by E. L. Todd
“Do you think Skye thinks he’s attractive?” He kept his hands on his hips while he breathed hard.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “She is straight.”
He didn’t react in any noticeable way.
“Why? You think she has a thing for him?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. They were having lunch together…”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” I said. “You know how professional Skye is. She wouldn’t date someone she works with, especially someone that high in the ranks. Plus, she’s hung up on you.”
“Yeah…”
“But you don’t want to be with her anyway, right?”
He scratched the back of his head. “I guess.”
“You guess?” I asked.
He shrugged again. “There are days when I want her and days when I want to strangle her. I’m not really sure.”
I made another shot then passed him the ball. “Well, I don’t think you need to worry. I doubt Skye will date anyone for a long time.”
“Yeah…” His voice seemed hollow. “Could you do me a favor?”
“Anything, man.”
“Could you…feel out, Trinity?”
“I feel her up every night, man,” I said with a laugh.
“No,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “Feel Trinity out about Skye and Ward. If Skye were into him, she would tell Trinity. You know, find out if there’s anything there without being obvious. You get what I’m saying?”
“Why don’t you just ask Skye yourself?”
“No,” he said immediately. “I’m not going to be that guy.”
“What guy?” Sometimes I forgot how complicated Cayson was.
“That guy that breaks her heart but doesn’t want her to be with anyone else. You know, an asshole.”
“Then why does it matter if she’s into him?”
He lost his cool. “Just ask, okay? I need to know.”
I dribbled the ball and watched my hands. “Dude, if you want to be with Skye just tell her.”
“But, I can’t…”
I decided to drop the topic since the conversation was just going in circles. “I’ll talk to Trinity.”
“Thank you.” Cayson sat on a bench and stared at the ground.
I sat beside him and spun the ball on my fingertips. I couldn’t help but remember the last time we played basketball together. I was asking him for advice about Trinity. But now he was asking me for help about Skye. It was something I never expected to happen.
Chapter Eight
Trinity
Slade used his key to get inside. “Hey, baby.”
“Hey.” I sat on the couch with my magazine cutouts around me.
“You’re looking fine today.”
“Thanks.” I smirked even though I wished I wouldn’t. Slade said some of the cheesiest things but it made me feel warm.
He sat beside me on the couch then put his arm over my shoulders. “Coloring?”
“No.”
“Arts and crafts?”
“No…”
He eyed the scraps then turned back to me. “It looks like arts and crafts.”
“It’s for work. I’m getting the portfolio ready.”
“Hey, after you clock out you’re mine.” He leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth.
“But I enjoy it.”
“You enjoy me,” he countered.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re the cockiest person I’ve ever known.”
“No, I just know I’m at the top of your list.”
“List?” I asked. “What list?”
“Of people you care about. I’m at the very top.”
“No…my family is at the top.”
“You mean your psycho dad who’s overprotective, and your brother who you can’t stand?”
“They’re still family.”
“Your mom can go up there. She’s cool. Everyone else…not so much.”
“I’m not at the top of your list,” I argued.
“But my family isn’t.”
“Cayson?” I asked.
“Well, we’ve been best friends since we were shitting in diapers.”
“Then Skye gets to be at the top of my list.”
He growled. “Me, and then Skye.”
“When you’re my husband, you can be at the very top.”
He looked away and didn’t say anything.
It became awkward so I changed the subject. “How was work?”
“It was okay. My dad has been teaching me to ink. At least I’m doing something I like now.”
“Good for you,” I said.
“So…Ward is a douche, huh?”
He switched topic so quickly I couldn’t follow it. “Huh?”
“Ward…talk about an asshole.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why is he an asshole?”
“He’s just…British.”
“And that makes him an asshole?” I asked incredulously.
“You can tell he’s pretentious.”
“Really?” I asked. “Because he’s been nothing but nice to me.”
“Is he nice to Skye?”
“I would assume so…since she’s technically his boss.”
He watched the TV.
“My neighbor gave me a pie. Apparently, she’s a baker at this cute café down the road. You want to try a piece? It’s coconut.”
“Do they hang out outside of work?” he asked.
“Who?” I asked. “Me and my baker?”
“No, Skye and Ward,” he said.
Why was he asking? “They get lunch together sometimes.”
“So, they don’t, like, go out?” he asked. “On dates?”
“Not that I know of…”
Slade looked back at the TV.
“So, you want some pie?”
“What pie?” he asked.
“The one I just told you about…were you listening to me?”
“Oh, I heard you,” he said.
“So, do you want a piece? I’m going to have one.”
“Is she into him?” he blurted.
What? “Sorry?”
“Is Skye into Ward? Like, does she think he’s cute?”
Why was he so interested? “I don’t know. Why?”
“I’m just curious,” he said dismissively. “It just seems like everyone think he’s so cool…and interesting.”
