Page 75 of Second Shot

I close my car door and lock the vehicle. “Tam, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I turn and head toward the sports center.

He exhales. “Seriously? Gabe held a press conference early this morning where he officially said that Freddy was lying about the texts.”

I stop walking. “He did?” My heart is racing. “He did that this morning?”

“Yep.” Tam snickers. “Freddy’s about to be in a whole world of hurt. Gabe said he’s retained legal counsel, and he’s working with the authorities to press charges for defamation and harassment.”

“No shit,” I mutter, stunned at what Tam’s saying.

“Gabe said he wanted to speak out sooner, but that the organization’s legal department didn’t want that to happen until they could be certain the texts messages were fake. After a forensic review, the team’s legal counsel determined the messages were falsified.” There’s a strained silence. “Are you still there, Ryan?”

“I’m here,” I say huskily, unable to say much more. I’d almost given up hope that Gabe would ever say anything to support me. Now that he has, I feel a little numb. And foolish. I was so mean to him. So cold. He had a good reason for not speaking up sooner, but I didn’t trust him.

“Are you okay?”

I grimace. “I’m fine. Shocked, but fine. I’d… I’d given up hope he’d ever say anything.”

“Yeah, I know. But he did.” Tam’s voice is gentle. “He did the right thing, and the only reason he didn’t do it sooner was because the team’s legal counsel wouldn’t let him.”

I swallow hard. “I’m glad he finally spoke up.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a but coming?” Tam asks.

I let out a shaky breath. “I’m relieved he’s spoken up, I really am. But he still lied about who he was, Tam. He hid the truth from me on purpose. I’m not sure how to feel about that.”

“That’s why you’d want to have aconversationwith him.” Tam sounds exasperated. “You’re not supposed to have to guess about all of this. Not when Gabe wants to talk to you and give you all the answers.”

I nod, even though Tam can’t see me. “I guess that’s true.”

“It is true.”

I start walking again. “I appreciate you calling me to let me know. I’m glad Gabe did the right thing.”

“Why do you still sound upset?”

I wince. “I’m not upset, I’m confused. I don’t know how to feel.”

“You still love him, right? Shouldn’t that be the most important thing?” Tam asks.

“I just need some time to process everything.” I sigh. “I can’t just immediately be okay about everything after feeling betrayed for an entire week. Part of me wants to talk to him, but part of me is still hurt about him hidingthings from me. I don’t want to approach him the wrong way and have it all blow up again.”

“I guess that’s logical.” Despite his words, Tam seems disappointed.

“I will talk to him, Tam,” I say. “I really, really want to talk to him. I’m just… scared.”

He groans. “Yeah, I get it. I just want you happy.”

I smile weakly. “Me too.”

My gut clenches when I see Gabe’s BMW pull into the lot. I watch him as he climbs from his car, looking distracted. Part of me aches to go to him, but I don’t. He doesn’t see me and I don’t try and get his attention. I hesitate because of his body language. He looks stressed. As he heads toward the building, his head is down, and his shoulders set in a way that suggests he’s bracing for something unpleasant.

Am I that unpleasant thing?

“Look, I need to get into practice,” I say because it’s true. “I’ll call you later tonight.”

“You’d better,” Tam says. “I want to know if things work out with Gabe. I’m fully invested in this now.”

I laugh gruffly. “This is my actual life, Tam, not a K-Drama.”