Page 39 of Old Fashioned
“How are you?” I asked.
“All is good over here, just getting settled in still. The art gallery is pretty cool, and Kylie has been volunteering. She got a job helping out at the hospital, too. When we’re not working, we’re exploring the city. Kylie’s dad put together a list of all her mom’s favorite places from when she lived here, so we’ve been working through that.”
I smiled. “That sounds fun. And you sound good.”
“I am good,” he replied, and I could hear the smile even though I couldn’t see it. Then, I heard a fainthi, Jordan!in the background, and my smile grew. “Kylie says hi, by the way.”
“Tell her I said hi back, and to keep you in line up there.”
“Like you even have to tell me, that’s my number one job,” I heard her reply, like she’d stolen the phone from Mikey altogether.
I chuckled.
“What about you?” Mikey asked. “How’s the season going? You ready for tomorrow night’s game?”
I blew out a breath, tapping the playbook beside me with a longing look. “Working on getting ready, anyway. I mean, the team seems pumped, coming off a win last week, but with that giant L from week one still fresh in everyone’s mind, I don’t think anyone is unaware of the fact that this is an important game.”
“One loss doesn’t make a season, Big Bro.”
“You sound like Mom. And I know,” I agreed. “But, it does serve as a pretty heavy weight on our shoulders.”
“How’s it working out with the new trainer?”
My throat constricted, heart stopping before it took a nose-dive into my gut and resurfaced again, beating faster. “It’s fine, everything is fine, why would you ask?”
There was a pause. “Uh… well, because you seemed kind of worried about it when you were here? I mean, when you found out about her joining the team and all. I just was curious if it had been an issue.”
“Oh,” I said quickly, and my next breath came easier. “Yeah, she’s been great. I made a bit of an ass of myself when she first joined, basically saying in not so many words that I was worried she’d be a distraction on the team.”
“Jordan…”
“I know,” I said before he could continue. “Not my proudest moment. But, I was stressed coming into the new season, and to be honest, Iwasworried that the guys would be distracted by her. And, to be clear, they are — but that’s not her fault. She’s doing her job, and doing a damn fine job of it, too. At first, the guys were all gaga for her, but they respect her now. She feels like part of the team already.”
“That’s awesome,” Mikey said, but there was a hesitance in his voice. “Now… are you going to tell me why you reacted like a kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar when I asked you about her?”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off before I could speak.
“And don’t pretend like it’s nothing, because I know you better than that, and to save us both time we should just skip the part where I have to beat it out of you.”
I wanted to be annoyed that my brother knew me so well, but I couldn’t help but smile, because I was this way with all of them, too.
We could see through the bullshit when it came to each other, and that was part of what made our bond so strong.
I sighed. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“How about you start with whatever is on your mind right now.”
I worked the inside of my cheek. “I kissed her on Saturday night. She freaked out and basically kicked me out of her home. Then on Monday, she stormed into my office and said it was a drunken mistake and we should forget it ever happened.”
“Ouch.”
“And I agreed,” I continued. “Even though I don’tactuallyagree.”
“I see.”
“And I hate it,” I added, chest aching with the realization that I really, reallydidhate it. “Because we had a friendship, you know? I felt like… like I could talk to her, and like she was opening up to me. And we would joke with each other, and we worked well together, too… and now?” I sighed again. “We’re just dancing around each other, pretending like I didn’t cross the line and that everything is back to normal, when we don’t evenhavea normal, anymore.”
Mikey was quiet for a long time, then he asked one simple question.
