He had one feeble last chance to fix this, and if he didn’t have so much other shit going on, this wouldn’t feel so overwhelming. Still, he was determined to do whatever it took. He’d spoken to his dad earlier that week, and his dad had broken down mid-conversation about his grandpa. Alex would not add to his father’s stress.
He checked his phone as he rushed to his car. His ankle therapy was in less than ten minutes. There was no way he could miss that. The last thing he needed now was for his ankle to get any worse. Then he’d really be in deep shit.
After that, he needed to get to the restaurant then back to football practice. Even though he couldn’t do a full practice with his ankle still feeling this weak, the coach expected to see him there anyway. All players, even the ones recovering from surgery as he was, were expected to be there dressed and learning the new plays even if it was just by memory.
He groaned as he drove off with thoughts of the next gruelingly busy week, because on top of it all, he now had what Davenport had added to his already overflowing workload.
Seeing a text from Valerie made him frown. Since he dropped her off at her place Monday morning before rushing to school, he hadn’t seen or talked to her. It’d been three days since he even called her. But this week had been so busy, and now it was only going to get worse. He didn’t even have time to read her text. He had missed calls from the restaurant and Sofie. He needed to check those first.
Without listening to his voice mail, he called Sofie instead.
“Did you get my message?” she asked as soon as she answered.
“No, I haven’t had a chance,” he said, pulling out onto the street from the school parking lot. “I’m driving and I didn’t wanna be pushing buttons. What do you need?”
“Payroll,” she said. “You’re missing a few people this week. Sal showed me how to do it before, and I know you’ve been super busy, so I was gonna try getting it done for you, but I had a couple of questions. I tried Sal first, but he didn’t answer.”
“I didn’t miss anyone,” he explained with a frown. “I just hadn’t finished, but I’m glad you checked into it, because I did forget all about it.”
“I figured as much,” she said.
They went over the things she needed clarification on, and then he finally got some much needed good news.
“Mom called today,” she said as if it just hit her. “Grandpa’s doing better. The swelling has decreased significantly, and the doctors say it looks like there isn’t any permanent damage. He might be awake in a day or two.”
Alex breathed a sigh of relief, mostly for his dad’s sake. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy about his grandpa being better, but the truth was neither he nor any of his siblings had been real close to the guy. His grandpa moved back to Mexico when they were all very young, and ever since, they only saw him maybe once or twice a year if that. The last couple of years none of them had made the trip back for the holidays, the trip his parents made annually. Instead, just like now, they stayed back and manned the restaurant while his parents went. He didn’t mean to be insensitive. It was just one of those things. His grandpa was elderly. It was to be expected. His dad was who worried him. Alex’s dad was still very close to his father, and Alex knew he was taking this especially hard.
After getting off the phone with his sister, Alex made a few other calls he needed make. None of them were to Valerie. He hated that he didn’t have the time to squeeze her in, but there was just so much shit he’d fallen behind on.
Once done with his ankle therapy, he rushed out into his car again. This week was going to be a blur if he ever got through it. The only good thing was the clinic was just around the corner from the restaurant, so that worked out.
As he jumped in his car, his phone rang, and he dreaded checking who it was in case it was Valerie. Not that he didn’t miss her, he just wasn’t up for having to explain why he had no idea when he’d be able to see her again. Telling her about added schoolwork to make up for his colossally shitty grades was out of the question.
The way he’d acted last week when he’d decided things were going to change between them was completely contradictory to how things were this week. But how the hell was he supposed to have predicted how busy he’d be this week?
On top of everything, Valerie had always been such a huge distraction. This was part of the reason why he’d fallen behind in his Time Series Analysis class. When he was around her, he couldn’t help but put everything else aside. As he always said, he just couldn’t get enough of her.
Fortunately, it wasn’t her, but seeing who it was made him smile with relief and he answered. “Gwyneth,” he said as he sped out of the parking lot maybe a little too fast. “I was just thinking about you, sweetheart.”
Gwyneth laughed. “Oh really?” she said, playfully sarcastic. “And sweetheart, huh? Hmm, I can’t decide what I like better—that or when you call me smexy.” Alex smiled, but before he could respond, she added, “Smexy, definitely smexy. It feels more unique, and when you said it the first time, it felt so genuine.”
He pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, parked, and jumped out. For the first time that week, he laughed. “I’m always genuine.”
“Oh yes, like you were really thinking of me just now? I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”
“Okay, maybe the second you called I wasn’t, but you had been on my mind lately.” Ever since Professor Davenport laid on all Alex would have to do to have a chance at passing his class.
“Really?” she said again, and he could almost picture her timid smile. “Well, I’m glad I called then. I got a couple of last-minute tickets to the Padres game tomorrow night and no one to go with. I remember you mentioning you’re a big fan, so I thought maybe . . . you’d wanna go with me.”
He winced as he walked toward the back door of the restaurant. “I’m actually swamped this week.”
“We don’t have to go for the whole game,” she said quickly. “I never do. We could just sit in for a few innings, have a beer, and leave early.” She paused for a moment. “Maybe go back to your place after?”
