Chapter 10
Lisa
It took me ninety-seven minutes to get home from the Inn and I spent at least ninety of those minutes thinking about Jennie. The other seven were spent pulling in and out of the rest stop so my psycho dog with a bladder the size of a thimble didn't pee in my truck.
I was up until three o'clock in the morning talking to Jennie, and despite my utter exhaustion, being with her all night was so worth it. Every time I thought about cutting the conversation short and heading to bed, a strand of her hair would break free from her ponytail and frame her face perfectly … I didn't give a shit about sleep anymore. That's why God invented coffee anyway.
My cell phone alarm went off three hours after we finally turned in, and I packed up quietly and left. There was no real reason for me to leave so early. I had no exciting plans, but I wanted to sneak out before I saw Ashley again, and more importantly, I didn't want to see Jennie's face when she realized I'd lied to her about playing hockey.
The lie started out innocently. I just hadn't felt like sitting at the dinner table answering all the typical questions that came along with being a professional athlete. Then when I talked to Jennie that night about her ex and what she was looking for now, I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I didn't want her making a snap judgment about me or my life, hoping that she'd get to know me before she blew me off … but I wanted to make sure that she found out about it from me, so I left my favorite jersey there for her.
My cell phone went off as I pulled into the parking garage of my condo building. For a quick second, I hoped it was Jennie already, but when I looked at my phone the screen said BOSSMAN.
"What's up, buddy?" I tried sounding as awake as possible after three hours of sleep.
"Whoa! You sound like shit!" Bambam teased.
"Good morning to you too. What are you doing up so early?"
"Early? Most normal people are already at work by now, not crawling in from the night before, which is exactly what it sounds like you're doing. I'm already on my third cup of coffee, my friend."
"Not exactly. I'm just getting home from up north." I yawned.
"I thought you were getting home yesterday."
"That was my hope, but the weather didn't cooperate." Thank God it didn't, I thought.
"That sucks. Well, you wanna fill me in tonight over a beer or what?"
"Yeah, sounds good. Meet at The Bumper at six?" I asked.
"Perfect. If you're lucky, I'll let you buy me dinner too." He laughed as he hung up.
The Bumper was our favorite place to go. It was a hole-in-the-wall bar about four blocks from my condo, with grumpy waitresses and stale peanuts, but they made great burgers, the beer was ice cold and no one bugged me there. Kuma and I slowly made our way upstairs to my condo. I tossed my keys on the kitchen counter while he headed straight for his over-sized dog bed by the fireplace. I collapsed on the couch, debating whether to get up and head to the gym for a couple hours or sleep the day away right where I landed. The more I thought about bicep curls, the more comfortable my couch got and I let sleep take over.
A wet nose grazed my forehead, but I swatted it away. My eyelids felt like they were glued shut, refusing to budge and I was in no rush to force them open. I lay there listening to the sounds of the city rushing by my window, when my phone vibrated from the kitchen counter.
"What do you think, Kuma? You think that's a text from her?" Kuma yawned and walked back to his bed, unimpressed. "Yeah, you're right, she probably hates me." I sighed, sitting up and resting my elbows on my knees. I took my time getting off the couch. I was in no rush to read a nasty message calling me a liar or see a picture of my jersey cut up in pieces on her bedroom floor. The idea of my jersey being on her floor was definitely exciting, but more in a trail-like fashion with her panties right next to it.
I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed my phone, both relieved and disappointed to see it was a text from Bambam.
LET'S MAKE IT 5:00, I'M STARVING.
I couldn't help myself, I texted back…
YOU JUST WANT TO SEE ME SOONER. I LOVE YOU TOO, YOU SEXY BEAST.
I was groggy as hell and needed to wake up. "All right, K, we have just enough time for a quick jog before I gotta get in the shower."
Kuma raised his brows and glared at me from his dog bed, not budging.
"Come on, lazy ass!" I shouted as I grabbed his leash from the hook by the fridge. The metallic clinging of the chain excited Kuma as he jumped off his bed and bounced over to me. I bent down, secured the leash to his collar and out the door we went.
It was early June and the air was still crisp and comfortable, perfect jogging weather. I walked a few blocks from my condo to Lake Calhoun, popped my ear buds in, and Kuma and I took off. The lake was crowded today … people jogging, out on the lake in paddleboats, picnicking. I ran past two teenagers sitting on a bench swapping more spit than a couple of porn stars. I just shook my head. To my right, a couple lay on a plaid blanket reading books and chomping on grapes. She looked around quickly and held her book up in front of them, pulling him in close.
