Page 10 of Undeniably Perfect

“Thanks again, Kent,” she says. “I promise, I’ll be out of your hair soon. I do appreciate all of this.” She motions around the apartment.

At a loss for words, which is unusual for me, I nod and leave. On the way out, I let Carlos at the front desk know that Tabitha is staying with me. I cross the two blocks to the stadium where I know our coach, Clive Backster, is gonna rip me a new one for being so late. FML.

Chapter Five

Ilet the shower water run over my sore muscles. Clive being pissed was an understatement. Needless to say, my tardiness cost me...literally and figuratively.

“Damn, Backs showed you who’s boss,” Ward’s voice fills the silence. I turn, and he’s stepping into the shower spray.

“I...fucked up. It’s my fault,” I admit, taking responsibility, something that I haven’t done much of until recently.

“Why were you so fucking late, anyhow?” he asks me.

I groan. “I was getting my photo taken for some charity thing and the damn building caught on fire. The photographer lives there and had nowhere to go, so I sort of let her crash at the apartment. I mean until she figures her shit out.”

Ward’s eyebrows shoot up, and he smirks. “You sorta let her?”

I give him a pointed look. “Shut up, dick. It’s not like that.”

“Oh? How is it, then? Explain it to me.”

I run a hand over my wet face. Ward Snare is one of my best friends. He can also be a prima donna, diva, and the biggest asshole ever. But he’s always there when I need him.

I lean back against the tile and look over at him. “I’m crazy, aren’t I?”

Ward laughs. I want to punch his perfect face.

I close my eyes and let the hot water run over my body. It feels amazing after soaking my arm in an ice bucket. I rotate my arm a few times.

“You OK?” Ward asks, his voice muffled from the water.

“Yeah.”

When I open my eyes, Ward is giving me a serious look.

“Dude, just remember. Keep your head in the game. We are this close to glory,” he says, holding his forefinger and thumb an inch apart to drive home his point. I know he’s right. Playoffs are around the corner and if we keep up our track record, we have a shot at the World Series.

I nod and turn off the water. Grabbing a towel, I go change. I have a schedule for game days and tomorrow is a game day. I’ll sleep at the apartment tonight, so I can get over to the field for my workout and stretching. Then I have downtime followed by a warm-up and finally a little Zen time before we play. My routine during the season is as predictable as the sunrise. That thought has me pondering Di’s suggestion again.

I head back to the apartment. It’s time for a gym workout, followed by some stretching, a light dinner and a little reading before bed. I laugh when people think I have some A-lister lifestyle because I play professional ball. I seldom get a chance to go out. I started to go down that path when I was first signed. I spent too much money, went out too many times during the week, and during the off-season...well, I learned from my mistakes. I only occasionally go out during the season now. And I had to part with my baby...AKA my over-the-top vehicle purchase. My good friend Amery talked me into selling her. I still might shed a tear over that once in a while.

Chapter Six

Tabitha

I look at the files I’ve pulled up on Kent’s computer. I shake my head at his password: that$rhetorical5. He claims it’s a family thing. I sigh with relief. Everything is on my cloud. I didn’t lose any files.

My phone pings. I see Brix’s face on my phone.

I answer the call on speakerphone. “Hey.”

“Where are you?”

“At my client’s apartment…it’s all gone…” I add in a whisper, my bottom lip quivering.

“Shit. What about the cloud?”

I sigh. “Thank god you set that up for me!” I tell him. “Everything is here.”

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