Page 19 of Never Dance with the Devils
Riggs thinks I brush everything off easily, but that’s not true. Sure, something minor like traffic, no big deal, or missing a shot, it sucks but it happens. But big things not going my way wears on me. Of course it does. I’d have to be inhuman for it not to. I just don’t dwell on shit like he does, which is to say outwardly, where everyone knows you’re in a mood. I push that shit down, underneath smiles and jokes, and carry on, dealing with it later. Or never. Still, I can’t let Kayla go that easily. This thing with her feels more like hockey, like something I need to keep banging away at until it happens. Until I make it happen.
“Called as opposed to showing up unannounced at her office,” Riggs clarifies. “That doesn’t mean she wantsus to call her.” He can see that while I’m listening, I’m not hearing him, and goes for a blunt reminder. “You don’t even know her number, so you can’t call her anyway. Let it go, man.Let her go.”
I wish I could.
No, that’s not true. I wouldn’t wish away the sense of rightness I felt with her and Riggs that night. And it’s not like he’s doing any better at letting Kayla go. This has been tearing him up all weekend, so he’s talking to himself as much as he is to me.
“I did take Kayla’s business card from Angeline, so I have her office number, which is as good as it probably gets,” I tell him. “It’s not like you can get a direct line to a woman like Kayla Harrington.”
He rolls his eyes, turning to the beeping microwave. “Remember the part where she thought we were stalking her? You’re dangerously close to standing ten toes down in felony territory.”
“Not stalking, pursuing,” I drawl out. He glances over his shoulder, his eyes warning me that I’m going too far. Reluctantly, I admit, “Okay, yeah, I heard it that time. How about courting instead? In a romantic, Hallmark movie sort of way.” I make it sound sweet and cute, despite my thoughts about Kayla being anything but.
Arms spread and palms flat on the counter, he stares at his steaming food. He’s going to cave, I can feel it. He can’t let her go any more than I can. “I’m not saying yes,” he says firmly, “but what exactly do you have in mind?”
“Flowers,” I say with complete surety. Then, I hold up a finger to stop Riggs before he can argue with me. “Not roses.” He clacks his mouth shut, his fight deflating. “Obviously. That’d be boring and expected, and I think we can agree that a woman like Kayla Harrington warrants more creativity than that. No, I’m thinking a huge, dramatic, mixed bouquet. Pink? But not pale pink. More like a mix from blush to fuchsia. Girly and pretty, but vibrant and strong. Like Kayla.” I’m making it up as I go along, but in my mind, I can picture an arrangement worthy of a wedding, and hopefully not our funeral.
“Hmph,” he grunts, unimpressed. “What else?”
But he’s on the hook, and mentally, I sing, ‘here, fishie, fishie’.
“With a card apologizing for the blindside, and saying that we’re still thinking of her and hope she’s thinking of us.”
Waiting for him to agree feels like waiting for the puck to drop, like the action I constantly crave is less than a heartbeat away. Steady… steady… wait for it…
“That could work,” he finally says.
I throw my arms in the air in a V of victory. “Yes! I knew you’d be on board… eventually. After you got over your hurtfeewings.”
“Asshole,” he mutters under his breath, sounding like he’s the long-suffering one in our partnership when he only has to deal with me. I have to deal withhim. Louder and sterner, he decrees, “We send it with no expectations from her for more. Wedoowe her an apology, and Idohope she’s thinking good things about us. But that’s it. No pressure. She drew her line in the sand, and we need to respect that.”
He’s trying to sound chivalrous and evolved, but what he really means is obvious to me—he’s too scared to risk it all again. He did that once and it blew up in his face, so he’s understandably reluctant to put himself out there again. Hell, that’s how we ended up doing whatwe do. I was all too happy to be a crutch for him while he got his head right. I never thought it’d turn out like this, but I can’t say I’m upset about it. Especially if it eventually ends up with Kayla between us.
“Of course, just a kind gesture to smooth things over. That’s all, nothing more, nothing less,” I assure him, lying through my teeth.
Delivery complete.
The notification on my phone sends a thrill through me. The puck is in play. The game is on.
Riggs is pacing around the media room, completely ignoring the replay of the 1980 Miracle on Ice Olympic semifinal between the US and the Soviets that we’ve seen dozens of times, since every hockey player is brought up on the classics. But he’s not distracted. No matter which way he’s striding across the room, his single-minded focus has been on my phone’s screen, so he sees the notification light it up and instantly barks, “What’s it say?”
I hold up my phone, showing him. “And now, we wait.”
He resumes his trek from one wall to the other. It’s never seemed like a small room, considering we’ve got seats for fifteen butts in here, but he’s making me dizzy with the back-and-forth motion.
“I thought you were all ‘no pressure’ and ‘respect her boundaries’.” Taunting him when he’s in a mood like this is dangerous, especially when I’m in a bad mood too. I’m better at hiding it, but that doesn’t mean I make good choices when I’ve got a thorn in my ass aboutsomething. Especially a thorn as sharp and deeply implanted as Kayla.
“I am!” he snaps. “But I still want to make sure she gets that message and doesn’t think we’re ignoring what she said.”
“Aren’t we, though?”
He whirls, glowering at me. “What? You said it would be a kind gesture.”
“And you believed me?” I ask, incredulous. “What do I know? I’ve never even dated seriously. And you’re no better. The one serious relationship you had, she ended up being an evil bitch.”
I shouldn’t call Eliza that. It’s mean to female dogs to be grouped in with her after the way she acted. Thankfully, before Riggs can read me the riot act for it, my phone dings.
I can buy myself flowers. But thank you. They’re gorgeous.
