Last Call
Page 21
Are you asking me this because you saw us out together?
Oh, she’s clever. Unlike me.
I want to know if you have any first-hand experience with his skills.
I press send without even considering what I’ve written. I’m risking everything, here, and I haven’t even won the damn tournament yet.
I knew she’d leave me hanging, like an utter dick. Why can’t I do anything right? What happened to the Kerry that we all know and love?
I sigh, stuffing my phone into my pocket. I can’t keep torturing myself like this. I’ve already said too much.
I open the bathroom door and find Skylar standing there.
“What were you doing?”
“You really want to know what I was doing in the bathroom?”
“You were in there for an hour!”
“Are you worried about me?”
She rolls her eyes, before turning and heading towards her bedroom. I start to follow her, but stop in the doorway; I’m still not sure how close she’ll let me get.
“How did the revision session go?”
She glares at me.
Today, she had her first lesson with the nerd that Jordan assigned to her, but I didn’t go and pick her up. My mother was already in town, so she collected her instead. I stayed here, helping my dad out in the fields. I’m still no good at any of it, but I tried.
“He’s weird. He makes me nervous.”
“Nervous? Why?”
“I don’t know. The way he looks at me. He stares a lot.”
“He stares at you?”
“Yeah, while I’m trying to work out those stupid Maths exercises he gives me. It makes me anxious.”
“Why don’t you tell him to stop?”
“Because he looks like he’s about to be sick with nerves every time I open my mouth.”
I laugh, amused.
“What?”
“He’s scared of you.”
“What a loser.”
“He’s just a shy kid. He probably feels intimidated by your confidence, that’s all.”
“Maybe…but he just seems weird to me.”
“Have you thought about the fact that he might think you’re weird, too? Besides, what do you even mean by ‘weird’?”
“I don’t even know why I’m talking to you about this. You don’t get it.”
“Sorry, but it’s been a while since I was fifteen. I’m just trying to see it from your perspective.”
“Forget it. Don’t force yourself.” She sinks onto the bed and turns her back to me, so I decide to step through the doorway and walk over to the window. I lean back against the windowsill and let my gaze fall onto her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do I have to?”
“What?”
“Do I have to do those lessons?”
“If you want to pass the year, then yes.”
“I don’t like how he makes me feel.”
“How?”
“Just forget it.” She lowers her eyes to her hands, picking at the chipped, black nail polish.
“Do you want me to try and talk to the head? Maybe we can find another solution.”
“No, please don’t. You’ve already done enough damage.”
“Me? What have I done?”
“Well, last Friday, you made us stalk and spy on a happy couple.”
“Happy? I wouldn’t call them that.”
“How do you know? I thought they looked good together.”
I push away from the window and sit down next to her on the bed. Skylar looks at me, horrified.
“Looked good? Those two?”
“Well, the headmistress isn’t bad – apart from those lame skirts she always wears.”
“What’s so lame about her skirts?”
“They’re boring. They’re always the same colour, too.”
But they hug her arse in a way that should be declared illegal.
“And those glasses, and the way she always scrapes her hair back…”
“She’s professional.”
“I like it when she’s not.”
“Like the time we all had dinner together?”
She nods. “And when she was out with your friend.”
We’ll have to see whether or not he’s still my friend.
“And the fireman isn’t bad, either.”
I glare at her.
“Not for me! He’s old enough to be my granddad!”
“Hey, he’s only my age, you know.”
“Well, he’s still old. That’s so gross!” She gets up, irritated. “I just meant that he could be good for someone like her.”
I don’t like the way this conversation is going; and I like what I’m about to ask my daughter even less. But my parental skills have never been put to question, because I don’t have any. Simple. So I carry on.
“And you don’t think someone like me would be good for her?”
She lifts an eyebrow.
“I mean…” I get to my feet, too. “Do you think someone like me would be good for someone like her?”
“You shouldn’t be asking me.”
I scoff. She’s right.
“But seeing as you are asking me, I’ll tell you what I think.”
“I’d be really grateful if you did.”
“No, Kerry. I don’t think you’d be good for someone like Ms Hill.”
I don’t feel quite so grateful, now.
“You’re different, the two of you.”
“Different?”
“It would be a disaster.”
“Different in what way?”
“She’s intelligent, independent, confident and beautiful.”
I swallow, waiting for her to deliver the final blow.
“You’re…” She looks me up and down, then furrows her brow. “You.”
Wow.
“No offence.”
“None taken.”
“And now, your friend is involved… I don’t know. I don’t think you stand a chance, really.”
There it is: the final blow.
