Page 59 of Tough Guy and the Show Off

I can’t do it though. All I want is Beau.

“Yeah, listen…”

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I forget all about letting her down gently as I scramble to answer it.

“Hey,” I say, smiling immediately, even before I hear his voice on the other end.

“Hey,” Beau says in a low, sweet voice. It’s quiet on his end, so he’s obviously back at the hotel, not out celebrating the win with his new team. I should probably tell him to get his ass out there and be social, but I’m feeling too selfish to do that tonight.

“Let me call you back in just a few minutes?” I don’t want to talk to him while I’m here in a noisy bar, I want to go home and talk to him while I’m in bed so I can pretend he’s there with me.

“Yeah, no problem. Talk to you in a bit.”

We hang up and I realize Carrie is still there, looking at me with resigned understanding now instead of lust.

“Girlfriend?” she guesses, nodding at my phone.

“Uh… not exactly. It was cool hanging out with you, but I’ve gotta go.”

Klaussen gives me a weird look that I choose to ignore. I toss enough cash onto the bar to cover everyone’s drinks and then some before I head out. Home. So I can talk to Beau.

TWENTY-SEVEN

BEAU

My phone rings minutes later and Trav’s name shows on the screen.

“Hey,” I answer. “Were you out?”

“Took your advice and watched the game at Replay.”

“Good.”

“How are you? Settled in?”

“Uh, not really. I’m in temp housing, obviously, and I got thrown right in, but that’s how it goes.”

“Yeah. You played great. Really great.” Then he’s uncharacteristically quiet.

“Thanks. You okay, Trav?”

“Me? Hell yeah. I’m always good.”

Okay, I know that tone. He’s covering up something.

“Come on, Trav. Talk to me. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I’m super happy for you. Obviously you don’t need me to play well.”

There it is. He’s hurt.

“Trav…”

“It’s good. You’re clearly an asset to this team. I thought we played well together because of our shared chemistry, but I guess I was wrong. You’re just a badass player.”

“You think I don’t need you?”

“Obviously not, but listen, it’s all good. You deserve to shine.”