Page 21 of Delay of Game (Norwalk Breakers #4)

TWENTY-ONE

GRACIE

My hips ached, and a stabbing pain ran down my neck every time I moved. But when I could overcome the pain to glance down at Rob sleeping on my lap, it sort of felt worth it.

Okay. Maybe not one hundred percent worth it because I couldn’t get our all-too brief session outside the pottery studio out of my head.

And after watching him manhandle giant men on the field the day before, I had some not so G-rated dreams about what he’d do to me in a bedroom which made watching him sleep feel more creepy than sweet.

Even so, mostly worth it.

Unfortunately, the rest of my body wasn’t so comfortable with the position I’d put it in.

I grabbed the throw pillow on my lap and eased his head up.

My attempt to gracefully and quietly slip out didn’t go quite as planned.

He groaned as I stood up, his hand grabbing my thigh and pulling it closer.

I extradited myself, pincering his hand with two fingers and avoiding the creaky floorboards on my way to the bathroom.

At the threshold of the living room, my phone rang, the bells jolting me into a full-blown sprint out of the room and into the kitchen. I fumbled to grab the phone from my pocket in time for Lily’s name to light up the screen.

“Why are you calling me so early?” I hissed, keeping my voice low and my eyes locked on the now-closed kitchen door.

“Why are you whispering?” Lily’s sing-song voice answered back. “Is it because you have company?”

I rolled out my neck. “Maybe.”

Not exactly the kind of company I’d been hoping for when Rob came over to my place last night.

“You’re mingling, aren’t you?”

“I’m having a very innocent sleepover. He’s exhausted and passed out on my couch.”

The silence on the other end of the line made Lily’s displeasure clear. Even though I shared the sentiment.

“Why are you even calling me?” I glanced at the clock and found it was barely past seven. No wonder my neck ached. I’d spent the last nine hours dozing on the couch.

“I was going to call last night, but I also had a date that went well.” She paused. “Well, better than yours, actually, because he didn’t fall asleep on my couch.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“You, little lady, were on the TV last night. They showed you in your box seat.”

“Seriously?” I asked, opening the fridge and searching for breakfast food. What the hell did NFL linebackers eat, anyway? I pulled out a carton of eggs and a block of cheese. “Why?”

“You were next to the quarterback’s girlfriend.”

“Cassie?”

“Oh, you’re on a first name basis with Diego Salazar’s girlfriend? Fancy.”

“She’s really nice. She and Mila showed me the ropes.” I raided the pantry and found a can of Spam that hadn’t expired, but I certainly hadn’t purchased.

“Showed you the ropes? So, you’ll be attending more games?”

I worried my bottom lip. “Um, I’m not sure, actually. Maybe.”

Sure, the invitation hadn’t come from Rob, but whatever unnamed thing was happening between Rob and me felt right. I just didn’t want to jinx it.

“He’s sleeping at your house, Gracie. He’s clearly smitten.”

“He’s exhausted.” I tamped down the soft swell of optimism.

I doubted anyone had used the word “smitten” and Rob in the same sentence.

But there was something between us. Something new and unsteady and exciting.

Something I didn’t dare upset by naming it.

“He came over to help with more house stuff.”

“Sure he did.” I could sense Lily’s eye roll from her tone. “He played a grueling game of football and then just waltzed over to your place with the sole purpose of doing some home repairs. That makes perfect sense.”

“His mom?—”

“You don’t need to pull out the ‘mom’ card on me. I know what’s going on… mingling .”

My cheeks burned at the insinuation, and my eyes flew back to the closed kitchen door. I lowered my voice. “I’m hanging up now and making breakfast. Thanks for letting me know about my TV debut.”

“You looked so cute, wearing his jersey and all. No wonder he ended up at your place!”

I hung up the phone, but the smile from the conversation stayed on my face as I cracked eggs into a bowl and dug out my toaster from under the cabinets.

For a few moments, I let myself live in Lily’s optimism, in the belief that Rob might walk through that door and tell me he wanted to take me out. Date me. Be with me.

And then I tamped it back down again. As much as I liked Rob and thought he liked me, something had changed since having Mila.

And I wasn’t na?ve enough to think that a hand job in the pottery studio and a night on the couch would change Rob into a brand-new person who wanted a girlfriend.

But, with time and patience, we might get there.

By the time I had the Spam frying, he wandered into the kitchen.

He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” I smiled as I pulled the meat off the pan and poured in the eggs. “Are you hungry? I made breakfast.”

He nodded, hovering at the threshold.

“Do you want to start the coffee? It has a grinder, and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

He nodded again, walking across the room to the coffeemaker. He paused behind me, and I could almost feel the heat of his hand hovering behind the small of my back. But in a breath, he kept walking.

“Sorry about last night,” he muttered as he pulled out the carafe and filled it with water.

I ignored the apology. “Did you sleep okay?”

His eyes skittered toward mine and then back to the carafe again. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

“How about you?”

I rolled my shoulders. “Fine.”

His lips tipped into a playful grin that didn’t cross his face often enough. “Don’t lie.”

“Alright, I’m a little sore,” I admitted. “I’ll live. Probably.”

“You could have woken me up.”

I shrugged, wincing at the pull in my neck. “Yeah. I could have. I didn’t want to.”

He pursed his lips, turning off the faucet and pouring the water into the coffeemaker. He exhaled and turned around. “I like you, Astrid.”

The confession took me off guard. My chest tightened, and my stomach fluttered, wondering if I’d miscalculated. Maybe I didn’t need to wait.

“I like you, too.”

“But we can’t date. In fact, I shouldn’t have come here last night.”

The butterflies disappeared with that gut punch. I sucked in a breath, nearly dropping the spatula. “Oh?”

“I’m just… You’re… I’ve got Mila…” He stuttered over a list of excuses as I steadied my breathing.

I tamped down the disappointment of my gut reaction being the right one, more concerned with calming Rob down. I pulled the eggs off the pan and arranged them onto the two plates. “It’s fine.”

“I don’t really know how to explain?—”

I stopped him with a wry smile. “You don’t have to explain.”

And he didn’t. Or at least, I didn’t need to hear the explanation. I could see the panic in his eyes.

“I sort of feel like I do, though.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as his eyes cut out the window. “It’s not you.”

I almost laughed at the lame platitude. It’s not you, it’s me. Clearly, it had been a while since Rob dated since no one pulled out that relic anymore.

“Rob, relax.” Strangely, his panic calmed me and reasserted what I already knew: Rob needed time. “Let’s eat breakfast. If you want to pretend the last two days didn’t happen, I can live with that.”

He closed his eyes, face contorting. “Are you sure? Maybe, if I could explain myself a little better.”

I shook my head. “No need. It’s really not a big deal.”

He winced. “I wouldn’t say it like that.”

The optimism flooded back. “I wouldn’t either.”

“We’re still friends, right?” His normally confident tone faltered.

“Absolutely. So, what are you up to today?”

Rob wavered at the coffeemaker, his expression unsure. “I’m gonna run to the hardware store this morning and grab some drywall mud to patch up the missing drywall in the pantry.”

“Great.” I set the plates on the table and sat down. “Want to show me how it’s done so I can get the holes in the bathroom upstairs?”

He poured the coffee into two mugs, adding sugar and creamer to mine. “That’d be great.”