“Thanks for being honest.”
“Anytime.”
I scurry towards the door to go and lick my wounds somewhere else, but Skylar speaks again.
“Women behave pretty crazily when it comes to men.”
I turn to face her.
“They never go for the right ones.”
“I’m not following.”
She sighs, her expression growing serious. “That guy, the one they caught me with.”
I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to try and push away the image of my daughter having sex in the school music room with a boy from the year above.
Maybe I do need to start going to Rian’s classes.
“He was an arsehole.”
“W-why?”
“He wasn’t interested in me.”
I try to remain calm, appear totally comfortable with what she’s telling me.
“He only wanted to… Well, you know.”
I nod.
“And I knew that,” she says, bitterly. “But I went there to meet him anyway.”
I think I know what she’s getting at.
“Women lose their minds. They always choose the wrong guy.”
I don’t know whether she’s telling me all this to show me that she feels bad for me, or to tell me that everything’s not lost. I decide to believe both.
“So, maybe…” She shrugs. “That’s what she’s doing, too.”
I inhale deeply and try to do the right thing, instead of asking her for stupid reassurances about myself.
“You didn’t deserve it.”
The corners of her mouth turn slightly upward.
“And you know that you don’t have to…well… You don’t have to do anything just to please boys.”
She lowers her gaze. “I learnt my lesson,” she says, her voice hard.
I move back over to her and place my hands on her shoulders. Skylar looks up, her eyes locked on
to mine.
“You’re beautiful,” I smile. “And you’re intelligent, funny – even though you tell me to fuck off a little too often.”
She smiles, too.
“You deserve the best. You don’t need to rush anything.”
“Are you telling me that I don’t need to jump into bed with people?”
Oh, my God. Did she have to say it out loud?
“I’m just saying it’s better to take your time. Everything will happen when the time’s right.”
I’m shocked at myself.
“Maybe the same goes for you.”
“Mmm?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t rush things, either.”
When did she turn this conversation around onto me? I only managed to be a dad for, what, three minutes?
“Maybe you have to wait for the right time, too.”
My entire family need to stop being wiser and more mature than me.
When would the ‘right time’ be? I’m not fifteen anymore, and neither is she. We’re adults, we’ve lived, had our own experiences. Why wait?
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I fish it out and look at the screen: she’s answered my question.
I have no idea about Tyler Hayes’ skills.
And I can promise you that you’ll never find out.
Niall
After finding out that Jordan had no idea about Tyler Hayes’ skills, I thought it might be best to make sure that Tyler himself had no intention of proving them to her. I’m still not entirely sure what skills my sister was talking about exactly, but I’d rather not take any chances.
“That was quicker than I expected.” Tyler welcomes me with a smug smile at the door to his apartment. He gestures for me to come in, then closes the door behind us.
“Less chat. Tell me about your skills.”
Tyler bursts out laughing, falling back onto his sofa.
“I can’t believe it.”
“So it’s true?”
“What? That I have moves?”
“Don’t be a smart-arse,” I say, threatening.
“I don’t know what you want to know, Niall.”
“The problem is that I don’t want to know. I don’t even want to think about it.” I pace agitatedly around his living room as he watches me, calmly, visibly amused. “I just need you to stay away from Jordan.”
“Why?”
Maybe he wants a fist through his face.
“You know exactly why.”
“You told me very clearly that you weren’t interested in her, and that I could ask her out.”
Fair. I did say that. I need to think about the best way to take it back without him realising that I’m trying to take it back.
“I asked her out for dinner and she said yes.”
Can I punch a fireman? Or does that count as assault on a public servant?
He stretches his arms out along the back of the sofa and relaxes – the dickhead – watching me in complete confidence.
Okay then, Hayes. Let’s lay our cards on the table.
“Keep your hands off her.”
He raises an eyebrow, scrutinising me.
“And your skills. Keep those away from her, too.”
“You don’t even know what skills you’re talking about.”
“That’s true, I don’t; but the women around here seem to appreciate them. I’d like to think that the headmistress doesn’t fall into this category.”
“Why?” he says, challenging. His eyes never leave mine, his chin lifted.
“Because I like her.”
He flashes me a small smile.
“And you know it. You knew it from the beginning. So don’t pull that stupid face.”
“I can’t have known that when you didn’t tell me, Kerry. I can imagine, though – maybe you need to do something to prove it to everyone. To yourself.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“It wasn’t a date.”
“What?”
“It was more like a business meeting.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Absolutely not.”
“You son of a—”
Tyler laughs, getting up from the sofa and heading towards the kitchenette. He opens a cupboard door and pulls out a bottle of whisky, waving it in my direction.
