Wrecked(11)

Sitting at a stoplight, I checked my phone. I had five missed calls from Mel telling me to call no matter what time it was. It was close to six, and she’d probably be getting ready for the gym.

“Em?” She answered on the first ring without even a hint of sleep in her voice.

“I just did something crazy.”

“The last time you said that, you gave your number to a patient. I’m guessing since you never called me back and went to see Jake last night, this is crazier?”

“I’m driving home from Clayton Falls.”

She made a tiny squeak, but tried to compose herself. Her voice was even when she finally spoke. “How was it?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes. Not only am I curious if the heart throb from my high school is good in bed, I also want to know everything about you finally ending your two year sex drought.”

“It turns out there isn’t something wrong with me.”

“Wait. Did you? You finally had one, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.” I was glad no one was in the car to see my smile.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Maybe all of those rumors about Jake were true.”

“What rumors?”

“His sexual prowess was pretty legendary.”

“Oh. That’s a buzz kill.”

“What?”

“Hearing about his reputation.” Obviously I knew he had experience, and I wasn’t a virgin, but I still didn’t want to think about it.

“It was high school, Em. You’re the one he was using it on last night. The real question is whether you’re going to let him do it again?”

“Maybe.”

“Why don’t you sound happier? Did I really just ruin it for you?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just, what happens when I tell him about Noah?”

She didn’t say anything for a minute. “I don’t know. But you can’t assume it will be bad.”

“Well, it was worth it either way.”

“That’s good to hear. Life’s about taking chances. You took a chance and had a good time. If you get something more, it’s just icing on the cake.”

“You’re right.”

“Of course I am. Now I need to hit the gym. Call me later?”

“I will.” I hung up and pulled into my parking spot. As much as I wanted to push away the negative thoughts, I couldn’t this time. But at least I’d have the memories.





Chapter Ten


Jake





I rolled over, ready to pull Emily back into my arms. Instead of the beautiful girl I expected, all I found was an empty bed. I felt the anger before I even processed it was happening. She wasn’t the first girl to slip out on me, but she wasn’t just some girl. She was Emily. And that hadn’t just been random hook up sex. It was something more, whether she knew it or not.

Before I could get too mad, I saw the piece of paper on my bed stand. I assumed it would just be a thank you for a good night kind of thing, but it was so much better. I won’t question your stamina again. I laughed after reading it aloud. If it were possible, I’d finally met a girl with the same sense of humor as me.

I glanced at the clock. It was seven a.m. I picked up my phone and texted her. You haven’t seen anything yet.

I held my phone, hoping for an answer, but I eventually gave up. I didn’t let it worry me. Her note let me know she was coming back. That was enough of a start.

I jumped in the shower and got ready for work. Although my dad threatened to make me go in with him at the crack of dawn, he didn’t care as long as I got there by eight. I made it down to the marina by a quarter to eight, and poured myself a cup of coffee before heading out to work on a Grady White that had been giving us trouble. I’d been taking over a majority of the annoying maintenance work since Ben started working on fishing tours. Strategically, it was a really smart move for him. Clayton Falls got its share of tourists, and we even pulled in some of the Wilmington visitors, but it just meant more menial crap for me. That day, the work didn’t bother me as much as usual. It was hard to be in a bad mood after the night I’d had. Even the humidity couldn’t remove my grin. It was hot for so early in the morning, but that happened in North Carolina in August. I pulled off my t-shirt, already sweating after only a half hour outside.

“What’s up with you?” Ben dropped in just as I’d finished fixing the engine. He always did have impeccable timing when it came to avoiding things he didn’t want to do.

“What do you mean?”

“You just look different.”

“Different?”

“Yeah. I’d say you looked drunk, but you’re not that dumb. Dad would kill you.”

“I’m not drunk. I haven’t touched a drop.”

“Then who’s the girl?”

I smiled. “That’s your next assumption?”

“There’s no other explanation.”

“Emily.”

“Emily? Why does that name sound familiar?”

I grabbed a towel and wiped off my hands. “It was the name of one of the nurses at the hospital.”

He grinned. “You’re doing your nurse?”

“She’s not my nurse anymore.”

“Only you, man. Only you could get a girl when you were barely conscious.”

“Yeah, I’ve got the touch.” I laughed it off, but I didn’t like talking about Emily like she was just some girl.

“Did you spend the night with her?”

I didn’t want to discuss it with him, but I figured talking about a girl other than Molly might help smooth things over. “Yeah. It was uh…unexpected.”

“She’s definitely cute. I wouldn’t have pegged her as your type, but what do I know?”

“My type? She’s gorgeous.”

Ben smiled. “Defensive much? I agreed she was cute.”

“She’s a hell of a lot more than cute.”

“She’s hot. Okay, is that what you want to hear?”

“You hate saying it. You hate saying that about anyone but Molly, don’t you?”

He shrugged. “She blinds me. I waited five years for her. I don’t even see anyone else.”

Any other time I might have given him a hard time about it, but not after what had happened.

“Are you going to see her again?”

“Definitely.”

“How do you plan to date a girl when you can’t drive?”

“I have no clue, but I’ll figure it out.”

“I’m sure you will. You always seem to manage.” He punched my arm before heading inside.





***





I was equal parts dreading and looking forward to starting as the coach. On one hand, I’d really missed football. On the other hand, I had no clue what I was doing. Either way, I was out of time. My first practice was about to start.

I paced nervously as I waited for the guys to come out of the locker room. It was really weird to be on the other side. I took a deep breath, wishing I’d spent more time coming up with a speech or something. They’d probably expect one on my first day.

“Need some help?” I turned at the sound of the familiar voice.

“Hey, man,” I half hugged my best friend, Cole. “What are you doing here?”

“What the hell else do I have to do?”

I laughed. “Still no luck with the job hunting?” Cole had just moved back to town that summer. He was one of the few friends I’d talked to since the accident.

“Nothing. I guess no one’s looking for a new accountant with no work experience during a recession.”

“You could always talk to my dad. You know he’d find something for you.”

“Yeah, I might have to. I just hate doing that.”

“He won’t mind, but it’s up to you.”

“I’ll find something. Until then, I’ll be right here annoying the hell out of you.”

“Lucky me.” Truthfully, I was glad to have him. Cole usually managed to make every situation more interesting.

“You said Anderson and Mitchell were sticking it out, where are they?”

“They’ll be here. Mitchell’s been cool, but Anderson definitely doesn’t like answering to me.”

Cole laughed. “Anderson always hated you.”

“For no apparent reason.”

“You gave him hell, and he couldn’t do anything about it.”

I grinned. “Yeah, we got away with a lot back then, didn’t we?” Cole was the tight end when I was quarterback in high school. The team needed us, and we knew it. We pushed the limits every chance we got.

The shouting and laughing started before I could even see the team. I had this. There was no reason to be nervous about talking to a bunch of kids about football. I waited impatiently as they filed onto the field.

Mitchell and Anderson joined us. I nodded toward Cole. “Cole’s going to help out, too.”

“Whatever you say, Coach,” Mitchell said with a smile. When I’d met with them to discuss plays, he’d seemed genuinely excited to have me on board. I don’t know if it was because he liked me, or that it meant less work for him.

I took a few steps toward where the team waited and it suddenly became quiet. Nice, I could command attention. “All right, guys. I know things have been messed up with Coach Wilkinson out, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a good season. For those of you who don’t know, I’m Jake Mathews. Or I guess you should call me Coach Mathews.” I glanced at Cole. He was loving this.