The Friendship List(99)
Keith thought of several scathing responses but decided to keep his mouth shut.
“On the bus trip we started hanging out. At first she was just helping me with my Spanish but then we were talking and I told her I liked her and she said she liked me and things went on from there.”
Keith felt old by comparison. What was that line from Men in Black? Old and busted. That was him.
“She’s my daughter,” he said with a sigh.
“I know you’re worried, Coach, but I’ll take good care of her. You have my word. I always use a condom and I’d never force her and I’ll always protect her. I’d die for her.”
Dramatic, but possibly heartfelt.
“Just don’t be a shit, okay? And don’t just think about yourself.” He muttered several swear words under his breath. “Don’t hurt her, okay?”
“I swear.”
Luka stood and held out his hand. Keith didn’t want to take it, but given the fact that the kid had come to him and basically laid it all out there, what choice did he have?
They shook. Keith sucked in a breath. “I still don’t like this. No sneaking around. You’ll respect curfew. And I never, ever want to walk in on you with my daughter. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Coach.”
“I know you’re going to keep doing it, but be careful and respectful.”
“Yes, Coach.”
“Now get out of here.”
Luka nodded before bolting for the door. Keith changed into shorts and a T-shirt, then did a few stretches before heading out into the already warm morning. Maybe running for a few miles would clear his head.
He started at a slow jog. Old injuries woke up and reminded him of their existence. That place in his left hip began to ache and his right ankle wasn’t happy, but he ignored them all and increased the pace.
Luka had impressed him, he admitted as he began his second mile. The kid had a pair, coming to see him like that.
He smiled as he thought about telling Ellen what had happened. She would want to know all the details, then they would talk about what it all meant and she would have advice for him. Good advice.
He missed her, he thought, wiping sweat from his face. Missed them. They were so good together and being apart from her wasn’t right.
But it was all her fault, he reminded himself. She was just so into the sex and nothing else mattered. Except the sex was new for her and he got that. After seventeen years, she deserved some time to play. Her interest in him, in them, that way, wasn’t a dismissal of the rest of what they had.
Plus she was amazing in bed. Adventurous, fearless, totally up for anything he suggested. And when she came, it was magic.
Which made him wonder why he was so mad at her. If he believed she cared about him and he understood why the sex was so important to her and if he believed they were good together, then why were they fighting?
His left knee began screaming at him. It was always late to the party but when it got there, it made a lot of noise.
He ignored the pain and the sweat and the fact that he’d gone only three miles of the five he’d planned. He slowed to a stop as he turned the questions over in his mind. He shouldn’t be mad at Ellen. She hadn’t done anything wrong. So what was causing the low-grade dissatisfaction that he couldn’t shake?
He started running again, only to stop a second time as the truth hit him like a three-hundred-pound linebacker. All the air rushed out of him and for a second, he thought maybe he was going to go down on the sidewalk.
The problem wasn’t Ellen, he realized. The problem was him. He was totally and completely in love with her. Crazy in love. He didn’t want to play—he wanted this to be real. Forever real, which should have been great except Ellen had never been in an adult relationship before. She was just starting to enjoy it all and there was no way she was going to be interested in settling on anything permanent before she’d had her time to explore the possibilities. Possibilities that might not include him.
twenty-five
Unity battled excitement and nerves. Thaddeus was driving over to have dinner with her and stay the night. She’d cleaned the whole house, carefully planned a menu, had shopped for new lingerie and a sassy summer dress that she hoped was seductive and had brought a bottle of pricey-to-her wine. Perhaps most important, she’d sprung for a new mattress for the master bedroom. It had been delivered that morning. She’d carefully made it with the new linens she’d bought. She’d kept her things in the hall bathroom and would let Thaddeus use the small master bath.
At exactly five, Thaddeus knocked on the front door. She was smiling as she let him in.
“How was the drive?” she asked as he entered.
“Easy.”
He carried a bakery box in one hand. After setting it on the living room coffee table, he turned to her. She stepped into his embrace and raised her head to kiss him.
The feel of his arms and lips and just all of him was as delicious as she remembered. Anticipation sweetened the moment. This was good, she thought happily. Yes, it was difficult moving on, but it was also the right thing to do.
He stared into her eyes and stroked her face. “You doing okay?”
“Better than okay. I’m happy to see you.”
Something flickered in his eyes. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but hoped it wasn’t anything bad.