by Scott, Kylie
I pretend to act innocent. “How many is too many? Five?” I lower the number I normally give her. I’ve won the little shit over with a treat every couple hours. She doesn’t claw me, she gets a treat. No pain, she gains. It’s working brilliantly and I’m glad that cat treats were the one thing they had at the store that wasn’t running out.
“Five! You’re giving her five a day! Jesus. She’s going to be diabetic when I make it home.”
“Speaking of making it home, when do you think that will be?”
He sighs heavily. “We’re actually being sent to Europe tomorrow. Italy and Spain are being ravaged by this virus and they need all hands on deck.”
“Are you fucking kidding me! No. Hell no. Do not go there, brother. You need to get your ass home where it’s safer.”
Jake’s expression morphs to one of extreme sadness. “I can’t. It’s not in my nature. They need doctors. Medical professionals to help stay the spread. I took an oath, man…”
“Fuck that. Fuck that in the face! You are my family. My best friend. Do not put yourself in the way of further harm. Shit.” I jump up and start pacing his bedroom. “I was already freaked out by you doing the humanitarian mission and that was supposed to be for two months. It’s been six. Now you’re going to further risk your health by going to the countries that are torn to shreds by a virus that is killing people left and right.”
“Evan…”
“No. Don’t Evan me. Jake, this is dangerous.”
“Brother, it was already dangerous for me to come to Africa, but you know I needed to. I was aimless. Lost. Not sure what to do with myself. I hated the politics at the surgery center where I worked.”
“So, get a different fucking job! You don’t get on a plane and disappear for six months to Africa. Christ!” I grind my teeth and look at my best friend’s face. I know it almost as well as my own, or my brother’s, my dad’s.
Jake shakes his head. “I have to do what I have to do. This is important. For the first time in my life I feel like I’m needed. Truly needed.”
I point to my chest. “I need you. Your family needs you. Jake, come on, buddy. Come home. Don’t go to Europe.”
He shakes his head and a sorrowful expression mars his normally handsome face. “Sorry brother, I’m not going to do that. I was calling to tell you I need you to take care of Gloria. While I’m gone and if you know, anything happens.”
“Fuck! I hate you so much right now. If you were in front of me, I’d punch you so goddamn hard in the face your teeth would rattle.”
Jake laughs for the first time and the sound lifts my soul. “We haven’t fought since we both accidentally dated the same chick at the same time without knowing it.”
I grin. “Chelsea. She was a pistol. Seeing us both on the sly.”
“Yeah and we both fucked her.” He winces.
I suck a breath through my teeth. “Yeah, then she messed up and planned the same date with us both and we brawled on the sidewalk.” I laugh.
“Yeah and when she came running out all hot and bothered by the show of our manly affections, she suggested the three of us hook up.” He reminds me of what I already know.
“And we dropped her ass like a hot rock, went to a sports bar, drank our weight in whiskey, and crashed fully clothed in the same bed.” I waggle my brows at him for shits and giggles.
He covers his mouth with a fist. “That’s right. When we woke up, we turned to one another and started laughing our asses off at one another’s black eyes and busted lips and then went out to breakfast.”
“Good times,” I say.
“The best.” He tips his head. “I’m going to be okay, Ev. I promise.”
“You come home in a box and I’ll never forgive you.” I issue the threat serious as a heart attack. This man is important to me. I cannot lose him. Especially when I’m about to lose everything else.
“That’s a promise I’ll endeavor to achieve.”
“You better!” I growl. “Now I’ve gotta tell you something and I need some advice.”
“Shoot,” he offers instantly.
“I’ve been seeing Sadie.”
“What the hell! You can’t risk your safety like that.” He instantly goes into doctor mode.
I jolt my head back and stare him down.
He groans knowingly seeing as he’s presently risking his own health and safety every damn day.
“We haven’t touched one another physically. Not for two more long days.” I sigh.
