Page 94 of Something Like That

“Yeah, but—”

Ty held up his hand again. “There are no buts. It was not solely your responsibility to win the championship. It was up to management, the coaching staff, and all the players on the team, working together. And then there’s also the shit ton of luck that’s required. You’re a fucking amazing player that just ran into some bad luck. That’s not your fault, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with not winning it all. Do you know how many players don’t win?”

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but his brain blanked, and the ability to form words evaporated. He snapped his jaw shut. Ty’s words were doing laps in his head, looping over and over again. Sinking in. Sticking.

He knew this. It was common sense. But deep inside, he’d never actually believed it. He’d always felt like he should have been the one to elevate his teammates, push them over that hill, carry them to victory.

Now that he thought about it, really thought about it, the idea was sort of… well, fucking dumb. He’d given absolutely everything to the game and to the Pirates. Literal blood, sweat and tears over the years.

He’d had a fantastic career—aside from the injuries—and even had both a Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player trophy to show for it. And he’d gotten to play in the best league in the world. For a living.

“I see the wheel’s turning.” Ty’s tone was far too amused. “So, I’m guessing your brain isn’t about to short circuit with the revelation that your worth isn’t hinged on whether or not you win a championship.”

Something heavy and hurtful shifted inside him. It felt like he could breathe for the first time in forever. Ty was right. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really matter, did it? He had plenty to be proud of.

Which is what Alex had tried to tell him, and he’d been too much of a bonehead to hear.

He locked that thought down tight before it could leak over and hollow out the ache in his chest any further. How many times did he have to remind himself to stop thinking about her? Maybe there’d be a time when it didn’t hurt so fucking much, but today wasn’t it. One life altering revelation at a time.

The waitress returned and placed their plates on the table in front of them. Ty had ordered the seafood linguine, with a side of house-made fries. Nick could smell the greasy deliciousness from across the table. Although, his mixed seafood grill looked pretty fucking amazing. He was starving all of a sudden.

Another stretch of silence engulfed them, although this time, there was no tension in it.

“This is delicious.” Ty put down his fork and took a sip of his beer. “And speaking of delicious, how’s Alex?”

A streak of acid green jealousy slid through his veins. He stopped with a forkful of shrimp hallway to his mouth to level a look at Ty. The asshole-ish smirk on his face made Nick want to dump his half-eaten dinner in his friend’s lap.

The jealousy only lasted a second before it morphed into something that made the food in his stomach sour. He lowered the shrimp back to the plate and picked up his water. The cool liquid rehydrated his suddenly dry throat. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her since Tuesday.”

Ty continued to eat. “But you’re flying her in for your first game tomorrow, right?”

He shook his head. “No, whatever was between us is over.”

“Oh, geez, man, I’m sorry.” Ty grabbed his beer again. “What happened?”

He shrugged, was going to leave it at that. But it seemed his mouth had other ideas. “Honestly, I don’t know. I mean, things were great. Really great and then… shit, I don’t know. She said it had been fun but now it was over and that was it.”

“Did you talk to her about it? Ask why?”

The waitress returned and asked if Ty wanted another beer. Nick would bet anything she was a hockey fan, given the doe eyes she was batting his friend’s way. Of course, Ty being Ty, he was gobbling it all up with a big old, goddamn spoon. He flirted, she flirted, and then she was off to get him another drink.

Ty turned back to him, never missing a beat. “I’m assuming you wanted to continue seeing her.”

He must have looked confused, because Ty laughed.

“Alex, I mean. I’m assuming you wanted to continue things with Alex. Did you talk to her about it?” Ty started eating again.

He shook his head. Talking about Alex hurt too damn much. But he couldn’t seem to stop his lips from flapping. “Didn’t get a chance. Right after she said it was over, Nate called and told me about dad and I had to leave.”

Ty stopped with a forkful of noodles between his plate and his mouth. “Your dad passed on Saturday. You said you hadn’t talked to her since Tuesday.”

“Yeah.”

“Wasn’t the funeral on Tuesday?”

“Yeah.”

“So, she told you it was over on Saturday and then you talked to her on Tuesday?”