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Max pumped twice more, letting out a ferocious roar as he buried himself inside me and unloaded.
After, he rolled onto his back and laid next to me, panting. I kept my face buried in the pillow so he couldn’t see the tears that came when the dam broke.
CHAPTER 25
* * *
Max
“Do you actually work here? Or just come to get away from your wife?”
Otto shook his head and scribbled something into a small notepad. “Checking the seats, Pretty Boy. Every single one of these gets tested twice a year.”
“Sure, that’s what you’re doing.”
“Where’s your pretty girl today? She smarten up and kick you to the curb already?”
I chuckled. “Glad to see you’re in your regular good spirits.”
He got up from one seat and sat down at the next. “Go plant your ass in E forty-four,” he said, pointing. “The bolts are stripped. When you sit down, you’ll wind up on the floor. It’ll do you some good to remember the crappy accommodations the people yelling your name are shelling out two-hundred bucks for.”
Otto was eight or nine rows away, so I walked up and took the aisle seat on the other side of the stairs to give him room to work.
“How you feeling?” I asked.
“Good. Finished my treatments and getting my strength back.” He flexed his hands. “Pins and needles are the same, but I’ll deal with it if it means I buy a little more time. I decided to call it quits here, though. Gave a month’s notice yesterday.”
“You get a job somewhere else?”
“Nope. My wife talked me into taking a road trip we’ve talked about since before we got married. Her brother has an RV he never uses, so we’re going to drive from here to California taking the north route and drive home through the South. Might take three weeks, might take three months. We’ll see how it goes.”
“Good for you. That sounds awesome.”
“I wanted to work as much as I could, bank money for my Dorothy for when I’m gone. But she says she’d rather have time with me than a little extra cash.” He shook his head. “I was being stubborn, but when she asked me what I would want if the shoe was on the other foot, I realized the money isn’t important.” He lifted his chin to me. “What about you? You coming here on a Wednesday when you’re off because you got news? Maybe tell me about your trade to the Blades, or do I have to read about it in the Post someday?”
I smiled. “Actually, that’s why I stopped over. We finalized the deal, so I’m probably going to be heading out to sign the contract next week, and then they’ll want to do a press conference.”
“You happy? Did you get what you wanted?”
Three months ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes. But the last few weeks, it felt like no amount of money or fame could get me what I wanted in life. Yet I nodded. “It’s a great contract.”
“Glad to hear it. And how’s your smart girl?”
I smiled. “Georgia’s good.”
“She moving out there with you, or you gonna be one of those fancy bicoastal couples?”
My face answered before I did.
“Oh, Jesus. You’re not going to try one of those long-distance things, are you? I might be old fashioned, but a couple should sleep in the same damn bed at night.”
I shook my head. “We were just having fun over the summer.”
His bushy brows pulled together to form what looked like a caterpillar. “So you’re not in love with this girl?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Oh.” He nodded. “Complicated? I get it. That’s young people speak for cop-out.”
“Sometimes the best thing you can do for a person you love is set them free.”
Otto snorted. “Did you read that shit on a Hallmark card? I didn’t realize you were so soft.”
“Soft? Don’t make me get up and kick an old man’s ass.”
He waved me off and grumbled something I didn’t catch.
“So whatta you think about the Radiski trade?” I knew that would change the subject. Otto thought Radiski was the most overrated goalie in the league, and he’d just snagged a huge, multiyear contract.
For the next hour and a half, I followed along, moving row to row as Otto tested out each chair and we bullshitted about the busy trade season. When it was time for him to take lunch, I figured I’d go.
We walked to the door together, and I extended my hand. “I’ll stop back again before you leave.”
“Sounds good.” We shook, but Otto didn’t let go of my hand. Instead, he used it to keep my attention and looked me in the eye. “Humor a dying old man and let me give you some advice.”
“What’s that?”
“Whatever you think is so complicated, isn’t. Don’t wait until you’re seventy and sick to figure out that life is pretty simple. Be with the people you love, and your life will feel full in the end, whenever that time may come.”