“Well, he is cool and interesting,” I argued.
“Is Ward into her?” he pressed.
“Why would I know that?”
“Did Skye say he asked her out?” Slade asked.
His curiosity was extremely odd. I tried to figure out why he would care. Initially, I thought he was jealous because he assumed I was attracted to Ward, but he seemed to be more interested in Skye being attracted to Ward. And then it hit me.
He was asking because he feared Skye would hook up with Ward, or he was asking on Cayson’s behalf. I wasn’t sure which one it was, but it had to be one or the other. “No…they work together. That would be extremely unprofessional.” I wanted to say Ward and Skye had something going on to make Cayson jealous. He might go back to Skye if he thought she was moving on. But Skye said she didn’t want to play games. Last time I interfered, I pushed them further apart.
“So, they are just colleagues?” he asked. “Just friends?”
“Yes,” I said firmly.
“She doesn’t want to sleep with him?”
“The only person she wants to sleep with is Cayson.”
He seemed satisfied with that response because he dropped the subject.
“So, pie?”
His eyes lit up. “You have pie?”
“Oh, forget it!”
Chapter Nine
Roland
When I got to work, Heath passed me a magazine. “Turn to page five.”
I sat down then opened it. After I read the title, I read the author names. Heath Ryan. And next to it was my name. Roland Preston. I’d never seen my name in print before,
and it was exhilarating to see it.
“You can keep it,” Heath said with a smile.
“This is so cool,” I said. I kept staring at it.
“I remember the first time I saw my name. I was pretty ecstatic.”
“Yeah…” My mind was elsewhere.
“Let’s go out to celebrate tonight.”
“Good idea,” I said. “Can I bring my friends?”
“The more, the merrier,” he said. “And here’s an extra copy.” He tossed it on my desk. “I assume your parents want one.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, probably.”
“It’s a worthy accomplishment. They should be proud.” He turned back to his computer.
“Now what?” I asked.
“We find the next story.”
“We don’t get a week off or something?” I asked.
“No,” he said with a laugh. “The news never stops.”
“How do we find our next story?”
“We follow what the American people care about. And then we investigate. For instance, during election time that’s all we ever write about. Every time a new poll comes in we have to put our take on it in print.”
“That makes sense…”
“And the primaries are the same way…and when there’s a new pope. That’s a really big deal.”
“That’s a lot of stuff to follow.”
“And there’s only so much time in a day….” He surfed the web then typed in a few entries.
“What can I do to help?”
He grabbed a folder then tossed it on my desk. “Roger asked you to proofread this. Rumor of your success has been circling the office. Now everyone wants your two cents.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Whoa…that’s cool.”
“At least you don’t have a big ego about it. That’s really annoying…”
My dad told me from a young age I needed to remain humble. At least I learned something useful from him.
“Where do you want to go tonight?”
I shrugged. “A bar.”
“Okay, I’ll let you decide.”
I pulled out my phone and texted my friends. “They’ll be there.”
He raised an eyebrow and looked at me. “They all agreed that quickly?”
“Yeah.” Why was that weird?
“When I organize friends together, it usually takes me a week. And most of them can’t even show up.”
“Well, I’m really close with my friends. We’re family, really.”
“That’s cool.” He turned back to his computer.
I opened the folder and began to read, excited to get off work and see my friends.
***
When I walked inside, Conrad greeted me first. “Hey, what’s the big news?”
I handed him the magazine. “Page five.”
He flipped the page and skimmed it. “You wrote this?”
“Yep.” I pointed at my name. “My first article.”
“Sick.” He clapped my shoulder. “This is awesome, man.”
“Thanks.”
“This is way cooler than working for Pixel.”
“You’re telling me…”
He pulled me in for a hug. “I’m proud of you, man.”
“Thanks.” I hugged him back.
He pulled away then acted macho again. “You want a drink? I’m buying.”
“Make it three.”
“Don’t get greedy.” He hit my shoulder then headed to the bar.
I walked to the table and everyone jumped up in surprise.
“Congratulations.” Skye hugged me. “Mom and Dad already told me.”
“Why do they always have to ruin surprises?” I hugged her back quickly, feeling awkward for touching her.
“It’s in their nature,” she said.
“Congratulations, Roland,” Beatrice said in her hypnotic voice.
“Thanks.” I hugged her then pulled away. “So, you’re in law school I hear?”
She nodded. “It’s challenging but I love it.”
“Maybe you can defend me when I get sued.”
She laughed. “Perhaps.”
“Thanks for getting back together with my friend. He really missed you,” I blurted.
Her eyes softened. “I missed him too. But you can thank Theo. He was the one who knocked some sense into me.”
Theo? “What did he do?”
“He tracked me down and asked me to take him back,” Beatrice said.
