Page 30 of Reverse Pass

“Do you want me to die? Because I might if you keep making my brain work this hard with guessing games before I’ve had my morning allotment of caffeine.”

“He told me about a time when he was in high school when he accidentally saw me topless.”

“And?”

“Apparently it was memorable for him.”

“Oh my god. I bet it was. That would explain so much. You’re his poster girl. The queen of his teenage spank bank, and now he’s all grown up and he wants the fantasy in the flesh. I get it. Good for him. Good foryou.”

I scrunch my nose up and look at her like she’s lost her mind.

“Do not tell me you’re going to deny that boy, Vi. He deserves it. He cooks us dinner. Gets us baked goods. Helps us install stuff in the gallery. He gets the things off the top shelf.”

“You’re really selling it.”

“I shouldn’t have to sell it. Have you looked at him? Do we need to get you glasses?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Because you’re soft on him?”

“He’s more than a casual hookup. With all that history, his sister trusting me to help him…” I think about Nora and Mama Beth and what they would think of the whole situation. And I can’t imagine approval being the way they’d go.

“Well, fuck. That complicates it, I guess. Still. I don’t know. Might be worth a little emotional damage. You haven’t seen him naked, but what about in a towel? Or those gray sweatpants that leave nothing to the imagination? Gotten a peak at the outline of it?”

I wince a little as I take another sip of my coffee and it’s enough for her to note.

“Oh, we have, and it’s good, isn’t it? Well, if I were you, I’d jump over the cliff and into the water. That boy is a rare breed—absolutely gorgeous without all the toxic arrogance and prove-it swagger that normally comes with it. They don’t even exist in the art and music world to my knowledge. Extirpated from waves of social media clout probably. So don’t waste your endangered species, yeah?”

“Joss, I love you but what the fuck are you even talking about?” I look at her amused.

“Get over your feelings and let that boy have what he wants. If not for yourself, then for me and all the other women who wish they could.”

I burst out laughing and shake my head.

“I love you Joss, but you are something else.”

“You do love me, and I love you more!” She gives me a little scrunch of her nose, and we finish our coffees and head off to class.

ELEVEN

Ben

I’mready to crash after the workout and drills I’ve just run, when I sit down on the bench and my phone dings with a text message. I flip it open to see an image message from Violet and I open it. And it’s like a beacon in the fucking locker room because immediately JB and Sam are over my shoulders and Colton is leaning in. Jake lets out a low whistle from behind me.

“Holy shit, bro!” one of them yells.

“Dude who is she? I haven’t seen her at any of the parties.”

“Damn.” Colton just shakes his head.

“Hey, fuck off!” I yell, tucking the phone to my chest. “Can’t I get some privacy here?”

“In the locker room? No.”

“Oh fuck, must be a girlfriend.”

“Ben doesn’t have a girlfriend, do you, bro?”