Chapter 9 - Kennedy
NINE
KENNEDY
I CONSIDERED IT WELL-DESERVED KARMA.
If you had told me I was going to my favorite store with my brand-new roommate—who was Henry Anderson, of all people—I would have laughed in your face.
Oh, how life took strange turns.
The car ride was, unsurprisingly, plain awkward.
I’d kept my distance from the guys. Never went to Tim’s or celebrated any big wins with them.
Not because I didn’t want to. I was sure most people thought I was a stuck-up bitch.
But the reality was, I wanted the Strikers organization to recognize my worth for my work, not for being pals with their players.
It opened a risk I wasn’t willing to take.
Though Anderson had taken every opportunity over the years to get under my skin, and I couldn’t lie—he succeeded a few times.
He loved being a shameless flirt and a jokester.
I’d always found his personality annoying, and…
a lot. But now we were roommates, and I needed to work on being nicer to him and to the rest of the team, too.
When I broke up with Joe, I realized how secluded I’d become. It was why I went to Tim’s after the home opener game, despite the clusterfuck that day had been. I needed to go out and socialize more.
I was in the midst of a mid-life crisis, trying to figure out who I was, single. On top of that, I needed to learn how to let go of the reins a little. It felt like high school all over again—when you’re trying to figure out who you are and where you belong. It was draining as hell.
Henry parked then put on a black cap and pulled up the hood of his gray hoodie, successfully hiding his face enough so he wouldn’t get recognized.
He hopped out of the truck. “Stay right there.”
Before I could question him, he shut his door, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door for me.
I shot him an unimpressed glare. “You’re such a cliché, Anderson.”
“You say cliché, I say gentleman. My mother taught me how to treat women,” he quipped very matter-of-factly.
“And what about that attitude of yours? Did she teach you that, too?” I asked as I hopped out of the truck.
He shut the door with a hearty laugh, sending unexpected shivers down my spine. “Fuck, I forget how feisty you tend to be.”
A smug smile stretched across my face as I grabbed a shopping cart. “I’ll take that as a compliment, so thanks.”
He took the cart from me with as he shot me one of his killer smiles, the one that made his dimples deepen. “Good, because I meant it as one.”
His words made their way to my stomach, making it flutter, so I cleared my throat to tame the feeling as I nodded at his outfit. “Do you ever get tired of doing this every time you go out?”
He shrugged halfheartedly. “I’m used to it.”
“Still, it must suck.”
“A little,” he murmured.
I hummed in understanding. Most of these guys played because it was their passion, not because of the fame it came with. Honestly, if it were up to some of them, they’d preferred to stay out of the public eye. But that wasn’t how the business worked.
“I have to get a few things, so we can meet outside in an hour.”
His blue-gray eyes locked with mine, and he frowned. “Nonsense. I’ll go with you.”
A nervous laugh escaped me. I was looking forward to grabbing my favorite coffee and strolling down the aisles. Sure, I needed some things for my new room, but mostly, I enjoyed coming here to wander, as any normal person would.
Joe always hated coming with me. He’d complain the entire time—until he got tired enough to wait in the car.
Then he’d bitch about it on the way home.
Which was ironic, considering I never invited him in the first place.
He always insisted on tagging along. I rarely went out by myself when we were together.
If I did, he would be texting and calling constantly, and if I missed one call, forget about it.
I’d never heard the end of it. So, I stopped taking time for myself, because it wasn’t worth the hassle.
“I’ll be quick.”
He grabbed a packet of strawberries and placed them in the cart with a shrug. “I don’t have anything to do, take your time.” He threw me one of his lopsided smiles, and for the briefest moment, I brought my walls down low enough to take him at his word.
“I’m going to grab a coffee, then we’ll go.” Before I could take a step toward the coffee shop, his hand gripped my waist, squeezing it gently. The touch was completely unexpected and sent a jolt of electricity through me.
“I’ll go grab it while you wander around.”
Even though I was tall, I still had to crane my neck to meet his gaze. He was standing too close for comfort, and I could feel the heat radiating off his body. Yet, the warmth felt…unexpectedly nice.
I took an abrupt step back to get out of his hold. The burning sensation where he had touched me still lingered, but I ignored it the best I could. “I can go get my own coffee.”
