Page 11 of Eye of the Hurricane (Weathering Doves Harbor #2)

Katherine

Twenty-four is definitely too old to be freaking out over baby’s first sleepover with a guy. Right?

I suppose it doesn’t matter because here I am, twenty-four and freaking the hell out. I don’t even know why I’m freaking out. It was nice. I liked it. I really liked it.

But it’s new and it’s not what I’m supposed to be doing. Certainly, I shouldn’t have liked it as much as I do. What can I say? I’m just a girl; I fell victim to the urge to be wrapped up in his strong arms.

I shower as quickly as possible because Ares is coming back any second and I don’t want to get caught in only my towel. I rush through my shower and pull the first dress from my closet that I can find, a lilac milkmaid dress with lace details.

I scan over my selection of heels searching for a match and for once, I don’t have one. I go with a white pair that match well enough. They lace halfway up my calf with one thick strap over the toes .

I walk out to the kitchen and look over the morning to do list. Yes, I make a to do list for my morning routine.

Shower and get dressed

Feed Bellatrix

Make coffee

Check E-mail

Eat breakfast

So I grab myself a seat and scroll through my emails. Most are spam and scam emails. The few emails that aren’t are unimportant for the most part. There’s one from Jacob about a couple slight schedule changes but that’s common from him. In fact, I have an extra forty-five minutes this morning.

There’s a soft knock at the front door, followed by it creaking open.

“Don’t be naked,” Ares calls out, holding his hand over his eyes. “Or do… but be naked on purpose.” The humor in his voice is clear.

“Shut up! I’m dressed, you goof,” I laugh. He turns the corner into the kitchen with coffee and a bag in hand. He sets both down on the table.

“So… I forgot to ask how you take your coffee. But I gave it my best guess. I hope you’ll like it.” He pushes one hand through his messy head of waves.

“I’m not picky, it should be fine. What did you get?”

“Iced hazelnut latte with oat milk. You seemed like an oat milk kinda gal.” I’m not but I don’t mind it. I don’t tell him that, I just enjoy it.

“Works for me.” I grab the cup from the table and take a sip. Maybe I am am oat milk kinda gal. Who even says gal ? This kind of tastes like sunshine in a cup? Like the warmth, not the brightness. “This is really good.”

“Good. This is for you, too,” he says, pushing the bag he brought in front of me.

I push open the paper bag and there’s a breakfast sandwich and hash browns inside.

“I saw your list on the way out and didn’t know if me being here made you too late to make breakfast. So I just grabbed you some while I was out.

” There’s a feeling in my chest that I’m determined to ignore.

One that I certainly do not have time for.

“That’s really sweet, thank you.”

“It’s no big deal. As promised, I’ll head out now that I’ve dropped this off.” There’s a loud voice in my head telling me to ask him to stay. The volume of that voice is the exact reason I don’t ask.

“Okay, yeah. Thank you again.”

“Eh, what are boyfriends for,” he says with a shrug.

“Fake boyfriends!” I yell out to him on his way out of the door. I can hear his chuckle on the way out.

The drive to work is an endless loop of thoughts. I don’t even turn the radio on. I just think myself in circles.

I’m beginning to think I have less control over this situation with Ares than I thought. Giving up control is scary for me.

Growing up in a house where my control and choices were constantly taken from me, it’s not something I take for granted as an adult. Feeling like I finally have control over my own life is not something I plan on giving up anytime soon .

My phone tings loudly as a text from Luna pops up.

Luna

You didn’t call on your way to work, are you sick?

I know I’ll have to spill the beans to her eventually, but I can’t do it right now. My morning has already been a far step from my normal routine.

I know last night had me out of sorts when I’m comforted by the disgusting smell of the locker room seeping into Jacob’s office.

“What’s the plan today?” I ask, dropping down into the chair on the opposite side of his desk.

