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I stew on my options, not caring how much time slowly passes, until two texts answer for me.
Pippa: I’m home.
Seth: Where are you? We still need to talk.
Seth’s waiting by his car in my visitor space when I pull into my parking garage, a smirk locked in place as he talks on the phone. As I step out of my truck, he ends the call and pushes off his car, walking toward me. “Do you offer this service to all your women?” he says but then scrunches his nose like the words taste sour. “Sorry, you know I joke at inappropriate times.”
“It’s fine. But to clarify, I don’t have women at my apartment. Ever.”And I’m not in the mood.
“Good to know.” He nods before following me to the elevator. “How are you holding up?”
My brow furrows as I contemplate his question and realize my contract worries are far from my mind. “To be honest, I’m not really concerned about the contract. I—”
“That’s not what I meant,” he says, his mouth set in a slight frown. “How’s Willow?”
“What do you mean?”
“She didn’t look too good when I saw her waiting by your truck. I almost stopped to ask her, but figured it was between the two of you.”
Shit.And here I thought she was good at hiding her true feelings.
“So, is she okay?” he asks again when I don’t answer.
She’s not okay. Far from it. And I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to fix something so broken it’s likely beyond repair.
“She’s taking things day by day,” I offer as the only answer that’s not a lie, while also giving nothing away.
Seth nods again, though I’m fairly certain he has no idea what I mean. “Is it okay if we chat about your contract now? I know you’ve got a lot on your mind, but I need to know how you want me to proceed.”
“Tell them yes. Whatever it is, it’s a yes.”
“What if they want to trade you?”
“No, fuck that.”
He chuckles lightly. “That’s what I thought. So how about we go inside and you hear me out.”
“Yeah, I guess I can do that.”
“So, the short of it is, they want me on the team, but they’re not willing to sign a new contract this early on, because of my age.”
“You’re a forward, and you’re not exactly a cautious player. Plus, there’s the blood pressure.”
“Fuck. It’s normal.”
“It’s not normal foryou. It’s not normal for athletes. That’s what they’re comparing. They’re not looking at your levels based on what the normal levels are; they’re looking based on yourpastlevels.”
I sigh because I don’t need the lecture. I know all of this, but it’s not helpful. For so long I thought I was invincible. I’ve survived things in the past that would have broken others. Not only do I have a strong exterior, but inside I’m stone. No, Iwasstone. Now I’m not. Now I feel things I haven’t felt for over a decade, and it’s completely fucking me up. I thought I was immune, and that my body was built accordingly. Guess I thought wrong.
“Things are messed up at the moment.”I’m facing stress I thought I’d long escaped. “It’s not going to be an issue.”
Seth raises an eyebrow in question, silently checking if I’m sure.
“It’snotan issue,” I repeat with more conviction, and it seems to work because he sighs in relief.
“Good.Good. I know you’re worried about Willow, but she’s got Pippa, she’s got family, and she’s got friends. We need to get your focus back where it belongs.”
Huh?“You know that’s a fucked-up request, right?”
