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I slid out, shutting the door and holding my hand up to Howard before heading to my place. Once there, I peeked back and saw that Howard had turned their outdoor light off, but Brett was still watching. I gave him a small wave before going inside and locking the door.
He drove off after that.
I got ready for bed, my insides all twisted up with different emotions, good and bad. When I laid in bed, my headache was gone, and I held onto my phone, just knowing…
Twenty minutes later, it buzzed.
Brett: You’re still safe?
I knew he was going to text.
Me: I am. You got back okay?
Brett: I did. I’ll call you tomorrow. I’d love to get together? Maybe eat something?
Me: I’d like that. Have a good day with the team tomorrow. Night.
Brett: Night.
15
BILLIE
We hadn’t kissed Friday night.
We couldn’t, not with Howard on the other side of the door and after our little tiff.
I’d had a tiff. With Brett Broudou.
Because I was someone he cares about.
I was still trying to wrap my head around that as we got ready to watch the game. Lo, Roger, and the girls had come over for lunch after church, and since the game was at three, they stayed. The girls had a gymnastics competition all day yesterday, so Lo hadn’t been over demanding answers, but I knew my time was up. I’d been glad to keep those details for myself, at least for a little while.
Once she grilled me, it wasn’t just my secret or my new thing with Brett. It became Lo’s business. And she loved me. I knew she did. She only wanted good things for me, but I’d enjoyed having a day without the pressure.
Brett and I hadn’t been able to get together yesterday, but once he was at the hotel with the rest of the team, he’d called from his room and we talked for two hours.
Two hours.
It’d been so long since I was on the phone with someone for two hours, particularly a romantic interest. Thirty minutes was the most Daniel and I had ever talked when we dated. We were not phone people, or even really talk people. I knew about Daniel’s job, his family, his shows, and that was it.
Seraphina, before him, had been a bit different. We did talk, but it wasn’t over the phone. She just came over to my place during college. Or I went to hers. That’d been new to me. She was my first relationship, so I hadn’t totally known what I was doing.
After them, I’d given up, figuring dating wasn’t for me. It wasn’t going to be in the cards. And now this? With Brett?
I hadn’t stopped smiling. I was excited to see him on the field. I was being totally cheesy, but I let myself indulge. There was too much hard shit in life. So yeah, I let myself feel all the sunshine and rainbows right now because who knew what would happen in the future.
“Lo’s about to lose her shit.” Roger stepped over my feet, which were resting on the coffee table, with a bowl of popcorn. He dropped down next to me on the couch, and I bounced up from the motion. He nodded at the television, where the newscasters were making their predictions for the game. The Kings were playing Minneapolis, and for some reason, since we’d won the Super Bowl last year, everyone was counting the Kings out. They all thought they’d peaked.
I was going to enjoy it when they ate crow.
I sat up, folding my knees under me. “Why’s she about to lose her shit?”
“Because of you.” He tossed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and grinned.
I narrowed my eyes. “Because why?” I grabbed the remote and turned the volume down.
“Because you haven’t told her about you-know-who.” He gestured to the television.
