Chapter 3
Chapter Three
~AMELIA~
He has the bass pumping pretty good through the wall, but I don’t think it’s on purpose.
He probably has no idea how thin these walls are.
I place my Kindle down on the bed after deciding that the heroine and the hero are going to have to wait for their meet cute.
There’s no way I can concentrate on them with this thudding.
A soft chuckle escapes my lips as I realize that my own romance is just as interrupted by real life.
I contemplate for a second pounding on the shared wall and asking him to knock it the fuck off.
But I don’t. Checking the time, I note that it’s not even dinner time yet. This feels like the longest day.
Instead, I haul myself from my bed and out of my bedroom. I keep moving and do not stop until I’m standing at Hendrix’s door, knocking, praying that she answers. I’m rewarded with her wide smile and warm brown eyes.
“Hey, how’s it going with the new roomie?” she asks, grinning.
“It’s not so great,” I tell her. She moves aside and gestures for me to come in.
“What happened? Tell me all about it.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see she’s texting on her phone. “On second thought, wait a second. Cassie and Mac are on their way over.”
I tile my head inquisitively. “I thought Mac was going to Danny’s?”
“Nope,” she says, popping the ‘p’. “She decided to hang close by when she found out that you were getting a roomie.”
I smile, instantly happy when the two of them come barreling through Henny’s door.
“So how bad is it?” Cassie asks me, pulling me into a hug.
I can’t help but notice she’s showered and no longer wearing her yoga clothes.
I can smell her lavender shampoo. I almost wish I would have changed or at least taken a shower before coming over here.
But Hendrix is still in her workout clothes, so I’m not the only one.
“Tell us everything. I brought wine!” Mac holds up a bottle of our favorite sweet red and heads for the kitchen to uncork it, her blonde hair flowing down her back like a river of gold as she walks away.
“Do you want me to call August and tell him that he can’t do this to you?
I’d love a reason to knock his lights out,” Hendrix reminds me, her eyes flashing with anger.
I can’t tell if her emption is coming from loyalty to me, or from the joy she gets from antagonizing the owner of our team.
Failed old relationship from college or not, he’s not her biggest fan either.
“No, we don’t need you to be getting your butt fired,” I remind her. “Although, that might open up your apartment,” I tease.
She laughs and reaches for one of the glasses of wine that Mac is busy handing out, as we all stand around Hendrix’s island.
Her kitchen is so bare of not only decorations but appliances.
She really has embraced a minimalist look, where nothing that she doesn’t need isn’t readily available on a counter.
It’s what makes this kitchen such a great place to gather.
Plenty of space for all our snacks and glasses, unlike the rest of our kitchens.
“Thanks,” I tell her, taking the glass of wine from Mac. We clink our glasses. As I take my first sip, I look around at the girls who have become my closest friends over the last few months. I honestly don’t know what I would do without them.
I wasn’t this girl when I was in high school, or even in college.
Sure, I had a close friend here or there, but never a group like this.
Hendrix and I spend a lot of time together, ever since Mac began dating Danny and Cassie is with Jase.
Our nights in are great; her and me with some guac and Netflix.
I’m grateful that Mac and Cassie still make time to come around and hang out with us.
On nights like tonight, I’m reminded how blessed I am to have found this little family of mine.
Especially since my actual family doesn’t come around to see me much.
I hail from North Carolina, and you would think that they would come out and see me since it’s only a nine-hour drive.
Not a flight across the country like it is for Mac and Cas.
But my parents are usually at home with my brother, who is busy playing what my dad calls “the right kind of football.”
“What’s he like? Is it bad?” Mac asks, leaning in intently, when we make our way into Hendrix’s living room and claim our normal spots.
“It’s not that it’s bad. It’s so annoying.
I’ve waited how long to have my own space and now I have to share it with a boy after just a few short months of freedom.
” I feel like an ass for complaining because my place is bigger than theirs, but I don’t want a roommate, especially a male one.
“He said that my kitchen doesn’t make sense and about how we’re doing food sharing.
Like how the fuck should I know? I’m getting used to living with someone who has the same name as famous serial killer —”
“Fictional serial killer,” Cas reminds me, cutting me off.
“Whatever,” I say, waving her off. “But his bass literally vibrates my wall.” It’s a thin argument, but it’s still reason to hate him, I tell myself.
“Oh, Amelia,” Mac pulls me into a side hug, kissing the top of my head as she gets up to grab the bottle from the kitchen. “Give him a chance or don’t, if that’s what you decide to do. But remember you can always stay at my place.”
“Thanks,” I call after her.
“Why is he here in a hurry anyways?” Cassie asks me.
I sigh. “Oh yeah, I asked him about that and apparently it’s because he got a divorce. His ex-wife is back in New England with their dog.”
“That sucks,” Hendrix replies. “It’s hard enough uprooting your life but losing someone that you promised til death do you part has to hurt even worse.”
I take a swig of my wine and consider what she said. “Yeah, you’re right about that. I’m sure it does. But he chose to do this.”
“But he didn’t choose to have to live at your place. That was all that dickhead, August.” Hendrix reminds all of us.
