“You… you bet on me?”
“Or against you, depends on how you want to look at it,” she replied with a shrug.
“I don’t know if I like you or hate you right now.”
“Oh, come on, Luca. Don’t be like that. You know you love me. Especially when I have something you want.”
“I don’t know if I want anything from you.” I pouted, hating that I was the butt of people’s jokes.
“Not even Miss McCoy’s phone number?” Sometimes I didn’t like having so many women in my life. They seemed to make it their life’s mission to bug the ever-loving crap out of me.
***
The game ended and not a minute too soon. From the time the siren sounded, everything went to shit. Rain bucketed down, and the scoring came hard and fast. Worst thing was it was the other team scoring, not us. We’d had our arses handed to us. Losing four–nil may not sound like a huge loss, but it was humiliating. And on top of that, I’d played like a complete rookie. I’d somehow even managed to get myself a yellow card, my first in two years, for a sloppy tackle.
Stomping down the tunnel, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with people or bullshit. Spying Arianna and her boys waiting for me, I was forced to swallow down my misery and plaster a fake smile on my face.
“Uncle Luca!” they exclaimed loudly.
My teammates pushed past towards the locker room and the showers, the same showers that would more than likely be out of hot water by the time I got there.
“What are you guys doing here? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
“We’re not babies, Uncle Luca!”
“You’re not? Ari, did you know you don’t have babies anymore?”
“So they keep telling me. Rough night, big brother?”
“Just another in a long line of rough nights,” I admitted, instantly regretting it. Arianna may have been my little sister but she had one hell of a big mouth.
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I rolled my neck back and forth. Damn I needed a massage or an hour in the sauna or maybe the ice bath to work these aches and pains out of my body. Grateful I didn’t have training or commitments until Tuesday, I planned on laying low, wallowing in my misery and taking advantage of a few very necessary days off to recover. God knows I needed it.
Wrapping her arms around my waist, Arianna rested her head on my shoulder and sighed heavily. “Take it easy, Luca. You’re not superman. And we don’t expect you to be.”
“Thanks, Ari. I needed to hear that tonight. More than you could possibly know.” Hugging her back, I kissed her forehead only to hear groaning and fake vomiting from behind me.
“I’ll let you get cleaned up. I need to take my babies home anyway,” Arianna teased, letting me go.
A moment later they were gone, leaving me standing there staring down the empty tunnel feeling cold, miserable and alone. I needed to make some changes. I was sick of being this guy. The guy standing on the sidelines of my own life. Changes were coming, and I knew exactly where I was going to start.
Chapter Four – Elise
According to the bible, Sunday was the day of rest. Obviously, whoever wrote that wasn’t a single working woman. In my world, Sunday was bullshit. I’d completely wasted Saturday with brunch, clothes shopping, then cocktails which turned into dinner, which led to more drinks and dancing into the early hours of the morning before collapsing into bed. Alone. Now I was nursing the hangover from hell and had a to-do list longer than my arm. Adulting sucked.
Forcing myself out of bed, I put the kettle on and got into the shower, hoping to wash away the regret. By the time I climbed out, downed a few aspirin, and stuffed a cheese omelette down my throat, I was starting to feel at least human enough to get started.
Opening up my laptop, I ordered my groceries and tossed a load of washing in the machine. While I waited for it to finish, I folded the last load which I’d dumped on the couch, and stripped my bed.
Three sweaty hours later and my apartment was spotless. All the washing was done, my bills were paid, and I’d rung my mother. After changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I grabbed my bag and headed out. I had groceries to collect and a few other errands to run, including a trip to the local stationery store. I tried to avoid going there when I could. Stationery was my weakness. I knew the moment I stepped into the store, there was no way I was walking out empty-handed. There’d undoubtedly be pretty Post-it Notes or a sparkly pen that needed to be in my bag.
“Yo, bitch!”
“Is that how you say hello?” I asked down the phone.
“To you, baby girl, absolutely.”
“Love you too, Jaxson.”
