No one knows thattheRoman Reed is related to me. And as proud as I am of my brother and his achievements, I prefer it that way.
“I’m your only sister, big brother,” I remind him with a laugh.
“Semantics.” I shake my head at him fondly, even though he can’t see it.
“Why’d you call?” Curiosity gets the best of me as I take a turn to head home.
He must’ve heard my labored breathing because he questions, “Are you running?”
“Yeah, I’m on a jog. Needed a change ofscenery.”My apartment feels too empty, and it keeps reminding me how lonely I am with no friends or a partner. And even though I miss you and our parents, I can’t live under your shadow and do something on my own.I don’t say any of it, knowing it’ll hurt him, and he’s not at fault.
“I see.” I can picture him nodding. “How’s the prep going?”
My brows furrow at his question. “What do you mean? What prep?”
“The Boston Bandits are organizing a community event this weekend, no?” He clarifies.
“You’re keeping tabs on me, big brother? Not cool.” I try to sound stern but fail miserably.
“Hell yeah, I am. How else would I know what’s going on in your life?” At his words, a wave of guilt rolls over my body. I know he’s right. I’ve basically stopped updating my family on what’s going on in my life.
Still, I make a flimsy excuse. “I’ve been busy.”
“Uh-huh,” he says, indicating he doesn’t believe my bullshit for a second. Roman and I have always been close. I used to tell him almost everything. He was both my brother and sister. If I needed any advice, I went to himinstead of our mom. So, I understand that my radio silence must be hard on him.
“We just met up when I was in Seattle with the team, Roman,” I remind him, hoping that he’ll let it go.
“Yes, we did. All night we talked about me, and you barely told me anything about you,” he points out. It’s clear my behavior has bothered him. He’s sensitive. He tries not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but that’s because he feels deeply.
I heave a sigh, knowing I’m in the wrong. “I’m sorry. I’ll make more effort, I promise.”
“That’s all I want,” his voice crackles through the earphones.
Keeping in line with my promise, I tell him, “The prep for the event is going great. The kids will have a lot of fun with what the staff and management have planned. I’m also working on this amazing social media content project for Ezra Moore–”
My brother interrupts me at the mention of his name, “Is this the same Ezra who was burning holes through the back of my skull that time atHolly’s?”
“Yep.”
I remember that day very clearly. The last timethe team was in Seattle and scored a win, the team and the staff headed over toHolly’s. And since I was in the city, I called Roman, as usual.
But Ezra’s glare had me too aware of my surroundings; no amount of Roman talking could distract me from his eyes on me. I was worried that he might break the glass of IPA in his hand. But thankfully, Noah leaned in and said something to him to stop him from glaring at us.
Roman’s voice cackles in my ears. “God, what’s the dude’s problem? Does he have a crush on you or something? Because I swear, I would’ve turned to dust a hundred times over if looks could kill.” I roll my eyes at his over-dramatic response.
Even the thought that Ezra might like me is so absurd that I scoff. “With the way he looks at me like he’d rather I didn’t exist, it doesn’t exactly scream that he likes me. So, no. Your theory is absolute rubbish. He hates me, and I hate him.”
“You sure?” he probes in such a Roman fashion.
Suddenly, Ezra’s very thick thighs and hard muscles flicker through my mind. I’m glad Roman is not in front of me, or he would’ve easily spotted my flushed skin. I shake my head to rid myself of thoughts of a certain man’s certain body parts.
“Yep,” I add with a little extra chipper voice.
We talk for the time it takes me to reach home, and then I head over for a shower to get ready to leave for the arena. By the time I reach the Bandits’ arena, people are buzzing around. No one stands by idly. The community event is a big deal not only for the team but also for the people who will attend it, especially children.
Keeping that in mind, I get to work instantly and create content to post, and add a note to get some great photos and clips of all the scheduled activities at the event.
The next few days pass by in a blur of meetings upon meetings and jotting down ideas for all the content we can shoot and post. And soon it’s D-day.
