10. Bex
TEN
Bex
W hen I open my eyes, sunlight streams through a break in the curtains. Squinting, I let my vision come into focus, searching my memory for when I pulled the curtains. But the curtains don’t look like mine. Mine are rose-colored and long…or at least I thought they were.
Slowly, the realization hits me that I’m not in my apartment in LA, but waking up on the couch in my new house in North Carolina. I take a moment to look around, my heart doing a little patter when I spot Harley on the floor curled up next to someone who looks like…Austin?
I sit up and take a big breath, and also a moment to close and open my eyes again. So, last night really happened. Austin’s here. That wasn’t a dream. He came over to apologize, and judging by the way his arm is curled around Harley, he stayed for the puppy cuddles.
Austin’s body is turned my way, his eyes closed and his chest moving with each breath he takes, while I sit here wondering if I’ll get Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde when he gets up. Shrugging the blanket off my body, I swallow a laugh. The irony. The injured player comes over to say he’s sorry and ends up taking care of the person he’s been mean to.
The reminder of the way I felt yesterday isn’t a distant thought, but it helps that I’m feeling better today. I’m so used to this, it’s honestly no skin off my nose. I know I stressed myself out and pushed myself too far, and now I need to pull it back. The move has happened, I’ve got a job. I just need to make sure I have peace around my home and then I’ll feel like I’ve conquered the trifecta.
Austin begins to stir, his eyes fluttering open as he snaps them in my direction. If I’m not mistaken, those big, deep blue eyes of his are actually sparkling this morning.
“Hi.”
“Morning.” Standing up, I toss the blanket on the back of the couch. “Want some coffee?”
“Sure,” he says as Harley stretches out even longer beside him, burrowing into his body even further. “I’d get up to make it for us…”
“No, please. Stay with that horrible beast,” I say with a giggle. I stroll into the kitchen and brew a carafe of coffee for us, and take the time to pull a few pieces of fruit out and some muffins I’d picked up at the store the other day. In a few minutes, I’m back in the living room setting up our morning nourishment on the coffee table.
“Thanks,” Austin says as he takes a sip.
“I’m usually not this together. You got lucky,” I tease. I point to the pre-packaged muffins. “As you can see, they’re homemade.”
He holds it up and looks at it closely, turning it around in his hand. “Hey, you bought it, it’s yours. You can call it what you want.”
I hold my mug in the air and toast him. “Hear, hear.”
This feels easy.
Austin pops one of the mini-muffins in his mouth and grins. “I was going to sneak out before you woke up.”
“And leave me here wondering if your visit was my imagination?”
“Pretty much. Actually, the movie pulled me in and I needed to stay and see how Hugh would get the girl.”
Laughing, I allow myself to sink back into the couch cushions. “Did you like the ending?”
“I did, but I was falling asleep.” His eyes slide down to Harley, who has taken to a downward dog pose as she wakes up for the day herself. “And this one started shaking and would only stop if I was here with my hand on her body and petting her back. So I figured I was helping both of you if I stayed and kept Harley calm.”
I don’t miss that his mouth twitches as he says it. Biting my lip, I put my mug down while keeping an eye on him.
“Needless to say, last night was unexpected.”
“Yeah, I feel like I caught you with your guard down?”
“Pretty much. If I hadn’t been feeling so awful, I probably wouldn’t have let you in—but I guess I was feeling generous,” I tease.
“I’m glad you were,” Austin acknowledges with a dip of his head and his eyes locked with mine. There’s something so simple and easy in this moment, as if there’s a lot being said yet no words dare happen, nothing verbal. Our only communication is our energy and a look.
I’m getting lost in the confusion I’m feeling around this not-quite-awake moment we seem to be having, so it’s no wonder that when his phone suddenly dings I almost jump out of my skin.
“Sorry,” Austin says with a chuckle as he grabs his phone from the table. He glances at the screen and furrows his brow as he goes to stand up. “Give me a second, I need to make a call real quick.”
“Sure,” I say as he disappears into the kitchen. I hear the door open and close as he lets himself outside, Harley hot on his heels.
Sitting alone, I can unravel a little more of what happened yesterday. Right?
Only the more I try to reflect, the more opposition my mind gives me. It’s like it’s got whiplash, which I can fully understand. We’ve gone all over the place with this guy from war to kindness to…well, jury is still out.
I can see Austin pacing the yard from my spot and it makes me smile; there’s a delicious ease in the way he moves, his muscular frame silhouetted in the sunshine with a dog on his heels as he paces, focusing on whoever is on the other end of his call.
To me, being around Austin is like biting into one of those chocolate hard shells you pour over ice cream. It’s a little odd, almost jarring—the way it’s hard and crusty, not smooth and warm like fudge. You expect something sweet and rich, but instead, you get this cold, stiff exterior that takes a bit of effort to crack through.
However, once you do break through, there’s something underneath that’s worth it. The softness isn’t warm, though—it’s still ice cold, just like the ice cream inside. Maybe that’s not the perfect comparison, because while the shell might be cold, there’s something about discovering that softer side of him that makes you want to keep digging deeper, to see if there’s warmth hiding somewhere after all.
The door closes in the kitchen, signaling Austin’s return. But so does Harley, who comes running in and throws herself next to me, panting, with a tennis ball in her mouth.
I point to the ball as Austin comes into the room. “Where did you get that?”
He shrugs. “It was on the driveway. Maybe she brought it with her?”
I look at Harley, and Harley looks back at me with big brown eyes. “Well, at least you brought your own toys.”
“Be careful, she may see Jared pull up wearing one of his costumes and think he’s a giant squeaky toy,” Austin says with a laugh.