“Well I’ve been reading through these plans.” He holds up the folder of plans we spent last week reviewing. “I was thinking you might be interested in talking to the team about some of the media stuff. After practice, of course.”

“You want me to talk to them?” I ask, surprised.

“When you’re the PR manager over with the Sea Dragons, you’ll be the one communicating plans.” His use of ‘when’ is the ego boost I need.

“Okay, yeah. I’d love to,” I assure him.

We spend the majority of the morning prepping everything to lay the plans out for the team. The closer it gets to the end of practice, the more the anxiety sets in of sitting them down for a meeting.

I’ve never been an anxious person. All of the lead up to applying for the PR manager position has been stressful for me. I feel like one misstep will cost me the dream I’ve had since I was a kid.

Mind you, there’s been many versions of this dream. At one point, head coach was the dream. Once I knew about PR managers and everything they do, though, I knew what I wanted.

“Black says they’re wrapping up practice. You feel ready?”

“Do they know I’m coming to speak to them?”

“I think they just know they’re staying back for a few minutes after practice.”

‘Will you be there?”

“Nope. I’m letting you take lead on this. You’ve got it, Kat. At this point, I think you might be better equipped for this job than I am,” he says with a laugh.

Okay. I can do this. I know this plan in my sleep. It’s not something I needed to learn, I created it. I can do this.

I head out to the ice where the team is waiting for me. They’re all yelling over each other and roughhousing. I go entirely unnoticed when I walk on to the ice.

I clear my throat and get the attention of exactly one player.

“Hey,” I call out. Nothing.

“HEY!” I yell out, this time with some bass in my voice. All of their heads snap in my direction. “I’m meeting with you all to talk about the new media plans going forward. Before I start, do you have any questions for me?” I feel like a grade school teacher. Some kid I hardly recognize pipes up.

“How can you walk on the ice in those shoes?” I roll my eyes, huffing in annoyance.

“The ice is rough after you’ve all been out here. I walk careful. Does anyone have any questions that matter?” I ask, pointedly. A few snickers bubble through the group before an awkward silence falls over the group.

“Alright then. The quicker you let me get through this, the quicker you can all shower and go home.” I get a few nods and even a couple ‘yes ma’am’s .

“I think Jacob is doing a great job with you all, so I don’t think there are any major changes to implement.

However, I do think we’re lacking in social media presence.

” Everyone is giving me their undivided attention and the anxiety I felt before is replaced with…

I don’t know. Something big and heavy, something a lot closer to pride.

“I want to start slow, let it be less of a shock to the system. I don’t think we need to be putting out tons and tons of content, especially in the off-season. I’m thinking maybe two to three picture posts and one video a week for now. How does that sound?”

“What does that look like on our end?” Hudson, the captain, asks.

“That’s a good question. For you guys, it would look like small photo shoots here and there to provide content.

Not every photo post has to be of the team.

Some will be text posts, some will be of the arena or fans.

The videos though, I’m open to being flexible if you’re all willing to work with me on it.

Some weeks, we can film multiple to keep in a backlog.

Others, we’ll be able to film just one or even skip. ”

“We can do that,” he assures me.

“I can’t tell you all what to do with your personal socials but I will ask that you stay mindful of how you’re reflecting on the team.

I know there are guidelines for what you can post due to being an athlete at DHU.

I’m not talking about that, that’s between you and the school.

What I’m asking is that you keep your interactions with fans positive, interact with team posts, and stay out of controversial conversations online. ”

“Let me know what you need from the guys and I’ll get it done. If they give you any trouble, let me know,” Hudson assures me. If it was my place, I would tell him he’s a good captain.

“Thank you. Do you guys have any questions?” I ask one more time. Maybe I should have specified that I don’t want to be asked about my outfit again .

“Is there a platform we’re focusing on?” This time, it’s Jackson who speaks up. He’s one of the defensemen for the team.

