Page 68 of The Chase

“Babe, don’t be late for practice,” she said.

I cupped her face. “I love you, okay?”

Her smile lit up her whole face. “I love you too, so much.”

“You better,” I teased.

She rolled her eyes at me, and I walked out of the room.

In the kitchen, a similar scene occurred between my sister and my roommate. Benny hugged my sister to his chest, and he kissed the top of her head.

“You ready, man? Or are you gonna make more kissy faces at my sister?” I asked and made a grossed-out face.

They both gave me the finger, and Roxie kissed him goodbye one last time. Benny shrugged on his leather jacket, and we walked out of the condo together.

“Hey, man, is Max okay?” he asked when we got into the elevator. He stabbed the lobby button as soon as we stepped inside.

I shrugged and ran a hand through my hair. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

He stroked his beard. “I can ask my sister for a referral.”

Benny’s older sister was a therapist, but she worked with at-risk kids, so I didn’t think that made sense for Max.

I chewed on my lip and stepped inside the elevator. I jabbed a finger at the garage level. “Maybe.”

“Dude, that was scary last night. I thought it was Rox, and I freaked out. Are you okay?”

I sighed. “Not really. She tried to break up with me.”

“Why?”

I shrugged. “She thinks she has to let me go, to unburden me with her baggage. But I’d pull down all the stars in the sky if she asked me to. I’d do anything for her.”

Benny stared at me, his mouth hanging open for a moment, but then the elevator doors dinged open to the parking garage. “You love her, don’t you?”

I nodded, and we walked together toward my car. “I’ve never felt this way before. I want to protect her, to keep her safe. It was hard leaving her this morning.”

He nodded in understanding. “Yeah. Leaving Rox every morning sucks.”

“I asked Max to talk to someone like your sister, but she said she’d think about it.”

Benny stroked his beard. “She might need the extra push.”

“I tried already, and I don’t want her to try to break up with me again. I love her and want the best for her.”

“You’re so soft for her!”

A small smile played on my lips. “Yeah.”

We climbed into my car, and I started the engine of my Maserati.

I got on the highway and headed to the practice facility on the Main Line. A lot of the guys kept moving to the suburbs, preferring to be closer to the practice facility. I liked living in the city, but if I ever got the two-point-five kids and the wife I always wanted, I’d consider moving too.

“Off-topic, but…” Benny cut into my thoughts after we had been driving in silence for a while. “I want to ask your sister something, and I want to run it by you.”

“Bro, she doesn’t believe in marriage,” I reminded him.

“I know—neither do I. That’s why she’s perfect for me. I want to ask her to move in with me.”