Chapter 25
twenty-five
Tristyn
I’ve been avoiding Jeremy since the concert.
Which has been really hard since we have been working together, and I feel super guilty because without him, I wouldn’t even have this job.
I just know I haven’t felt like this about someone in a long time. Friday morning, the day after the concert, when I came in with Henry, I saw Jeremy down by the ice, and my heart began to race.
He didn’t even look at me; I saw him, and suddenly I didn’t know how to react.
That’s dangerous.
Especially since Henry is involved in all of this.
Fuck, don’t even get me started on seeing the way he interacts with Henry. He’s great with all of the kids, but seeing him with my kid makes me feel like there might still be good guys in the world.
So, the only logical solution to all of this is to ignore him altogether.
Last week, when his friend was on stage, our eyes kept meeting, and there was a part of me that felt like he was more interested in the fact that I was there than he was in his friend singing. How ridiculous is that?
“Did I do something?”
My heart sinks into my stomach.
I was hoping he would just stay away from me so I didn’t have to come up with some bullshit lie, but I should’ve known it wouldn’t last long.
“What?”
“Maybe it’s in my head, but I feel like you’ve been avoiding me all week.” He scratches his nose. “Was it the tickets? Was it too much?”
“No.” I stand up, rubbing my hands together. “The concert was amazing, and you giving us the tickets was the sweetest thing a guy has ever done for me. Henry had an amazing time.”
“Good.”
The silence is deafening.
I just stare at him, as if doing it will eventually cause him to disappear.
“Are we good?”
“Why wouldn’t we be?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
“We’re good,” I promise. “Work has just been crazy, you know? Getting accustomed to everything and the new software.”
“And that’s all?”
Do I tell him the truth? Do I tell him I’m worried he wants to go out with me? Do I tell him I’m worried that if I get to know more about him, I’ll fall in love with him, and I don’t think I’m ready to go there?
“No.” I shake my head and walk around the front desk so I’m standing in front of him. “I guess there’s a part of me that’s worried about what you want out of this?”
“Out of what?”
“Giving me those tickets.”
“You think I’m expecting something in return?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not, Tristyn. I gave you those tickets because I wanted to, not because I wanted to get something from it.”
“Oh, good.” I scratch the back of my head. “I was worried you wanted to go out with me or something and that—”
“I do.”
“What?” I gulp.
Not that I don’t want to go out with him. I do. I really do. I just don’t think it’s fair to bring him into my crazy world. Plus, I’ve let him go on thinking Henry is my brother for weeks; it’s too late to backtrack now.
“I don’t expect you to say yes just because I gave you tickets, but I’ve been wanting to ask you out for a while.” He grins. “Honestly, the moment I met you outside of PT, I was ready to chase you down and ask you to go out with me.”
“Oh.”
“Too much?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“A yes to what?”
“Will you go out with me?”
I laugh.
I don’t mean to; I just don’t have another way to react in a nerve-wracking situation.
“Right.” His eyes fall to his wheelchair and then meet my eyes again.
The light that is usually there when we talk is gone.
“Sorry, that was—”
“No!” I wave my arms in front of me. “Oh my Go, it has nothing to do with that, I like you, I do.” I freeze. Well, there goes me holding all the cars. “Fuck, I mean—”
He smiles again, the light reaching his eyes once more, “You can’t back track now, Tristyn Stevens.”
“I can’t go out with you.”
“Why not?”
“I just can’t.”
“Cause we work together?”
“It’s not that.”
“Is it because you're worried things won’t go well, and then it’ll be awkward because I’m helping Henry with his hockey training, and you think I would just drop him because of it. I promise that would never happen.”
“No, it’s not that. You’re a good guy, Jeremy, I know you wouldn’t do something like that, I just can’t.”
“If it’s the chair, it’s okay. I know it’s a lot. It’s a lot for me most days, and I’ve been in it for weeks.”
“I promise it’s not that chair.”
Not even close.
I couldn’t care less that Jeremy is in a wheelchair. I just can’t bring him into my mess of a life. Between Henry and Andrew and all the in-between bullshit, he doesn’t deserve that. He deserves better.
“Okay, if you say so.” His smile fades. “I should get back to work.”
“Jeremy, I promise you—”
“It’s okay, really. It was silly. I should’ve taken the hint with you ignoring me all week, right?” He forces a laugh.
“I have a lot of drama in my life, Jeremy, and you don’t deserve to have a shit ton of baggage before we even have a chance to get to know each other.”
“And what if I’m okay with the baggage if it means getting to know you?”
“It’s easy to say that, but once you know what it is, you won’t feel that way anymore.”
“How can you be so sure?” He wheels closer to me. “I like you, Tristyn, I really like you. And I want to take you on a date and get to know you, all of you. The good, the bad, the ugly, I’m in if you’ll let me be in.”
“Jeremy, I just don’t think—”
“I’ll stick around if I know it all?”
“Most guys don’t.”
“I’m not most guys.”
“That’s easy to say, but not easy to prove.”
“I can’t prove it to you if you don’t give me the chance to.”
And then the silence is back. He’s right in front of me, our eyes are locked, but neither one of us moves. Neither of us says a thing.
Jeremy blinks and drops his head.
“Alright, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”
He turns around and begins to wheel toward the ice.
“Henry isn’t my brother!” I yell, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. He turns around. “He’s mine. He’s my son.”
“Your son?”
“Yeah. Had him kind of young.” I chuckle. “Obviously.”
“Oh.”
“So, you can take back your offer. I wouldn’t blame you.”
Jeremy wheels closer to me, the smile on his face becoming clearer as he does.
“You think I wouldn’t want to go out with you because you have a kid?”
“It’s typically a deal breaker.”
“Well, those other guys were idiots if having a son was enough to get them to run the other direction.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m not. So, the offer still stands, if you’re interested.”
“Can you ask me again?” I shrug, taking a step closer.
“Tristyn Stevens, will you go out with me?”
I take a deep breath before allowing myself to leap.
“I’d love to.”