Page 34 of Silent Count
She glances at me, still chuckling, and shakes her head. “You’re impossible.”
“Admit it,” I say, trying not to smile. “You love me.”
“Oh, I do,” she says warmly. “More than you know.”
The rest of the short ride to our house, we talk about her and her job.
When we pull up to the house, my sister is standing outside, waiting for us. She’s literally bouncing up and down. I look over at my aunt, and we both start laughing.
“Get ready for the weekend of Torie!” my aunt says.
I reach for the door handle with one hand and grab my bag with the other. “Can’t wait!”
While we were at dinner, I got a text from Bo, asking if I got home safely. I told him we were out to dinner and I would text him when I got back to the house. Which I did, but they were at the movie, so he couldn’t text back and forth.
So, I took my shower to get the travel crud off of me, had my aunt braid my hair, and then crawled in to my bed. I didn’t really expect to hear from him again because of the curfew, but at nine forty-five, which is ten forty-five my time, my phone buzzes.
Bo: Are you still awake?
Chelsea: Yes, I just got into bed though.
Bo: Do you want to go to bed, or do you feel like talking?
Chelsea: I can talk, but don’t you need to go to bed soon?
Bo: Yeah, but I’d like to talk to you if you’re not too tired.
I can’t help but smile.
Chelsea: Yeah, we can talk.
My phone rings a second later with a FaceTime call.
“Hi,” I say, smiling wider. “You meant, like, actually talk and look at each other.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, I meant actually talk with voices and faces.” He’s in his bed too. Shirtless. “Did you have a good time at dinner?”
“We did. We went to Torie’s favorite restaurant, so she was happy. Even happier when we came home and had dessert. The girl loves birthday cake.”
“That’s good. I bet they were happy to have you home.” He smiles.
“They are. It’s good to see them. It’s funny because I don’t feel homesick when I’m gone, but when I’m here, I realize howmuch I miss them. Is that weird?” I purse my lips and tilt my head in question.
“No, I know what you mean. I feel the same when I go home, which isn’t very often.” He leans over and reaches for a bottle of water on the table next to the bed.
“Did you get your check-in from your coaches yet?”
He takes a drink and nods. “Yeah, right before I texted you. They gave me a room to myself tonight, which I don’t mind because I get to talk to you now.” He smirks.
“Ahh, well, getting special treatment is quite nice.” I laugh.
He places his hand on his bare chest. “I’m not gonna complain.”
“What time do you get up in the morning? Your game is at one, right?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’ll probably get up around six, but we don’t have to be downstairs for breakfast until eight. After breakfast, we head to the field and start preparing for the game.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize you go that early to the field.”
