Me: If I wanted a driver, I’d have one.
He doesn’t text back right away,and I admit that it was nice having him here for the night. I call my sister, but her phone goes right to voicemail. I don’t bother calling Alan. I know Saturday is the one day that he sleeps in, but I do send him a text, telling him to call me when he wakes up. I return to the kitchen to clean up, and I find a single red rose on my coffee table. It’s not from the bouquet that he brought with him yesterday. This one is brand new, and I pick it up and put the soft petals to my nose.
Don’t do this to yourself, Victoria. The last time you fell for a man, he left you.
I push the thought aside. That was years ago, and I’m not in any danger of falling head over heels for Colton Chastain. He’s a good time for now. I won’t get close to him, and I’ll be the one who walks away in a couple of weeks. That’s all I can give him. When the time comes, and I am ready for a relationship, whatever that might look like, it won’t be with a celebrity athlete.
SIXTEEN
When I showedup at Victoria’s house last night, I had no expectations. No, that’s not true. I expected her to slam the door in my face, but she surprised me and invited me in with little resistance. Sleeping with her last night was a wish I thought I’d have to wait longer to fulfill, if ever. I’m not naïve enough to believe that what happened last night means we’re any closer. In fact, I think she slept with me to get rid of me. I was an itch she wanted to scratch too, and she thought I’d walk away after that, freeing us both from whatever the hell this is. She could not have been more wrong.
I lean my head back and close my eyes while Dante pulls up to my building. I hop out when he opens the door for me.
“I’ll see you in a few hours,” I tell him. My apartment is eerily quiet when I get home, and I miss my son. I miss the mess and the noise. It’s been the two of us and the nannies, and the house is extra lonely whenever his grandmother shows up for the weekend, but I believe it’s important for him to spend time with her and with his sister.
I shower quickly, dress, and pack for the two nights I’ll be spending in Los Angeles. My hope is to sweep this series so that I can spend some time with Evan before the Finals start. Next week is his last week of school, and afterwards, Mama will visit before we all fly back to Alabama. Victoria complicates things, though. Now, I need to figure out a way to get her to Alabama, and somehow, I believe that will be a fight. Maybe our first, but it’s a fight I don’t intend to lose.
I leave the suitcase in front of the door and walk out of the apartment to go a few floors down. I own another unit in this building, and this is where Evan’s grandmother stays when she visits.
I knock on the door, and Isabel, Evan’s grandmother, opens it. She doesn’t smile, but she hasn’t smiled since her daughter died. Part of her blames me for bringing her here, even though I didn’t. She refuses to see that Kelsey’s problems with drugs started way before she stepped foot in New York City. She gestures for me to come in.
Evan runs to me, and I pick him up. “Daddy! You want pancakes?” It’s after eleven in the morning. He’s usually almost ready for lunch now, but she lets him stay up late despite me telling her not to.
“Hi Colt.” Mia, Evan’s eight-year-old sister, walks over in a long nightgown. She hugs me tight, and I bend down to kiss the top of her head. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too, Mia. Me too.” I put Evan down and follow them into the kitchen. Isabel makes me an omelet, even though I’ve told her I’ve already eaten. I eat it while the kids laugh and talk about the movie marathon they had last night.
“I wish I could go with you,” Evan says.
“Me too,” Mia agrees.
“You can come to one of the away games since you’ll be out of school next week. Mia, if your grandma agrees, you both can come too.”
Isabel huffs and shrugs. She’s a big woman, close to six feet with wide shoulders. She was once pretty, but hard living, and the death of her daughter has aged her.
“You two have fun and listen to your grandma. I have to go. I have practice and I’m flying out this afternoon. I’ll see you in a few days.” I kiss my son on the cheek, hug him tight, and leave the apartment.
Leaving him is always the hardest. It never gets easier. In fact, it gets harder because he needs me more as he gets older. I never set out to be a single father. I never set out to be a father at all. I didn’t want the responsibility. I saw my parents struggle with us, and then I watched Mama try to do it all herself. I always wanted my life to be mine until Kelsey got pregnant. She claims it was an accident when it first happened, but during one of our fights, she admitted she did it on purpose.
By the time I get in a practice and have a session with one of the massage therapists, I’m ready for the flight west. We leave the stadium on a chartered bus that takes us to Teterboro Airport, an airport for private planes just twelve miles outside of Manhattan. I’m hungry and tired by the time we board, and when the smell of food hits my nose, my stomach growls.
“Move it along.” I playfully shove Wakowski, who bumps into Hayden, a seven-foot power forward. He pushes Wakowski off him and he falls into me. We continue shoving him back and forth until he sits down and gives us both the finger.
Hayden runs a hand through his messy blonde hair and down his face.
“I bet Chastey finally got his dick wet. He’s been in a good mood all morning.” I reach over and slap Wakowski in the back of the head.
“Watch your mouth, boy.”
I pull out my phone and frown when I see no missed calls or texts from Vickie.
Me: I still don’t miss you.
Wakowski tries to take my phone from me, but I turn and give him my back.
I put the phone in my pocket and say, “Grow up, Wakowski.”
“What’s this?” Jerome Peters, a small forward, asks. He takes the seat facing me. “Tasty Chastey got into some pussy?” He uses one of the many nicknames the team has given me. “No wonder he was smiling today. And I think it was a full moon last night.”
