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"no risk, no story"
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"Jemma!!" I yell across the house to my best friend of 16 years.
She peaks her head into my room, showcasing her long blonde hair in a messy bun.
"What's up Delly?'
"I'm going to head out to work right now, but do you want to watch a movie when I get back home?" I question.
"Sure, sounds like fun. I'll call Harper and Aspen in a bit and ask if they want to join."
I met Jemma when I was three years old at gymnastics camp and we've been inseparable ever since. Her parents traveled constantly, so she basically lived with me for the majority of our childhood. My family loves her of course, she's my parents second daughter. Although I'm not sure I can say the same about Chase, my older brother. They've never really been close and their relationship boils down to a few arguments and forced conversations for the sake of me and my parents.
We met Harper and Aspen at school in grade 5. We became fast friends when we all ended up in the principal's office for kicking a kid in the nuts. In our defense, he was being incredibly annoying, going on about how gymnastics wasn't a real sport. I did the yelling, Harper did the kicking, and Jemma and Aspen just got roped in.
I say my goodbyes to Jemma and grab an apple on the way out of the house. It's about a 20 minute drive from our house to the gym I work at. We decided for our second year at school we'd rent a house just outside of campus. Dorms are an experience, but definitely not one I enjoy. The drive is one of my favourite parts of my day. It's quiet, I'm alone, and I can play whatever music I want.
"Hey Dell!" My boss greets me.
I shoot her a quick hello and start to get ready in the gym. Within a few minutes I'm being tackled by 5 year olds. When I quit gymnastics, my mom convinced me to start coaching, and tiring as it is, I love it.
"Ms. Delaney?" Charlotte, one of my athletes, starts.
"Guess what!" She finishes.
I reply with "Chicken butt" which earns an eruption of laughter from the kids standing in front of me.
After the giggling dies down, she proceeds to show me the skills she's been working on at home.
An hour and a half later full of pulling kids out of the pit, and dodging flying limbs, I usher the athletes outside and return them back to their parents. All of the kids except Charlotte.
"Do you know where your dad is, honey?" I ask, hoping it won't be too long before he arrives.
She shakes her head.
"Ok, why don't we go back inside and I can stay with you till he gets here"
As much as I love kids, especially the one sitting in my lap reading a book about giraffes, I just want to go home. 20 minutes pass by with no sign of her dad. When I get up to try to call him on the gym's phone, I'm stopped by the sound of the door closing.
"Sterling!" Charlotte screeches and nearly knocks me over in fright.
"Jesus fucking Christ" I mutter under my breath, thankfully quiet enough no one hears.
"Hi, I'm Charlotte's coach, Delaney. I'm assuming you're not her father?" I state the obvious. He looks around my age, possibly a year or two older.
Charlotte is one of my newer athletes and I've never actually seen her parents. I've talked to her dad on the phone and he picks her up every class, but he always stays in the car.
I inspect the 6'3" god of a man towering over me. I'm annoyed at his tardiness, sure, but I'm not blind. With piercing green eyes, a jaw that could decapitate me, and muscles threatening to tear his shirt, I almost lose my breath. Almost.
"Glad to see your eyes work, coach, I did not in fact become a father at 13 years old." He answers my question, looking at me with annoyance displayed across his face.
'C'mon Charlie, let's go." He declares.
And then he was gone before I could even really process what the fuck just happened. You're telling me he was 20 minutes late, gave no heads up, and he's a complete dickwad? So I promised myself, no matter how attractive he was, I would; 1. ignore him and 2. be as passive aggressive as humanly possible.
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"Can you even believe that?" I question my 3 best friends.
"He sounds like an ass." Jemma sympathizes, and Aspen nods her head in agreement.
"2 questions," Harper begins. "Was he hot? And do you want me to kick him in the balls?"
"I'm choosing to ignore the first question. And as much as i'd love to say yes to the second, I can't, I'd get fired, and I won't let him be the reason I lose my job of 3 years."
Harper opens her mouth to reply, obviously excited. I basically admitted he was the hottest man I've ever seen, but I cut her off.
"Where's Beth? I miss her."
Despite her curiosity over the boy, Harper, as always, gets distracted by the mention of her girlfriend.
"Still visiting her parents but she should be coming back in a couple days. We should do something when she does." She explains.
We all agree to plan something and Aspen turns on the movie. I sit on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, surrounded by my best friends, feeling happier than I have in a while. But the interaction from earlier today threatens to ruin my mood. I almost start to question it, why was he so rude? Who is he? But I stop myself. He's not worth it I decide.
He is not worth it.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
OK! This was the first chapter and I hope you enjoyed it :) Grammar and spelling is not my strong suit, so if you spot mistakes, just let me know.
I won't have a specific posting schedule and it'll really depend on how busy I am with school. With that being said, I'm going to try and update as much as possible and keep the chapters coming.
Thank you so much for giving this book a try and bear with me as I go on. I hope you all stick around because I have so many great things planned!
Question of the chapter: What are you passionate about?
