Page 58 of The Breakaway

I laughed, my skin starting to tingle. "Sorry.” It was so much easier to tease. That was what Rob and I had always done. Mess with each other. Mock each other. I didn't quite know how to talk to him normally.

"Don't apologize." His voice was low, rough. No grin anymore.

My heart thudded so loud, I wondered if he could hear it. "Soooo, you guys are staying at the hotel for the night? They had enough rooms?"

"Yep. Surprisingly not a tourist destination.”

A voice cut in. “Who are you talking to, Thompson?"

“Hey—”

Something scuffed over the speaker, and then another voice came on the line. "Hello?”

“Hello. Who am I speaking with?"

"Shit, it's Sharla?" Axel crowed. "Since when do you phone Rob?"

"Since he's the only one on the team with a pager. It's not like I had your hotel number."

"I mean, you could've looked it up. It’s not like there are that many of ‘em.”

"Just what I always wanted to do on the weekend—phone a string of random hotels."

"Alright, alright. You're off the hook. What are you guys jabbering about?"

I worked to make my voice sound casual. "Uh, I was just about to ask if there was anything Crystal, Maddie, and I could do for you guys. I know you were planning to be back by tonight, and with the invitational this weekend?—"

"Oh, actually, you would save my ass if you went and got me a bottle of wine." Axel breathed heavily like he was getting up from the couch.

"A bottle of wine for the invitational?"

"No. I'm supposed to meet Pam's parents tomorrow night. I was planning to go get something to take as a housewarming gift, you know, make a good impression and all that. But I don'tknow when I'm gonna get home. I won't have time to go to the store if I wanna shower."

"Yeah. Showering is a must to meet the parents." I got up from the couch and walked back to the kitchen, grabbing my Post-it notes and pen. "What kind of wine do you want, and how much do you want to spend?"

"Keep it around, like, forty bucks, but nothing that looks cheap. Make sure it has a nice label."

I scribbled down the note. "Alright. Got it. Anything else?"

Axel pulled the receiver away from his mouth and polled the group. Were they all in Rob's hotel room?

"No, I think that's it. Here, I'll pass you back to Thompson. Thanks, Sharla. You're the best."

Rob got back on the line, and I could've sworn I heard a muttered"asshole.""Hey, sorry about that."

"No, it's all good. I called to see if there was anything we could do to help." I paused, my mouth suddenly feeling like I was chewing cotton balls. "Is there anything you need?"

Rob drew in a breath. "No, I think I'm good."

Hesitation. His voice had lifted a little too energetic. "What is it?" I pressed.

"No, it's nothing."

I leaned back on the counter. "You're a terrible liar."

He blew out a small puff of air. "There's nothing I want you to help me with."

I scoffed. "What? I'm not good enough to run your errands?"

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