Chapter 25 Brooke #2
"Dude, that video you posted of Anderson was cool. That guy's curling at least double what I do." Amy peers over, quickly attempting to cover up her curiosity about Drew's obvious muscle. "Didn't know he was a Tom Ford guy, though. Maybe I'll have to switch it up."
"From what? The same cologne Mom got you for Christmas senior year?"
Blake looks at me blankly, his chest puffed out, but after half a second, his shoulders fall. "Yes," he admits.
Ivy snickers next to me, and I shake my head. "Yeah, that was, uh, an interesting day."
"So, what's next? I know you said this is only temporary, but you seem to enjoy it?"
"I do, yeah. I told them last week that I'm thinking about finding something in this field permanently. Really start to build a career doing something I actually enjoy."
Ivy places her hand on my knee and gives it a light squeeze. "That's great, Brookie."
"Maybe the Flames would let you stay on after this sort of trial period," Blake says, leaning forward and placing his forearms on his thighs.
"Oh, no, I don't think so. Levi already has someone permanent starting soon, and I don't think they're looking to fill anymore positions—especially with someone just starting out."
My mind snaps back to Drew. We all know that, technically, I could work for the Flames and still be with him.
Hell, Alex helps Sadie run Spark the Flame, and she's banging—and, okay, is spending her life with—the head coach.
But I don't want to finally start a new job that I hope will turn into my life's career and always wonder if I got it as a favor.
More importantly, I don't want my parents to be able to hold that above my head every time they get nostalgic and are tempted to throw my job in my face for old time's sake.
I want the roots I finally grow to be mine.
And that's the real reason I don't want this thing with Drew coming out until after these next few weeks.
"Have you applied anywhere else?"
I nibble on my lower lip, pretending not to notice Mom's piqued interest from across the room. "Not exactly. It's all still new, and I haven't seen anything come up just yet."
I glance up at Mom, who makes a poor attempt at hiding an eye roll as she heads toward the table with two plates in hand. "But I'll be look—"
"Dinner's ready," she calls. "Let's eat before the food gets cold."
Dad springs off the couch as Blake offers me an empathetic smile before standing and scooping Selah off the floor.
Amy follows them, leaving Ivy and me as the last ones in the room.
When I turn toward her, she's still looking at me.
I tuck my lips in and raise my brow, attempting to stand, but before I lift off the couch, she stops me, a firm hand back on my knee.
"It's all going to work out, Brookie. I can feel it."
I exhale heavily, squeezing her hand and hoping she's right.
"Aunt Ivy!" I run through my parents' front door, careful not to fall down their steps as I chase after my aunt. As soon as dessert was done, she threw her patchwork satchel over her shoulder and announced her exit, and I was elbow deep in Cool Whip thanks to Selah, my worst influence.
Ivy turns back around just as she's about to step off of the sidewalk to round the front of her current ride—a burnt orange pickup with a rusted bumper and a pink elephant air freshener.
"These tests..." I say once I finally reach her, my breathing heavier than I'd like to admit. Damn. It'd be nice if all this time near professional athletes would rub off on me in some kind of way. "Everything's okay, right? You didn't give us much detail."
"No results yet! Can you believe it? All these body scanners and beeping machines and you still have to wait to get your answers." She opens the passenger door and sets her purse on the seat. "But I'm fine, Brookie, really," she continues, slamming it shut.
"You're sure? You feel okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. You know doctors, always poking and prodding.
" Ivy scoops my hands into hers. "Now quick, tell me about the boy.
" Her subject change catches me off guard, but the thought of talking about being with Drew to, well, anyone, is all it takes to rattle my brain enough to move past it with her.
I drop her hands and bring my fingertips to my forehead, massaging away the nervous energy. "It's him—the hockey player." She claps her hands together quietly, then brings them just below her chin, a full smile spread above them. "God, I think I really like him. But Ivy, it's so… complicated."
"Why, darling?"
I blow out a breath. "Just because of who he is." At least to the world. "He's younger than I am and still—he's just got a lot going on. I don't want to get invested if he's not ready. Or if we're too different."
Ivy tilts her head in the way that she always does when she's about to say something that she wants to stick. "I believe in timing more than anything, you know this. There's a reason the universe put you two together now, even when things feel messy or unexpected."
I glance down the quiet street, the sun just starting to set, that Golden City glow forming in the distance.
Drew's smile pops into my mind—cocky, but real—and I think of the way he looked at me that first night at the gala like I was the only person in the room.
Back when the last thing I thought I wanted was to settle down.
"What if I let him in and it doesn't work out? Then I've just wasted more time."
My eyes make their way back to Ivy's as a lump forms in my throat. I realize I'm once again second-guessing myself, flipping back from my decision earlier in my car and hoping her answer will convince me one way or another.
My aunt leans forward and takes my hand again. "But what if it does and you waste no time at all."
Her words settle in my chest, warm and weightless—a little terrifying—but exactly what I needed to hear.