Come on, Lisa, focus.
Up ahead I noticed an older couple holding each other cheek-to-cheek near the lake shoreline, looking out at the water. As I got closer I tried to see what they were looking at and I realized they weren't looking at anything, the water was clear.
They were slow dancing … with no music.
I came to a stop and shook my head in frustration. I felt … off, disconnected. I needed to get my shit together and get this run in, I blasted Korn on my iPod and started again, trying to shut the rest of the world out and focus on my pace. A girl ran toward me, giving me a mega-watt smile as she passed. She was a cute brunette with green eyes, but they were nothing compared to Jennie's. They didn't have the same sparkle, the same life in them; they did nothing for me.
"Screw this, Kuma. I'm not feeling it today."
A scalding hot shower made me feel remotely better after that disappointing run. Despite Bambam working right near my condo, I didn't get to see him often and was looking forward to shooting the shit with him over a beer, or five.
When I got to the bar, he was already sitting at our normal table in the corner. As I got to the table, he flashed me a big smile and stood to shake my hand.
"What's up, brother?" I pulled him in for a bear hug.
"Wow, you showered for me? Trying to get lucky?" He laughed, pushing one of the beers he'd already ordered toward me.
I lifted the beer to my lips and took several big gulps. "Something like that," I answered, looking around for Jan, our usual waitress. "I'm starving, let's order."
"Yeah, I can't stay out late tonight, I have to eat and run. Blaire is making dinner." He grimaced.
Blaire was superficial, materialistic, a mega-bitch, and unfortunately … my best friend's wife. She and Bambam met in college and married shortly after I signed my first big contract with the Wild. A little too convenient, if you asked me.
They lived about thirty minutes outside of the city in the biggest house in their town. She drove the most expensive luxury car they could find and had a whole slew of people employed at their house. One time at a charity dinner, someone asked her what she did for a living and she said she didn't work outside of the home, but she was a "house manager." I choked on my drink and she shot eye daggers at me. She hasn't liked me since, not that she was a big fan of mine before that.
"Making dinner? I thought you wanted a burger," I said, finishing off my first beer.
"Uh, yes. She's trying to be more domestic, so she's cooking duck tonight. Needless to say I don't want to go to bed starving, so I'm going to eat a big dinner now and then make her dinner magically disappear. At least pretending I like her cooking will get me laid tonight."
I tried to shake the thought out of my head of anyone being forced to suffer through fucking that woman. I didn't know how he'd survived this long without that Black Widow killing him already.
"So this weekend, what happened?" Bambam asked, after we ordered burgers, onion rings and another round of beer.
"The weather happened. It was one crappy misfortune after another. Next thing I knew, my truck was axle deep in mud in the driveway of this inn up north. Thankfully, they were inviting and let me stay for a couple days."
"An inn? Sounds like a total snoozefest. Was it all old retired people, or what?"
"No, actually. There were quite a few people there." I grinned.
Bambam leaned forward and stared right into my eyes, raising a curious eyebrow. "Uh-oh, what's her name?"
"What are you talking about?" I shot back at him, looking around the bar to avoid eye contact.
He shook his head, his face beaming with pride like he'd just figured out some big secret. "No way, Lisa. I know you better than anyone on this planet, don't bullshit me. I've seen that look before. What's. Her. Name."
I looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. I had no chance of getting this girl to talk to me again if her name was in some tabloid tomorrow morning. "Jennie. Jennie Kim. Now can we drop it, please?"
Bambam sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "Please tell me you were careful. Am I going to have a paternity suit to deal with right after Christmas? It would really ruin my winter."
"No, asshole. I didn't sleep with her, I didn't even kiss her. That's not what it was about. It was-" I stopped talking when Jan walked up with our food. After she set all the plates down and groped my arm, I dug right into eating, avoiding Bambam's curious eye.
"So, are we done talking about this?" Bambam proceeded carefully.
"There's nothing to talk about, Bambam. I met this girl and she's the most intriguing woman I've ever laid eyes on. I only spent two days with her, but it wasn't nearly enough time." I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. "And so far, she hasn't called me. I don't know if she ever will. I may never see her again, but I want to." I pushed my plate away and looked up at Bambam who furrowed his brow, deep in thought.
"Oh, and … she has two kids. Be right back, gotta piss."
Bambam groaned and dropped his head in his hands as I pushed away from the table. That poor man, I didn't pay him nearly enough.