Page 38 of The Battery
I snorted out an incredulous burst of laughter. “Yes.” He cracked me open in less than five minutes. I would have been angry about it if it weren’t so impressive.
He gave me a double thumbs-up and started for the door. “Long break for us coming up. Do fun stuff.For friends.If you aren’t back at one hundred percent afterward, we’ll have another chat.”
The nerve of him.
“Yes, sir,” I said with sarcasm. But I meant it.
This man bobbed and weaved through my defenses like a contortionist moving in a laser field. It was… refreshing. I needed to hear it.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cody
The notification bellon my phone tolled through the monotonous drone of my white noise machine. I cracked a single eye, because my other was smashed into my pillow. It was just after midnight. Outside, a waxing moon brought silvery light to the dark. I closed my one eye again. It could wait.
Then, another ding. Three more and I knew it was my moms and that something was up. But if it stayed at two…
It did.
Curiosity would keep me from sleep. Besides, I had the next five days to sleep as much as I wanted. With All-Stars in full swing tomorrow (which I didn’t make the cut for), I had a nice little vacation right in the middle of July.
I snaked out a hand from under my pillow and lifted my phone.
Leo:Hey
Leo:What are you up to tomorrow?
If I wasn’t so snug in my bed, I would have rolled off onto the hardwood. I contemplated ignoring the guy. I knew he was hurting because of his perceived errors during the last game. We won all three of the series, but he was, if not anything, harder on himself than he was his teammates. He wasn’t in All-Stars this year so he had just as much time off as I did.
I couldn’t leave him on ‘read.’
Me:Sleeping in. Carb-loading. Beer. Watching the Midsummer Classic.
Me:And not necessarily in that order.
Leo:Come over. We can practice then binge. Games look great on my TV.
Leo:No strings.
No strings. There could be a couple meanings derived from that. I assumed he meant we could spend time together without the expectation that I would be on my knees by the end of it. Actual, quality time together, without strings attached for reciprocation. Hanging out as… friends?
I wasn’t sure I could do that.
Me:I dunno. I was hoping to take it easy tomorrow.
He thumbs-upped the text, a sure sign of the end of our conversation. I dropped my phone on the charging cradle and put my back to the nightstand. The gentlewhooshof my sound machine carried me back to sleep.
*
Freddie went to spend the week with his girlfriend. It was just me in his empty townhouse. I thumbed through the contacts in my phone as I finished breakfast at the kitchen island. Maybe go see one of my moms? I contemplated driving down toProvidence for the night, maybe hang out with some old AAA buddies. Since playing in Lexington, Leo had been my only excursion into friendship. Sure, Freddie and I hung out, but that was only because we were roommates.
While scrolling, a notification dropped down from the top of my phone.
Leo:Gorgeous day. You sure?
I lowered my phone, as if he’d caught me peeking at him. I leaned back into the stool and looked around the kitchen like I could divine my next steps from the subway tile backsplash. Yes, Iwantedto hang out, but part of me wanted him to feel the hurt. The other part…
Minutes passed. I wonder if he sensed my hesitation.