“It’s the least you could do,” I say, letting my body crumble onto the sofa.
He comes back over to me holding two glasses, and sits down.
“But you needed it.”
“I’m not even talking to you.”
I throw my whisky down in one gulp and grimace as it leaves a burning trail down my throat. I’m not used to this stuff.
“Maybe a little… But don’t let that make your ego even bigger!” I warn.
He lifts his glass, then downs his drink.
“We have to do some talks about fire safety at the school, so I asked if she wanted to talk about it over dinner.”
“You’re such a dick.”
“Hey, it was nothing. I did it for my friend,” he says smugly.
Now I have to thank him, too?
“Anyway, about those skills…”
“Please, keep it to yourself.”
He laughs again. He’s really enjoying himself.
“Have you become some sort of playboy over the years? The women must have lost their minds around here.”
“It’s the uniform.”
“Please!” I moan, rolling my eyes.
“You’re lucky it doesn’t work on the headmistress.”
“You have no chance against me, Hayes.”
“Is that why you’ve come running to ask me not to show her any of my magical skills?”
“I came to ask you kindly not to show them off, in the name of our friendship.”
“Or else what?”
“Or else I’d have had to fight you.”
“But…” He gets to his feet, heading back towards the kitchen. He grabs the bottle and pours himself another glass. I join him, nodding at him to pour one for me, too.
“I would never have done anything,” he says, serious now. “Not to a friend.”
“I don’t know how it works between friends, Tyler.”
“Didn’t you have friends in the city?”
“I had teammates, my manager, the coaches, publicity agents.”
“You’re just listing all the people you worked with.”
“They were the people I spent time with. Them, and women.”
“That’s sad.”
Now that I think about it, I realise how sad it really was. And now that I actually do have a friend, I realise how lonely I was, even though I was constantly surrounded by people.
“I worked hard. I didn’t have time for anything else.”
“But now you do.”
“Now I have too much time.”
“You could make the most of it, use your spare time now to do things you never could before. You could spend time with your family, your daughter, your friends… You could attempt to build something meaningful with a woman.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Didn’t you come here to beat me up just because you thought I’d tried it on with Jordan?”
“I’d never have beaten you up. At worst I’d have put my fist through your nose – just to reclaim some of my dignity.”
Tyler sips at his whisky, looking at me.
“What’s the problem now, then?”
“We signed an agreement.”
“Another one?”
“This one is much more interesting.”
“Go on…”
“If I win the tournament, she’ll go out for dinner with me.”
He studies me, waiting for me to go on. “That’s it?”
“A proper date.”
“Haven’t you already slept together twice?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m not sure I’m following.”
“A date means a chance.”
Tyler doe
sn’t look convinced.
“If I win that damn tournament, she’ll give me a chance. In the meantime, we have to stay friends.”
“Friends.”
“I want to prove to her that I’m not the man she thinks I am.”
“You want to prove it to her? Or to yourself?”
I smile. “Both.”
“I thought so.”
“I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve been out with women, for dinner, to parties, events… But I’ve never wanted to take someone out. I don’t know if you get what I mean.”
“More or less.”
“I want to work out whether she likes this: the new me.”
“Have you considered that you might hurt someone in the process?”
“That’s not my intention.”
“It could happen anyway. Are you sure that she knows this is some sort of experiment?”
“She doesn’t want a man, Tyler. Not after Steven Hill.”
“So you’re trying to prove to her that that’s not the case? What if she realises that she does want a man – that she wants you – and you realise that you don’t like this version of yourself? What would happen then?”
“You’re asking too many questions, Tyler. I’ve just agreed to a date. I haven’t made any promises.”
“If you say so.”
“I’m talking to someone with secret skills that every woman in town is familiar with – do you really think you’re the right person to give me advice on this?”
“What I do has nothing to do with what you and Jordan are doing. I know what I’m doing, and so do the women who want to discover my hidden talents.”
“Trust me, I’ve been perfectly clear, too.”
“Okay, then. I guess you just have to win this tournament, and then we’ll see how it goes.”
I sigh. “Exactly.”
“And what happens if you don’t win?”
I look at him. “I don’t lose, Hayes.”
He shakes his head in amusement.
I don’t lose; and I always get what I want.
Niall
You never told me.
What?
That it wasn’t a date.
You didn’t ask.
That may be true, but I don’t give her the satisfaction.
Admit it: you’re starting to like this game.
What game are we talking about?
I think about this for a moment. This could be part of the game, too.
Are you coming to training on Thursday?
That depends.