Chapter 3 #2
I smirked. I expected Ryan would be back on a bus or in a hotel or something, since his game had finished about an hour ago. Our time difference worked out well, considering when he played, it was usually late morning here.
Me:
Did I miss something?
I was an arsehole. I’d been following the updates as they came in on ESPN, the notifications popping up on my desktop while I worked in the office. When his team had won, a fist pump may have happened, and that he’d finished with a triple double had got my heart racing.
Ryan:
Nah. Not much, just me being a dead set legend.
My heart squeezed tight and had done so constantly over the past few weeks since Ivy had been born.
Me:
Legend, huh? How’d those misses work out for you?
Ryan:
Flipping you off right now, wiseass.
Me:
Wise*arse*… It’s pretty fine and definitely wise.
As soon as I hit Send, I froze. What the hell was I doing? Was I flirting, or was this simple bantering, the usual sort of shit we got up to and said to each other as kids? I frowned hard, not quite sure anymore.
Ryan:
Not sure about the latter.
I shoved away from my desk, my office chair rolling backward, more than aware I was overthinking and quite possibly freaking out about this unnecessarily. This was just us having a laugh, right?
“Everything all right in here?” Patrick stuck his head around the door, his brows dipped low.
I nodded quickly, realizing my movement had been somewhat dramatic, and had pushed a box of papers onto the floor. “Yeah. Just knocked this over.”
“Need a hand?”
“Nope. All good, thanks.”
He remained in the doorway a beat, looking me over. I bent and focused on placing the papers in the box while willing the heat in my cheeks to bugger off.
“Okay,” Patrick finally said. “Give me a yell if you need anything. You also wanted me to remind you about the mower rep coming in. They should be here in an hour.”
“Great, thanks.” I risked a look in his direction, relieved I was alone. Once I sorted the box, I resettled behind my desk, finding new messages waiting for me.
Ryan:
Have I lost you?
Where’d you go?
Gotta go. Coach wants a word. Chat later.
I exhaled and stretched out my neck before flicking off a message.
Me:
Good game, Broadwater.
I distracted myself from Ryan’s text as best as I could, trying not to wonder if he was saying my butt was fine. That line of thinking would only drive me to despair. I was sure of it. When Patrick appeared in the doorway again, saying Tallis had arrived, I stood up quickly, relieved for the break.
Once in the storefront, I caught sight of the guy I assumed to be Tallis, the rep from John Deere. “Tallis?”
“Yeah, mate. You Nate?”
“Sure am.” I gripped his hand and gave a friendly shake, my gaze glued to his piercing green eyes. They contrasted to his dark skin so dramatically it was hard to not stare at just how mesmerizing they were.
“Thanks for agreeing to meet,” he said, his broad grin friendly and seeming genuine.
“No worries. You wanna grab a coffee first?”
“That would be great. It’s been a long morning.”
“Let’s get you caffeinated then,” I said with a chuckle, heading to the kitchenette out back. “Grab a bottle of water from the fridge too.” I indicated in the direction of the small fridge. “One of these pod things okay?”
“Sure. A little more upscale than a heaped scoop of the generic stuff I’m used to.”
Tallis’s laughter was light, nice; he was also easy on the eyes.
Just the thought of that was a reminder of how long it had been since I got myself out there.
It had been a while since I’d been to Brissie.
The Zone was my not-so-usual haunt, since it had been over a year.
Considering my appreciation of the handsome man casting what I thought was an interested glance my way, it was in my best interest to take a visit to the city sooner rather than later.
After our coffees were poured, we took a seat, generally shooting the shit before we got down to business.
After thirty minutes of chatting and another two hours of talking mower models and stock, Tallis said, “Perhaps one night you want to head a little further south and join my boyfriend and me for a beer.” While his friendly smile was still fixed in place, I didn’t miss how he eyed me, perhaps waiting for a reaction at the mention of his boyfriend and making sure he’d read me right.
I grinned immediately, right along with my brows shooting high. “Yeah, that sounds great,” I replied, surprised by his offer.
His shoulders relaxed. “Sounds good. There’s a decent LGBTQ bar we tend to go to. I’ll invite a couple of friends too. Are you dating anyone?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
A mischievous smile appeared when he spoke. “In that case, I’ll make sure at least a couple are single.”
I snorted. “Uhm, okay. It’ll just be good to hang out and great to check out a new bar.” Was it crazy that the thought of hooking up made my stomach swirl with unease? I couldn’t even fool myself about the reason why that was, either. Ryan bloody Broadwater filled my thoughts far too often.
“Sounds good. I’ve got your number, so we’ll make plans soon.” He left with a friendly handshake.
I grinned after him, stoked that less than an hour away, I had a new connection and the possibility of a fun night out.
As much as I loved my town, there wasn’t much happening in terms of a queer community.
While I was out and didn’t keep my sexuality a secret, I expected many steadfast locals would be happy not to be reminded of the fact either.
A night out, maybe even a night away from being a dependable uncle, would do me a world of good. It may even help get my mind off the man I’d never really let go.