made the choice to leave. I couldn’t second-guess myself now.
The shower squeaked off. I startled, but before I could leave, Vincent walked out, a towel slung around his hips. He cocked an eyebrow when he saw me.
“Just taking it in while I still can,” I said in response to his unasked question. “Your timing is freakishly perfect. Were you waiting to see if I’d be here before you walked out half naked?”
I wouldn’t be surprised. Sometimes, it felt like he knew me better than I knew myself.
“Do I look like the type of person who would do that?”
“Absolutely.”
If I hadn’t been sitting, his grin would’ve knocked me off my feet. He walked to his locker, a stray droplet of water sliding past the ridges of his abs and into his towel.
Despite my earlier sadness, I had the brief urge to trace the droplet’s journey with my tongue. We’d already defiled the pitch. Might as well add the changing room to that list.
“Are you all packed for tomorrow?” He pulled a shirt over his head.
I sighed. Talk about ruining the view.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to drive me to the airport. I can take a cab.” I was flying to San Diego tomorrow morning, which was another reason it felt like my emotions were being fed through a meat grinder.
The prospect of seeing my mom always exacerbated my worst moments.
“Screw that. I can’t let my girlfriend leave the country without seeing her off.” Vincent finished dressing and sat next to me.
I breathed in his clean shower smell, butterflies taking wing at the word girlfriend. I wasn’t used to it yet, but I liked the way it sounded. A lot.
“I’ll be back Tuesday,” I said, amused. “It’s not like I’ll be gone for a year.”
“Four days without you is a long time, buttercup.”
“Getting needy already, DuBois?”
“I always need you.” His eyes gleamed with playfulness, but there was a smooth, dark edge to his voice that drove any lingering nostalgia out of my mind. Heat curled low in my stomach.
“Is there anyone in the showers?” I asked.
He shook his head. The playful gleam vanished, replaced with something more wicked. “We should—”
“Ahem.”
Vincent and I jumped apart like we’d been burned.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, Coach.”
Our voices overlapped as we stared sheepishly at my dad. He stood at the entrance to the changing room, his face creased with a glower. “What are you two doing here? Alone?”
“Talking,” Vincent quickly said.
“I wanted to see the changing room one last time before I left,” I added.
“I stayed late so I could drive her home.”
“We’re innocent.”
Okay, my last statement wasn’t that of an innocent person, though it was, ironically, correct. Just because I’d been thinking about shower sex didn’t mean we’d engaged in shower sex.
Semantics. They mattered.
My dad’s eyes narrowed. “Uh-huh.”
He hadn’t guilt tripped me about leaving Blackcastle since our talk. He was, however, still ornery every time he saw Vincent and me alone together. He hadn’t been there for my past boyfriends, and I suspected he was struggling with how to handle my love life.
“Get out of here,” he finally said. “You have an early flight tomorrow. You need sleep.” He paused, then added, “But if you want to skip California altogether, I’ll handle the hurricane.”
The “hurricane” was my mother, but not even my father could save me from the shitstorm that would ensue if I missed her C-section.
“It’s okay, Dad. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Vincent and I left quickly before he changed his mind and decided to interrogate us some more about our changing room plans.
“Good thing I don’t live with him anymore,” Vincent said as I turned in my employee badge to HR. He’d filed an injunction against Ethan Brown and moved back home the weekend after Christmas. “Or else he’d be chaperoning your visits like a primary school teacher.”
I laughed. “Yeah. That’s a part of his parenting I never missed.”
I gathered my belongings from the intern office. Vincent placed his hand on the small of my back as we headed toward the exit. I tried to think of anything I might be forgetting, but I came up with nothing.
I’d said my goodbyes. I’d done my farewell tour of the facilities, and I’d made my peace with leaving.
The end of my internship wasn’t the end of the world.
I could still see the people I wanted to see outside the club, and while it’d be weird not to work with Vincent every day, we’d adjust. We always did.
The lump in my throat slowly dissolved.
I didn’t know what the next chapter of my life would bring, but when I walked out of Blackcastle for the last time as an employee, I felt more hopeful about the future than I had in months.