“Two more days?”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, she’s making us wait until it’s been the full two-week quarantine timeframe.”
He nods. “I see. I mean, I’m not surprised you hit on her. She’s gorgeous, as I mentioned. Though she’s kind of bookish. I think she’s a writer or editor.”
“Novelist,” I say with pride in my tone. What he doesn’t know is that I’ve downloaded one of her books to my phone. The one about a soldier who has PTSD and falls for the counselor in his group meetings. “She’s talented too.” I’m already sucked in and it’s not the shit I normally go for. Books being things I don’t normally do. But she’s got a way with words and I’m looking forward to when the hero and heroine finally hook up. It’s painstaking how long it’s taking. Something I should ask her about.
“Oh, sounds like you’ve gotten to know Miss Sadie rather well.”
I grin. “I have. Very well. We not only talk on the phone but meet for chats and yoga on the balcony. I make her food and leave it at her door. She makes me these god-awful snacks she believes are healthy. The girl really needs a total overhaul of her diet. Though her curves are not something I want to lose.”
“Her curves, eh? Should I take that to mean intimacy has been had in other ways?”
I bite down on my lip and can feel my cheeks heat. Fuck, I’m blushing talking about my girl. “Uh yeah, a few times already. Phone and video.”
His eyes widen and light up. “Video? Whole hog?”
“Whole hog. And every inch of her is absolute perfection.” I smile so wide my cheeks hurt.
“Lucky bastard! And here I am, sexless in Africa, about to get more sexless in Europe.” He sighs.
“Sounds like your work is your woman right now.”
He nods. “Too true. So, what’s the advice?”
I enter the kitchen and go about pulling out the ingredients for my smoothie. “Well since the virus hit and everything is shut down, she claims all her signing events have been cancelled and people aren’t spending as much on fun stuff like books. She sounded worried about her future income last night so I offered to help her out.”
“Jesus, Ev. You can’t do shit like that. You barely know this woman.”
I frown. “Right now, I know her better than any woman I’ve ever known in my life, save my mother. We talk about everything. And last night she drunkenly shared some of her fears and it gutted me. I have plenty of money and can totally cover her. Better yet, I want to. It’s the least I can do for the person that is making my life bearable through all this crap.”
“I get that. Really, I do. Though as long as I’ve known Sadie, and that hasn’t been well, but well enough to know she seems like she’s the type to take care of herself. She may have just been venting and wanting you to listen. Not fix her problems—just listen to them.”
His comment has me flinching. “Why wouldn’t I fix it if I can?”
He sighs. “Man, you have a lot to learn about women.”
“Says sexless in Africa.”
He chuckles. “True, but I’ve been in a few relationships, and you have not. The most important thing to remember about a woman is to listen. Don’t react. Listen to what she’s sharing. Ask her how she feels about it. Ask her if there’s anything you can do to help. If she seems like she wants the help, she’ll make that message clear.”
“This is stupid. She might need money. I have it. It’s easy for me to fix her problem and make her happy. Why is that wrong?”
“Would you let her pay your bills if all of a sudden your money was frozen?”
“Fuck, no!”
“Exactly. It’s no different for her.”
I toss the rest of the ingredients in the blender and lean against the counter. “All the women that hang around the team seem to want a player to take care of them. They live for that.”
“And are you interested in them?”
“No,” I fire off.
“No. Because those girls want something from you other than your time. They want fame. To walk around in expensive designer garb with a baller on their arm. Sadie’s not that type of woman. And I’d have to say, that’s probably part of her appeal whether you realize it or not.”
I slump against the counter and think about it. Sadie hasn’t asked me for anything. She hasn’t wanted to take a selfie or pictures of me to post online. I’m not even sure if she’s told anyone about us. That information getting out right now could cause a whole host of other issues for me during this scandal. But it’s been crickets. She’s been there for me. Just me. Seems to want to spend time simply talking, watching movies, sexing, yoga, eating meals, and laughing.
