By the time three o’clock rolls around, I’ve spent enough time at the gym that I’m regretting the fact there’s no shower here. I clearly didn’t think this through. Thankfully, the same woman is at the front and I explain that I’m here to surprise my partner who hasn’t landed yet and I need a shower so I don’t meet them all smelly. I need like twenty minutes in a room.
She hands me a keycard and tells me to hurry. I leave her a $100 tip.
Caulder should be at his house around six. As soon as he calls me on his way home from the arena, I’ll head to his house. He’ll text me once he lands in Buffalo and I’ll see where I am in relation to where he lives. Just in case I need to leave sooner.
I could go now, but then his neighbors will spot a random person lingering outside his house and someone might call the cops. That would be counterproductive to what I’m trying to accomplish here.
After grabbing something to eat, I wander around the mall for a while until Caulder’s text comes through. Finally! I get to see my man soon. We’re in the same state again!
I’m relatively close to his house, so I’m not concerned about getting there before him. I can always tell him I’m shopping to explain the background noise. It’s only half untrue. I am at the mall, after all.
He calls me as soon as he gets in his car. I’m already in a Shuttled on the way to his house because I ran out of patience.
“Hey, babe,” I say. “How was your flight?”
Caulder sighs. There’s stress in his voice again. “Fine. I talked to Rigo. He decided on a journalist. The same one that talked to Ethan, Creed, and Jakub. They’re discussing questions now. I should have them in a couple days.”
I both love that Rigo is on top of shit and keeping Caulder in the loop, but hate that he’s once again thinking about it. It was good to see him appear almost normal this morning when he woke up.
“Good. He seemed like a cool guy.”
“Creed liked him,” he says. “I think he’s still the only one they have interviews with.”
“Any word on the legal shit?”
“It’s been filed with the court. I told him I’m not afraid to throw money at it to make it move faster. He’s not letting me.”
There’s a quiet whine in his voice.
“It’s going to be fine. It’ll all go away soon. Then we’re going to demand an apology from the fucking world for blindly siding with the wrong fucking person.”
“Is it blindly, though? That picture…”
“First of all, it’s not you. Just because it looks like you, doesn’t mean it is. Second, even if it is you, that’s not her in the picture that ‘you’re’dancing with. And third, there’s literally zero proof that the picture was taken at that club, never mind when it was taken.”
Caulder sighs. “I know.”
“When will you be home? I need to see your face. It’s been hours!”
He laughs. “Fifteen minutes.”
I grin as I step out of the Shuttled, placing a finger over my lips so the driver doesn’t speak. He smiles, nodding. I get out and shut the door and they pull away.
“What’re you doing?” Caulder asks.
Couldn’t hide the door closing, I guess. “Just getting home. Was at the mall.”
“Ew. Why?”
“Browsing. I needed to pass the time until I could talk to you again.”
He hums and I can just imagine him smiling. I sit on his stoop, thankful that I’m mostly blocked from any prying eyes on the road. I’m not quite out of sight, but I’m not too obviously hanging out like a creep, either.
As the minutes pass and he gets closer and closer, my heart won’t stop racing. It’s been only nine days since our teams played each other. Nine since we’ve been together. Since I’ve touched him and kissed him. Held him to me.
But with all the shit going on, it feels longer. Like a month. Or two.
His garage door opening makes my heart jump into my throat. I quickly cover my mic to try to muffle the sound, so he doesn’t hear it back. His car pulls in, driving straight into the garage. The door closes and I wait.
