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“Thanks again for cleaning me up,” I whisper, suddenly afraid to make too much noise. The entire room feels charged and one slip up could trigger a chain reaction. “I’m such a klutz sometimes.”
“Never noticed that before,” he deadpans, his tone unamused.
When I try to slide off the table, Mack doesn’t move and my body brushes against his, feeling every inch of his hard muscles. “I should go, I still need to do some work when I get home.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Mack insists, finally giving me some space to move and following me out of the room.
My entire body deflates knowing I don’t have to go back out there alone.
When I feel tears prick my eyes, I quickly blink them away. How stupid to feel so much relief over something so simple.
It’s a quiet walk to my car and my ankle is twinging the entire way, but I don’t let out a peep. I’ll save all the freaking out for when I get home and can get a bag of frozen peas on it and process what the hell just happened.
“I know you weren’t coming back for your fucking pen,” Mack finally says as we reach my car. “And I would feel a lot better if you at least let me make sure you get home safely… or reconsider my offer.”
Hitting the unlock button on my key fob, I open the door and toss my bag inside. “I’m fine, really,” I reiterate. “I think I just got a little spooked and next time I’ll just make sure I walk out with someone. I should’ve left when Brian left. That was my fault. Please don’t worry about me. I’m going to call Soph on my way home and my apartment is secure, promise. I just had my alarm company come out this week and check my sensors. So, no need to worry.”
He hesitates and I can tell he wants to argue with me, but instead, it looks like he’s swallowing razor blades when he says, “Okay. Be safe.”
After I start my car and put it into drive, Mack finally retreats and heads to the players lot and I let the emotions I’ve been tamping down come to the surface. By the time I make it to the first stoplight, my hands are shaking again as I use my Bluetooth to call Sophie.
“Hey.”
Her sweet, upbeat tone does a little to calm my nerves, but I can’t keep the quiver out of my voice when I answer her.
“Hey, Soph.”
“What’s wrong?”
I give her a brief synopsis of my night and she immediately responds with, “I’ll meet you for drinks.”
“No, you don’t have to,” I tell her. “I know you and the kids have school tomorrow and I don’t want to take away your time with Owen while the team is in town. I just wanted you to know I’m fine, in case Mack says something to Owen.”
“Greer,” Sophie warns. “You’re my best bitch and you had a shitty night. Let’s meet for a drink and you can tell me all the details you left out last week, because I know you’re not being completely honest with me. We’ll both decompress. You’ll feel better and so will I.”
Her words make my lips pull up into a half smile. “Okay, a drink with you sounds exactly like what I need.”
“Thought so,” she says. “Meet me in thirty at… The Vintage?”
“Sounds good. I’m going to run home, change clothes and call an Uber.”
When I get to my apartment, I immediately pull up the Uber app and schedule a pick-up and then hurry to my bedroom to change into something more comfortable. When I look in the mirror to check my hair and make-up, I realize I’m missing an earring.
“Shit,” I mutter, pulling at my bare earlobe. “These are my favorite earrings.”
After a quick search around my bedroom with no luck, I realize I must have lost it when I fell or maybe it’s in my car. I’m running behind, so instead of spending any more time looking for it, I make a mad dash through my apartment, checking for something more important than a missing earring… I open closet doors and peek under beds, even fling back the shower curtain to make sure no one is lurking inside.
You know, just in case.
When I’m satisfied the place is secure, I turn on the television and lamp in my living room, so I won’t come back to a dark and quiet apartment.
Call me crazy, but it makes me feel less alone.
A tad bit more than thirty minutes later, I’m jogging up the sidewalk to The Vintage and find Sophie sitting at a table for two by the front door.
“Sorry, I tried getting something more private, but they’re busy tonight,” she says, standing and pulling me into a hug.
“This is good,” I tell her, returning the hug. “Thanks for meeting me.”