I laugh and throw a soccer ball pillow at her. “Fuck off, whose side are you on anyways?”
“Yours, my love, always yours.” She winks at me.
I lean back into my chair. “Ugh, this sucks all the way around. I had five brothers growing up. I have had boys in space all my life. I just want some place that is all girly and all mine.”
“Well, he’s temporary so I’m sure he won’t try and redecorate the place,” Cas reassures me. “Jase has a million rooms in his house. Do you want me to see if he’ll let Dexter bunk with him?”
I stare at the ground and shake my head. “No, I don’t want to inconvenience Jase or you.”
“He probably wouldn’t even notice he was there. And besides, this way Dexter is living with another guy and not you. You have your space back. Jase is so easygoing, he’ll understand.”
I shake my head. “I can’t ask him to do that. I’m probably being a little dramatic about it, right?” I stare at them, hoping they’ll give me the good common sense that I’m lacking.
Hendrix tells me, “I’m sure it’ll be fine. You have to give it a chance. Right now, you’re grieving the loss of your space. Just take a deep breath, sit with your emotions and then decide how you feel.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Mac leans forward and places her elbows on her knees, her eyes dancing with amusement.
“I was a psych major,” she says with a shrug.
We all share a laugh at her matter-of-fact answer.
Everyone on the team graduated college, but the whole point of being there was to be able to play college soccer at the Division I level so we could end up here, in the National Women’s Soccer League.
None of us figured that it would be for the newest NWSL team that was started by a billionaire who also owned other sports teams, including a baseball team and an NBA team. But here we are.
“Hen is right, though,” Mac tells me. “Just relax and give it a chance. He needs somewhere to stay, and you have the ability to help someone. Don’t cast him out just yet.”
“Agree,” Cassie says, holding her wine glass up like she’s about to toast us all. “Come on, fuckers, clink,” she says with a laugh.
We all hold our glasses up and I even say, “Clink.”
After having two more glasses of wine, crackers and cheese, I head back into the apartment. It’s dark when I walk in.
“Hello,” I call as I enter. But no one answers me, the apartment is completely silent. I look down the hall and find his door is open but there’s no light on in the hallway. No lights are on, in fact. “Dexter,” I call out, but no one answers me.
He’s not here.
For a second, I think that he couldn’t do this either.
He saw my abrupt departure from the apartment as a sign.
He packed his shit and left. I don’t know why that fills me with a bit of disappointment, but it does.
My feet fly down the hallway, turning on a light as I go.
I reach his room, fumble along the wall until I find his switch. I turn it on and look around the room.
His stuff is still here.
The room is all arranged. I see he put a navy comforter on the bed.
His desk is set up with some pictures on it, same with his dresser.
I make my way across the room to get a better view of them.
I spot him instantly. His dark hair and green eyes stand out in the group of photos that I think is him and his teammates.
He was a football player. I’m not sure if it’s because my brothers played it, but it makes me smile and warms me a bit towards him.
I can easily see him in the photos of his family; at least I’m thinking it’s his family.
There are four women in the photos, all with those matching green eyes.
I smile as I notice the picture right beside his bed.
It’s of a red Golden Retriever. The dog he had to leave behind.
I bring my hand up to my chest, which has tightened with emotion.
“Is this a room inspection of some sort?” a voice asks from behind me.
I spin around to see him leaning in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. The dimness of the hallway makes it hard to tell if his expression is one of amusement or annoyance.
“I’m so sorry,” I almost shout. “I got home from seeing the girls and the place was dark. I thought maybe you had moved out. I came in here and saw it wasn’t true. I was drawn to the pictures...” My voice trails off because I’m not sure what else to say.
He shrugs, pushing off the doorframe. “It’s okay. Sorry, I did leave you a note in the kitchen. Did you not find it?”
“Uh,” I stutter, struggling to find the words. “I didn’t even check for it. Sorry, it didn’t occur to me to look.” My cheeks heat and I feel like such an ass, invading his space when I was worried he’d be all up in mine.
“It’s okay. I went out and got some groceries. You didn’t say how you’d like to handle food; I was hungry and didn’t want to steal yours, so I went out.”
I nod. “Okay, great. Yeah, we should figure that out at some point.”
“Yeah, we should,” he says with a smile. He stays planted in the doorway, which starts to make me feel self-conscious for being so far into this room.
“I should get out of here,” I tell him, moving towards the door. I look down and put my hand up to my face to tuck a few stands of loose hair behind my ear, only to shamefully realize I am using it as an excuse to hide my face.
“Sure,” he says, stepping aside so that I can exit.
I squeeze past him, brushing against his arm. In that moment, I notice that the top of my head comes to his shoulder, which I find…. interesting.
“It looks good, by the way. You were busy today,” I remark, gesturing back towards his room with my eyes.
He smiles down at me. “Thanks. I didn’t bring much, so there wasn’t much to set up.”
“Right,” I reply. “Well, anyway, looks good.”
I bolt for my room and decide it’s time to take a shower. This way, I can put some space between us and stop doing stupid things.