Waiting on the Sidelines (Waiting on the Sidelines #1)(48)

I loved to watch him talk about his dad. Even though Buck was busy, it seemed like he always made time for his son. And it was clear he loved him, that they loved each other. It made me wonder why he lived primarily with his mom before he moved out here for high school.

“What’s your mother like,” I blurted out, not really framing the question how I wanted, but it was too late now.

Reed seemed to think about this for a while, scrunching his brows and taking a deep breath through his nose before he started. “Well… she would like me to say that she’s perfect. And I don’t mean that in a mean way. I mean, that’s what she wants everyone to think, that she’s perfect,” he started.

“I know my mom loves me, and she did a lot for me when I lived with her. She gave me anything I wanted, made sure that someone got me to anything I needed to get to. But, she wasn’t always dialed in, if that makes sense. She’s really into status. She remarried a few years ago. A guy named Sam Snyder. He owns a bunch of pharmacies in the East Valley. Millie Johnson-Snyder – she throws all of the high society parties and runs the charities and sits on the hospital board. Their house is on the side of some mountain and there are people that come in and out and do all the work, it’s all sort of… I don’t know, just sort of gross, do you know what I mean?”

I didn’t know how to respond really. I was so far removed from the world he was describing that I couldn’t even imagine having someone to cook, clean and drive for me let alone manage my life. I also didn’t want to insult his mother.

“Well, she seems to be a woman who knows what she wants, and she seems to be confident and determined. Those seem like strong qualities,” I shrugged and hoped it was the right thing to say.

“Yeah, they are. But living with my dad, it’s just more… I don’t know, more real. I mean, I know he always has a girlfriend, and sometimes he marries one of them. But, he still takes out his own trash. He has an assistant, Rose. She has been working for him for 20 years now. She comes to the house and helps, but it’s never like she’s working for him, like a servant. She’s more like my aunt, who gives my dad shit for being lazy and not putting his shoes in the right place or ironing his shirts the right way or eating enough vegetables. I think that’s why I wanted to come live with him so badly. I craved a bit of normalcy.”

Reed paused for a bit, and then he looked over at me and grabbed my hand in his. “I’d give anything to have the kind of home you do.”

His eyes were right back on the road again, but he maintained his grip on my hand. I just smiled at him understanding and squeezed it back a little. “I am lucky,” I said, realizing it for maybe the first time ever.



Once we got to the center it was all business. We both headed for our locker rooms and changed and reported to Todd for duty. He broke everyone down into assignment locations and reviewed the rotation. “Every 20 minutes, you’ll hear the whistle. That means switch. We don’t like anyone to get complacent, so by constantly moving, it gives you a new situation to watch over. It’s going to get crowded, folks, so let’s keep those heads above water and all breathing, OK?”

Everyone seemed pretty excited to start the season. There were six or seven of us new to the team, many that I recognized from the testing. There were a few girls who looked like college coeds. They were enamored with Reed, which gave me a familiar pang of jealousy. Reed was by far the best-looking guy at the pool. It helped that he was more than six feet tall and built like the letter Y. There were a few other good-looking guys, but they weren’t in Reed’s class. Only one, who I learned was Tyler, Todd’s younger brother, was even close.

Reed and I spent most of the day across the pool from each other. Even though we were trained to keep our eyes on the water at all times, I still stole a glance at Reed here and there. I know he looked at me, too, because once when he was sitting up on the chair by the diving boards he stuck his tongue out at me. I laughed and went back to pacing off the deck and telling kids to “quit running.”

We rotated into short breaks every hour and a half or so. I took mine with Tyler, and we sat up at the counter, behind the snack bar.

“Here, it’s on me,” Tyler said, tossing an orange Gatorade at me.

“Oh, thanks. It’s ok, I brought cash,” I said, sort of uncomfortable.

“I was kidding,” he smiled. “We get free drinks. Part of the gig.”

I just nodded. That was pretty cool, I thought. I twisted it open and took a big chug, stopping myself before I let it get out of hand. I was thirsty, but I didn’t want a cramp. Tyler slid down to sit next to me and reached out his hand.

“I’m Tyler, and you are?” he asked. His confidence reminded me of Buck. He was the sort of guy that would run for fraternity president in college and then move on to some Fortune 500 company and move up the ranks quickly. I caught a glance at Reed in the distance from behind Tyler and he was not happy.

“Oh, I’m Nolan. Nice to meet you,” I said, politely but quickly, careful not to invite too much conversation.

“Nice to meet you, too,” he said, looking out at the pool and pulling the towel from around his neck. “You’ll love working here. It’s good money and the days go by super quickly. It’s my third year. It helps that my brother runs the place, I sort of get to skip some of the interview process.” He winked. It felt a little cocky, but not overtly. There was something a little too shiny about Tyler, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.