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It would have been incredible to be a bigger part of that game today, but I can’t say I blame the coaching staff for not having faith in me after my piss poor performance at our last game.
I’m out of the shower and pulling a shirt over my head when Jace moseys on over, securing a team towel around his middle.
“So, what’s the latest on your marriage situation?”
I groan. That’s the second-least favorite of all the topics Jace could hit me with at the moment. “I made a huge mess out of everything.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t win her over?”
“Shit. Not even close. I got her to agree to dinner with me at some restaurant in town. The evening went to shit when I begged her for a kiss, and she said she was done talking to me.” I pull my stupid hair. “Anything else I want to say to her will probably have to go through a judge now.”
Jace turns up his nose. “Damn. Is your breath that bad?”
I fling my jockstrap at his smug face and he ducks. “Not helping, asshole.”
Normally, I’d be joking around like the rest of my idiot teammates. But I’m in the middle of an existential crisis over here.
“Okay, okay. Can I give you some advice? Man to man?”
“Not while you’re buck ass naked. Go put some pants on.”
“Hey, I have some of the best conversations in the nude. If you want all this wisdom I have to offer, you’ll have to take me as I am.” Jace flexes and spins, showing off. It earns him some whistling and cat-calling from a few of the guys that are still around.
I jump back. “Whoa! Hit me with your advice. Not your dong, you perv.”
“Party pooper,” someone yells from somewhere down the row of lockers.
Jace drops down on the bench next to my locker, his face finally growing serious. “In my experience, lack of communication is the biggest relationship killer. You need to really talk to her. Get through to her. You need to make your woman understand that the way you feel about her is no joke. You can’t just assume she knows. You need to spell it out.
“This is hard.” I groan. “I thought that being a professional athlete was supposed to make it easier to get the girl.”
He shakes his head at me. “When you’re an athlete, it’s easier to land groupies and hook-ups, I guess. But when you really find the one you’re ready to settle down with, that can be an uphill battle. Because the smart girls—the serious girls, the ones worth settling down with—know about the groupies and the hook-ups. And they want no part of it.”
It would have been helpful to know how hard this would bebeforeI made a steaming mess out of everything. It’s decidedly too late to fix things now.
“It’s no use. I’ve been pretty clear with Nadia about how much I like her and it’s still not enough. She’s probably filing a restraining order against me as we speak.”
Jace sighs, slowly drawing back to his feet. “Yikes. Well, the more powerful the woman, the higher the stakes.” He grins. “But on the bright side, if you do manage to hook her, that’ll make some good kink material for the bedroom, if you know what I mean. Power play is hot.”
I drop my head. “If my wife won’t even talk to me, it’s a pretty safe bet that I won’t make it to the bedroom with her anytime in the near future,” I deadpan. At this rate I’m going to be a virgin for fucking ever.
“Touché, buddy.” Jace finally stalks over to his locker to get dressed. Thank god. “Why don’t you come out with the guys tonight? We’re thinking about hitting a bar for a celebratory drink.”
“Come on. Maxwell’s buying!” Jude shouts.
“The fuck I am,” our captain responds.
“Shots! Shots! Shots!” the rest of the guys call out.
I shake my head. “Thanks for the invite but I think I’ll just go back to my hotel room…” I can’t wait to get on the plane in the morning. I just want to go home and lick my wounds until our next game.
The guys keep trying to convince me but ultimately, I shoot them down. That results in a lot of shit-talking and name-calling. But I don’t care. I grab my bag and head out of the stadium. I’m just not in the mood tonight.
I release a sigh of relief when I march through my front door the next afternoon.
And then I immediately wonder why I was in such a rush to get back home anyway.
The walls are tall and gloomy around me. Even when I flick on all my Christmas lights and play my favorite carols on the stereo system, the mood is heavy.
