Room for You(18)

My cell phone alarm went off three hours after we finally turned in, and I packed up quietly and left. There was no real reason for me to leave so early. I had no exciting plans, but I wanted to sneak out before I saw Ashley again, and more importantly, I didn’t want to see Kacie’s face when she realized I’d lied to her about playing hockey.

The lie started out innocently. I just hadn’t felt like sitting at the dinner table answering all the typical questions that came along with being a professional athlete. Then when I talked to Kacie that night about her ex and what she was looking for now, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. I didn’t want her making a snap judgment about me or my life, hoping that she’d get to know me before she blew me off … but I wanted to make sure that she found out about it from me, so I left my favorite jersey there for her.

My cell phone went off as I pulled into the parking garage of my condo building. For a quick second, I hoped it was Kacie already, but when I looked at my phone the screen said BOSSMAN.

“What’s up, buddy?” I tried sounding as awake as possible after three hours of sleep.

“Whoa! You sound like shit!” Andy teased.

“Good morning to you too. What are you doing up so early?”

“Early? Most normal people are already at work by now, not crawling in from the night before, which is exactly what it sounds like you’re doing. I’m already on my third cup of coffee, my friend.”

“Not exactly. I’m just getting home from up north.” I yawned.

“I thought you were getting home yesterday.”

“That was my hope, but the weather didn’t cooperate.” Thank God it didn’t, I thought.

“That sucks. Well, you wanna fill me in tonight over a beer or what?”

“Yeah, sounds good. Meet at The Bumper at six?” I asked.

“Perfect. If you’re lucky, I’ll let you buy me dinner too.” He laughed as he hung up.

The Bumper was our favorite place to go. It was a hole-in-the-wall bar about four blocks from my condo, with grumpy waitresses and stale peanuts, but they made great burgers, the beer was ice cold and no one bugged me there. Diesel and I slowly made our way upstairs to my condo. I tossed my keys on the kitchen counter while he headed straight for his over-sized dog bed by the fireplace. I collapsed on the couch, debating whether to get up and head to the gym for a couple hours or sleep the day away right where I landed. The more I thought about bicep curls, the more comfortable my couch got and I let sleep take over.

A wet nose grazed my forehead, but I swatted it away. My eyelids felt like they were glued shut, refusing to budge and I was in no rush to force them open. I lay there listening to the sounds of the city rushing by my window, when my phone vibrated from the kitchen counter.

“What do you think, Diesel? You think that’s a text from her?” Diesel yawned and walked back to his bed, unimpressed. “Yeah, you’re right, she probably hates me.” I sighed, sitting up and resting my elbows on my knees. I took my time getting off the couch. I was in no rush to read a nasty message calling me a liar or see a picture of my jersey cut up in pieces on her bedroom floor. The idea of my jersey being on her floor was definitely exciting, but more in a trail-like fashion with her panties right next to it.

I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed my phone, both relieved and disappointed to see it was a text from Andy.



LET’S MAKE IT 5:00, I’M STARVING. SHAW.



I couldn’t help myself, I texted back…



YOU JUST WANT TO SEE ME SOONER. I LOVE YOU TOO, YOU SEXY BEAST.



I was groggy as hell and needed to wake up. “All right, D, we have just enough time for a quick jog before I gotta get in the shower.”

Diesel raised his brows and glared at me from his dog bed, not budging.

“Come on, lazy ass!” I shouted as I grabbed his leash from the hook by the fridge. The metallic clinging of the chain excited Diesel as he jumped off his bed and bounced over to me. I bent down, secured the leash to his collar and out the door we went.

It was early June and the air was still crisp and comfortable, perfect jogging weather. I walked a few blocks from my condo to Lake Calhoun, popped my ear buds in, and Diesel and I took off. The lake was crowded today … people jogging, out on the lake in paddleboats, picnicking. I ran past two teenagers sitting on a bench swapping more spit than a couple of porn stars. I just shook my head. To my right, a couple lay on a plaid blanket reading books and chomping on grapes. She looked around quickly and held her book up in front of them, pulling him in close.

Come on, Brody, focus.

Up ahead I noticed an older couple holding each other cheek-to-cheek near the lake shoreline, looking out at the water. As I got closer I tried to see what they were looking at and I realized they weren’t looking at anything, the water was clear.

They were slow dancing … with no music.

I came to a stop and shook my head in frustration. I felt … off, disconnected. I needed to get my shit together and get this run in, I blasted Korn on my iPod and started again, trying to shut the rest of the world out and focus on my pace. A girl ran toward me, giving me a mega-watt smile as she passed. She was a cute brunette with green eyes, but they were nothing compared to Kacie’s. They didn’t have the same sparkle, the same life in them; they did nothing for me.