Chapter 4 #3
I retreat to my seat, avoiding Beck's amused look. The rest of the session passes in a blur. Josie runs through a few more scenarios, has Corbin and Mason do a couple of practice interviews.
But I'm not paying attention.
The session wraps up, the team scattering toward the door. I’m halfway there when Josie’s hand closes around my wrist, and my entire body lights up.
“You. Stay.”
She doesn’t wait for me to turn, she just turns on her heel, expecting me to follow. She leads me back into the empty room after shutting the door behind us with a slam.
She rounds on me. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Her professional mask is gone.
"Don't." She steps closer, her voice dropping to a furious whisper. "Don't you dare play dumb with me. You've been giving me attitude since the moment I walked into this building. You've been dismissive, condescending, and frankly, a complete asshole."
"Coming from the woman who's been pretending I don't exist?"
She freezes.
"What?"
I step closer, my voice matching hers. "You heard me. You haven't said a single word about what happened between us. Not a glance. Not a hint. Just... nothing."
Her eyes flash as she quickly glances over my shoulder to make sure we don't have an audience. When she sees the coast is clear, she takes another small step forward, leaving barely any space between us.
"What do you want me to say? 'Hey, remember that night we hooked up? Well, now I'm your boss, so let's just pretend it never happened'?"
"That's what you've been doing!"
"Because that's what we're supposed to do! That's what adults do!"
"Well maybe adults should talk about it! Acknowledge it! Maybe we shouldn't just—"
I scrub a hand over my face, frustration boiling over.
Fuck. Maybe she's right.
That's exactly what my parents did. Sweep everything under the carpet, pretend everything is sunshine and seashells.
Is that what I should be doing too?
I take a deep breath, trying to stop myself from saying something I don't mean.
"Look, I just don't think acting like it meant nothing is the answer."
Josie's lips part. Her eyes are suddenly wide.
"But it did mean nothing," she says. "It was one night, Declan. You were a stranger in a bar. That's it. That's all it was supposed to be."
"Then why does it feel like you're running from it?"
"Because I am!" She steps closer. We're inches apart, her face tilted up to mine. "Because if I stop and think about it, if I let myself feel any of it, I won't be able to do my job. And this job—" Her voice cracks. "This job is all I have."
I open my mouth to respond, to say something, anything, that will bridge this impossible gap between us.
But then her gaze drops to my mouth.
And I forget everything I was going to say.
Just kiss her. Kiss her and shut her the fuck up.
But just as I go to lean in, the door bursts open and we spring apart like we've been electrocuted.
"Josie! The community event is ready!"
Rose Pearson, Coach's daughter and the team's unofficial events coordinator, bursts into the room, beaming at us like she didn't just interrupt something.
She looks at us, eyes darting.
"Um, sorry. Josie, darling, the setup at The Yard is complete. The school kids are arriving in two hours!"
Josie's professional mask slams back into place so fast I get whiplash.
"Great. Thank you, Rose. I'll be right there."
Rose nods, oblivious, and disappears back the way she came.
Josie takes a step back, smoothing down her blazer. Her hands are shaking and her face is still flushed.
"I need to go. The community event," she says, once again, like nothing ever happened. "We've got a pickup game at the Yard. The whole town's invited."
I sigh, trying to release the tension in my muscles. "Another one of your grand ideas?"
"Exactly." She steps closer, close enough that I can smell her perfume again. "And as the first to know about it, I now know the star player will be there. Front and center, and on time. Smiling for the cameras."
"I don't smile."
"Then learn." She reaches up, and for a heart-stopping second, I think she's going to touch me. "Because I've seen you smile before, Declan. Once upon a time, in a bar, when I did something reckless and stupid, and I've lived every minute regretting it since."
"Josie—"
But she cuts me off. "You wanted to talk about it. We just did. Now we can both move on."
She stares into my eyes, and for the briefest second, I actually believe the words coming out of her mouth.
It was reckless. It was stupid.
But for me?
It was the best damn thing that's happened in my life for years.
"You're right," I say, swallowing my pride for once. "Thank you for acknowledging it. At least now we have closure."
She steps back, her eyes lingering on mine for a moment.
"Be sure to grab some flyers on your way out," she says, her voice light. "Hand them out along the boardwalk. I have no doubt the whole town will want to see Declan Morrison get his ass handed to him by a bunch of kids."
Then she turns and walks away, leaving me standing in the empty room, my heart pounding, my head spinning, and the fading memory of her taste moving further and further away.