“For the first time in my life, I find a woman I want to take care of, and she doesn’t want it. How am I supposed to take that?” Sadness seeps into my pores and a heaviness grips my heart.
“Let her ask for help when she needs it, brother. Don’t swoop in and try to save the day. You met this girl less than two weeks ago. Give it time. She takes care of herself. Has been doing so without a man for as long as I’ve known her. Though there used to be some asshole that came around. I didn’t like the look of the guy. Seemed like a stuffy prick.”
“Sean. Her ex. Real tool, but she’s way over him. Though if the fucker comes sniffing around, I’ll be handling that.”
Jake chuckles. “You’ve got it bad, eh?”
“I’m falling for this girl. Shit, I may have already fallen. I don’t really know what it feels like since I’ve never had it before.”
“Falling in love is like that moment when you catch the ball in midair at the fifty-yard line. You look back and see a horde of badasses coming your way, but you turn the heat on and run. Fast. Faster. Until you eventually make it to the end zone. Except you’re still tackled down to the ground, with three two hundred-pound weights each, on top of you, making it so you can’t breathe, and you’re in pain. And yet it’s the best feeling of your life, knowing you made the score.”
“Damn. You should write for Hallmark.”
“Maybe in another life. Did I help?”
“Always, brother. Just seeing your face and hearing your voice alive and well makes me feel better. And yeah, your lesson to listen more and react less is how I’ll move forward with Sadie. Thanks, man.”
“Take care of my girl and stop overfeeding her.”
“Um, yeah the line’s getting a little static…” I warble my voice to make the sound.
“Dude, you’re on video chat. There is no static!”
“Going through a tunnel, gotta go.” I laugh.
“You’re not driving! Jesus, fine. Good luck!”
“Be safe. Love you like a brother.” I tell him because right now, with the uncertainty of his role, I want him to know how much he means to me.
“Same, man. We’ll talk when I get settled in Europe.”
I swallow down the sudden lump in my throat of worry for my best friend. “You do that. I’ll be here. Taking care of big fat devil-kitty.”
“Stop feeding my cat too much!” he yells.
Gloria takes this opportunity to scale her much bigger body up and onto the counter. “Fat cats are cuter.”
“They are not! Come on!.”
“Byyyyeeeee.” I wink and hit the off button.
Gloria meows, stretches into a rainbow shape, sits, then stares me down. While doing so she lifts her paw, stretches out her sharp-ass nails, and licks them one at a time.
A warning.
Feed me or die.
“How’s about a treat…or five?”
CHAPTER 13
QUARANTINE: DAY 13
EVAN
SHE DIDN’T ANSWER HER PHONE all day yesterday. Water poured from the sky like a waterfall so I couldn’t catch her on the balcony either.
My girl is avoiding me.
And tomorrow is the day.
THE DAY.
I’m so damn excited I can hardly be in the same room with myself. And yet, the woman I’m obsessing over is ignoring me. So, I didn’t apologize in my texts because I’d planned on doing so to her beautiful face. Jake was right. I went about things all wrong and after a full day of thinking it through, I eventually came to the conclusion that I was a bit of an arrogant dick. Trying to swoop in and save the day using my hefty bank account.
Sadie doesn’t give one iota about money. Hell, the woman thinks football is a pastime before and after the Superbowl halftime show.
I pull up her number and hit call.
“Hello, person I’m not speaking to,” she says in that haughty tone that makes my dick perk up.
“Baby, come on. I need to talk to you. Come out on the balcony. The sun is shining.”
“Perhaps I can be persuaded. On the condition that you’re planning to grovel? I’m talking down on your knees, completely repentant, begging me to forgive you. Do we understand each other?”
There’s my girl. All sass and quick wit.
“You’ll have to come outside to find out. Besides, I have a present for you.”
“If it’s a stack of money, I will kick you straight in the junk the second I can see you tomorrow. There will be no sweet nothings. No tongue touching. No hands, no penises anywhere near this body. You hear me?”
