From top to bottom she’s nothing like I imagined. When the Ashford Agency said they’d have someone at the airport waiting to pick me up I pictured an old fat guy with a beer gut and a goatee. Not a ten.
She closes the distance between us, offering me her manicured hand. “Hi,” she says warmly. “I’m Sloane. I’m with the Ashford Agency.”
I take her hand in mine, watching it disappear inside my grasp. “Hey. Nice to meet you.”
“You too. How was your flight?”
“Early.”
She laughs, taking her hand back slowly. She tucks it under the thick coat in her arms. I can smell her perfume as she shifts it. Something subtle and muted that mingles with the warm coffee smell permeating the airport. It’s not in the least bit sweet. It’s almost masculine.
“You didn’t sleep much last night, did you?” she asks knowingly.
Images flood my mind before I can shut them down. Memories of Tish. Of her apartment. Her shower. Her body pressed up against the white wall, glistening wet in the steam from the spray. Her hair plastered over her face. Her mouth open and desperate for air, begging for more, taking everything I gave her until I was out of condoms and out of energy. Out of time. I made it home just after midnight, just in time to throw some shit in my duffel and pass out for a few hours. It was worth it at the time. It got me to sleep, but I’m paying for it today. I’m exhausted and as anxious as ever.
And now I’m standing here staring at Sloane with a chub in my pants like I’m in middle school.
I clear my throat, shifting my duffel on my shoulder until it hangs in front of my crotch. “No, I couldn’t sleep.”
“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. No one gets much sleep the night before the Combine. Trust me, you’ll sleep well tonight.” She nods to my duffel. “Is that your only bag?”
“Yeah, this is it. It’s all I’ve got.”
Just my bag and my boner.
“Great. We’re good to go then.” Sloane motions for me to follow her, leading me toward the front of the airport. The place is filling up, the gray morning light illuminating sleepy travelers that shuffle numbly forward in line. “The van is parked out front waiting to take us to the hotel. Hollis, another of our agents, is waiting in the van with Brylan Reed. Do you know him?”
“Arizona State, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve only met him once. PAC-12 South playoff game. He’s good.”
“That’s what he said about you too.” She looks up at me, craning her neck to cover the eight inches I tower over her. “Not that he knows you, I didn’t ask him. But he said that you’re good. It’s what everyone says about you.”
I smirk. “They can’t all be wrong, right?”
“I guess not, but I hope they are.”
“You’re not gunnin’ for me to fail, are you?”
“Not in a million years. I just mean I hope they’re wrong about you being ‘good’.” She smiles at me sideways, her eyes brilliant and beaming. “I’ve bet the farm on you being great.”
I smile slowly. “I’ll try not to let you down.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
When we hit the doors she shrugs into her coat, her slender frame disappearing in its bulk. I want to pull it off of her. I want to watch her as she walks, her hips swaying like the pendulum on a clock, rhythmic and hypnotizing. I’m imaging what she looks like when her clothes match her smile. When she’s all party and no business. All pink lips and ruffled blond hair.
An old man is waiting to open the door to the van when we get there. The passenger door opens as well, a guy in his late twenties, dark designer jeans, and a gray sweater jumping out to greet us.
He offers his hand to me along with a slight smile. “Hey, Domata, good to finally meet you. I’m Hollis Kane.”
“Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Have you met Brylan Reed?” he asks, pointing to the back seat of the van.
“Yeah, we’ve met,” Brylan says quietly. He offers me a small nod, his dark eyes looking as tired as I feel. “What’s up, Domata?”
I nod in return. “Reed.”
I feel weird when the old man takes my duffel to stow it in the back. I offer to do it myself but he only smiles as he takes it from me. Hollis hops back into the passenger seat while Sloane slides into the first row bench in the back. I take the spot next to her, leaving space between us so I’m not crowding her.