“That’s one way to kill a moment.” He stares at me, his eyes dark and hazy. “But—” He swallows, his Adam’s apple moving in the long column of his throat. “—the offer’s not going anywhere.”
I look away from him, pretending the air isn’t charged between us. Pretending I can’t already feel his lips on mine.
TWENTY-FOUR
Brendan
I’m still carrying Finn on my shoulders as we wander through the carnival, long past the point where our feet started hurting. Scarlett has a plastic flower tucked behind her ear from a carnival game. Normally I’d have opinions about plastic flowers. On her, it looks good.
“I’m in the mood for ice cream,” she says. “Have you seen a place?”
“They don’t have one at Junk Food Alley. But I know where we can go.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re sliding into a corner booth at Jeb’s Ice Cream Parlor, the place where Eli, Scarlett, and I spent entire summers back in high school. The black-and-white checkered floor and matching booths haven’t changed, and neither have the chocolate milkshakes.
I order two and settle across from Scarlett, arranging Finn in the booth next to her, like an extra guest.
“Okay, so why didn’t you play hockey growing up?” she asks as soon as our milkshakes arrive. “Your uncle’s always been such a huge fan.”
I take a sip, buying time. This isn’t a story I tell often. “Well, my uncle used to play until he got injured and had to quit. So didmy dad. Hockey was his favorite sport, so he wanted me to play too—even bought me my first skates when I was four.” I pause. “But my mom wouldn’t let me.”
“Too rough?” She stirs her straw.
“No. Because of my asthma.”
She frowns, tilting her head. “I didn’t know you had asthma.”
“It’s under control now, but it was a real problem when I was a kid. Couldn’t run without my inhaler or be outside in cold air without wheezing. My mom watched me turn blue once when I was eight, and after that, she wouldn’t let me play sports.”
Her eyes widen. “Nothing at all?”
“Nope.” It’s still not fun to talk about, even after all these years. “I tried once. Snuck onto the ice at the arena when my family wasn’t looking, but I had an attack so bad, they rushed me to the hospital.”
Her hand reaches across the table, fingers brushing mine. “Brendan, that’s terrible.”
I shrug. “I never thought hockey would be in my future. I knew my uncle and father were disappointed. Everyone in my family had a sport—and I couldn’t even step on the ice without struggling to breathe. I was always on the sidelines, watching my friends play and feeling left out.”
Her gaze does a quick sweep over me. “But you’re like, ridiculously fit now.”
“Yeah, well, I’m making up for lost time.” I give her a small smile. “My asthma improved as I got older, with the right combination of meds. I started to outgrow the worst of it in high school, and by my junior year I could finally play some sports without my mom having a panic attack.”
I take another sip. “Then Carmen’s accident happened, and it threw our whole family into crisis. Mom was suddenly afraid of losing both of us.”
Scarlett stops drinking to look at me. “But you just said you were doing better.”
“Yes, but I was leaving for the Marines soon. By then, we’d lost Dad, and Mom just couldn’t take any more loss.”
I can still picture the fluorescent lights in the hospital room, the long hours waiting for news. “Uncle Rafael got us specialists and paid for everything. He’d been doing that since my dad died. When Carmen’s accident happened, he took charge, like he always does. Which is also why it’s hard to say no to him.”
“But you left anyway,” she says, between sips. “That must have been hard.”
“Everything in my life was falling apart at once. My sister’s life was on the line, and to top it off, I lost you and Eli as friends. Rafael felt like the glue holding things together.”
She studies me. “So you came back from the military to work for him?”
“Not initially,” I say. “I did some conditioning work with a minor-league baseball team for a season first. Then my uncle asked me to come work for the Crushers.”
“What made you say yes?”