***
Luke
A night out with friends was what I needed to get my mind of Dell. It was a big group from the team – single guys and ones who’d brought their wives or girlfriends. Steve Swanson, one of my teammates, was turning 30, and we were celebrating at a Japanese steakhouse.
“Hey.” A female voice and a hand on my back made me turn. Kate was grinning at me.
“Hey.” I reached down for a quick hug. “Where’s Ryke?”
“On his way. He had a meeting for the foundation and now he’s bringing home ice cream for Melody.” She gave me a pointed look. “I think he really wants to check up on our new babysitter, though.”
I shook my head and laughed. “The guy’s very protective.”
“That’s for sure.” She glanced at the bar in an adjacent room. “Want to go get a drink?”
“Sure.”
“So how are things now that you’re back?” she asked.
“Good. Same old, same old.”
She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it immediately.
“What?” I asked.
“I just … I’m probably just in counselor mode, but I don’t think you seem as happy as usual.”
“Yeah, shit’s been bad with my dad,” I said. “What do you want?”
“Strawberry daiquiri, if they have them.”
I ordered the drinks and turned back to her. “Yeah, my dad caused a drunk driving accident a few weeks ago and I cut him off.”
“Is that what’s bothering you?”
I met her eyes and sighed. “No.”
“What’s up, then? I’ll keep it in confidence.”
I trusted Kate as much as Ryke, so I didn’t hesitate to tell her. “I met someone in Rockford.”
Her face lit up. “Luke! That’s great.”
“Yeah.”
“So why are you down about it?”
I shrugged. “Because it can’t work out. She’s the team trainer. I travel, she travels …”
“So you can’t see each other as much as you’d like. Neither do me and Ryke.”
“She also has a kid.” I passed the bartender a bill, took the drinks and handed hers over.
“Thanks.” She took a sip. “So her kid makes it hard for her to meet up and see you?”
I took a pull of the beer and rubbed the back of my neck, aggravated. Kate was oversimplifying things. “Not just that. I don’t want to screw something up when a kid’s in the picture. My track record with relationships isn’t so great.”
She tried to cover her smile by taking another sip of her drink. “What track record?”
“Exactly.”
“When was your last relationship?”
I thought about it. “Five years ago.”
“Are you wishing you could have a relationship with … what’s her name?”
“Dell. Adella.”
“Pretty. So are you?”
I rubbed my jaw line and sank into a seat at a table for two. I didn’t know how to answer her question.
“I already told you, we can’t.”
“All I asked is if you’re wishing it.”
I shrugged and threw back more of my beer. “I don’t know. I just miss her so much. I didn’t know it would be like this.”
“Is there something you aren’t telling me?” Kate lowered her brows and studied me. “Is she married or something?”
“Hell, no.”
“Then what’s your problem? She’s less than two hours away. If she can’t come to you, go to her.”
It sounded good, but … “I don’t want to lead her on. Make her think we can have something we can’t.”
A dark figure swept in behind Kate. Ryke wrapped his arms around her from behind. She broke out in a wide smile.
“Hi, baby.” He moved her long blonde hair aside and planted a kiss on her neck. She glowed, and I fought back an image of Dell sighing when I kissed her neck.
“Hey, asshole,” Ryke said, nodding at me.
I sat my half-finished beer on the table and stood up. “Hey. I’m leaving.”
“Didn’t you just get here?” he asked.
“Yep. Tell Swanson I said happy birthday.”
“Where are you going?”
“Rockford.” I met Kate’s eyes for just a second. I’d always thought women were best at complicating things, but she’d just made them look pretty fucking simple.
***
Dell
The guys were slowly filing out of the locker room, and I hoped they were going out to blow off steam. Tanner had called several of them unworthy of oxygen after tonight’s loss and even threatened to cut half the team and replace them with high school students. To say the guys were down was an understatement.