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Too bad it won’t happen for me because I’ll never put myself out there again.

Congrats man. Never doubted you’d lock it down.

Thanks, buddy. We’re back in Seattle in a couple of days, and I’ll be around with tacos and beers.

Sounds good. I can eat my feelings no matter what happens.

Damn right. Has Amie been in touch?

Not yet, which must be some sort of record.

Not today, but it’s still early.

Keep yourself busy. See if you can beat my score on Warzone. You’ve been trying for three months. What’s another two days?

I assume you’re forgetting my ranking on FIFA. Anyway, no can do. I’m packing up my shit and getting ready to head back home. As soon as I see you, I’m flying out the next day. Whatever happens, I need to be back and away from here. If the baby’s mine, then the news will inevitably break, and there’s no way I’m gonna be in town when it does.

Fair enough, buddy. Just take it easy. I‘ve got my phone if you need me.

I close out the messages and pull up my mom’s contact—I need to let her know I plan to come back home for the offseason.Thankfully, I closed on a property in Cocoa Beach six months ago, so I don’t have to live with my parents. The house was supposed to be a second place for Amie and me to escape and spend time with my family.

“Hey, sweetie, how are you doing?” Her bright voice filters down the speaker.

After the incident last December in New York involving Schneider taking me out against the boards where he gave me a spinal concussion and broke my jaw and tibia, I was holed up in the hospital for several days. Sure, I wound him up saying the baby was mine and not his, but the pre-meditated hit effectively ended his career. He was handed a twenty-five-game ban, a massive fine, and when he came to the end of his contract with the Blades, they didn’t renew it. He’s now a free agent, and no one wants to take him in.

I had no choice but to break Amie’s cheating and pregnancy to my parents at that point.

“I’m good,” I lie. Mom’s already stressed about me as it is; she doesn’t need to know I’m practically vibrating with tension. “All the tests are done, so now we wait.”

She blows a heavy breath down the phone. “You need to keep yourself busy, especially since Jon is away getting engaged.”

“Yeah, he popped the question, and she said yes.”

“Oh, fantastic news! It’s about time that boy found someone.”

My stomach knots. I might be almost four years younger than him, but at thirty-one, I honestly thought I’d have met the one by now. Instead, I’ve had a string of unsuccessful relationships. Amie is the first one to cheat on me, but I’m starting to wonder where I’m going wrong and what’s so unlovable about Zach Evans. I’m not a hookup guy. I can count on one hand the number of women I’ve slept with who weren’t my girlfriend.

“Yeah, me too, Mom.” My tone is as deflated as my slumped shoulders. I rarely let life get on top of me, but there’s no denying these past few months have tested me to my limits.

“Oh honey, it’s going to be okay. We’re here for you whatever happens.”

“Yeah, ‘bout that. I’m thinking of heading back home for the offseason—I need to get the beach house up straight and work on it. Thought it might give me the break I need.”

“So, you’re not selling it?”

I run a palm across my face in thought. “Nah, I don’t think so. Yeah, it was for her too, but I love that place. It’s peaceful and secluded. I want to get to work on it. It’ll be a full summer job.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want. Just don’t push your body too hard—you need to be kind to yourself after that hit. But gah! I’m looking forward to seeing you so much. It will be great to have you back home.”

I think about home. Mom and Dad live only a ten-minute walk from my new place, and most of my old school friends are in the Cocoa Beach area. Some of them I’ve kept in touch with over the years.

This is a good plan. Whatever happens in the next two days, I can at least be around the people I trust most for the next twelve weeks.

CHAPTER TWO

ZACH

The hardwood flooring in my apartment has almost fully disintegrated.