Page 62 of Leo and His Love Bunny

I flinch.

He shakes his head right away. “No. I’m not sorry about the kiss.” He blows out a breath, and there is no doubt that what he is saying is hard. Try to give him the benefit of the doubt. I’m not sorry about the kiss either.

“But, I am sorry that...” He blows on another breath, and runs a hand through his hair. I try not to be impatient. What’s he trying to say?

“I value our friendship. And I feel like I jeopardized it by what I just did. That’s what I was apologizing for. I had such a great time with you today, and I know for me, with my last yearof hockey, my retirement, starting the speaking business, I just know I don’t have time for the kind of relationship that is more than just friends.”

I hate that and don’t want to hear it, but I understand.

“That’s how I feel too. My business is booming, I want it to be a success, and I don’t have time for anything else.” He’s right. It wouldn’t be fair to the person that I was starting a relationship with.

“Love bunny. Leo’s love bunny.”

Trixie picked a great time to interject into our conversation.

Both Leo and I turned to look at the parakeet. It’s amazing that the ladies haven’t taken him back. It’s been several months.

Leo shakes his head as though he’s trying to clear his thoughts and figure out what he’s focusing on.

“So... Are we still good?” he asks, and his eyes move up and meet mine. I can see the insecurity in them. He really wants things to be okay.

Leo’s a great friend, and yeah, that kiss was... Wow. But he’s right. Neither one of us have time to put into a relationship like we should, and it wouldn’t be right to enter into something that we couldn’t follow through with.

“Yeah. We’re good.”

“You’re not mad at me anymore?”

His eyes twinkle a bit, like he is almost teasing me, but he is still watching me closely as though he is afraid that there is still going to be an eruption. Apparently Leo hasn’t been around me long enough to know that I don’t erupt.

“I wasn’t mad at you to begin with.”

“I kinda thought you were. That’s...why I came back. I couldn’t stand the idea that there might be something coming between the two of us. I...never had a friend like you.”

I’ve never had a friend like him either. And I suppose that makes him special.

“Leo’s love bunny. Leo’s love bunny.” The parakeet squawks, and this time I laugh.

“I wish the ladies would take him back.”

“No you don’t. I think he’s grown on you.”

“The only reason I keep him around is because Goalie might want to see him again.” That’s not the slightest bit true. I’ll watch him as long as the ladies want me to, and Leo’s right, the parakeet has grown on me. He’s a friend, someone who keeps me company and makes my apartment seem less lonely. Not that I don’t have family that I can go visit at any time. Some people aren’t that blessed. And I know I should be thankful.

I think about the day I just spent with my family, and Leo. He fit in perfectly.

I also think of his family, and how it seems like it withered after his mom died. That makes sense to me. Moms are often the ones who hold the family together. I know my mom certainly seems to be the glue that keeps everything going.

As though my thoughts mirror his, he says, “I was going to see if my stepbrothers might be interested in going hiking. There is a nice falls not far from here and I think the hike is strenuous enough that it will wear them out.”

I laugh at his idea of a good time with his brothers: wearing them out.

“If they’ll go, will you come to?” he asks, and he sounds hopeful, almost as though he doesn’t want to face his stepbrothers without me.

“Of course. That’s what friends are for,” I say, and I don’t think I sound bitter. I’m not. I truly know that there is no hope for a relationship between us, but it’s hard for me to pretend that he didn’t just kiss me, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did.

Leo nods, although my words don’t make him smile. Instead, a crease appears between his brows as though he’s trying to figure out if there’s some kind of hidden meaning behind mywords. There is not. But I don’t say anything more to reassure him. Because I am disappointed. And that’s on me.

Chapter 28

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