Troy

“Remy, what is going on with you?”

“What? Nothing. Why?”

They had spread their picnic blanket along the picturesque little stretch of Caleb Creek that ran through the center of downtown Middleburg. Nearby, a jogging path, benches and a gazebo accented this popular picnic spot. Arranged in front of them on the blanket was a basket with wine, crackers, goat cheese, pepper jelly, grapes and baby carrots.

“I’m trying to feed you grapes and get into your panties, but you seem like you have something on your mind. And as much as I don’t care about anything other than making time with that ass of yours, and as much as I would rather you be quiet sometimes, I can’t rightly pursue sexy time if you don’t talk to me first. It’s my moral compass, what can I say?”

“Charming.”

“Sarcasm. All right. If you don’t want to talk, we can just go home.”

She said, “It’s just that I didn’t think you would actually bench my son.”

“Relax, it was a practice game. And I do what I say. Now please. I had to go all the way to Mount Pleasant to get all these groceries for us, so here’s a grape.”

“I know it was a practice game. I guess I just…I don’t know.”

Troy looked at her. She looked pensive and distracted. Well, shit. He was just going to have to work extra hard. Maybe he could get her riled up.

“Oh, did you think you were going to get special treatment because you let me stick my tongue down your throat?” he cajoled.

Nice. Not exactly fixing this situation, Troy.

“Troy, come on,” she replied. “We kissed and we had phone sex. That’s hardly grounds for expecting special treatment. I just thought we had come to an understanding. I’m trying to negotiate fewer lessons with Rodney and keep him from totally dropping us. We’ve been over this. Wait a minute…why did you have to go all the way across the county to get groceries?”

“It’s funny you should bring up Rodney. He is kind of the reason I can’t go to Hy-Vee anymore. I sort of knocked his block off.”

“You what?”

“He’s a prick, Remy. He was asking for it.”

Remy was pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes. He did not understand the problem.

Finally, she sighed and let loose. “Do you know why I spend so much time and money on Elliot’s baseball? It’s because he loves it. I never had a parent push me. Or anyone who was interested at all in anything I did. I had to make my own way and nobody helped me. But now I feel like you’re holding him back. And you’re making me feel guilty about wanting him to succeed.”

Troy felt like such an ass.

He reached out and moved a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. “Baby, he will succeed no matter what he does. You made a great kid. He is amazing because he is naturally a great kid…and, he’s at least one half…you.”

She looked off toward the woods. She was getting close to crying again. Shit, Troy, how often you gonna make this woman cry?

“That boy is my heart walking around outside of my body,” she said.

Troy had never heard that before, but it just about blew his mind. He had never felt that kind of love for anybody. Not a woman, nor a pet, not even his own parents. But now he really wished things were different.

He proceeded carefully. “And don’t you want this amazing kid to have a fun and carefree childhood?”

She shook her head. “He has enough fun with Ryan. Ryan is the fun one.”

“You’re fun,” he said, trying to nudge Remy out of her funk and handing her a cheese cracker.

“No I’m not. I’m just a mom.” She took the cracker and nibbled it half-heartedly.

Troy held up his hand. “OK, stop. What did you do for fun before you had Elliot?”

“Elliot is fun. I’m happy when he’s around.”

“Of course, but you’ve lost yourself.”

“I resent that.”

“Then tell me something you used to do.”

“OK. I swam,” she said with a shrug, popping the rest of the cheese cracker into her mouth.

There was something. “On a team?”

“Yeah, I was a good swimmer in high school. I even had a scholarship to swim in college the next year, but Elliot happened and everything changed. I don’t regret it. But I would just like to swim once in a while. I just like being in that water.”

He poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her. “You can do that, you know. Water is still a thing.”

“Yes, but when?” She thanked him and sipped the wine. She was starting to loosen up.

“Right now.”

“Troy, I am not going to your high school to swim in the pool.”

“We’re not going to the pool. Get in the truck.”

She laughed. “That sounds ominous. Where are you taking me?”

“Do you trust me?”

“No.” She smirked at him as she continued to sip her wine.

“Can’t say I blame you.”

“Anyway, I don’t have my swimsuit.”

Troy lowered his voice and waggled his eyebrows. “You ain’t gonna need it, sweet cheeks.”