Doing my best not to engage, I kept my back to Callahan as I pulled stir-fry ingredients from the fridge. At least I’d had the foresight to buy pre-cut meat and veggies, which would cut down on cook time (read: time he had to interrogate me).
“What happened? You guys having a fight?” he asked as he prepped a protein shake.
“You mind fixing me one of those too?” I asked, nodding to his shaker bottle.
As I pulled a massive frying pan from the drawer under the oven and set it on the stove, ’Han measured protein powder and water into another shaker bottle, then he leaned against the sink with a bottle in each hand.
“Are you practicing to play in a mariachi band, ’Han?” Finn asked, a grin in his voice as he walked into the kitchen.
Callahan accompanied his bottle-shaking with a ridiculous little booty dance that managed to twitch a grin out of me until Finn opened his mouth again.
“Hey, Danny, what the hell was up with you in practice today? Someone grease your gloves or something?” he asked on his way to the fridge to grab a gallon of milk.
“Exactly what I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of since we left the facility,” ’Han helpfully chimed in.
“I know this might come as a shock to two rock stars such as yourselves, but occasionally people have bad days.” I shot Callahan a look over my shoulder as I stirred chunks of stew meat around in hot oil to brown them. “Maybe Coach Wiley recognized that after two straight months of nothing but good days, I was having a one-off. Maybe that’s why he didn’t wear me out with burpees after practice.” I unwrapped two enormous packages of vegetables and dumped them into the pan with the meat, stirring them to coat them with oil. After filling a pot with hot water and setting it on the stove to boil, I went back to stirring dinner.
“Damn, it smells good enough to eat in here,” Bax said as he strolled into the kitchen to join the rest of us. “What’s for dinner, Flyboy?”
“Stir-fry over rice. Someone wanna set the table?” I finished off my protein shake while I continued stirring the meal.
“At least getting in a fight with your girlfriend only impedes your ball-catching abilities,” Callahan said as he pulled some plates from the cupboard.
“You’re in a fight with your girlfriend?” Finn asked as he added silverware to the table settings.
Blowing a breath at the ceiling, I reached for patience. Ignoring his question, I measured rice into the boiling water and set the pot on a trivet in the middle of the table. After checking the flavoring of the food frying in the pan, I stirred more teriyaki and soy into the mix.
“You gonna answer Finn?” A hint of irritation colored Bax’s voice.
“It’s none of your business.”
“It is when you’re our roommate and teammate,” Callahan said as he set another trivet on the table.
Cautiously, I lowered the hot frying pan full of food onto the trivet then I grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat at the table.
“I might have done something boneheaded today.” I spooned rice onto my plate and covered it in savory meat and veg. “And now I have to figure out how to fix it.” Putting a hand up, I added, “But I’m not looking for advice.”
“Maybe you need it though,” Finn said as he loaded his plate.
I snorted a laugh. “Do you even date, Finnegan?”
Color tinged his high cheekbones. “Working on it,” he mumbled.
“Jersey chasers don’t count,” Bax said before he tipped back a long swig of beer.
“Well, whatever happened, you’d better figure out how to fix it or not let it mess with your head.” Callahan exchanged a look with Bax and Finn before returning his attention to me. “Wiley may have given you a break today, but I wouldn’t count on it happening twice.”
“Got it, Coach,” I said—though my words held no heat.
After dinner I leaned back against the headboard on my bed and pulled out my phone. Taryn still hadn’t replied to any of my texts, so out of desperation, I tried calling her. When her phone went straight to voicemail, I said, “Fuck it,” and headed out to my car.
When I arrived at her place, I could see from the street that her apartment was dark. Checking the time, I saw it was only 8 p.m.. I didn’t think she was working tonight, but just in case, I headed over to the Coffee Kiosk. I didn’t even need to make a pass through the puny parking lot to see her little ride wasn’t there. Wheeling my ’Stang back onto the street, I headed over to Zoe’s place, where I came up empty again.
Out of options, I tried texting again.
Me: The time and place were all wrong and not what I planned, but that kiss was all kinds of right. Please, T. We need to talk. Don’t shut me out.
I tossed my phone onto the seat and leaned my head against the headrest.