About to say no, Alex had a thought suddenly. It might actually be best to get started on this the sooner the better. “You know what?” He pushed the door to restaurant open. “That actually sounds like a good idea. Does the game start at seven?”
“Yes, it does,” she said, and he could hear the restrained excitement in her voice.
It’d been a while since he’d hung out with Gwyneth, and he’d never done so other than for cramming purposes. It was actually a surprise that she’d called him for this reason. Even more of a surprise was her suggestion that they go back to his place afterward but a pleasantly convenient surprise nonetheless. Still, he had every intention of telling her about his girl and making it clear that this was business—not a date.
“We won’t make the beginning of the game,” he warned as he walked through the back hallway of the restaurant between the office and the kitchen. “But I can pick you up tomorrow, eight-ish. Sound good, smexy?”
“Sounds great,” she said immediately.
“Was that Valerie?” Angel asked just as he stepped out from the office.
“No,” Alex said, hanging up, and regretted it a second later.
Sarah appeared from behind Angel. He hadn’t even thought to lower his voice. He held out hope Sarah hadn’t heard what he called Gwyneth. But their eyes met for just a fleeting moment before she glanced away without so much as a hello.
“Ah,” Angel said, making a face as Sarah rushed out to pick up an order of food. “Shit!” Angel whispered, still looking in Sarah’s direction, but Sarah didn’t look back at them as she walked out from behind the counter with a tray and into the dining room. “Oh well,” Angel said, as usual not getting into Alex’s business about his and Valerie relationship. “She called the restaurant earlier, looking for you. I thought maybe it was important since she never calls you here.”
Instantly, Alex was concer
ned. Angel wandered off into the dining room also as Alex checked his texts. He scrolled down to hers and read it.
You must be really busy this week . . .
I miss you.
He frowned, looking up at the corner of his screen, wondering if he could get a call in real quick. He only had a half hour to do what he’d come here to do. It was already Wednesday. The schedules for the following week usually went up Thursday the week before, and he hadn’t even started them. He started to text her back when Sofie called out.
“Alex, you here?”
“Yeah,” he said, starting out one of his usual I’m-real-busy texts to Valerie.
“Good. Don’t kill me, but I think I messed something up with the payroll.”
That got his attention. He knew from experience the payroll could easily get royally screwed up. Shoving his phone in his pocket before he could respond to Valerie, he rushed into the office.
Sofie was chewing her lower lip, wincing when she saw him. “I’m not sure what I did, but it changed a bunch of stuff.”
“What?” His stomach nearly bottomed out.
If she did what he’d done one time a while back, the whole thing was screwed. She’d moved out of the way so he could see what she’d done when Angel popped his head in the door. “Twenty minutes, man, then we gotta get to practice.”
Alex nodded without looking back. Sofie hadn’t screwed things up as badly as he thought, but he wasn’t going to have time for the schedules now. He’d have to come back after practice. Any hope of getting in a little time with Valerie tonight just went out the door. Damn it!
Only good thing was it sounded as if his parents would be home sooner than later now. Once they were back, he wouldn’t have to spend so much time at the restaurant. He’d make it up to Valerie. He had to because he already knew what she must be thinking, and if Sarah had anything to do with it, he’d be doing some major ass kissing real soon.
~~~
Valerie had been working in a real estate office for months now, shadowing other real estate agents. Alex already knew she’d been scheduled to take her state license exam soon. He just found out yesterday from Angel that she had and had told Sarah she felt real good about it. She’d already mentioned to Alex that, as soon as she was licensed for the required minimum two years, she’d be taking the broker’s test. The girl was a force to be reckoned with. He was as proud of her perseverance as he was turned on by it. She had her shit together, and when she set her mind to something, she accomplished it. She’d even gotten her AA early, and when she’d moved out of her dorm and into her own place, she’d done it all on her own. As far as Alex knew, she had no help from her daddy. He remembered her saying she’d surprised him by taking him to her apartment and saying “Ta-da!” It was just one more thing he loved about her.
No way was he telling her about his struggle to keep his grades up. It’d be fucking humiliating. But he would be honest about something else—at least as much as he could be. It’s what he expected from her when it came to this kind of stuff.
“It was just a baseball game, Val. I didn’t even stay for the whole thing. We got there late and left early.”
He left the rest out. She didn’t need to know about them going back to his place afterward.
“You made time for a baseball game during a week you didn’t have time to so much as text me? Gee, I wonder why that is,” she said, and Alex knew he was seconds away from getting hung up on. “Oh, wait, I remember now. Because she’s smexy, right, Alex?”
“That was just a—” He stopped suddenly as he heard the unmistakable click on the other end.
With a long flustered deep breath, he continued to drive. This wasn’t the first time she’d hung up on him, of course, but this worried him more than the all the other times. Alex knew she’d always been hurt in the past when she’d suspected him spending time with other girls. But she’d never asked him outright about them.
