Page 2 of Afterglow (Ottawa Regents #3)

Wade gets rid of his chest protector and compression shirt, revealing a vintage-style heart tattoo on his left pec. In a blocky sports font, it reads Property of Freckles .

Lucky, loved-on bastard.

“Take a picture and sell it online, Donny,” Wade interrupts my staring, “It’ll last forever.”

I roll my eyes.

“You, too” —his arms stretch apart — “could be property of a certain raven-haired beauty. If you weren’t a big ol’ scaredy-cat.”

“I’m not a scaredy-cat.”

I’m totally a scaredy-cat. The biggest.

“It’s true, Fletch,” Landon adds. At least he’s not going along with Wade’s new-nickname bullshit. “You’ve talked a big game over the years.”

“Right? Remember that time he said he was gonna—” Wade clicks his tongue with a loud pop while thrusting his hips and miming seating someone on his lap. “ Whoosh .” His hand moves mid-air as if swinging a revolving door.

I groan and hide my eyes behind clammy palms.

After several years, they can’t let it go. I shouldn’t be held responsible for something I said when my spongy, underdeveloped frontal lobe was soaked in scotch.

“I’d sit her on my cock and spin her like a top,” were my exact words. The sentiment was as true then as it is now, but with no plan of execution, saying it out loud meant a lifetime of shit doled out by the starting lineup of the Ottawa Regents.

“You could make it happen, Donny.” Wade claps a hand on my back. “We’ve been trying to introduce you two properly for years.”

Believe me, buddy, it isn’t for lack of trying.

Any time I breathe the same air as her, I seize up like Jell-O in a bundt pan.

I can’t get a single word out. My brain short-circuits.

Blood rushes to the surface of every inch of my skin in an offensive blush.

And don’t get me started on my face. I think about acknowledging her with a smile, but fear it appears as something else entirely.

A leer, a sneer? Disgust? What if she takes it the wrong way? What if she thinks I’m stroking out?

What if I’m a loser?

Who am I kidding? I am a loser.

Behraz is a perfect, joyous goddess with a blindingly beautiful smile and a laugh that is nothing short of sunshine on a clear day. And unsurprisingly, for a pale ginger like me, it burns. Too long in her presence and I’ll be cooked like a deep-sea lobster.

She’s a social butterfly. I’m practically a pariah.

Wade’s voice reaches my ears once more.

“…And, like, what’s the worst that could happen? Bea’s already super into you.”

Yeah, right.

I reject the possibility. “You think everyone is super into everyone . She doesn’t know I exist.”

“ Uh , yeah, she does. She used to come to games with your jersey on.”

Oh, I remember. It had me bricked up during multiple games and drove me fucking insane.

“That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe she got it on sale or something.”

Why else would anyone want a loser’s jersey?

Landon coughs out a laugh. “On…sale?”

“Hate to break it to ya, Donny, but you’re an idiot.” Wade runs a hand through his sweaty hair. “I mean, listen, you could continue as you have been.”

“It’s not so bad,” I lie.

“Or you could quit hiding in books and fictional worlds all the time and start living out the life you dream about.”

He’s right, of course, but reality sucks. Reality is my social anxiety being so bad I don’t have any friends except for these guys. Reality is my career taking a nosedive, and I have no idea what to do about it. Reality is—well, shit .

“I’m all for escapism, okay? This world is too fucked up not to want to. But don’t do it because you’re afraid.” Wade toys with his wedding ring, revealing Hindi script inked underneath. He catches me staring again. “It says Gargi, Gabe’s birth name.”

Damn. The woman owns him in every way.

What I would do to belong to someone like that.

Landon picks up his phone and continues to undress. “Hi, baby. You’re on speaker.”

A coo echoes behind Indi’s voice. “ You almost done? ”

“Not even close. I need to shower.”

“Well, hurry up, Princess. I’ve gotta get Akhila to sleep in the car seat on the way to Bea’s.”

The three of us exchange surprised glances.

“We’re going to Bea’s?”

“Yeah, we promised to help her move.”

“We did?” Landon’s face cringes in Wade’s direction. He exaggeratedly mouths, Did you know about this?

Wade shakes his head with a frown.

“She’s moving again?”

Again?

My ears perk.

Indi growls. “Take me off speaker, Landon.”

After a series of uh-huhs and mmhms end with a cartoony salute, Landon ends the call.

“Well?” I pry.

“You’re nosy.” Landon sends me a side-eye. “But lucky for you, I like sharing tea.”

The man loves to gossip.

He lowers his head. Wade closes our small circle.

“Apparently, she can’t afford her place anymore. She keeps taking on subleases and downsizing every few months. We offer to help out, but she refuses to borrow money from anyone, including her parents.”

“Well, fuck.” Wade nods. “That sucks .”

My heart nearly breaks.

I would’ve never guessed she had any sort of trouble with…anything, really. Everything seems so easy, breezy, and relaxed for her.

Landon sighs. “Alright, I gotta get washed up.”

My shower is anything but relaxing, as I think about Behraz struggling financially. The world is tough enough. I’d get rid of her troubles in a heartbeat if I could. But like I said, she doesn’t know I exist. And I don’t even really know her, right? It’s a crush.

Yeah, a silly crush.

When I get back to my apartment, the loneliness subsides a bit, though I’m completely alone.

My bed is all too inviting. A book on my nightstand tempts me, and I retreat, losing myself in a world where the meek side character musters the courage to fight for the love of his life, ultimately saving himself.

Maybe one day I’ll be able to do the same. Until then, I’ll dream about Behraz Irani.