Room For More(16)

He shrugged. “Last time we talked, you had a lot going on with Piper’s accident and all. You didn’t need my shit weighing on you. Besides, I’m good. Better than I have been in years. You know what the worst part is?”

I shook my head.

“We’ve been out of the house a full month and Becca and Logan haven’t asked for her once. How pathetic is that?”

“Has she asked for them?” I asked cautiously.

“Today, finally. She asked if they can spend the weekend at her house, with Gloria, of course, because God forbid she be alone with them without a nanny for longer than ten minutes.” He exhaled loudly. “It’s fine, though. I have work to catch up on and house hunting to do.”

“I’m so sorry about all this.” I was trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. “You know I’ve never been a big fan of Blaire, but I never wanted you to be a single dad either.”

“Oh, I know that. I got the best parts of her in Becca and Logan, so for that reason, I’m glad I was with her for the last few years. Now that I see how she is, I know what not to look for next time.” He laughed.

“Well, you sound pretty content. I’m happy about that.”

“I’m glad you stopped by, actually.” He stood up and walked over to his desk, picking up a piece of paper. “I have the contract termination ready for you to sign. As you know it doesn’t go into effect for sixty days, and should there be any team negotiations or if you need a new contract in that time period, of course I’ll still help you out with that.”

He handed me the paper and a pen and sat back down across from me.

I stared down at the legal bullshit, not understanding a damn word of it.

“Go ahead, sign it. Business is business, Brody. No hard feelings.”

“Fuck this,” I said, ripping the paper in half. “Regardless of your marital situation, no one has my back like you, Andy. They never have and they never will.”

“Brody, listen… you made your decision and I completely respect that.”

“I was pissed off.”

“You had reason to be,” he argued back.

“You’re damn right I did. Even so, this is not what I want.” I set the ripped-up document on the table and stood up. “Take that. Shred it, burn it, do whatever the hell you want with it, but do it after dinner. Let’s go to The Bumper. I need a burger and a beer with my best friend.”

A smile spread across Andy’s face as he stood and grabbed his suit jacket out of the closet. “You’re on.”

He opened his office door and let me go first. I clapped his shoulder as I walked past him. “To celebrate, I’m going to let you buy me dinner.”





A few hours later, I took Diesel for a quick walk and crawled into bed, exhausted from staying out too late with Andy.

My phone chirped.



K: ARE YOU STILL COMING?



FUCK! I got so caught up that I forgot I was going to go to Kacie’s tonight.



BABY, I’M SO SORRY. I HAD AN UNEXPECTED DINNER WITH ANDY AND JUST GOT HOME. I TOTALLY FORGOT.



K: OH, THAT’S OKAY. I GET IT. :(



No. No. No. Not a SAD face!



I FEEL BAD, KACIE. I’M SO SORRY. LET ME MAKE IT UP TO YOU TOMORROW?



K: NO PROBLEM. I UNDERSTAND. I’M TIRED. I’M GONNA HEAD TO BED. I’LL TALK TO YOU IN THE MORNING, OKAY?



YOU’RE MAD.



K: NO, NOT AT ALL. I’M A LITTLE SAD, BUT THINGS HAPPEN. JUST DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME, ALL RIGHT?



Forget about her? Holy shit.



KACIE, I COULD NEVER FORGET ABOUT YOU.



Except for tonight. Ugh. Way to go, Murphy. You idiot.



K: IT’S FINE. I’M GONNA HEAD TO BED. I’LL CALL YOU IN THE MORNING, OKAY?



OKAY. I LOVE YOU.



K: LOVE YOU TOO! :)



I felt like a total dick and that fake smiley face kicked me right in the gut. Call me in the morning? I was going to redeem myself and do her one better.





Sleep had just about taken over when I felt myself jerk awake. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand to check the time and realized I had three missed calls and five texts. All from Brody.



B: SURPRISE. COME TO YOUR FRONT DOOR.



B: YOU GONNA COME LET ME IN OR WHAT?



B: KACIE??? DID YOU FALL ASLEEP?



B: WAKE UP! ME AND DIESEL ARE SITTING ON YOUR PORCH AND ONE OF US HAS TO PEE… BAD.



B: NEVER MIND, WE BOTH PISSED IN THE WOODS. WAKE UP! I WANT TO SEE MY GIRLFRIEND TONIGHT!



Every nerve in my body tingled with pure excitement as I jumped out of bed and flew through the house. The last text came in almost an hour ago, and by now it was completely dark outside. Slowly, I pulled the wooden door open, squinting as my eyes adjusted to the porch light. I prayed that he hadn’t decided to head back home. When I spotted him, I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to stifle my laugh.