Page 46 of Game Misconduct

Parker

Even though we lived together, I rarely saw Mitch outside of practice and games. I wasn’t sure what his schedule was, but he was almost never home. He did appear right before practice to see if I wanted to carpool, but I never knew where he was coming from, if it was the boxing gym or some other secret hang out.

His lack of communication was fine with me. I didn’t necessarily want to have to check in with anyone either. But it was odd. I still felt like a visitor in his apartment. At one point, I thought he might be giving me space to settle in, but that wasn’t working out for me. Being alone in his home made me more uncomfortable with each passing day. It was probably time to look into getting my own place.

Maybe after practice today, I’d ask the guys for advice. There was a chance one of them knew of an opening in their apartment building. As much as I didn’t want to offend Mitch, I was sure the space would be best for both of us.

I was checking my bag to make sure I had a change of clothes when he appeared in my doorway.

“Hey, do you mind driving today?” he asked.

“Sure.” I zipped my duffle and pulled the strap over my shoulder. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

We headed to the front door, and he grabbed his bag from the couch. Normally, the silence between us didn’t bother me, but there was something eating at me, and there was no way of knowing when I’d have another chance to talk to him. The short drive to the arena was the perfect amount of time. If things got awkward, we’d have an excuse to avoid each other for the next few hours.

He pushed the button to call the elevator and stepped back next to me.

This was it. I just needed to open my mouth.

I swallowed. “You’re close with Vivian.”

He twisted his neck to face me so fast I thought it was going to crack. “Yeah?”

“How close exactly?” I could only meet his eyes for a second before looking away.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

The bell dinged, and we stepped into the elevator. I pressed the button for the garage. “You two are friends.”

“Yeah, Parker. We’ve established that.” He shifted from one foot to another. “What about it?”

“You took her to dinner a few weeks ago.”

He blew out a breath. “Yup.”

“And you were at her apartment the other night.” I wasn’t sure why I was repeating facts he was well aware of. I just needed to lay out all I knew to make sure I had all the right pieces.

“Parker, what are you getting at?” He turned to face me, but the doors opened and I hurried out.

I didn’t say anything until we got to my car. I looked at him, pausing with my hand on the roof. “Is there anything else going on?”

He stared at me for a long moment before cracking a smile. “You mean, more than friendship?”

I nodded.

“No, she and I are just friends.”

I opened the door and slid inside, and he did the same. I went through the motions of starting the car, letting it warm up, and pulling out of the spot.

“Is there a reason why you’re asking?”

I glanced over, expecting him to be smiling. It sounded like he was teasing me, but he looked serious.

“I just wanted to check.”

“Why?” he pressed.