I shot an angry look at Theo, feeling the jealousy course inside me. He was sitting next to Alex, laughing at something she said. “Did he, now?”
“Yeah.”
Ever since I moved to New York, Theo had been spending all his time with Conrad. Now they both had girlfriends and they were roommates. Most of the time when I called Conrad to hang out, he was already with Theo. It was annoying. I realized Beatrice was still staring at me. “Well, I’m glad everything worked out.”
“That makes two of us,” she said.
Everyone else hugged me and congratulated me. When Theo came up to me, I casually walked away, not wanting to talk to him.
“Here’s your beer,” Conrad said as he handed it to me. “I’ll get you the other two when you’re finished with this one.”
“Thanks.”
Conrad sat down and put his arm around Beatrice.
I sat down then downed my beer. “Man, that’s the good stuff.”
Heath walked inside and searched for me.
I stood up and waved. “Yo.”
He smiled then approached the table.
I stood up and shook his hand. “Thanks for coming.”
“I invited you, remember?”
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Well, let me introduce you to my friends.” I went around and made the introductions.
“You have a lot of friends,” he said.
“Some of them are family,” I explained.
He nodded. “Still impressive.”
“You’re Irish?” Trinity asked. She was a little buzzed.
Slade had his arm around her. “Keep your voice down, baby. You’re practically screaming.”
“Yes, I’m from Cork,” Heath answered. He eyed me then turned back to them. “But Roland doesn’t know anything about Ireland so don’t ask him anything.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever…”
“He thought Irish people spoke Irish,” Heath explained. “Like, a different language.”
Conrad busted up laughing. “God, you’re such an idiot.”
“It’s not like I took a class about Ireland,” I snapped.
“You went to Harvard, didn’t you?” Conrad responded.
“Again, I didn’t major in Irish studies,” I snapped.
“My brother is just an idiot,” Skye said.
“And you’re a brat,” I said.
“And he thought Irish people worshipped leprechauns,” Heath said.
Everyone was dead quiet, giving me a look of shock.
I looked down, feeling ashamed.
“No wonder you’re a college dropout,” Slade said.
I grabbed a fry and threw it at him. “Go to hell.”
Everyone laughed and gave me an incredulous look.
Skye moved to the seat beside Heath. “Thanks for helping my brother out so much. On behalf of the Prestons, we appreciate it.”
“Your gratitude is unnecessary,” Heath said. “He’s been a delight. Well, besides that whole Ireland thing.”
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” I said as I drank my beer.
“Probably not, mate,” Heath said.
“I have a friend from London,” Skye said. “He works with me.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Ward,” she said. “He’s the managing director of our UK branch.”
He sounded familiar but I couldn’t place him. When I looked around at the table, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Cayson sat next to Slade and acted normal. It
was weird he wasn’t with my sister anymore. I thought they would get back together eventually, but it didn’t seem plausible.
Skye talked to Heath and seemed to like him. “How long have you been a journalist?”
“A few years,” he said. “It was my dream since I was a small boy.”
“Your parents must be proud.”
He hesitated for a moment. “Yeah…”
If Skye noticed his hesitation she didn’t pick up on it. “If my brother ever drives you crazy, just let me know. I’ll straighten him out for you. Or you can have my dad scare him. That always works.”
“Your dad doesn’t strike me as a scary guy,” he said.
“You’ve met him?”
“Your parents invited me over for dinner.”
“Oh,” she said. “They’re annoying, huh?”
“I thought they were lovely.”
I shook my head. “Heath never has anything bad to say about anyone, even our boss. And she’s a hag.”
“Hey,” he said. “Be nice. You never know what someone is going through. It’s best not to judge.”
“See what I mean?” I said.
“Well, I think that’s nice,” Skye said. “Too many people are cynical.” She gave me a pointed glare.
“I’m not cynical,” I argued.
“Whatever.” She grabbed her beer and drank it.
“A woman who drinks beer…” Heath nodded his head in approval. “I like it.”
“Don’t hit on my sister,” I said. “Believe me, she’s too much work.”
“I wasn’t,” he said quickly. “She’s not my type.”
“Ugly isn’t your type, you mean?” I asked.
“That’s not what I said.” Heath turned to her. “You’re very beautiful.”
She patted his hand. “It’s alright. I understand your meaning.”
He shared a look with her. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” She rubbed his shoulder affectionately then dropped it.
What just happened?
***
When it was nearly three in the morning, people started to get tired. The alcohol didn’t help our energy levels. Perhaps we should have gotten coffee instead.
Heath looked at his watch. “Sorry, man. I’m exhausted. I need to be at work in a few hours. But this was fun.”
“Thanks for coming.” I fist-pounded him. “Me and the guys are playing ball tomorrow. You want to come?”
“I’m down.” He left the bar and walked out.