“Nope. All of them equally. Good question, though. I want a presence on every platform that will bat an eye at us. Anything else?” Everyone either shakes their head or gives no response at all. So we wrap up and I send them out to the locker room.

I turn to head back to Jacob’s office but he’s standing just the other side of the ice, watching with a smile on his face.

“You said you wouldn’t be here.”

“I wanted you to know that you didn’t need me there.”

Luna

You always call me while you get ready for work. Are you okay?

This should be fun . I’m absolutely dreading this conversation but I might as well rip the Band-Aid off. Luna can read me like a book, so there’s no sense in lying to her. I connect the phone to my car and dial her number, planning to talk on the drive home.

“What the hell? I thought you were dead!” she exclaims. Her voice echos through the car speakers .

“I had a hectic morning and then Jacob had me busy all day. I promise I wasn’t ignoring you. I’m okay,” I explain. It’s mostly true, although I might have been avoiding her slightly.

“Well, what’s wrong? Why was your morning hectic?” Genuine concern is wrapped up in her words. If I was a worse person, I’d make up some story about having a bad morning.

But I’m not. Even if I were, she’d see right through me. So I swallow the pill and tell her the truth.

“Promise you won’t freak out.”

“I promise,” she agrees. I know that promise will be out of the window in the next sixty seconds.

“Ares spent the night last night an—” I don’t even get a chance to finish my sentence.

“SHUT UP!” she squeals, the high-pitched noise ringing out in the confines of my car. “Wait! I have to hear this in person. Come over!”

“I don’t know if I have time.”

“Make time.” Her tone leaves no room for arguing.

“Alright, alright. I’ll be there in five. I can’t stay long, we have to make it quick.”

“Deal.”

We hang up the phone and I head towards her place instead of mine.

I take the elevator up to her apartment, letting myself in with the key she had made for me a couple years back. When I get there, she’s sitting on her couch with a wide smile and two glasses of wine.

“Tell. Me. Everything.”

“It’s really not what you think, that’s why I didn’t want to come here and get you all excited for nothing.”

“It’s not for nothing. You let him spend the night on a work night . You won’t even let me come over on a work night. That’s not nothing.”

I drop my keys on her counter and loosen the strap on my heels to drop them off on the floor nearby. I walk over to the couch and sit on the opposite end, facing her.

“It’s not like I invited him over for a slumber party.”

“No?” she questions.

“I asked him to stop by so we could talk about the whole fake dating thing. We put on a show and we both fell asleep.” I don’t mention that it was one of the best nights of sleep I’ve ever had, despite being on a couch.

“Where?” Her face is full of amusement, like she’s sure she’s got me now.

“Huh?” Okay, so maybe I’m playing dumb a little.

“Where did you sleep, Katherine?” Her smile is wide and her eyes are knowing.

“We fell asleep on the couch. I woke up wrapped around his side with my head on his chest. It was all on accident.” I throw my hands in the air defensively. A laugh ripples out of her.

“Okay, can I point out the obvious here?” she asks. The sliver of self-preservation I have screams ‘no’. I don’t know what she’s going to say but I can nearly guarantee I don’t want to hear it.

“Sure, lay it on me.”

“You’re doing all of the distracting parts of dating, Kat. But none of the fun.” Oh .

“What do you mean? We have tons of fun,” I argue. I think of the fake dates we’ve been on and how much fun I’ve had during all of them. Some of the most fun I’ve had in my life, really.

“You’re so in your head about this plan of yours that you’ve lost your common sense. You’re doing all of the time-consuming and distracting parts of dating but you’re not letting yourself kiss or have sex.”

“I just can’t afford to take myself off track right now.”

“I know your mother has it in your head that it has to be one or the other but it doesn’t. You can have the career and the boy. Jump his bones already.” I don’t miss the face Luna tries to hold back after mentioning my mom.

“You’re ridiculous,” I laugh.

“Tell me you’ll think about it.”

“Sure, I’ll think about it.” Which I do. I think about it a lot.