Chapter 17
Ethan
After getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Caps, I’ve become scarcer than usual. It’s been two weeks since I last saw Mia, and Will has been up my ass about hanging out. He’s worried about me. I have a habit of shutting out the world when I need to clear my head.
Will’s the only person who knows about the guilt and anger I harbor over the past. He’s well aware of my issues and lets me crawl into the darkness just long enough before he has to pull me out. And that’s why I finally gave in to his requests to meet him for dinner.
I find Will hovering over several cartons of food in the back of Chinese Garden. He digs into each of them like a ravenous beast, chewing with his mouth half-open.
My mom commented about Will’s etiquette whenever he ate at my house.
It wasn’t often we had guests for dinner.
While my dad was alive, our house was more like a mausoleum than a home.
But on the few occasions Will was invited for Sunday dinner, he ate the same way.
And my mom said something to me every time.
I sit across from Will and lift a pair of chopsticks from the center of the table. “Couldn’t wait until I got here?”
“Dude, I haven’t eaten all day, and you’re late. When it comes to food, I wait for no man.”
I work on a plate of General Tso’s, Mia’s favorite, while Will devours a container of shrimp fried rice. Mia would live off this shit if she had the money to buy takeout every night.
“Where have you been all week?” Will shoves a forkful of rice into his mouth, speaking between bites. “You shacking up with some chick I don’t know about?”
I laugh, attempting to chew the rubbery chicken. “Nah, you know me. I don’t do repeats. Too much drama.”
He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and then stuffs his face with more rice. Will is like a child with food all over his mouth and down the front of his shirt. And he’s not even drunk.
Will sets the rice carton on the table and shoots me a pained look.
“Then, where have you been? You haven’t stopped by the apartment in two weeks.
Mia’s asked about you a few times. And I’m starting to wonder if you’re taking our loss harder than you should.
Your old habits aren’t creeping up on you, I hope? ”
He’s referring to my past drug addiction.
I shrug off his concern. “Nah, I’m good. We got our asses handed to us in the last game. We deserved to lose.”
My performance didn’t help us.
“Are you coming back to the apartment?”
I shake my head. “It’s too crowded. I added a few more nights to my stay at the Ritz. I can’t sleep on the couch. It kills my back and shoulder.”
Sometimes, the pain from my past comes back at the worst times. I needed a decent night’s sleep, but Mia is why I’ve steered clear of her apartment. I don’t want to hurt her, yet I know what I’m doing must be crushing her because it’s killing me.
He snickers. “And you didn’t invite me? Dick. The mattress in Mia’s guest room is kicking my ass. The floor is more comfortable.”
“Hey, you were the one who was sneaking off with those girls. If you weren’t MIA most of the time, I would’ve asked you to share a suite with me.”
In all honesty, we needed a break from each other. We play hockey for the same team and share an apartment. A few times, we’ve even shared girls. I needed some space from the Roman family with how intense things were getting between Mia and me. But I’m too much of a coward to tell Will why.
“Ahh, that’s cool, bro.” Will waves his hand in front of him. “Don’t worry about it. My sister is hardly ever home. She has a new job. I only see her before she goes to work. We eat breakfast together, and then she leaves. I crash in her bed when she’s gone. Our arrangement works.”
“You should consider getting a room for a few nights,” I suggest. “Some sleep would do you good.”
He shakes his head. “We’ll be back in our apartment in no time.”
For someone with money, Will is unusually cheap. He’d rather crash on Mia’s couch than shell out the cash for a hotel room.
Will cracks open a fortune cookie and laughs at the message on the slip of paper inside. He throws it on the table. “Even the Chinese proverb tells me to go out tonight, and you, my friend, are coming with me.”
I lift the paper and shake my head. “Flattery will go far tonight. I don’t think there’s a hidden meaning behind this fortune.”
Will shrugs. “Yeah, maybe not, but it’s an excuse to have fun before we have to return to real life.” He reaches across the table and grabs the egg roll from my plate. “You gonna eat this or what? I’ve been eying it up for the last ten minutes.”