“Good point,” I agree. “But, since she’s not my dog, I probably don’t need to worry about that.”
Austin grins. “Probably.”
I head into the kitchen, taking my mug with me and grabbing Austin’s empty one as I go. “More coffee?”
“Please,” he says as he follows me. “I had to slam mine during that call.”
“Good news?” I ask. Not that I expect him to share it with me, considering we were at each other’s throats a mere twenty-four hours ago.
“It was my coach, Coach Donovan from Tampa Bay. Looks like I’m going back to practice soon.”
Now there’s a surprising bit of information. “You are?”
“Before I came over last night, I found out that I’m one assessment away from being allowed to train again for the team.”
“Really?” I put the coffee pot down in mid-pour and stare at him blankly at first as his words sink in, then I clap my hands together in excitement. “That’s amazing! You’ve got to be so thrilled.”
“When Emma told me, I was thrilled. I was so surprised I didn’t know what to do, but I wanted to tell someone.” He shakes his head. “But then all I could think about was the fact I’d been so rude to you. To everyone around me. It made me question the karma of it all, how I was getting the good end of the stick, you know?”
I go back to pouring our coffee, then handing him his mug. “Austin, you were sidelined from a horrific injury and it sounds like you have been beating yourself up and doing that thing people do to themselves where they blame their actions for all the things wrong in the world.”
He takes the mug from me and leans against the counter. “What do you mean?”
“Look, I’ve worked with extreme achiever personalities—what else would you get in LA when you’re dealing with actors and billionaires and all that jazz? You’re an athlete, you are your craft. Much like an actor is. When things go wrong, you blame yourself and only you, and then those around you mistake your passion for venom.”
“But I was being venomous,” he pipes up. “That’s why I came over here. I wanted to take accountability for how I’ve acted. I can do that with my family, and I will, but I don’t know. For some reason yesterday it was more important that I make things right with you first.”
“I appreciate that, and it’s a good thing you did. It would seem I needed your help at the same time last night, so…” I smile and head back into the living room. “It’s a win-win.”
“I guess so,” he says with a chuckle as he settles into my recliner. “You’re very forgiving. Should I be worried? Am I going to go home and secretly, while I’ve been here, you’ve had a thousand pounds of cattle crap dumped in my living room?”
“Now that would be a great prank, but no.” I snort. “I’m not that organized nor that vindictive. But the mud splattering…yeah, you pushed me with that one.”
“I feel like I’ll be apologizing to you for a long time,” he says, wincing.
“At least as long as we live next to each other.” I snap my fingers. “Don’t forget, you need to call those tenants today. Just let them know I spoke to you and that you’re aware of the issues. If they hear your voice and know things are in the works, everyone will calm down.”
“Which means Levi will calm down, too,” he says with a grin.
“Exactly.”
“I will.” He looks at his watch and starts as he does. “It’s almost ten? I need to get going.”
I watch as he jumps up and heads into the kitchen, looking around. “I know I took my shoes off…”
“I saw them in there,” I call out as I hop up and join him. I point under the dining table. “There.”
Austin slips his shoes on and then looks out the window that faces his house and the hedge. “Man, you really don’t have a view because of that hedge, do you?”
“You’re so observant.” I grab his coat and shove it his way. “Unless we want to ruin this call for peace, you should get out of here before we start arguing about the hedge.”
“I don’t have time for that today.” He grips the door handle and looks at me. “Thank you for letting me in last night, Bex. I am going to be different. Not just try to be, I will be, but I just ask that you give me some grace while I figure it out. After all, we’re working closely together now and we live…” He rolls his eyes. “I don’t have to tell you where we live.”
“No, you don’t.” I nod toward his truck. “You’d better go. And brush those teeth first, too, you hear me?”
Do I delight when his mouth drops open? Not then, but when his hand flies to his mouth so he can do a breath check, that’s when I giggle.
“Go. And let me know what happens with the tenants, okay?”
He gives me a salute as he jogs out the door and heads to his truck, leaving me in a swirl of confusion. Like dealing with Clark Kent when you find out he’s Superman.
Who was that guy?
I don’t have to think about it too long; my phone, which is in the living room, starts chiming, signaling a call. It’s an unknown number, but I’m feeling like throwing caution to the wind today and pick it up while Harley threads herself in and out of my legs.
“Hello?” I manage in between pats on Harley’s back.
“My name is Felicity and I’m the pet sitter for Harley. I picked up a message this morning that she’s been coming to your place?”
I eye Harley, my stomach dipping. “Yes, she’s right here now, in fact. Stayed here last night.”
“Oh man, that dog. She keeps running away, but it sounds like she keeps coming just to your place.” The woman sighs heavily in my ear. “I’m so sorry, if you tell me your exact address, I’ll come over and get her now.”
I rattle off my address and fight the sadness inside. I mean, I wanted to find Harley’s owner so they could be reunited, but why does it have to hurt my heart to give her back?
“Great,” Felicity says. “I’ll be over soon. That dog. To be honest, I’m not sure she even likes her owners.”
“What makes you say that?”
“She never listens to them when they give her commands, but she listens to me. I’ve been working with her more on her training while her people are away looking at homes in Florida. They’re moving soon, so I’m on a time crunch to get her more obedient.”
“I guess with her sneaking over here it’s not helping.” I ruffle Harley’s fur, letting my fingers dig into its thickness. “Well, we’ll be here.”
I hang up, a fleeting wave of depression washing over me. I knew this was a possibility, but at least Harley reminded me that I love dogs like I do. And it’s a mystery now solved. I know the dog’s name, gender, and the story of the owners.
I let my eyes wander, looking out the window toward Austin’s.
One mystery solved, now there’s only one more to go.