The silence drags on so long, I debate running away.
He huffs out a breathy laugh as he stares down at me. “Yes, generally that’s when I eat.”
“When?” I ask, curious.
“When I’m hungry.”
“Oh, yeah. Duh.” I laugh.
Ty gazes down at me, his eyes clear and blue. And beautiful. His face glistens with sweat as light halos around him, shining into the dark hall. He looks… ethereal. Like an angel that stepped out of a cloud.
An angel that stepped out of a cloud? Do you hear yourself?
I clear my throat. “I’m sure you’re getting ready to go out or something, but it’ll be in the fridge for when you get home.”
He shakes his head. “Not going out. Just showering off my workout. I’ll be down in twenty.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, I’ll be… It’ll be waiting for you.”
Ty’s door shuts in my face. Dolly and I back away and make our way toward the kitchen. Ty didn’t put up as much of a fight as I thought he would. Maybe he wasn’t avoiding me after all. I drop Dolly off at the bottom of the stairs, and much to my dismay, black smoke rolls from the stove top.
Son of a buttered biscuit.
I forgot to turn the stove off.
CHAPTER TWELVE
TY
Connectingmy phone to my Bluetooth speaker, I try to recall the last time I ate dinner with another person as classic rock reverberates through the bathroom. The thought of coming home to a house that had some life in it today was kind of exciting, but I never expected Avery to cook for me. But her throwing a wrench in my routine wasn’t something I’d anticipated. Do I prefer my week-old baked chicken breast with rice and steamed veggies over whatever mouth-watering scent was wafting from the stove? Not necessarily. But it’s prepped. My tastebuds had planned on it. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t sure how to tell her no. And rather than saying thank you, I said… I don’t know what I said. I kind of blacked out. But by the look on her face, I don’t think it was the response she’d hoped for.
My phone pings, interrupting the classic rock flowing from my speaker. I scramble to silence it but fumble it instead, swearing as the call is amplified.
“Hey, man.” Ramiel lets out a little laugh. “Yougood?”
“Hi, Rami. Yeah, yeah. Just… getting in the shower.”
“Yeah, what’s that about? Figured you’d hit the showers after practice like a normal person.”
“I… Uh, I had some stuff to take care of at home.” Like showering.
“Oh. Okay.” Those two words are chock full of suspicion. “You gonna come meet up with us tonight? I don’t think it’d be a bad thing to put in some face time. Especially after Maleko smashed you at practice.”
I groan—my attention briefly diverting to the open wound on my arm—which brings on a laugh from the other end of the line.
“That was a good tackle, though, you have to admit,” Rami says.
“It was, especially for someone who normally looks like they’re afraid to get hit.”
“Ouch.”
“I didn’t mean it—What I meant was, he sometimes hesitates but didn’t at all with me.” I run a hand down my face. “He was locked in. Probably better if I give him space tonight.”
“Don’t worry, it shouldn’t happen again. I heard Coach tell him not to put you out of commission.”
“Coach told him to go easy on me?”
“He didn’t say that exactly?—”
