Page 32 of Totally Played
“Thanks, but my boss already has a car service arranged. I should be getting home, though, you know, double-check I have everything I need.”
“Sure, of course.”
“So you’re playing at home next weekend again, and then where are you off to?”
“Washington.”
“Nice, then back here?”
“Nope, Boston, then New York, then home for a week, and then we’re in Buffalo, I think.”
“Wow, and I thought I did a lot of travelling.”
“Us Banana Ballers, we know how to get around,” he says, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You sure do. I’ll be watching, so don’t start slacking off now.”
“Never. I guess I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
Why is it so hard to walk away from this guy? We aren’t a couple, but my whole body is screaming at me to kiss him. I won’t. I can’t. Maybe this time away will be good for me. I’ll be able to clear my head of all the confusing feelings Calvin has brought out of me.
My phone chimes with a notification.
I grab it and swipe open the alert from the dating app.
“Looks like your brother’s feeling better.” I laugh, turning the screen to face Calvin. Tony’s bio is on the screen, and he’s requested a date tomorrow night.
“Too bad you’re going out of town,” Calvin says, turning and grabbing a few bottles from the edge and tossing them into a plastic bucket for recycling.
“Yeah, too bad,” I say, and I decline the invitation. I hover between the choices for reply, considering my options. I could choose the icon for no longer on the scene, but that would be a lie and won’t help me get past this stupid crush on a guy I can’t have. I click the Umbrella icon for “Rain Check” instead and close the app.
“See you in a few weeks,” I say, and he nods and waves back at me.
“Yeah, see you.”
Chapter eleven
Calvin
WhenIgethome,Tony is waiting, and while he looks a lot better than he has in days, there is still that hint that something’s off. At least the apartment is warm, so his fever must have broken.
“You’re up late,” I say, hanging my jacket and dropping my keys into the upside-down hockey helmet we use for a key bowl. It was a housewarming gift from Cosmo. We’re sure he forgot to get us something, and that was all he had in his car at the time, other than dirty gym clothes. I guess I should be thankful he didn’t give us those.
“Technically, I’m up extra early. I’ve been asleep for about twenty hours now, but I think I’ve finally kicked this flu or whatever it was. How was the game against the OGs?”
“That was yesterday, and we lost. But I got a point, and Ryan struck out Yoyo Leigh.”
“Wow, I have to see that. Want to watch the replay with me?”
“Absolutely.”
I’ve missed hanging out with Tony, but I was determined not to catch whatever bug he picked up, so I limited my interactions these last few days to bringing him food and spraying all the surfaces in our apartment with disinfectant while he slept.
“Have you eaten?” I ask as he stretches out on the couch.
“Nope. I might have some of those soup things left, but I’m kind of over soup. Maybe we could order in?” he asks, finally loading the game and hitting play.
“I brought some food from Tim’s, just in case you were feeling better,” I say, holding up the take-home container Lion packed for me.
