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Toddlaughed. “Don’tworry, man.Ericwill be happy to hear you’ve cleared things up.”
“Helikes her?”Spence’seyebrows rose in surprise.
“Hasfor months.Jeanine’sbeautiful—Ericcouldn’t approach her while you were dating.”
“Wishhe’d said something—Inever thought about her that way.”Spenceshrugged. “IfI’dknown…”
“He’llknow soon enough.”Toddmet his eyes. “Justdon’t get all uptight when you see them together.”
Spenceheld his gaze untilToddcracked a smile.
“Justkidding,Captain.Weknow you’re laser-focused on our new scorekeeper.”
“Asfriends,”Spenceadded.
“Fornow,”Toddretorted.
17
Aftercontacting the local florist who had fulfilled the online order,Kimswallowed a frustrated sigh that they had no record of who sent the gift.Whenshe tried customer service at the internet store, she received the typical“we can’t reveal that information”response to her request.Kimsnapped a photo of the bouquet and sent it to her parents and brothers in a group text.
“Thanks?”
Kimchanged into her workout clothes and headed outdoors.She’dneglected her once-daily run since moving toTampa, instead using the treadmill in the sports complex, but a beautifulFebruaryday beckoned her outside.Afterzipping her phone and some cash into the pocket of her gym shorts,Kimleft the dorm and headed toward the nearbyTampaRiverwalkarea.Thebike paths and jogging trails beckoned, and she knewSpenceoften ran there as part of his conditioning regimen.
Calland invite him to join me?Kimpressed his name on her phone but didn’t leave a message when the call went immediately to voice mail.Kimlooked around to get her bearings, followed the directional signs to theRiverwalkarea, and jogged slowly to warm up.
Shepaused as she approached the river and consulted a sign with a map of the area.Happyto see the many people already on the trail and cruising the bike paths,Kimdecided on a route that would take her along the side of the campus, toward theSuns’ arena, and then head back along the water’s edge.Sheinserted her earbuds and soon lost herself in the run.
Whenshe saw the water ahead,Kimslowed and stepped off the jogging path to appreciate the beauty before her.Theclear azure sky, white sailboats in deep blue water, and sun-sparkled wake took her breath away.LoveVancouver’saccess to water, but this… spectacular.Norain clouds on the horizon or threat of late afternoon fog.Tampa’stemperature trumpsVancouver’sinFebruary.
Kimpurchased a bottle of water and took a long drink.Shereached for her phone to capture the scenic view and saw numerous text notifications.Shetook several photos, then wandered to a bench to read the texts.Herparents,Dave, andJakehad each responded to her message—all commented on the beautiful flowers, but no one accepted thanks for the gift.Dave’stext made her laugh.Shortand to the point.
“Secretadmirer,Kimmy?Maybeyour friendSpence?”
Jakechimed in.
“Who’sthisSpence?Haveyou checked him out, bro?”
Kimlaughed as she read the rest of the conversation.Typicalback-and-forth teasing and speculation about the flowers.Sheshook her head and shoved the phone back into her pocket to resume her course.Noone claimed credit for sending the flowers, and she ignored the barrage of questions aboutSpence.Thanks,Dave.
Deepinto her music, her feet pounding out the steps on autopilot,Kim’smind explored the possibility ofSpencethinking about her as more than a friend.DidSpencesay anything toDavelast night?OrdoesDavesense the chemistry between us?
WishI’dnever metFinn, fallen for his phony charm…Ishould have dumped him the first timeIthought something was “off” with him.Justtoo perfect—the boy all parents dream of for their daughters.Ifthey only knew—if only someone had warned me.WouldIhave listened?
WheneverKimdetected a hint of insincerity behind his glib words, she chalked it up to her tendency to distrust any guy’s actions.Eventhough he showed no interest in her brothers, she’d suspectedFinnhad some ulterior motive in choosing to date her.Herfriends laughed and teased her about being paranoid.So, she’d brushed aside her insecurities and stopped questioningFinn’severy move.
The“dreamy boyfriend”… andIfell for his manipulative actions, excused his self-absorbed behavior, and didn’t run away when he blamed me anytime we disagreed.Alwaysmy fault ifIrefused to cancel plans we’d made together weeks ago…Justbecause he wanted to do something else, he told me to go on my own.Myfault thatIfelt uncomfortable at his fraternity parties because they resembled drunken orgies.MyfaultIangered a friend of his whenIrejected his attempt to drag me into an empty room at one of those parties.Ofcourse,Ihad somehow encouraged the jerk.
Tooembarrassed to tell her friends—much less her family—about this hidden side ofFinn,Kimtolerated it.TheSundaydinners withFinnand her family, plus the premium tickets he scored to concerts, festivals, and other activities, contradicted her suspicions.Shecontinued to play intramural volleyball despite conflicts withFinn’sschedule but dropped softball, hoping the show of flexibility might encourage him to reciprocate.Likethat ever happened.
Aftertoo many last-minute changes to plans, her friends stopped encouraging her to join them on social outings.Kimwas too embarrassed—proud?—to confide her misgivings.
Asanger pounded through her,Kimsubconsciously increased her speed until she finally had to stop to catch her breath.Shestepped to the side of the trail, her hands on her knees for support.Sherealized she’d left her water bottle on the bench.Notbright,Martin.
Afterseveral minutes,Kimcontinued, alternating between walking and jogging.Sheignored the pings from her phone announcing incoming texts and focused on reaching her dorm.Water, lots of water, and a cool shower—the only thoughts filling her brain.
WhenKimdidn’t respond to his texts,Spenceassumed she had plans withLaurenorCassieand walked to the student center to pick up dinner.Hesuppressed a smile when he sawEricchatting withJeanine.Gladthey got together.WishI’dpaid more attention.
