Page 38 of Seasons of Love
I grunted. Okay, so I was a little late coming down to the shop this morning, so what?
"Seriously, Slade. You might want to look in the mirror."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
I groaned when I realized I was wearing my shirt inside out. "I was rushing this morning," I said as a way of explanation.
"Of course you were."
I ignored his comment and pulled the shirt over my head to turn it the right way.
"Damn, Slade. I didn't know you were hiding that under your shirt."
I sighed. Just what I needed right now. Wren Mason before coffee. Or should I be relieved I hadn't been caught semi-naked by Tom instead?
"How can I help you, Wren? I haven't made up my mind about the team. To be honest, I don't think I have the time."
He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. Wren was wearing running shorts, so the scar on his knee that had ended his pro football career was visible.
"How's your knee? I injured my shoulder years ago, and even though I'm fully recovered, it still gives me trouble when the weather changes," I said.
I walked over to the office, where I had a tray with the day's jobs, to look for the right one.
Wren walked over and leaned against the desk.
"I went running with Aiden this morning," he said, ignoring my question.
"That's nice. I didn't know he was a runner too," I replied as casually as I could, even though I was leafing through the jobs without reading any of the information on the forms.
"Yeah. He seemed a little tired today."
When I didn't say anything, Wren continued.
"Maybe you've been working him too hard."
"He's an adult, he'll know when it's too hard."
Wren snorted.
"How’s his research going?"
"Don't know. Well, I think. He's a fast learner."
For the love of god, I couldn't do this without coffee. Why did everything out of my mouth sound like an innuendo?
"There's something you should know about Aiden. He doesn't always know when to stop."
What did he mean? Stop what?
I wanted to ask the question, but that would raise more questions from Wren, and I wasn't sure his visit had purely good intentions.
"Thanks for letting me know. I'll make sure to go easy on him."
"Yeah, you do…that."
He patted my shoulder and left.
