Page 23 of Your Sharpest Edge
“What were you going to watch before I came by?” she asked.
I wasn’t about to tell her the truth. “Ah, I don’t know. I was maybe going to put on some?—”
“Liar,” she shot back, and I looked over.
Her head was tilted in my direction, arms crossed over her chest.
“Star Wars,” I confessed.
It was so easy to tell her what she wanted to hear, which is why holding back about her cheating husband, who was hurting her in more ways than one, was so fucking painful.
“Let’s do it. Start with the first one.” She settled onto the pillow as I pressed a button on the remote, playing the movie.
Moments after the theme song began, I heard her soft snores next to me. I grabbed the blanket I had added to the basket I purchased earlier next to the couch and put it over her, making sure I didn’t fall asleep so I’d hear her husband come home.
Herhusband, I repeated to myself. I was a friend.
9
alex
I’d never admit to anyone that I spent the whole day waiting, rushing home after practice just in case she knocked on the door again. I’d never say that out loud—because, of course, it didn’t happen.
I tossed my hockey gear into the guest bedroom and hurried to the bathroom, grabbing the cleanest pair of sweats I could find. I grabbed the mouthwash and swished it around because I just wanted to have fresh breath... in case. My eyes landed on the bottle of cologne sitting on the counter.
“Fuck it,” I muttered, giving myself a quick spray.
It’s just for a friend.
Back in the living room, I flicked on the TV, needing some kind of distraction from the gnawing uncertainty in my chest. What if she didn’t come tonight? I glanced at the clock—9 p.m. I could wait... If she didn’t come, then I’d be okay.
I was knee deep in aLaw and Orderrerun when my phone pinged, and I realized she was at the door. I shot off the couch, but curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the app and watched as she did the same thing she always did. She looked out at the hallway, and it was as if I could see the gears working in her brain. I knew my timing was precarious, though, because I had to get to her before she ran away.
Just as she was about to turn for the fifth time down the hall, I opened the door.
“You know, I can see you.”
She laughed and held out her hands. “I felt bad.”
I gave her a quick once-over, making sure she looked okay before a smile crept onto my face. “Why?”
“I was running out of the house. He went out late tonight and said he wasn’t coming back until after practice tomorrow. I was planning on?—”
“I have an idea.” I cut her off, not wanting her to feel like she needed to make up an excuse to be here. “The cookies you made me that first night? Want to show me how to bake them?”
Her eyes lit up. “Do you have the ingredients?”
“Yup. Even bought chocolate chips to try and recreate that recipe. I’ve never really been a sweets guy, but after tasting those, I might be converted.”
I stepped aside, pressing my back against the wall to let her in.
She glanced up at me, her blue eyes wide and full of life, a bit of the heaviness melting away. “I’d love to teach you.”
She skipped into the apartment, right into the kitchen, where she opened the cabinets until she found where I kept the pantry ingredients.
“I remember this recipe by heart.”
While she rummaged through my cabinets, I shamelessly let my eyes wander, watching as she bent over to grab everything she needed. She was wearing a pair of dark blue leggings that hugged her curves perfectly, with an oversized quarter-zip sweater draped over her frame. Her blonde hair fell past her shoulders, swaying with each movement. She had the most perfect curve?—
