Page 34 of Something Like That

Truth was, he just wanted to be with her. Even though his head was screaming that he needed to run as far away as fast as he could, something inside him refused.

At this point, he was going to ignore the fact he’d been a dick all afternoon. And she was such a good person, she hadn’t even called him out on it. Even though he totally deserved it.

He was just so fucking confused when it came to her that he didn’t know if inside was up or downside was out. Before he’d come to Seattle and met Alex and Em, he’d had focus. Get in shape, get back in the lineup, win the championship, prove he wasn’t a fuck up.

But now, for some reason he didn’t understand, those things didn’t seem as important as they had even a few weeks ago. Which was stupid.

He needed to win the championship. The championship was what he’d spent his whole life training for. Winning would prove it hadn’t been a mistake for New England to draft him first over all, all those years ago. He could finally show them the time and effort, the trust they’d put in him, was justified.

And worth it.

He stepped up the final step and into the hallway. It was dark and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. A single strip of light shone underneath a door partway down the hall. Alex stood in front of it, her back to him.

She knocked softly and pressed her ear to the door.

He smiled. She’d mentioned Em had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have. That could be anything, although he’d gotten the impression it was something pretty compromising. Teenagers weren’t known for their good choices. Not that he’d ever had the chance to rebel.

The smile slid off his lips. He didn’t like the idea of Em being in a compromising position, not one bit. She was way too young to be doing stuff like that. Kissing or making out or anything of that nature could wait until she was at least… what? Forty? Yeah, that sounded about right.

Alex pushed open the door and then disappeared inside. She left the door open.

Most likely because she wasn’t expecting you to be skulking around in the dark.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. It wasn’t like he was creeping… much. He walked over to the door, staying pressed against the wall, and strained to hear what was going on in Em’s room. Part of him wanted to peek, but that would be a step too far.

Yeah, because that’s too much. You’re still a fucking creeper.

Yeah, but he couldn’t seem to stop. He’d unpack all of that psychology shit later. Or maybe never. Besides, with his luck today, if he did peek, he’d probably get caught and then need to come up with an excuse. Since he wasn’t necessarily all that good on the spot, he’d probably fuck it up. Just like everything else.

Rustling drifted through the door.

“Hey.” Was that Em? Why was her voice so croaky? Had she been sleeping?

“Hey, baby.” That was definitely Alex, but he’d never heard that tone from her before. Soft and sweet, braided through with love. Something about it made the area just above his heart hurt. “Not feeling well?”

Aw, was she sick?

“Just a headache. And I’m really tired.” She sounded so young. The urge to soothe her welled up inside him, which was weird, because he was not the nurturing type. He had no idea where all of these weird feelings were coming from, but he was starting to feel suffocated.

“You’ve got a bit of a fever. I’m going to get you something for it, okay?” Alex’s voice still held that soft and sweet tone, but now there was a thread of concern woven through it. The ache in his chest flared bright.

He couldn’t remember his mother ever using a tone like that with him or his brother, Nathan. She definitely hadn’t been the nurturing type, and his father was so far from nurturing he probably didn’t even know the meaning of the word.

Footsteps padded across the carpet. Shit, Alex was coming this way.

He slipped back down the hallway a bit, ducking into the shadows. If she turned on the hall light, he was fucked. He needed to come up with a reason why he was sneaking around in the dark, but his mind refused to work. His scalp prickled, his fingers tingling. He squeezed his hands into fists, trying to center himself.

She rushed out of the bedroom and into a room across the hall. The light came on and there was shuffling and rattling. Then the tap came on. She snapped off the light and hurried back across the hall.

He waited a beat, taking in a deep breath, and letting it out slowly, quietly. The tingling in his fingers and hands ebbed.

Alex and Em were talking too low for him to hear anything. Even though he should probably turn around and go back downstairs, he didn’t. He slipped back over to the door. His curiosity got the better of him, and he tilted his head to peek into the room.

Alex was helping Em lay back against the pillow. She pressed a kiss to Em’s forehead and placed the glass of water on the nightstand. She stood there for a minute, her back to him, but he swore he could feel her love for Em all the way across the room. The ache above his heart exploded, radiating through his chest, snatching his breath.

She reached over and snapped off the lamp. The light from the window was enough for him to keep track of shapes.

Em reached out and grabbed Alex’s arm.