Book #2 in the Medley series
JENNIFER RUE:
I thought I had my life all mapped out.
But nothing throws a wrench in your plans like finding your fiancé in bed with another woman.
Untangling myself from the damage Darren did is hard, but the more I...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I clap absentmindedly when another heat finishes. I don't know who's swimming, only that it's none of our guys or Kimmy.
Sophie is talking with Ollie, stealing a nacho from his plate, and he swats her away with faux annoyance.
I love watching her with him. Ever since Sophie and Jayden got custody of Ollie two months ago, my best friend has gone full mother, and it suits her.
"When's JJ swimming again?" Ollie asks, looking at me since I'm the one with the program.
I check it, though I know exactly when the men's 4*100-meter medley relay final will begin. "Forty-five minutes."
"Man," he groans, throwing his head back.
He and Sophie have been here all day for the past two days, cheering our guys on as they compete in various individual disciplines at this year's Nationals, and I think Ollie is getting fed up with all the waiting around.
It's my first day. I wanted to be here too, supporting the guys, but it's coinciding with finals, and I couldn't get out of my exam yesterday, so I had to stay home.
Now, I've flown to Indianapolis to be here for the last day of the competition. The day they finally swim, the men's medley relays. I'm full of jittery nerves.
Sophie's been texting me the past few days anytime one of our swimmers won a medal. Despite Zeke and Jayden taking a spot on the podium several times, David has yet to be mentioned.
I've tried to ignore the nervous churning in my stomach, clear my head of worries for a man I've barely spoken to for months, and focus on my revisions, but on top of everything else, my anxiety has been at an all-time high.
In a week, I'll graduate college. The rec center has offered me a temporary position as a substitute for one of their full-time social workers. It's a woman I've worked with for years now who's taking three months off to go to the Middle East on a humanitarian mission. She's Pakistani and does these trips at regular intervals. The rec center allows it since her work reflects well on them.
It's not exactly the job I've always wanted. My plan is still to work with the placement of foster kids, but no one is hiring, so this is a great way for me to get my feet wet and actually get paid to work with the kids.
The job doesn't start for another month, though, and I still haven't decided what I'll do for the time being. Sophie is in remission and will be busy with her little family, and ever since her treatment stopped, so did David's coffee drop-offs.
I knew it had been his silent way of supporting me through Sophie's sickness, but I hadn't realized it was the only reason he'd bothered. I've been too busy with exams and job searching to confront him, and a tiny, terrified part of me doesn't want to. What if he's finally realized that I'm not worth all the fuss?
What if he's out?
So, there isn't much keeping me here, and my parents have been trying to convince me to come home. I would love to spend some time in Oklahoma. Alice will be a debutante this summer. I've been excited for this day since my own coming out.
