“Yea, Boss?”
“Wake me up when we land.”
“Alright.”
I closed my eyes and the prettiest woman in the world appeared behind my lids, reminding me that she wasn’t a figment of my imagination. She was real and she was mine.
FIFTEEN
Thunder and lightning stirred me from my sleep. The heavy precipitation was unsettling. The lights around my home flickered, threatening to cut out completely at any moment. I checked the clock on the wall. It was just past eleven o’clock.
My bones popped as I stretched my limbs. My lower back protested against my position as a dull pain made me wince with instant regret. I twisted from one side to the other, trying to work out the kinks.
“Argh.”
The bulk of the last forty-eight hours were spent on the couch. It was partially due to the lack of energy to go upstairsand the fact that a large portion of Channing was still confined to their home as a safety precaution.
For the most part, the city was still shut down. Not much was moving. It wasn’t business as usual yet. Medication was still being handed to millions of people in the state of Huffington.
I lifted my body from the couch and stood at my full potential. Once my body had gotten a good stretch, I leaned over to collect the few dishes I’d collected during dinner. The sauteed veggies and seasoned rice had put me right to sleep.
I sat the glass dishes in the sink and began running water. I passed my hand underneath it, waiting for it to warm up. Aimlessly, I stared into the distance. Just as he had every waking second of the last forty-eight hours, Fohr crossed my mind.
Our time away was torture. So was the fact that I was unsure of what was happening between us. So was the fact that nothing and everything had happened at once. So was the fact that I missed him something awful. So was the fact that I didn’t have a number to call him on. So was the fact that he hadn’t used the number he did have on me to make contact.
Briiiiiiing.
Briiiiiing.
The phone vibrated against the wall, nearly falling from the base as it rattled with sound. I shut off the water and grabbed the hand towel hanging from the sink to dry my hands. I didn’t need to see the number on the screen to know that it was Ko calling me. I sensed it.
“Hell–”
“Finally,” she sighed. “Dad and I thought we’d have to come over. I’ve been calling you on your cellphone all evening. I didn’t know you’d made it home.”
“Two days ago.”
“Yeah, I figured once I saw your man on television playing on a field surrounded by empty seats.” She chuckled. “The league knows they’re dead wrong for that shit.”
“Yeah. Well,” I breathed out, “They’re all about their money.”
“Who the hell pissed in your cheerios, babe? You make me want to ditch the news I’m about to share. I need you to give me a little more enthusiasm or tell me what’s wrong. Either or.”
I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth. I stared down at my feet, swirling my left foot in a small circle. I could hardly believe the words I was preparing. But, with each passing second they felt a bit truer.
“Kit!”
“Sorry.”
“What’s the matter? Is everything okay? Are you sick? You’re scaring me.”
“I’m fine, Ko. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Then what is it? You sound like you lost your best friend.”
Maybe I have.
“What if he’s not the man I dreamt him to be? What if I made it up? Ignored red flags and made him out to be the man I wanted him to be instead of the man he was? What if being locked in together for all of that time led me to believe he was someone he isn’t?”