I laugh hard. “I missed you, sweetheart. Your voice. Seeing you. Yesterday was the pits, but I figured out a way to make it up to you. Now come outside. Pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top?”
“Hmm, only because I’m hoping there is actual whipped cream and a cherry magically sitting on top of a sundae on my balcony. And I swear if you’re not shirtless, there will be consequences. Lots and lots of bad consequences.”
“Got it.” I put the phone down and on speaker outside and rip my shirt over my head. The wind is a bit nippy as proven by my now-erect man nips, but the sun is warm enough for me to tolerate. And for Sadie, I’d do just about anything.
She meanders through her sliding door. Her hair is in a ponytail on top of her head. If I was there right now, I’d grab that tail, wrap it around my fist, tilt her head back, and ravish her mouth.
I firm my jaw and stand with my hands on my hips, taking in her splendor.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” I scan her form until it’s all I can see. Nothing else exists.
“Oh, please. It was only a day.”
“In quarantine. A single day is like a full month and you know it.”
She purses her lips and crosses her arms over her chest. “I missed you too,” she huffs, and looks over at the view. Her side profile is elegant, with her pointed chin and long slender neck.
“First, I want to apologize for the other night. I didn’t mean to be so overbearing. Your finances and your career are your business. I should have listened to what you were saying. I know you can take care of yourself, baby. You’re the most intelligent and independent woman I’ve met.”
“Thank you.” She keeps her chin lifted as if she’s not yet ready to back down, but I can see the cracks in her resolve to be mad at me tumbling down.
“Honestly, I don’t know how this relationship stuff works. You’re my first girlfriend since high school.”
“You’re kidding!” She loses all pretense and frowns.
“Went to college and focused on nothing but the game and doing my best to pass my classes. Sure, I played around on and off the field, but nothing concrete. Nothing anywhere near the seriousness of our relationship. Which means I’m gonna screw up with you occasionally.”
H
er blue eyes flash with a fire I missed so dammed much my balls ache seeing it.
“I’ll probably screw up a lot. Not by cheating or anything like that so don’t get all in a snit.”
She giggles and it’s the cutest sound in the world. “I wouldn’t think you’d do that.”
“Because I wouldn’t. You mean something to me. And when you were talking about your money concerns my instinct was to fix it. Right away. I have more money than I know what to do with and you’d be surprised. My teammates are big spenders. I laid a whack down on my house and car, but I have to. I live in Oakland. I’m considered a celebrity and safety matters. It’s also expensive. Besides that, I’m all about hanging with the guys, working out, training, and playing the game.”
“But you can see how high-handed it was to simply offer to pay off my debts like I’m incapable of doing the same for myself.”
“I do and I apologize. I’m sorry.” I give her my best puppy dog look until she gives in and smiles.
“Oh, all right. I forgive you.”
“Thank you. All I ask now is that you work with me. You never back down in an argument and I love that about you. I want you to do that if something I say or do hurts you or your feelings. And I promise to do the same. This is unchartered territory for me, sweetheart. I’m swimming in an ocean full of sharks. Any wrong move and I’m shark bait.”
That has her cackling in laughter. “Like Sharknado!”
“Sharknado is ridiculous. And awesome. We should totally watch it together.”
“I’d like that.”
“You forgive me?”
She smiles wide. “I’ll forgive, but there’s one more thing.”
I sigh and take a deep breath. “Hit me.”
“Where’s my present?”
I grin and lift up a paper towel ball wrapped in cellophane. “Here, catch!” I toss the few-inches-wide ball I crafted the eight feet to her balcony.
She catches it easily. “I can’t believe you just threw something over the balcony! You’re such a rebel.”
“Just open it.”
She eases the plastic wrap open and unfolds the towel. “Oh my God. Is this what I think it is?”
“Chocolate chip cookies. Made by yours truly with all the butter, sugar, and extra chocolate chips to boot! I was busy yesterday.”
