I Hope He Is A Gentleman

The next day, I looked for any opportunity I could to talk to Geno in person. I contemplated texting him, but I wanted to talk to him in person. I just... I wanted to apologize for losing control at the club last night, for clearly angering him, and, I don't know. Guilt settled at the bottom of my stomach like wet sand, and it refused to move anywhere.

"Hey, Remy," Toby suddenly greeted, waking me up from my blank stare at the screen of my computer. Henry had called in sick today (the same stomach flu that plagued Jackson two days ago and Anna before that) and that left me with double the amount of work, but not nearly enough focus. "Can you bring these forms over to HR?" I smiled and nodded, but ulterior motives filled my head. To get to HR, I would have to pass the locker rooms, and I wondered if I walked slowly enough, then perhaps I would be able to see Geno. I took the forms from Toby and stood up, adjusting my glasses and I left marketing.

The players had just finished practice, and were walking away from the locker room along or in small groups. When Sidney walked by, I blushed profusely and he looked away. I've never had much interaction with him, and it looked like I wasn't going to start anytime soon. As I approached the locker room I slowed down considerably, but when the doors opened and my breath hitched, I almost died at the sight of James Neal instead of Geno.

He smiled brightly when we approached each other, but the smile I returned didn't quite reach my eyes. "How're you doing today, Remy?" He asked, standing directly in front of me. I tried to make constant eye contact, but my eyes kept averting to the door, waiting for them to open and Geno to walk out.

"Good, thanks. How was practice?" I gripped the forms tightly. The doors remained shut.

"Yeah, it was good," James ran his hand through his damp hair, and all I could imagine was when Geno sat at my desk and his hair was damp, too. James's hair looked softer than Geno's, but I wouldn't have changed it. "Look, um, about last night --" I opened my mouth to cut him off, to apologize, to do something, but he lifted his hand in a sign for me not to say anything. "No, stop, I'm sorry. I -- I shouldn't have pressed for you to leave with me. It was inappropriate and too pushy, and I'm so, so sorry." I just kind of nodded. Again, James ran his hand through his hair, before rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Um, I was thinking maybe we could start over again? Maybe get coffee or something?"

What was I supposed to say to that? No, I have kind of have a thing for your teammate, do you mind setting me up with him instead? "Yeah, sure," I said, forcing a bit of enthusiasm to my voice. James's grin increased greatly.

"Here," he said quickly, taking his phone from his pocket and shoving it into my hands. "Let me have your number and I'll shoot you a text." I did as I was told, and the doors remained shut. "Alright, well, I need to get going, but have a good rest of the day, okay?" I smiled and thanked him, and as he walked past me, I quickly turned back towards him.

I'm not sure what entirely made me ask him, but I did. It was like I had an out-of-body experience, and what came over me, well, I don't think I'll ever know. "Hey James, I just have a, uh, quick question." His eyebrows raised and he shoved his hands in his pocket. "I have a friend -- from my Russian class -- and, um," I looked down at my folder, "well, she's a big fan of Geno, and I thought maybe I'd introduce them. Does Geno, you know, have a girlfriend, or anything?"

And James laughed. A hearty, genuine laugh, like I had said something funny. "Well, none of us are really sure what the deal is with Oksana. She moves between here and Russia -- what a commute, right?" I actually chuckled at that one. "Anyways, she seems perfectly nice, but her English is even worse than G's, so most of us have never even had a real conversation with her. Geno never talks about her, so I'm really not sure. I say go for it, though."

Some kind of fucked up blessing, right?