A smirk touches my lips. “Go right ahead.”
Will bites into the egg roll, licking juices from his lip.
Watching Will eat is almost comical, or more to the truth, gross, even.
He acts as if he hasn’t had a meal in days.
I have no problem sticking to our diet during the season, but Will isn’t as disciplined regarding the meal plans I make him follow.
Binge drinking and eating for the first few weeks after the regular season is part of Will’s post-season routine.
I could just as easily fall back into old habits along with him, but I have to control myself.
I can’t be the person I was in high school.
Because, unlike Will, I won’t be able to stop once I lose myself.
I felt myself starting to slip with Mia.
Driving to see her in the middle of the night made me realize I was on a slippery slope. She could be my downfall, my biggest weakness. And I can’t afford to have any more of those.
“Your sister got another job? Did she get fired from the paper?”
Will wipes his hands on the tablecloth. “Nah, nothing like that. She’s on a special assignment at a record store. Mia said she’s not allowed to talk about it.”
Our jobs aren’t something either of us bother talking about.
We’re too busy taking off our clothes. Apart from what I know about the girl I met most nights in her backyard, I understand very little about the woman Mia is now.
And that annoys me because I should—no, I want to know—more about her after all these years.
“How is she juggling that with her other job?”
I miss her. She deserves a decent apology, one that I’ll most likely fuck up. A girl like Mia deserves someone better than me, someone who can love and worship her like a goddess and not just behind closed doors.
“You know Mia, all business and no pleasure. She leaves early in the morning for the Inquirer and goes straight to Old City Records after work. I usually get her breakfast. That’s about the only time we see each other.”
“You should invite her to come out with us tonight.” Before I have time to stop myself, the words are out of my mouth. But I don’t regret them.
Will’s face lights up as he removes his cell phone from his pocket. “Good idea. She could use a few drinks. Mia’s been even more uptight than usual. I don’t know what has her so pissed off all the time.”
I do. Me.
I miss the sound of her voice. I haven’t gotten her out of my head for the past two weeks.
My cock still perks up at the thought of her naked body.
Her sweet scent is still burned into my nostrils.
I miss the way she laughs and the silly jokes she makes.
I love that she doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her.
She’s so carefree. Nothing holds Mia back from what she wants.
If it were up to her, she would tell Will about us in a damn heartbeat.
Why does she have to be related to my best friend, of all people?
And why am I acting like such a coward?
I’ve never wanted anyone as much as Mia. The last time I was this dependent on something, my father sent me away. I almost ruined my future over it, which scares the hell out of me.
“Hey, little sis.” Will holds the phone up to his ear.
“Come hang out with your big bro tonight. Family drinking night, my treat.” He laughs at Mia’s response.
“If you’re so worried about me, then you should come and be my chaperone.
” A few beats pass, where he rolls his eyes and then chuckles.
“Yeah, I could use a lap dance… or two or three. Why do you want to go to Scores?” He nods a few times.
“Gotcha. Don’t work too hard. Is that a yes? Mmkay… see you then.”
Will hangs up with Mia and stuffs his phone into his pocket. “Change of plans. Mia is coming. She wants us to meet at her apartment, and for whatever reason, she wants to go to Scores.”
Now, I’m the one laughing. “Your sister wants to go to a strip club? I have to see this for myself.”
Will cracks a smile. “Me, too. She looked awkward as fuck at The Sixth Floor. I can’t even imagine how she’ll react when a stripper shoves her tits in her face looking for a few bucks.”
Laughing, I glance around the crowded Chinese restaurant below Mia’s apartment, wishing she were with us. It’s her favorite place to eat in the city, which is sad, considering it’s a dump. Shifting in my seat, I finally make eye contact with Will, who is now shoving more food down his throat.
I glance at the fortune cookie paper on the table.
Flattery will go far tonight.
I wonder if it will work on Mia. Because I need to do a lot of apologizing—more like groveling—if I want her back.