“Maybe not yet.”
“All right, Blakely, your fatigue is showing.”
“You might be right, but I don’t want to get off the phone, not yet.”
“Then get ready for bed and tell me about your day, but don’t ask me if reporters asked me my cup size.”
She laughs. “Why not? It’s an interesting question. The women want to know.”
“There should only be one woman who cares.”
“Oh Halsey, trust me when I say, there is more than one woman who cares. You should see the comments Penny has to filter through every time she posts about you.”
“Well, I only care about one woman.”
“This I know.” I sit up from the bed and go to the bathroom where I turn the phone on speaker and set it on the counter. “Are you getting ready for bed too?” she asks.
“Yeah. I’m fucking beat.”
“I should have given you a pair of my underwear to cuddle and sleep with.”
I chuckle as I line my toothbrush with toothpaste. “And with my luck, Posey comes charging into my room only to see me with your underwear around my head.”
“I’m sure he’s seen worse.”
Together we brush our teeth. After I spit and rinse, I say, “So tell me about your day. Anything fun happen?”
“No. Just training and learning about The Jock Report. I was thinking that I could play around on your profile a bit to learn it better.”
“I don’t have one.”
“You will tomorrow. I hope that’s okay.”
“Whatever you need, babe,” I say as I switch off the light and go into the bedroom where I lie down. “Just pick a good picture.”
“I have the perfect one in mind. It’s from that game where you won in the last second against The Freeze. The Agitators use it all the time. Very recognizable, great for branding.”
“Or maybe we don’t use that picture,” I say.
“Oh, you want to do a shirtless one? Maybe garner more donations?”
“No,” I say as I drag my hand over my face. “That, uh picture, the one that the Agitators use all the time? I hate it.”
“Why?” she asks in a curious tone.
“It’s from the night we lost Holden. Every time I see it, I’m reminded of what happened after that game.”
“Oh my God, Halsey, I had no idea. Does the team know that?”
“Obviously not. It’s an epic shot for Agitators’ history so I understand why they use it. It’s like the Bobbies using the picture of Carson Stone jumping on Knox Gentry’s back when they won the World Series. It’s iconic.”
“But if it causes you such difficult thoughts, maybe it’s something we can talk to Penny about.”
“Nah, it’s okay,” I say. “But for my personal stuff, I’d like to avoid it.”
“We will.” And to lighten the mood, she says, “I’m almost tempted to use a picture of you and me as the profile, you know, to make all the thirsty fans out there know that you’re off the market.”
“I’m cool with that.”
