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Dylan:Didn't work out. I'm sorry. Thanks again for thinking of Colin.
I hit send and expect that to be the end of it. He's watching the game on the sidelines with his coach and teammates, surrounded by chaos and a plethora of reporters, most as gorgeous as the one in Arizona, I’m sure. He’ll have people all over him until dawn approaches, and then more after it. He has that freedom, the ability to screw whoever he wants whenever he wants, and I’m sure he takes advantage of it.
I feel the vibration of a new text against my leg.
Lake:Everything alright?
I swallow. He’s concerned. I hate how concern from Lake feels good.
Dylan:All good. Have a great night.
I sit back against the seat, tossing my phone onto the coffee table. I don't want sympathy; I don't want concern. I don't want to be someone's something worth saving. I only found strength when saving myself. Besides, we agreed upon a line in the sand. Sex and silence.
After the game finishes up, I place a blanket over Colin in his chair, removing the empty bowl of macaroni and cheese he devoured. Drawing the bright curtains of his yellow room, I switch the lamp off and quietly slip through the door. I smile to myself as I close it and look to where Katia fell asleep on the couch. As I'm placing our empty wine bottles in the recycling, I hear what sounds like a super gentle knock on the door.
No. It couldn't have been. Must be the neighbor.
Then I hear it again.
Wiping my hands nervously down my black leggings, I look back to where Kat is sleeping, then back at the door.
Twisting the rusty knob, I pull it open just enough for the chain lock to tighten so I can peek out.
I see him standing in the hallway, hand perched on the door frame as he always does, leaning forward with his dark, thick locks of hair before me. But when his head snaps up and those gunmetal blues light up at the sight of me, I’m terrified to my bones.
“Lake?” I whisper through the cracked door, my heart racing at the sight of him, panic circling me. “What are you doing here?”
36
Lake
“Thegame'sover,”Imutter, sounding like a total idiot.
Of course the game's over. That's why I'm here. At her door. Needing to see her and make sure everything is alright with her and Colin. Her entirely bland text left me confused and worried.
Call it protective; it's just how I am with women in my life. My mom included. After spending the morning making her breakfast and assisting her with her medications while Dale was out of town on business, I dodged questions about my recovery process like a man swerving defenders.
Questions came at me from left and right about therapy, and it was impossible to hold back the cheeky grin that stretched across my face as I explained with minimal detail how well it was going. She made a note to mention that I seemed different. While I was still more than eager to get back to business, she said I had a certain energy about me she couldn't place. I didn't even want to imagine she knew what she was talking about, but I couldn't deny it myself.
Dylan has changed me. Gotten in my head. I’m a man who’s falling for someone I can’t have, and realizing that is a torment all its own.
I made my way to the field an hour later, anxiously awaiting her and her brother. But as time ticked on, I'd realized something was wrong and they weren't coming. So now, here I am at their door.
“I watched it,” she whispers through the crack, her soft eyes finding mine.
I can't help but smile at that. At least I know she wasn't avoiding the game. If she was watching, then she had to have seen me and thought about me at some point throughout it. Something about that makes my stomach tighten. Feeling a little anxious about the need to explain myself, I tuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans.
“I had to see you. Had to make sure you were…” I struggle to find the word that fits. It's so much more than just alright, but it’s all I got. “Alright.”
Her mouth opens as if she’s about to say something, but she simply nods, waiting for me to continue.
I scratch the back of my head, blowing air through my lips as I look down the hallway and back. “Can I come in?”
“Um,” she stalls, looking towards where I know Colin's room is and back.
“Is he sleeping?”
She smiles lightly, nodding.
