Page 103 of Unrivaled Love
I turn to find someone who can help us and she scurries off the bed.
"Bryson it's like four grand! You can't buy me that."
"I can, and I will, Killer." I slide my palms up and down her arms. "I want to take care of you, give you everything you want and need. And, after next week I won't be able to do that in person for a while so I'm going to do as much now as I can."
"We need to talk about what this looks like after you leave next week."
"We do, but let's get your bed ordered first." I place a kiss on her forehead and link our hands together. Then we walk over to the saleslady and make our purchase.
***
"I'm bummed it's going to take a while for everything to get here. Now that I'm a person who owns furniture I want to have it right away!" Jo says as we walk into her apartment with arms full of groceries. The bed is set to be delivered the day before I leave next week.
"Patience, Killer” I chuckle. “Think about the delayed gratification after all the anticipation." She raises an eyebrow at me and I realize I might have planted some ideas in her sexy mind. "Don't torture me Josie, it's going to be painful enough to leave."
"Okay, that's it." She sets the loaf of bread down on the counter so hard it flattens a bit. "No more dancing around it."
"Around what?"
"Around you leaving, around us being together but not together, about how the fuck we're supposed to date long distance when I haven't even been in a regular relationship."
Her chest rises and falls after her outburst and I smile gently. I knew this conversation was coming but I wasn't ready for how riled up she'd be.
But actually, now that I think about it, anger and frustration from her makes so much more sense than whimpering and tears.
Jo is a fighter, a competitor, and this is a game she doesn't feel like she can win.
She’s behind and doesn’t have a gameplan.
I like the idea of making one together.
I pull her to the sofa with me and take a seat. She curls into herself as I balance my elbows on my legs.
"Alright, so, we like each other right?" I start.
"Yeah, Bryson, we like each other." She rolls her eyes.
"And we've known each other for a long time."
"Minus the measly few when I wouldn't talk to you." She smirks.
"Glad you think that's funny babe. It nearly killed me." I try to keep my voice light but fail.
"Sorry." Jo sets her hand on my shoulder. I take it in one of mine and turn to face her.
"It’s okay. We wouldn't be here without that time apart. And, we're going to have time apart again." She sighs. "All I know is you're mine, Jo. And now that I have you I'm never letting you go. But I also know I'd never forgive myself if either of us gave up on our sport for the other."
"Where does that leave us?" She whispers.
"It leaves us in a long distance relationship." I muster every ounce of certainty I don’t have to deliver the words.
"Those never work." She says as she picks at invisible fuzz on the sofa cushion.
Her words crush my determination but I won’t quit on this. On us. I won’t give up.
"How do you know? I've never been in one, and I'm not sure if you're aware but I'm the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I don't like to lose."
"I know you're joking." She says with a smirk on her lips. But it falls away as quickly as it appeared. She sighs before standing up and pacing in the small space between the sofa and the window. Her shoulders are kissing her ears and she keeps wringing her hands together. "But I don’t think this is funny, Bry. It's more than just the distance.” She sounds defeated as she slows enough to speak to me. Her shoulders slump. “We have a time difference. And travel schedules. And training schedules. And when I'm in the season that's all I think about. I'm sure you're the same way."
