It would seem like the Big O finally found his happily ever after.
The four of us fall into step midway to the building. I watch Oliver from the corner of my eye, waiting for him to pull me aside. When he doesn’t say anything about his sister’s new living arrangement by the time we reach the locker room, I realize I won’t be able to focus on practice until it’s off my chest.
Knox disappears inside the door, still sulking about getting pulled over.
I pause before following him. “Hey, can we talk for a minute?”
Rina presses a quick kiss against Oliver’s cheek. “See you later.”
“Bye, babe,” he says, watching her walk away.
The satisfaction on his face is unmistakable. It’s an easy kind of contentment that settles in without effort, the sort I don’t think I’ve ever really known before. Not even when things were good with Sarah.
As soon as Rina disappears around the corner, his attention shifts to me.
“Everything okay, Lennox?”
“Yeah.” I hesitate, then add, “I just wanted a quick word with you.” I shift my weight, suddenly aware of how formal this sounds. “Kia stayed over last night. She’s going to move into the guest room while she helps take care of Elody.”
He blinks once, looking far less surprised than I expected. “Yeah. She texted last night and said she didn’t want me to worry.”
“Oh.” I clear my throat and force myself to keep going. “It’s a professional arrangement,” I add, the words stiff on my tongue. “I didn’t want you to think there was anything else going on.”
“Please.” He lets out a short laugh and claps a hand on my shoulder. “That never even entered my mind. You’re the last guy on this team I’d worry about with my sister.”
Relief flares before dying just as quickly.
“Well… that’s good.”
“I know she’s safe with you.”
“Yeah,” I say with a nod. “She is. I’m, uh, glad we got that settled.”
Oliver chuckles. “There wasn’t anything to settle.” Before I can respond, he continues. “Honestly? I think this is exactly what she needed.”
My brows draw together. “Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. She’s been struggling lately. And at twenty-two…” He trails off. “That’s kind of the stage where you’re still figuring your shit out.”
Twenty-two.
The number lands like a gut punch.
She’s young. Too damn young to be sleeping across the hall from me, too young to be quietly unraveling my sense of balance without even trying.
“I still don’t understand why she left school,” Oliver adds. “She’s been pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing.”
I shift. “Well, I just wanted you to know she’s safe with me.”
“You’re one of the few guys I trust with her,” he says, his voice steady.
Trust.
I make a promise to myself right then and there that I won’t cross any lines or let this situation get complicated. Not when there’s already so much at stake.
Oliver jerks his chin toward the locker room. “We should probably get moving. Coach has been up my ass lately. No reason to make it worse.”
“Yeah,” I mutter.
