Page 150 of Right Man, Right Time
“For not being strong enough.”
“You can’t be perfect all the time, Silas. No human is. The best thing about us as humans is just how imperfect we are. It shows how we’ve survived, how we’ve journeyed through life. It gives us wisdom and practice for how to protect our future. There is no need to always be strong, especially with me.”
His eyes connect with mine through the phone, and I can see how much tension has eased from them. “How are you so fucking smart?” Because for the first eighteen years of my life, my grandma made sure to tell me that. That every setback brings about growth. Endurance. Even though my dad tried to tell me otherwise.
“All my years of being told I won’t amount to anything,” I say. “You quickly learn how to drown out the hate and build on it instead.”
“I’m good at drowning out the hate and using it as fuel on the ice.”
“That’s different. Sports are different. That’s physical. What Sarah did to you, that’s emotional, and being emotionally vulnerable is harder than shooting a puck past a goalie.” I wet my lips. “But I’m so glad you shared with me, Silas. It means more to me than anything, and I promise, this stays between us.”
“Thank you.” He pauses and then asks, “Does all of this make you look at me differently?”
“Yes,” I answer. “But probably not in the way that you’re thinking. It makes me fall for you even more. Because now you’ve let me see a piece of your heart. I see your warmth. Your fear. It makes you more human, and I love that. If anything, you’re even more sexy than before.”
That causes him to smirk. “If that was even possible.”
“Oh my God.” I roll my eyes, causing him to laugh.
“In all seriousness, babe, thank you. It will take me a second to process all of this, and I can’t promise it’ll be easy. I’m still struggling with trust. I still have that deep-rooted fear of opening up to others, so I’ll need you to be patient with me.”
“I’ll be patient, Silas, because you’re worth it.”
ChapterTwenty
SILAS
Silas:What are you up to?
Ollie:I’m in class right now, pretending to take notes on my computer. In reality, I’m texting you and looking through an article about the type of training you do.
Silas:Why read an article when you can ask me?
Ollie:I can’t just have one source. It’s good to have multiple. Also, I’m bored out of my mind and didn’t know what you were doing, so this was an easy thing to do to keep my mind sharp.
Silas:Keeping your mind sharp should include paying attention in class.
Ollie:Uh-huh, and how often did you pay attention?
Silas:Often enough.
Ollie:For some reason, I don’t buy it. I feel like you fucked around a lot.
Silas:Nah, I liked learning about muscles and shit. It was the gen-ed classes that nearly destroyed me.
Ollie:A waste of time if you ask me. No geography class would convince me to change my major. That’s for damn sure.
Silas:It was English lit for me.
Ollie:Was it because they weren’t reading Harry Potter?
Silas:Pretty much.
Ollie:What are you doing?
Silas:Just got done warming up my legs. Now watching Posey eat a bologna sandwich, and I’m utterly disgusted.
Ollie:I think he needs a woman.