“I know you can, but I want to do it. If it makes you feel better, I’ll even use your card.” He shot me a knowing look.
“Promise me you’ll use it,” I said sternly while pulling my wallet out and retrieving my credit card.
He extended his hand and rolled his eyes. “Yes, I promise, Jonesy.”
“Stupid-ass nickname,” I muttered as I handed it to him.
He smirked but didn’t say anything, only turned to walk away.
“Wait! I didn’t tell you what I want.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Iced macchiato with oat milk, right?”
I frowned. “How the hell do you know that?”
“Told you, it’s one of my talents,” he called back a bit louder since he was already far ahead.
I stood there, dumbfounded. This weird warmth settled in the center of my chest and spread across my body like liquid fire.
But it was a good kind of feeling, one I didn’t want to let go of, but I still did.
I had no business liking the fact that Anderson knew my coffee order by heart.
We worked around each other a lot, and I was a creature of habit. It was an easy order to remember.
This particular store had a good home section, so I gripped the cart and strode through the aisles. The room had plenty of windows, and I was looking for the perfect small plant to keep at my bedside table.
A familiar laugh echoed from the next aisle, sending a chill down my spine.
But I shook my head as I grabbed a small, pink blooming plant and placed it on my cart.
Two sets of footsteps approached the aisle I was in, but I didn’t bother looking up.
As I was taking another step, my cart collided with someone else’s and jerked me to a halt.
“I’m so sorry—” The rest of my sentence got lodged in my throat when two people came into focus.
“Kennedy?” The way my name rolled off his lips made my insides recoil.
I froze, and the grip on the cart handle tightened until my knuckles turned white. The pressure started to numb the palms of my hands, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
Why the hell was he here? This store wasn’t close to our—I mean—his condo.
“Joe,” I croaked but cleared my throat and straightened my back. Tension slowly crept up my spine and made every joint of my body tighten.
The air crackled with uncomfortable silence until a high-pitched voice said, “Hi, Kennedy.”
It took me a minute to register the other voice. I did a double-take when I realized where it was coming from. The woman standing next to Joe looked somewhat familiar, though I couldn’t quite place her.
“I’m Meghan. Scott’s daughter, remember?” She smiled at me, though it was forced and didn’t reach her eyes.
Ah. Scott was Joe’s boss, if I remembered correctly.
“Right.” I nodded quickly. “Nice to see you again.”
Meghan was young and pretty in an obvious sort of way.
She was petite and skinny, with perfectly styled blonde hair and green eyes.
The type of girl I used to envy when I was a teenager.
But the older I got, the more I learned to accept myself.
Yes, I was different; there was no denying it.
But I was still beautiful. I learned to love the complexity of my skin and my curls, and the normal brown color of my eyes.
Though insecurity still crept in sometimes, because I was still human, I never stopped loving myself.
I could see Joe settling with her. She was the sort of woman Joe’s parents expected him to be with. Dainty. Sweet. Someone who came from money and connections.
A pang of annoyance flickered through me as another uncomfortable silence passed between us. Chicago was a big city, but I still managed to run into him. Un-fucking-believable.
“Babe, go grab the ingredients for tonight’s dinner, and I’ll meet you in a few, yeah? I gotta talk to Kennedy.”
Oh, goodie. I think getting my teeth pulled would have been more enjoyable than enduring a conversation with him.
She smiled at Joe then looked back at me and awkwardly waved before walking away with their shopping cart.
“I’ve been meaning to call you,” Joe said.
“Well, here I am.”
I was at a point in my life where I wasn’t going to be pleasant if I didn’t want to.
I also didn’t have the energy to pretend for the sake of a man’s ego.
Joe had made sure of that. Still, I knew it was mostly my fault.
He didn’t force me to be in a relationship with him.
He didn’t force me to waste my time. But the memory of how much I had settled stung.
It was a normal way of feeling, I supposed.
Though I hated every single second of it.
“You haven’t picked up the rest of your stuff.”
I crossed my arms and fisted my hands as I stabbed my palms with my perfectly manicured nails, not wanting to seem fidgety in front of him. “I’ve been busy.”
His gaze shifted to my shopping cart, unimpressed. “Clearly,” he scoffed.
“I’ll try to go as soon as possible. Is that all?”