But, for some reason, I just couldn’t seem to think the way everyone else did, and it left me feeling like a kid again, waiting for someone to explain the joke.
Eventually, the lights on the field flickered off and subsequently, the hum of the generators faded. Disgruntled, I picked up my gloves, brushed the dirt off them, and began my walk of shame.
Chapter 14
Kai
Thesilencegreetingmeas I stepped out onto the almost empty car park was thick and heavy. Every time I closed my eyes, I relived the plays I'd missed and the laughing faces. This fucking lag I couldn’t shake kept playing on repeat in my head.
Motionless as a statue, I sat in the car, staring at my hands clutching the steering wheel. My heart was still pounding, even though practice had technically ended hours ago.
Everyone had gone home but my head still wouldn’t shut the fuck up; it only seemed to get louder in the surrounding silence.
Almost mechanically, I stabbed the key into the ignition, started the engine and drove off.
I drove around town aimlessly, the windows rolled down, making the mild night air carry in the scents of the pine woods surrounding the Blue Ridge Mountains.Running my hands through my shaggy hair, I slowed to a stop at a traffic light.
I didn’t want to go home yet. Didn’t want to face Tane after this disastrous training session … but I didn’t want to be alone either.
A tentative smile played around my lips as my fingers drummed a fast rhythm on the steering wheel. The light turned green and, suddenly, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.
After giving myself a ten-minute pep talk in the gym car park, I finally mustered the nerve to step through the nondescript door.
I wasn’t sure how she’d react to seeing me there. Shit, I wasn’t even sure if she’d want me here, but the reality was, I needed to be here. I needed her.
Frustration was still gnawing at me, tearing at my insides. I was restless, like my brain was about to combust from overthinking. As pathetic as it was, Tori was my person here. She had somehow turned into my safe space here in Tennessee.
My gaze immediately locked on her like a heat-seeking missile, but she didn’t even look up when I walked in.
Bent over the reception desk, basically screaming an invitation my way, scribbling something on a piece of paper, she called out, “We’re closing in five minutes.”
“I know.” My voice sounded unsure and husky, even to my own ears.
Tori’s head snapped up, her pretty eyes piercing me with the now familiar intensity. Her hair was braided in two sections, the bright, vivid red and dark brown contrasting beautifully. She studied me for a moment, her brows drawn and her lips pursed.
“What are you doing here?”
Not the welcome I’d hoped for, but the one I’d expected.
I bit the inside of my cheek, mulling over my words, before deciding to go with the truth.
“Wanted to see you.”
One brow arched imperiously. “And that couldn’t have waited until I got home?”
My lips twitched. “Yeah nah. It was more of a ‘right now’ situation.”
“I’m working.” Tori crossed her arms in front of her chest, unintentionally pushing her perky tits up. Fuck, it was hard to not let my eyes wander.
I raked a hand through my hair, heat rising to my ears. “I’ll wait. I can give you a ride home when you’re done?”
Her tongue ran over her teeth. “Fine. I have to close up, so you gotta keep yourself entertained for a bit.”
“No problem.”
As soon as she diverted her attention elsewhere, the restlessness returned. I hadn’t even noticed the way my frustration had dimmed while those green eyes had anchored me in place.
My insides were twisting and turning as I walked further into the gym with slow, measured steps, taking in everything I’d missed amid the chaos of my last visit with the team.
