AllFreeNovel
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“You were totally going to say that!” I teased. “Weren’t you?” I poked his side.
“It’s a great movie, okay?” he defended. “That line about dying a hero or living long enough to see yourself become a villain? Cinematic gold, babe. I felt that line deep in my bones.”
I laughed and patted his stomach. “So deep, babe.”
“Mean. I bet I can guess your favorite too, Ms. Millennial.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“The Notebook,” he tested.
“RRR, wrong. Although I do love that movie. Actually, I think I just love all the lovearoundthat movie.” I sighed. “Long live Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Their kiss at the 2005 MTV award show? Absolute perfection. The song, the outfits, the chemistry, and the way he continued holding her after the kiss? Swoooon.”
His brow furrowed like I was speaking a different language.
“You have to look it up to get it. My tween-self felt their kiss through the screen. That’s a secret though,” I added quickly. “I technically wasn’t allowed to be watching MTV at the time, but my older sisters were obsessed.” I laughed thinking about those days when I’d sneak behind the couch to spy on what they were watching. They totally knew I was back there too because they always brought extra snacks over to the living room and they’d place them where I could easily snatch them.
“Alright, I gotta see what I’m competing with,” he grumbled while reaching for his phone, making me laugh. But as he was typing it into YouTube, he paused. His forehead creased. “Did you hear that?”
I reached for the clicker and muted the TV. I could definitely make out muffled yelling. “Is that coming from the hallway?”
Tyler frowned as he climbed off the bed and quickly padded to my door.
“You were making kids cry, Claire! This is exactly what I warned you about!” I heard a guy’s voice boom. I quickly hopped out of bed and glued myself to Tyler’s side in the doorway.
A guy and girl, around our age, were leaning toward each other, both red in the face, screaming at each other in the hall. I could tell the guy was a hockey player in two seconds because all hockey guys kind of walked and carried themselves in a similar way. I always wondered if hockey caused that or if it was from all of them hanging around each other so often that they all started mimicking each other. The girl standing opposite him had impressive muscles, making me think she was either a gymnast or figure skater. She was decked out in lululemon workout clothes, and her blonde hair was neatly pulled into a low bun. They both looked vaguely familiar. I figured the guy must’ve been a teammate of Tyler’s, but I couldn’t place where I knew her from.
“No, they were not crying!” the girl snapped back furiously.
“Yes, they were!” the guy flung his arms out.
“Well, then they’re soft and need to toughen up!” she yelled back.
“No, they don’t! They’re kids, Claire!” he yelled incredulously. “You need to take it easy! You’re way too intense. That was good for you as an athlete, but you can’t do that as a coach. Other people operate differently than you. You’re gonna mess them all up and make them wanna quit.”
NowI remembered. She and her skating partner were pictured on the front of a Wheaties box about a year ago. They went on to win a gold medal in the last Olympics.
“Dude,” Tyler warned his teammate with a hard glare and quick shake of the head.
Claire stole the pause in the argument to march forward and shove the other guy. Her face crumpled in tears, and he froze in shock, looking like if he reached out for her, she’d break, and he had no clue how to fix what happened between them.
Tyler placed a hand at the small of my back and grimaced. “I should probably…”
I nodded quickly and patted his stomach. “Yeah, go.”
When he leaned down to press a kiss into my hair, we oddly felt like a team, and I kinda hated to see him leave, but I knew his friend needed him. And deep down, I knew the type of guy who stayed with me when his friend was in need like this wouldn’t be the kind of guy I wanted anyway…
Tyler grabbed the hood of the guys’ sweatshirt and roughly shoved him into the elevator. The girl was left alone in the hallway. She covered her eyes and let out a frustrated screech before her shoulders slumped, making her look defeated. I knew the feeling.
“Wanna come in?” I spoke up hesitantly. “We could make mimosas?” I offered.
She wiped a hand under her eyes and looked at me warily. “I wouldn’t want to interrupt.”
I eyed the elevator, then her. She seemed like a girl who pulled no punches and would appreciate honesty. I scratched my head. “No offense, but you kinda already did.”
She laughed despite her teary eyes and walked toward me. “I’m sorry, we totally did.”
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