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“It did get a little cold for a second when Miles was there.” I laugh.
Bryce rolls her eyes. “He pisses me off. So what if he doesn’t love everything I write about him? I’m fair—I’ve said plenty of good as well as bad.”
“It surprises me, you know… he was Lee’s roommate and best friend in college. I was only in their orbit for a few months and I’ve only been with the team for a week, but he’s never struck me as someone who would get butt hurt about a bad article.”
“Or two. Okay, maybe three.” She chuckles.
“I guess you just bring out the worst in him.” Shrugging, I stand from the couch.
“Maybe. Or maybe he just has a fragile ego and a lot of false bravado.” She smacks her hands on her thighs and rises from the chair. “Ready to make ourselves look respectable and grab some brunch?”
“Definitely.”
I smile at her and follow her down the hall to her bedroom to change into the clothes I’d originally planned to wear out last night.
Bryce is like the rainbow after a storm. If things go south in California, she’ll be my silver lining.
By the time I return to my apartment, it’s late afternoon. I want nothing more than to veg out on my couch all night, but I need to get a workout in. Not just to clear my mind of Lee Burrows, but because my job is to keep professional athletes healthy, conditioned, and in shape. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t do the same.
My cell phone rings as I’m changing, and Aunt Suzie’s name lights up the screen. I smile at the phone in my hand. My aunt and I have always been close—she was like a second mother to me when I was growing up.
“Hi, Aunt Suzie.”
“Hey, you! How’s California? How’s your job?”
I’ve been texting with her throughout the week in the rare times I have free time, but I’d promised I’d give her a full update this weekend. “My one boss is still intense, but I’m starting to get the flow of things, I think.”
“And how about those players? They treating you well? Do I need to fly out there and kick anyone’s ass?”
I chuckle as the image of being caged in Lee’s arms last night at the club comes to mind, but I push it away. “All the players have been very welcoming. No worries there.”
I never told my aunt what happened between Lee and me. At the time, I was too embarrassed to admit it, and as the years passed, I just wanted to forget my momentary lapse of judgment. It seemed easier than asking myself why I was still giving him any thought at all so many years later.
My aunt asks a few more questions and I give her more details of what I’ve been up to all week, then she catches me up on some of the more colorful characters she’s had come into the restaurant she waits tables at.
“I want you to know how proud I am of you,” she says when our conversation comes to a natural lull.
Her words make me smile. “You may have mentioned that a time or two.” Or hundred.
“I mean it, Shayna. You’re out there doing it on your own, supporting yourself and making a life for yourself. I’m jealous.”
My chuckle is strained because she’s not saying the words in jest.
It’s no secret that my aunt is in an unhappy marriage. She has been for as long as I can remember. It became obvious to me when I was a teenager. When I asked her about it once—thanks, teenage bravado—rather than denying it and insisting everything was fine, she actually told me the truth.
Maybe it was because I wasn’t technically her daughter. I’ve never talked to her two children, my cousins, about it, so I have no idea if they know, but I’ve always suspected they must since they grew up in the household.
“I’m sorry.” It’s all I can think of to say.
“Oh, sweetie, I don’t begrudge you the life you’re living. Not at all. It’s just if I could do it over… you know… I’d do things differently. Not get married so young.”
My aunt and uncle were married right out of high school and started a family right away. From her telling, it became clear a few years into the marriage that they weren’t suited for each other. My uncle is often gruff, disinterested, and says hurtful things. Over the years, my aunt is pretty sure he’s had affairs, but she never confronts him.
She’s always felt stuck because she doesn’t have a postsecondary education and had three kids to raise. How would she support herself if she left him? What if he didn’t pay child support? It was a risk she wasn’t willing to take for her children, so instead, she focused on her family and raising her kids.
Watching someone you love live an existence like that is painful, but I took it as a lesson—and so I kept my focus on my studies and excelling at school. I support myself and work my dream job. No matter what, I’ll always be able to rely on myself.
“I know you wish you could do things over, but there’s still time to make a change.” I grip the phone a little tighter, anticipating her response.
