Chapter 32
NOLAN
32
“Stop gloating, Ronan. The game was so close. We almost had you.” Felix wheezes, limping in the direction of the bleachers on the edge of the community center’s basketball court.
“Yeah,” Mason agrees, wiping his forehead with the hem of his drenched T-shirt. “My bum knee definitely didn’t help matters.”
Archer rubs the base of his spine as he drags himself toward a bench. “And my bad back keeps getting worse and worse. Plus, the teams weren’t fair anyway. The two of you have been playing competitive sports your whole lives.”
I scoff. “Unfair teams? You can’t be serious. We played two versus three.”
“And we still kicked your asses,” my twin brother brags.
The guys and I haven’t been able to get a hold of Darius all day. So we ended up playing with Ronan and me on one team against Archer, Felix and Mason.
Even still, the three sore losers talk shit and make up a laundry list of excuses about why they didn’t perform better.
Ronan glances at me and smirks. “Whiners. All of them,” he mutters out the side of his mouth.
Playing sports has always been a great tension-reliever for me. When I was on the road to a hockey career, I would revel in the feel of being on the ice. Nothing felt better.
For a long time after I quit playing professionally, I couldn’t bring myself to get out there. It was too painful to get a taste of something I couldn’t have anymore.
But nowadays, I like to lace the skates back up every now and then, and remember that there’s a little more to me than just dad and bar owner. And I may not play professionally anymore, but I can still skate circles around my hockey captain twin brother. Even if the bastard would never admit it.
Still, I enjoy basketball over hockey these days. It’s less complicated for me because there’s no disappointment and emotional attachment there. A good game on the court usually does the trick of getting my mind off of things.
But today, I’m wound up too tight. I’ve just been driving myself crazy, unable to stop thinking about the girl I’m head over heels for.
After spending the past few nights—and the past few mornings—with Inez in my bed, the way I feel about her is now impossible to ignore.
“Fuck it—I’m falling in love with her,” I blurt out.
At my random declaration, Ronan’s head whips up at me from where he’s crouched down, tying his shoe laces.
Felix lets out an oomph! when the ball comes out of nowhere and smacks him in the chest.
“Sorry, man,” Mason apologizes absentmindedly to Felix. His full attention is on me. “You’re falling in…?”
“Love,” I finish his sentence. “I’m falling in love with Inez and I’ve run out of ways to pretend I’m not.” I pull on my hair.
“About freaking time.” My happy-go-lucky twin brother jumps up, tossing an arm around my shoulders and dragging me down on a bench. “Been waiting a long time for you to get your head out from between your butt cheeks.”
Archer shakes his head as he stops the rolling ball with his foot. “Thanks for the visual, Ronan.”
Inez is hanging with the girls today. Apparently, Karli is trying out some new recipes for her food subscription business and she’s in need of taste-testers. Inez was happy to take Stella along with her since school is still out. In any case, I love that my sister’s group of friends has taken Inez into their fold.
Since this evening is my night off from the bar, I ended up home alone. So when the guys showed up at my door, basketball in hand, I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason to turn them away.
That’s how we ended up here at the local community center. Feeling particularly determined to clear my head, I’ve been tearing up the basketball court and trying to get some of this pent-up energy out. But nothing’s working to get Inez off my mind.
I’m screwed. I think I need to accept it.
A black luxury sedan pulls up at the curb. Darius stumbles out, looking like he barely escaped a confrontation with the Grim Reaper. We watch him wobble over.
He collapses in the middle of the basketball court, arms outstretched at his sides. “Hey guys.” He sniffles noisily. “What’d I miss?”
“Dude, you’re still sick?” Mason asks, walking over to loom over Darius’s pale, lifeless body.
We all circle around him.
Felix kicks the bottom of our brother’s shoe. “Come down to the clinic. I’ll prescribe you some more antibiotics.”
Darius drops his sweaty head to the side. “Your antibiotics don’t work. And my money can’t save me. All hope is lost. Everyday, I slowly inch closer to death.”
Ugh. Billion-dollar drama king.
On the bright side, this sickness—whatever it is—is forcing Darius to slow down. I think this is the first time in the past twelve calendar months that I’ve seen him without his phone in his hand. Well, shit.
“Anyway-y-y…” Ronan drags out, redirecting the conversation. “Nolan’s in love with Inez.” He gives my shoulder a rough shake. I shrug him off.
Still sprawled off on the ground, Darius sneezes violently and we all duck for cover from the spray. “Already knew that. The whole town knows that.”
“The difference is, he’s not fighting it anymore,” Felix says.
“Ah. Gotcha.” Darius nods and sneezes some more.
“So have you had the talk with her?” Mason asks me.
“The talk?” I wince harshly. Because the thought of laying it all out on the table for Inez terrifies me. “Inez and I talk a lot,” I say.
And it’s true.
We talk about work. Just this morning over breakfast, she helped me come up with some new specials for Monday nights, despite me reminding her that she was off the clock.
We chat about Stella and the school renovations, and ideas for keeping her engaged while she’s out of school.
We do everything but talk about us—which is becoming the big elephant in the room.
We’re friends. Obviously.We work well together, and as roommates, our lives are intertwined.
But from the moment we gave into the chemical attraction between us and spent the night together, things changed. Even though we seem to be avoiding the topic.
So what now?
Ronan smacks the back of my head. “You’re going to have to tell her, you idiot.”
But what if she doesn’t want the things I do? I mean I’m a single father with a business that ties me to Starlight Falls. What if Inez wants to explore and see the world? It’s all at her fingertips. Anything she wants.
What if she doesn’t want me? What if she thinks the idea of us together is ridiculous? What if she laughs in my face and turns me down? My thoughts are spinning like a tornado.
If I were smart, I would protect myself. I’d keep my distance from Inez. But being around her is just so damn satisfying. It’s more natural than breathing.
Felix nods. “I know it might be terrifying. But everything will be better after you tell her. I promise.”
Yeah, right. “She’s trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. She might not even stay in Starlight Falls in the long run.”
“If you give her what she’s looking for, she’ll stay. She won’t go anywhere.” Mason shrugs.
“But is that even what I want?” I ask. “I could never be the selfish asshole who keeps Inez back from her dreams.”
Archer takes a swig from his water bottle. “What if that dream includes you? Ever stop to consider that?”
Mason tries to reason with me. “Look—you don’t need to make any lifelong commitments right this moment. She’s still fresh out of that whole reality show mess. But what’s stopping you from enjoying each other right now?”
“You make it sound so simple. But it isn’t,” I fight back.
Ronan nods. “Yes, it is. Stella is healthy. Your business is thriving. You’ve even got yourself a new haircut. You’re allowed to enjoy life for once, Noles.”
Felix comes over and roughly bumps his shoulder into mine. “You’re going to have to learn to let yourself be happy. Get out of survival mode, caveman. The saber-toothed tiger isn’t hiding under your bed, waiting to eat you the second you let your guard down. It’s all in your mind.” He grabs Darius by the wrist, pulling him up to his feet. “Now come on. Let’s go get this pathetic lump hooked up to a holy water I.V. drip or something.”
Before Inez spent the night in my bed, I might have had a decent shot at fighting this. But everything is different now. I’ve gotten a taste of how good things could be between us and I’m not strong enough to walk away.
As I follow my brothers off the basketball court, I come to a decision. I’m going to tell Inez what I want. And if she doesn’t feel the same?
Well, I’m just going to have to change her mind.