All in on You

Chapter Fifteen

"Why are you acting so weird?"

"I'm not acting weird."

Fine. I am. Just a tad.

But that's only because Elise, Rebecca, and Jules are taking forever to leave this apartment. The plan was for Elise and Rebecca to meet Jules here so that they can go down to the theatre together in Jules' car. There's an action movie Elise wanted to see. That's not my favourite genre—in fact, it's probably my least favourite—but that's not why I'm not going with them. I've told my friends that there's something important I need to do for my internship.

Which is not a lie but it's also a far cry from the full truth. They just don't need to know what the truth is right now.

"What time is the movie supposed to start?" I ask.

I'm perched on our couch, but I look the opposite of casual and relaxed. I keep crossing and uncrossing my legs and I'm pretty sure at one point I was literally sitting on my hands. Hence the accusation from Rebecca that I'm acting weird.

"I think it starts in twenty minutes," Jules says as she pulls out her phone. "Oh, actually, in fifteen."

It takes physical effort to not make a face at these three. They're taking their sweet time leaving. Elise is in front of the mirror in the foyer looking at herself. Literally. She's not even fixing her hair or applying lip gloss. She's just admiring the view. And okay, fair enough, because Elise is a natural beauty, but still. Jules is operating in slow motion, being meticulous as she makes her chai tea and Rebecca is responding to some emails on her phone, because she has the most difficulty switching off from work. I get that.

"You guys better leave soon, then. You don't want to miss the start of the show and be lost for the rest of it."

Elise shrugs, still looking in the damn mirror. "Meh. It's Tuesday, so the tickets are half-price."

And that's relevant because? I don't follow why you'd still want to pay and take the trip there to not even see the whole show.

"We're sorry, Harlow," Rebecca says. "I know you have work to do, and you probably can't concentrate with us still here."

Yeah, sure, let's go with that. I pull my laptop from the coffee table onto my thighs, to give the illusion that that's the type of work I'll be doing.

"It's fine," I sigh. "I don't mean to rush you out."

Jules places the lid on her silicone coffee cup and leans against the counter.

"You're cool. You're not rushing us, but you do seem anxious."

"I am, to be honest. Working with the Saints is turning out to be more stressful than I anticipated. Daily, I find myself questioning if I can handle it."

Now that's the damn truth. The sport psychology side of things, I can manage. It's a challenge, but a healthy one. It's this... situation (if that's even the right word) with Angelo that's above my pay grade. And that's why I'm so antsy to be alone this evening.

"Hey, you got this," Elise says. "If anyone can do it, it's you. No offense to Rebecca and Jules," she adds quickly as she glances between them.

Rebecca and Jules murmur "None taken" and "All good." From the couch, I watch them—finally—gather their coats and bags by the door.

"Have fun you guys."

"We'll try!" Jules says as she pulls her hair out from under her wool scarf.

As soon as the three of them are on the other side of the closed door, my phone is in my hand. The door swings open and the device nearly stumbles out of my grip.