“I didn’t do it because of that,” I say, my tone flat and even.
“You do everything for that,” Eddie Rollins, our backup goalie, chimes in, and the elevator erupts in laughter.
“Fuck you guys,” I mutter and storm off the elevator as soon as the doors open.
I’m already opening my car door when I hear Dixie call my name. I want to ignore her and just drive away, but knowing her, she’ll hunt me down, so I stop and wait for whatever it is she wants to say.
She is almost breathless when she reaches me, and I realize she must have been chasing me. She stops half a foot away and smooths her blond bob. “Thank you for doing that. You went above and beyond.”
“It was nothing,” I reply casually, but I’m happy she was impressed enough to say something. “He’s a kid. He deserves a little above and beyond.”
“Yeah, he does. So thank you for being an awesome human.” She lowers her voice before adding, “And I’m proud of you, as a sister.”
“Yeah, well, you could have defended me in front of those assholes,” I reply and sigh.
She glances over her shoulder toward the guys who are jumping into their own cars. “They were just teasing you. And besides, it’s not like it’s a wild accusation.”
“I wasn’t nice to the kid because I wanted to bang the nurse.” I can’t believe I have to defend myself on this. “I don’t bang every girl I meet, even when I can. And trust me, I could have gotten in those scrubs with or without being nice to the kid.”
Dixie rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “If you don’t bang every girl you meet, then why are you currently staying at a hotel and not your apartment?”
“What?” Fuck. How did she find that out?
“I was coming out of the coach’s office after a meeting last week, and I heard Duncan tell Eddie you’d moved into a hotel because too many of your prior hookups were showing up at your place unannounced trying to get another ride on the…how did he word it? Braddock-mobile.”
She shivers—actually it’s more like a convulsion—as she says that. I clench my jaw in anger. Fucking Duncan Darby and his big mouth. She’s staring up at me with a smug smile on her face, and I know the only answer is to lie. “Darby is talking out of his ass. I checked into a hotel because I wanted a staycation.”
“A staycation? Did you just honestly feed me that bullshit excuse with a straight face?” Dixie questions. She is the most annoying sister on the planet. She really is.
“Yeah.”
“So why is it that for the first time since you moved here you aren’t letting Sadie, Winnie and me stay with you for our annual girls’ weekend?”
I wish my dad had indulged me when she was born and I requested we trade her for a puppy. “I thought I’d treat you all to a five-star hotel. It’s not like I’m making all of you cram into that shoebox you call an apartment. But if you all want to stay with me instead, by all means, go ahead.”
“Thanks. We will. See you tomorrow night.” She turns and marches off toward her car.
Goddamn it,I think as I watch her walk away.
I pull the nurse’s number out of my pocket and tear it into pieces.
The unexpected guests that were showing up at my apartment weren’t just annoying; to be honest, it was embarrassing and a wake-up call. I was way too liberal with where I put my dick. I wanted to say it was because of everything that happened with Levi and Tessa, but even I couldn’t sell myself on that lie.
Dixie’s red Fiat buzzes by me, and as my sister catches my eye through the windshield, I stick my hand out my window and let the torn-up phone number trickle out of my hand and to the pavement. I don’t even think twice about it.
2
Zoey
It’s not going to be a crappy day. It’s not going to be a crappy day. It’s not going to be…
“Morning, Zoey. Adam Penner’s office called.”
It’s going to be a crappy day.
“Thank you, Anastasia.” I give the receptionist at my office a smile and wave off the slip of paper she’s trying to hand me. I know his number. I don’t need the paper, and I don’t want to see his name in front of me, even if it’s in Anastasia’s perfect penmanship.
I continue to the back of the office, where my desk is tucked away in the corner. Next to my co-worker Marti’s desk, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Marti’s desk is the exact same dark wood as mine, but it’s covered with stacks of house listings and file folders full of pending deals. Mine is bare. Well, except for the tiny antique clock my grandma gave me and the phone, which is blinking, probably because Adam has left me a bunch of messages there too. Ugh.
