14. Miles
14
MILES
“E nough with the pity party,” Coach calls at the start of practice. “Semi-finals is respectable work considering we’re shorthanded and the West got stronger during the off-season.
“However, this was a rehearsal for the post season, not the post season itself. Which means you’ve got three more months to get it together.”
Sometimes, you’re in a groove that takes you out of the effort.
Today is not that day.
I’m playing off-ball, which used to be my comfort zone, but when Jay tries to find me with a pass, I catch it but I’m in the wrong place. My shot is weak, bouncing off the rim with a dull twang.
The next time, Damon stretches out an arm and deflects it before it reaches me.
The third attempt, I miss it altogether. The ball goes sailing into the stands.
Fucking hell.
Jay’s gaze finds mine and holds it. There’s no mistaking the worry there, and the frustration.
Clay comes up to me on a break. “You play better than you ever have for a few games, and you think you’ve gotten to a new level. Hell, maybe you have. But there’s always a come down.”
“Meaning?”
“Last few games, you were so busy scoring it didn’t matter that you and Ellis weren’t connecting.”
Or the fact that Brooke and I are hooking up behind my friend’s back is starting to mess with my head.
The first few days didn’t bother me because I was too amped to think about anything but memorizing the feel of Brooke’s curves under my greedy hands. The taste of her everywhere. The way she hisses my name when she comes.
But it’s getting harder to hide from Jay that his little sister is living rent free in my head.
And in my bed.
“You heading out?”
I look up from grabbing my bag on the sidelines of the court to see Jay next to me. “I need to stop at the store, then going to Grams’s. You?”
“Going to hit the gym. As my agent reminded me, I have a contract year coming up.”
It’s a reminder for me, too. There’s a ton of pressure in this business, always guys wanting your spot, plus suits making plans and moving pieces around like a chess match. While it would be crazy of the Kodiaks not to try and retain Jay, it’s impossible to know what’s going on behind the scenes and what other teams have in store.
I haven’t spent much time off the court lately with Jay, not only because of Brooke. Life has been busy with Grams and extra training. I miss the downtime, the jokes and the camaraderie that seem to be the first thing to evaporate when you’re hunting wins.
“Wait for me.”
The Kodiak fitness facility is tricked out with everything you could dream of. When we get there, a handful of guys are working out. Clay’s in one corner, headphones on. He nods as we enter but doesn’t speak.
I adjust the weight on a barbell and settle onto the bench. I shift it out of the cups and over my face, Jay moving to spot me.
“So, you sick of my sister yet?” he asks.
My elbows buckle. My grip slips, and the bar descends swiftly toward my face.
Jay catches it halfway to my face. “Shit. Bet you’re thanking God for me right now.”
He grins, and I exhale hard.
“I mean it though. B’s kind of a slob,” he adds.
He means as a roommate. Which is the last thing I’ve thought about over the past two weeks.
“Nah. She’s great,” I wheeze as I press the bar up. “I like having her around.”
It’s true. Aside from the part where she’s dynamite in bed, Brooke is fun and funny. She calls me out if I’m distracted, presses me to talk about what’s on my mind.
I catch myself paying attention to how she looks brushing her teeth in the morning, or the smell of her body wash in the bathroom, or the sound of the hangers in her closet as she riffles through for an outfit in the morning.
“She bring anyone around? Like a guy?” Jay asks.
The next rep has me sweating. “Not lately.”
Because the first time went so well.
“I’m glad you haven’t seen Kevin. My mom still loves having him support her campaign, and she thinks Brooke’s the best way to get that.”
“He shows at my place, I’ll rip his preppy head from his body.”
Jay’s brows lift, but after a moment, he laughs.
“You did that once. Can’t afford to get into trouble again.”
I take a moment to wipe the sweat from my face with a towel. The gym's familiar scent of rubber and metal fills my nostrils, grounding me.
“Kevin was a piece of shit,” I say, my voice low and intense. “Cheating on her, and blaming his drug use on her? That's beyond fucked up.”
“I'm glad you were there back then.” Jay moves to the bench, getting ready for his set. “Why did you go so hard on him?”
“She deserved better.” He hears the edge in my voice. He must, because he doesn’t respond right away.
“She was vulnerable,” Jay says at last. “Hell, I think she still is. She has this idea like if she acts tough enough, it’ll be true.”
“Seems like she’s in a good place. Better than good,” I add without knowing why.
“Maybe.” He cocks his head at me. “You would tell me, right? If she was going through something and you picked up on it.”
Guilt burns at my stomach. “Course I would.”
But as Jay starts his set and I spot him, the weight of the unspoken truth rests on my chest.
It’s heavier than any barbell.
* * *
“Special delivery.” I knock on the door, shifting the wrapped crate with a bow under one arm. “Hey, Grams.”
“Miles, honey.”
“Look who I brought.” I pull Waffles out of a massive designer tote, and my grandmother beams.
“It was Brooke’s idea. And her bag,” I admit, turning it so Grams can see the air holes Brooke cut in one side.
“I watched your game the other night. I’m sorry you lost to LA.” She pets him while we chat. “You shouldn’t have been called for a foul in the fourth. It was a flop.”
“Thanks, Grams.” Her loyalty warms my heart. I’m not here for her praise, but I’ll take it before we get to the topic I came here to broach. “Listen, I want to talk about finding you another place.”
Her lined lips press together. “I don’t need a new place.”
“I’m not trying to change anything you don’t want to change. But it worries me when I’m on the road, thinking you might get hurt or need something and I’m not here. I have a couple options.” I reach into my back pocket for the flyers I tucked there and hold them out.
She waves them away. “Miles, you can’t always be here for me. That’s the way life goes.”
My gut contracts, a wrongness rising up. “But?—”
“I mean it.” Her voice has an edge to it.
I drop the topic and we play Monopoly for a bit, but I’m still frustrated over how to move her.
My phone buzzes with a text, and I glance at it quickly. Brooke. Saying she’s ordering dinner and she’ll get some for me.
I can’t help the way my heart kicks.
“That her?”
Grams’s eager voice has me looking up.
“Oh. Yeah, it’s Brooke.” I text a quick thanks and tuck the phone away. “She wanted to make sure Operation Hidden Waffles was a success.”
“She destroyed that bag to bring him in here? It must have cost over a hundred dollars.”
“Yeah.” My lips twitch. I don’t have the heart to tell her it was probably way more.
“Things must be going well.”
“It’s complicated.” The response comes immediately, but it feels insufficient for the growing need behind my ribs.
When it’s her and me with nothing but sweat and skin, we’re golden. She’s fun and open and honest.
She doesn’t trust relationships, and she has good reasons not to. It’s possible I’m the only one wondering if this could be more.
“Then show her. When I was young, if a man liked a woman, he’d make it crystal clear. Unless you don’t think she feels the same way?” Grams lifts the empty purse Waffles was in onto her lap, wiggling a finger through the inch-wide holes cut in the sides for ventilation.
I grin and shake my head. “Point taken.”
We play a little longer, and she feeds Waffles his body weight in treats. She’s still crooning to him when I head into her bedroom under the guise of using the bathroom to wash my hands.
After doing that, I pull the pamphlets from my pocket and tuck them next to her bed under a book.