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“It’s nice to be forced to take a time-out, huh?” the driver says.
I nod, letting him ramble on, speaking about anything and everything that comes to mind. He’s really talkative, and I zone out, thinking about Noah while he babbles in the background. My stomach twists with nerves when the cab pulls up in front of Noah’s building.
The driver helps me unload my bags, and I thank him and pay him a bit extra for still being out on the streets in this weather.
When he drives off, I walk into the lobby.
Chapter 17
Noah
Fuck, I hate this. Raven is probably in the air by now, and I can’t stop thinking about her. I can’t have her, which is driving me crazy.
Since when do I give a shit about a woman? Since when do I want to commit to one person and see where it goes? After all my years of fucking around, I’m finally in a space where I want to settle down. I never thought this day would come.
But now that I want that, I can’t have her. She lives on the other side of the fucking world, and I’m left here pining for her.
Maybe it’s karma for all the women I didn’t call back, all the women I fucked and forgot about.
When I pick up my phone, it overflows with news reports about a blizzard. I frown and roll out of bed—I slept until now because I didn’t want to face reality.
When I open my thick, light blocking curtains, the world outside is unrecognizable. Snow blows around past my window, coating everything in a thick layer. Down below, cars are piled up in traffic that stretches for miles.
I turn on the radio and listen to the reports. The roads are a mess. Public transport has stopped—the cabs are stuck in traffic, busses can’t push into the throng, and there are reports about the subway switches being frozen and creating signal issues.
Flights are grounded, too.
I glance at the time. I don’t know what time Raven’s flight left—I didn’t want to know the exact moment it’s all taken away from me. Hell, when she said goodbye last night, it already felt like it was all over for me.
I just hope that she’s safe, away from all this chaos before it all started.
With the weather this bad, there won’t be any training. I don’t feel like it, anyway. Usually, I use exercise to get something out of my system when it bugs me for too long. But this is different. Today, I just want to drink until I can’t remember anymore.
Rooster answers his phone when I call.
“Have you seen the shitshow out there?” he asks.
“Yeah, I saw. Fucking nightmare. What are you up to?”
“I’m still in bed,” Rooster says with a chuckle. “I’m telling you, this storm is a blessing in disguise because I’m far too hungover to go out and push the guys around. Seriously, last night got out of hand.”
“What happened?” I ask.
“I went out drinking with Mason and Darrell when you said you were busy. They stopped early—responsible assholes that they are—but when they left, I found a group of frat kids who wanted to pull an all-nighter.”
I laugh. “We’re too old for that shit.”
“Yeah, well, he told me I wouldn’t keep up. He called me old man. So I showed him Icankeep up. I matched those snot-nosed college kids one for one with our drinks. I don’t know how I made it home, but I’m the man.”
I hear him pummel his chest and laugh.
“Yeah, and you’re man down when they’re probably ready for round two right now.”
Rooster groans. “Don’t remind me, okay? IknowI’m too old for this shit.” He laughs and then complains about his head. “But they don’t have to know I’m at death’s door this morning. It’s a macho thing.”
I laugh, shaking my head.
“Do you know what works best for a hangover?”
