Page 125 of On the Line
“I just texted you the other day.”
“Yeah a screenshot of Cally’s Instagram story, which I had already seen. What was even the point of that, anyway?”
Mitch snorted. Upon completion of his rookie season, Connor Callahan had decided to stay in California instead of returning to Pittsburgh, where he was originally from. After finishing the season third in points on the Knights and second among rookies league-wide, he was a bit of a hot commodity with the ladies, his already large ego inflating to a dangerous size.
The Instagram story in question featured Cally at a club in WeHo, eyes heavily-lidded, arms draped around two girls who looked to be straining under his weight.
“Mostly I just wanted to make sure we had receipts so we could give him shit for his drunken escapades later.”
“Oh don’t worry, I’ve already yelled at him for it.”
Mitch laughed. “A captain’s job is never done, hey?”
“Especially not with that kid on the team.”
“So what’s going on with you? How are things with Allison?”
“Allison and I broke up,” Gabe said.
Mitch’s jaw dropped. Gabe had met Allison at a Knights’ charity function not long after Mitch joined the team, and they’d been head-over-heels for each other ever since. “What the fuck happened?”
“She got a job out east with her dream charity organization. She didn’t see the point in long distance, so she dumped me.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Like two weeks,” Gabe said.
Two weeks.Mitch had been so wrapped up in his own shit that he hadn’t known his friend was hurting. Mitch was familiar with a cross-country move costing him his relationship, and he should’ve been there for Gabe.
Instead, every waking moment—and a lot of the sleeping ones—had been consumed by thoughts of Lexie.
“God, man, I’m so sorry,” Mitch said.
He could practically hear the shrug as Gabe said, “It’s all good, man. I know you’ve got a lot going on.”
“That’s not an excuse,” Mitch said, and he scrubbed a hand over his face, suddenly embarrassed.
He was constantly doing this to people—focusing on his needs and wants instead of what the people around him were going through. It had happened with Lexie that night they had dinner with her parents. Instead of respecting her wishes and surviving the evening without incident, the second her parents said something about her he didn’t like, he went off like a bomb, leaving a Lexie-sized crater in the middle of his life.
She may have doused their relationship in gasoline when she pushed him away, but he was the one who lit the match and burned it to the ground.
“Look dude, it’s fine,” Gabe said to him. “I just wanted to call and check in. See how you’re doing. See how things are coming on the Lexie front.”
“Actually, she asked me out to dinner tonight,” Mitch said.
“Damn son, look at you go. You sound excited.”
“I am.” He looked at his watch. “And she’s actually going to be here soon, and I still need to shower. I hate to cut this short, but let's catch up for real soon.”
“Maybe I’ll come to Michigan for a few weeks next month.”
“Deal. We’ll make plans soon.”
“Good luck tonight, bro.”
Mitch smiled. “Thanks, man. Talk soon.”
When the time came for Lexie to pick him up, he was freshly showered, dressed in khaki shorts and a short-sleeve button-down covered in pineapples, one of the few pieces from Bonobos that survived his move from LA. The second her knock came at his door, he was swinging it open, stuffing a bouquet of flowers under her nose.
