Chapter 25 #2
I scoff. "I get alerts, Jo. And only when you're low—which, may I add, has been happening more than normal recently."
"Oh my God," she blurts.
"Don't give me that," I throw back.
She laughs, and my cheeks warm with annoyance. "No, not you. I just watched myself wink on camera, and it was… tragic."
"Jo!"
"Okay," she grumbles. "But it was like twice this week. Don't be so dramatic."
I huff out a laugh. "You did not just call me dramatic."
"Eh, let me check the tapes. Vrrrrrrt!"
I sigh, waiting for her to wrap up this performance.
"Don't be so dramatic," she repeats exactly as she said it before. "Yep. Looks like I did."
"Cute," I say sarcastically. "Now, explain."
She exhales heavily. "I'm fine, Tess. I just forgot to eat after recording. It's not that serious."
"Okay, well, it could be that serious if you keep letting it get like that. You just said it already happened twice this week."
"And it won't happen again," she promises. "Deal?"
"If it does, your equipment's relocating. Because I'm moving in."
She laughs, but I don't. Maybe I'm more worried about my sister than I realized or maybe I'm searching for more reasons to keep things platonic with Liam, but I didn't even know I was considering that until now.
"Wait… are you serious?" she asks.
"I don't know," I blurt, now more confused than before. "But I will be homeless—and jobless—again by fall so… maybe? I'd just prefer it if it wasn't to babysit you."
Jo scoffs. "Well, I'd love to have you, Tessie, but I'm gonna need you to leave the attitude in G.C."
"Just take care of yourself," I say, my annoyance clear.
Jo deepens her tone. "Yes, ma'am."
I shake my head, wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder, and digging through my boxes for one of my two Gators shirts.
"So, how is your favorite ball-handling money-guzzler?" she asks as casually as if she asked How's the weather?
"Liam's fine," I say simply, too afraid that if I say more, she'll read too much between the lines. "I'm just getting dressed for his game today, actually."
"Aw, you're so supportive. I can practically hear the life-sucking wedding bells now."
I roll my eyes. "Stop. It's not like that."
I flap my shirt against my legs trying to shake out the wrinkles that grew into it from being shoved into a pile.
"Mhmm, but you want it to be." My hands freeze, the fabric suddenly heavy, and Jo chuckles at my silence. "I say go for it."
"What?" I shoot back, avoiding a response. "You literally just shit-talked the whole situation."
I hear her laptop slap shut, then ruffling that tells me she's curling up with her favorite tan-and-white-checkered fuzzy blanket, sinking into her couch. "I didn't say it's what I'd do. But you deserve to have some fun, Tessie."
I plop down on the bed in Liam's guestroom—my bedroom?—and drop the shirt into my lap. I stare at it like it might calm my nerves or give me answers.
Fun.
That might be what I deserve, but all I feel is a mess of butterflies in my stomach swirling around the one glimmer of guilty hope I'm holding onto.
Hope that what happened in his kitchen—and the hotel room—won't upend everything we've started here.
And hope that trying to resist doing it again won't crush me completely.
Jo groans.
"What? Are you okay? Are you dizzy?"
A chuckle escapes her. "No but your overthinking is suffocating me."
"I can't be overthinking because there's nothing to think about. He's my boss. And he and Ruthie have a lot going on right now."
"Ooh, like what?" she cuts in, her intrigue suspicious.
"Like his retirement? Put the shovel away, Jo. There's nothing to dig for."
"Hmm… well, there would be if he started screwing his nanny."
"Nice try." I roll my eyes. "Not gonna happen." Whether I've thought about it or not.
Jo crunches down on something hard in response that eases a worry I didn't realize I was carrying. I say a quick prayer that it's a carrot or a roasted chickpea—anything of substance—then move toward the black-framed mirror hanging in front of me.
"We kissed," I tell both Jo and my reflection.
She pretends to choke, hacking into the phone. "And you didn't lead with that?"
I blush, leaning my elbow on the dresser in front of me. "It shouldn't have happened."
"But it totally did."
I sigh—loudly. "He's really sweet."
"Mhmm."
"And he's so good to Ruthie."
Jo clicks her tongue. "Plus that ass, am I right?"
I open my mouth, then pause, glancing down at the phone like she can see me staring. "Joanna Hastings—have you been… watching baseball?"
The chewing I've endured for the last two minutes straight suddenly halts. A beat of silence follows. "It's called research, Tessa," she says with a hostility that makes me laugh.
"Mhmm… you like it, don't you?"
"Ha!" she yells. I wince, pulling the phone away from my ear before returning it to my shoulder. "Like is a very strong word."
"Whatever you say."
"You know what? I should go."
"Convenient."
"Love you," she replies.
I shake my head and giggle. "Love you too, Jo."
I end the call, finding myself again in the mirror. Somewhere in the reflection, I realize this will be the first time I see Liam on the field since we kissed. The first time I have to watch him sweat and perform in that damn uniform since I've learned what it feels like to have his lips on mine.
I'm actually grateful because Jo's not wrong—Liam's hot. And in the stadium, I don't have to avoid watching him because he's the whole show. Half of the women in that place—and the men for that matter—will be doing the same.
And thank God.
Because I'm not sure I'd be able to hide my stare very well otherwise.