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“I’m good. Tired.”
“It’s the middle of the afternoon.”
“Your point?”
“Just that, that it’s the middle of the afternoon.”
“Did you call for a reason?”
“Geesh, you’re grumpy. You sound like Charlie.”
Sitting up a bit straighter, I muted the television. “When did you talk to her?”
“This morning. She called me on the way to a class she was taking at the hospital. I don’t know how that girl does it. Between the hospital, studying, and trying to have a life, the girl barely sleeps.”
Trying to have a life?An image of her with a hotshot doctor popped into my head. Pushing that image out of my mind, I simply replied, “Yeah, I’m sure it’s difficult.” I also wondered if she’d opened the gift I’d given her yet. She hadn’t mentioned it, so my guess was that she hadn’t.
“Are you really okay? I’m worried about you and her.”
“Yes, Sal, I’m fine. Had a rough practice is all.”
“All right.” Someone said something in the background. “Is it against the law to gag your boss?”
“Don’t even say that out loud. You never know who’s listening. And yes. Still giving you a hard time?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“All right. Well, don’t get into any trouble.”
“Fine. I’ll call you if I need bail money. Gotta go. Love you.”
The call disconnected, and I typed out a text to Charlie.
I hope you’re having a good day.
I waited to see if she’d reply, but as I could have guessed, she didn’t. Tucking my phone to the side, I decided to go for a run and clear my head. Maybe pounding the pavement would get my mind off things.
Except I didn’t think that would be enough. Especially when my body ached for her. The thoughts I had for Charlie ranged between a sweet romance movie where chivalry prevailed to a porn movie where sex did.
Sex.
Sex with Charlie had been phenomenal. Knowing I was her first had been an aphrodisiac I had no idea existed. Images of Charlie flipped through my mind. I remembered how cute she was when she couldn’t get her jersey and pads on that first day, and how she knew every muscle in the human body. Not only that, but when she touchedmymuscles, I might as well have been electrocuted. Her body knew it too. The woman had to be the most responsive lover I’d ever had, and I couldn’t stop missing her.
Chapter 30
Charlie
Fun fact: it’s cold in Seattle. For the past couple of weeks, I’d been wondering if I’d made the right decision. Yes, January wasn’t meant to be a balmy month, but that didn’t mean I wanted to lose feeling in my extremities. Fighting the blade-sharp wind coming off the Puget Sound forced me to tug my scarf tighter around my neck. I hurried into the local coffee shop that had become my favorite place since moving here. It would give me a bit of a reprieve before going to the lecture hall to listen to Dr. Benedict Landon, a brilliant doctor who was the best in the field of biochemistry, something I wanted to learn more about.
Heat and the robust smell of freshly ground coffee beans warmed me from the outside in. “Welcome to Ground Rules. What can I get you?” the young barista asked.
“Hi, can I get a large hazelnut latte?”
I slid my gloves off and stuffed them in the pockets of my puffy jacket. She looked at me with a bit of impatience. “Sorry, lots of layers.” The upturn of her lips was quick, and if I had to guess, her foot was tapping the floor beneath the counter. Letting out a breath, I paid and moved toward the end of the counter to wait for my drink.
An older man sitting at the table reading a newspaper caught my attention. Not to sound like a Gen Z kid, but I couldn’t remember the last time I saw someone reading news on anything other than an electronic device. He glanced up and smiled.
“Good afternoon,” I offered as a weird greeting.
