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Colby rolls his blue eyes and tosses his cards onto the small table. “We’re never going to finish the game at this rate,” he mutters.
I silently mouth a sorry to the boys before answering. “Hello? Mel?”
“Hey, West. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“I’ll always have time for you,” I say with fervor.
Remy scoffs next to me and Colby mutters “whipped” but disguises it with a cough.
She laughs but it sounds strained like she’s nervous. “Alright. How was your game?”
“You don’t watch my games?” The guys burst out laughing at my question, and I wish I wouldn't have asked it.
“Uh, not usually.” I can hear the regret in her voice. “Sorry…”
“That’s okay, no big deal.” I try to sound cool and unaffected, but on the inside, I want to cry a little.
She clears her throat. “So, I was wondering if we could talk tomorrow? After I get off work?”
My heart rate speeds up. She wants to talk… isn’t it always bad when someone says they want to talk? But we do need to talk, so hopefully, it’s a good kind of talk. “Yeah, of course. I’m free tomorrow evening.”
“My roommate is teaching an evening class tomorrow, so do you want to come over here?”
“Sounds good. I’m excited to see your place.” I smile, forgetting my teammates are listening.
The three of them chuckle. Bruce leans forward, causing his long brown hair to fall into his eyes, and he whispers, “Oooh going to her place. It’s getting serious.” I shoot him a glare.
“Don’t get too excited. It’s nothing like your place.” Melanie laughs, her voice starting to sound more relaxed.
“I’m guessing that means you actually have furniture in all the rooms?” I ask.
“It’s definitely filled to maximum capacity,” she says sarcastically. “Hey, could you take the metro here, or an Uber? Then you can drive your car back home.”
“Are you sure? You’re welcome to use it. I don’t mind.”
“Thanks, but I have a car. I just prefer the metro to avoid traffic… and parallel parking.”
I smirk, remembering her parallel parking in front of the cafe. “Understandable. Text me your address and I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow.”
We end the call and I feel lighter. The weight of wondering if she’d want to see me again no longer looming over me. She sounded positive, so hopefully, that’s a good sign.
Tomorrow night I’ll find out if she’ll give me a chance… or if I need to keep fighting.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MELANIE
After arriving home from swimming, I make a protein smoothie for dinner and then walk back to my bedroom so I can FaceTime my mom. I was feeling jittery today, so I swam laps before coming home. Swimming has been just as therapeutic as I remembered. I felt much calmer afterward. But water can’t give me advice, and my mom can. Plus, she already knows about the infamous video and the history between West and me.
She seemed so sure back then that West reciprocated my feelings. I’m interested to hear her thoughts on him now, even though five years have passed.
While I wait for the video to connect, I settle back on my bed and get comfortable. When Mom’s face pops up on the screen, she’s holding her phone down on her lap and adjusting her glasses. Even though she’s holding her phone at an unflattering angle, she still looks lovely to me.
“Hello, sweetheart!” She smiles broadly.
“Hey, Mom!” I smile back. “I miss you.”