Something had definitely changed recently. He’d felt it. It’d been over a year now that they’d both started to become a little more demanding of the other. Their time apart consisted mainly of a few days a week at the longest like this week. And like tonight the hurt had started to weigh heavier, causing more damage than it ever did before. She was getting tired of this game, and Alex didn’t even try to hide his feelings of entitlement to her, even though they’d never formally declared themselves a couple. It was the main reason why he’d decided he was going to step things up with her.
Alex felt the urgency to do something soon. The spats and falling-outs they’d had most recently had the explicit feel of verging on the irrevocable now. Tonight she’d actually asked him about the girl Sarah overheard him on the phone with. As angry as Alex had heard her in the past, this was by far the worst. She’d been livid. Apparently, Sarah had asked Valerie if she’d talked to him this week, and Valerie told her no then tried to excuse him for disappearing on her because of how busy he was. That’s when Sarah had informed her about the call she’d overheard. She said it was humiliating to have to admit that, as usual, he was just too busy for her.
He hated to hear the hurt in her voice. It scared the hell out of him now. It was why he decided he’d do something he didn’t do often—show up at her place without warning. He’d been dying to see her. Just hearing her voice after not hearing it all week had been heaven.
Until she started going off on him.
His parents were finally home, and Sal had come down to help out for the weekend with the restaurant. They all knew Alex needed a break. Even if it was just for a couple of days—maybe less. No way was Alex passing up the chance to spend the whole weekend with her. He knew she was mad, and he understood why, but if he could just convince her how much he’d missed her all week and that he wanted nothing more than to make it up to her, she might forgive him. He had to at least try because he had every intention of making up to her not just for this week but for all the times he’d hurt her in the past.
The short walk from his truck to the front door of her apartment was nerve-wracking. If she slammed the door in his face, it wouldn’t be the first time. But the last time he’d shown up to see her, when he knew she was upset with him, had been at her dorm. It was a small enough place where he’d been able to stand on the other side of the door, pleading his case, and he knew she could hear him.
This was a two-bedroom apartment she lived in. She could easily slam the door in his face then retreat to her bedroom where there was no way she’d hear him. Alex would have no choice but to leave, and he did not want to do that tonight.
He took a deep breath then let it out before knocking on her door. Her car was parked in her usual parking spot, but her roommate’s wasn’t, which gave him hope they’d be able to talk alone. A minute or so passed before he knocked again. Maybe she’d seen him already and was just not going to open the door.
“Valerie?” he called out against the door. “Will you give me just a few minutes? Please? I wanna talk to you, babe.”
He’d almost given up and was about to walk away when he heard the doorknob jiggle then heard the latches being undone. Thanking God inwardly, he waited anxiously and then the door opened.
She stood there in front of him, wearing a pair of soft lounging shorts and a lacy tank top, the kind he loved seeing her in. It was one of her favorite things to wear around his place when they were having one of their carefree days of just hanging out and making love all day. She’d either wear one of these lacy tanks or one of his T-shirts that were so oversized on her. He couldn’t decide which he loved to see her in most. Her hair was up in a twist, and her face appeared freshly washed. No makeup at all.
Breathtaking.
At least it appeared she wasn’t going out tonight as she did so often when she was pissed at him. But the hurt glare on her face said it all. She was beyond pissed at him.
“Why are you here?” she demanded.
“I wanna talk to you?” he asked hopefully.
“No.” Her r
esponse was too quick—abrupt. “I’m busy now. Try me another time.”
Okay, maybe he deserved that. But he knew she wasn’t busy. He knew he had to convince her to hear him out. Alex was determined to say everything he came here to say to her tonight. And then he saw it: the movement behind her. His eyes zeroed in on a guy sitting at her small kitchen table, looking equally as relaxed as Valerie, texting something on his phone, and there were two glasses of wine on the table.
Alex took him in for another second from top to bottom as the slow boil inside him began to bubble. The guy put his phone down then reached for the bottle of wine and poured them each a little more.
On instinct, Alex put his hand on the door in case she even thought of trying to slam the door in his face. That wasn’t happening now. Any hope of this night ending amicably as he’d been optimistic about was instantly squashed. He turned to Valerie, whose earlier incensed eyes lost a little of their severity. “Who the fuck is that?”
Chapter 5
Valerie
Anybody else. Anyone with half a brain would’ve explained immediately, but the hurt Valerie was still feeling was an unbearable living thing. This wasn’t the usual hurt either. This was different. She really thought she’d felt something change between them in the past few weeks. Knowing that on such a heartrendingly busy week for him—a week he hadn’t had a minute to spare for her—he’d gone out with another girl—a girl he referred to as smexy—cut so much deeper than normal.
“It’s really none of your business, but—”
“What do you mean it’s none of my business?” Alex roared in that loud ominous tone she’d heard plenty of times but never directed at her. “Who the fuck is that?”
Valerie turned when she saw Art stand up. “You okay, Val?” he asked as she attempted to step out and try to close the door behind her.
“Everything’s fine,” she said as she took a step onto the porch, but Alex pushed the door open so hard it slammed against the wall.
When You Were Mine Page 6
