Page 37

THIRTY-SEVEN

TRENT

The El Camino reeked of turf and sweat. The air-conditioning barely worked, sweltering heat baking the smell into the car even though I’d finished practice hours ago and showered since.

I pulled into Rob’s driveway and fished my phone out of my pocket, checking my messages.

Nothing.

With a groan, I dropped my head onto the steering wheel and calculated how many unanswered text messages I could send to Kit before I looked desperate.

But I was definitely desperate.

Swiping away from Kit’s messages, I navigated to Derek instead.

Hey, how’s the knee?

Three dots popped up, and I breathed a sigh of relief. At least someone in their house would answer me.

DEREK

Great. Kit’s working a double, in case you texted me to find out why she isn’t texting you.

My fingers hesitated over the phone before I asked what I really wanted to know.

Is she dodging me? Did I do something?

I’d played over the barbecue a hundred times in the four days since but couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong.

DEREK

She’s busy and her phone is shit.

That’s not really answering my question.

DEREK

You didn’t do anything. Give her some time.

I took some solace in Derek’s message. He was Kit’s best friend, which meant he’d protect her first, but he wouldn’t lie to me. I pocketed my phone and exited the car.

“Trent!” Mila called with a wave. She sat on the porch next to Lena, Noa’s wife, both of them huddled over the tiny baby laying on a blanket.

“Hey!” I smiled. “It’s my favorite girl!”

She raced off the porch, throwing her hands around my knees. “Did you bring candy?”

I schooled my face into a stern look.

“Your daddy told me no candy.” She frowned. I reached into my pocket, pulling out a pack of Skittles. “So don’t tell him, okay?”

“I can’t keep secrets,” she whispered back. “Only surprises.”

I nodded solemnly. “Okay, then tell him tonight, after dinner.”

“Good idea.”

She unbuckled herself from my legs, and I strode onto the porch.

“Is that what you’ve been up to during the off-season?” I nodded down to the baby and grinned at Lena.

“Mostly,” Lena laughed. “Trent, meet Kalani.”

I squatted down beside Kalani, studying her jet-black mop of hair and scrunched-up face. I held out a finger, and she gripped it tightly. “Damn, Lena, she’s a brute.”

“She’s got her father’s strength, that’s for sure.”

“Good thing she got her looks from her mom.” I smiled down at the baby. “This kid is going to be dangerous.”

“She’s not dangerous.” Mila stamped her foot and glared at me. “She’s a baby, and she’s perfect.”

I shared a grin with Lena before I held up my hands and stood. “Fair enough. Excuse me for teasing baby Kalani.”

Mila ran her tiny fingers through Kalani’s hair, cooing to her softly before brushing a kiss over her forehead.

“The guys are in the basement playing video games, I think,” Lena said.

I nodded. “Thanks, Lena.”

After some trial and error, I found the entrance to the basement, following the rumble of conversation and tinny, rapid-fire shots. Noa and Rob sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the couch, each with a controller in their hands.

“This looks cozy,” I said, collapsing on a nearby recliner.

“You want a drink?” Rob asked, eyes on the TV. He kicked at the six-pack of beer sitting atop the coffee table.

“Nah. I’m good.”

“Let us finish this round, and we’ll add you in,” Noa said. The giant Hawaiian center squinted at the screen. “You meet my kid?”

“She’s cute. Nearly broke my finger, though,” I said.

He grinned, his white teeth gleaming. “She’s a tough little thing. Keeps us up all night screaming. Lena finally broke down and let us hire a night nurse, and ever since, parenthood has been amazing.”

A twinge of jealousy pitted my stomach. Not for the kid, but for the relationship. Lena and Noa were a pair, a united duo. I hadn’t wanted it before, but I wanted it now.

“But tell me about your car thing. I only saw the pictures,” Noa said, changing the subject.

Rob scoffed. “Please don’t get him started about that fucking car race again. He went on a race, fell for some girl, got a trophy. What else is there to say?”

“You fell for a girl? The one from the race?” Noa raised an eyebrow, ripping his eyes from the screen. I nodded. “Really?”

“Yeah, and she blew me off.” I winced, anticipating Rob’s response.

His laugh filled the basement. “That’s hilarious. She blew you off? Is that a first for you, Vogt?”

Probably, though I wouldn’t admit it to Rob, of all people.

Noa glared at his best friend before setting down the controller. “What exactly happened?”

I raked a hand through my hair and sank into the chair. “We were friends and then we slept together, but it was a one-off thing that became a rally thing that slipped into normal life.”

“So dating?” Noa said with a bemused smile.

“Not dating.” I blew out a breath. “Not officially, anyway. It all just sort of happened.”

“He took her to the team barbecue. You missed them, but Cas told me she jack-rabbited out of there when someone asked if they were dating,” Rob added smugly.

“You told me to bring her to the barbecue!” I argued, sitting up straight.

“No.” Rob paused the game, setting his controller down beside Noa’s. “I told you not to bring her to Topaz because it’s a rip-off.”

“Right, and then I said the barbe—” I rubbed my eyes. “It doesn’t matter. She said she just wanted to be friends, and now she barely texts me back. It’s…driving me crazy.”

“It’s nice to know that someone can drive you crazy when you spend all your time driving the rest of the team crazy,” Rob laughed, picking up the controllers.

He handed one to Noa, but he batted it away. “So, did you ask her to date you?”

I sighed. “No. Not really. We didn’t quite get to that conversation.”

A lie. I’d thought about asking Kit, but never actually done it. Why did I have to ask Kit out if we were already together?

“But you want to be with her?”

“Yeah.” I squirmed in my seat. “I do really want to be with her. But?—”

“But you’re a shit show?” Rob said.

Noa held up a hand, silencing both of us.

“Trent, buddy.” He pitched forward, setting his elbows on his knees, his dark brown eyes boring into mine. “If you want something, you need to ask for it.”

Rob bobbled his head. “That’s actually good advice. I told that to Mila the other day.”

“But what if—” I countered, my heart racing at the thought of just telling Kit I liked her and I wanted to be with her and I hated not seeing her every day.

Noa’s eyes stayed locked on mine. “So, ask.”

“It’s not like she’s completely ignoring you, right?” Rob grabbed a beer off the counter and popped the top on the edge of the table.

“No, not completely.” Her texts had been infrequent, but consistent. She’d send a couple of messages before she left for work and another before I got into bed. “Our schedules are out of sync. But she graduates this weekend, and I’m going.”

Kit hadn’t tried to duck out of the promise I’d made during the rally. And even if she did, I wouldn’t let her. She deserved this, even if she didn’t want me.

“That’s perfect,” Noa said. “Tell her then. Better yet, buy her flowers, dinner, do something big. Romance her.”

“Romance her?”

I couldn’t remember ever romancing anyone. My relationships tended to burn hot and fast and end spectacularly. They didn’t need labels because they never lasted that long. They were the exact opposite of what I wanted with Kit.

“If you’re going to threaten her with a relationship, you may as well do it right,” Rob added, unhelpfully. “Now, are we playing games or are we running our mouths? Because Lena’s only going to corral those two kids for so long, and I want to destroy some zombies.”

I picked up the controller, but my mind stayed on Noa’s advice. I needed to do something big. Something romantic. Not some generic bullshit, either. Kit would see right through her name in lights or a giant bouquet. She’d hate a public declaration of love. She deserved something as special as she was.

Mid-zombie massacre, it hit me. The perfect way to romance Kit.

“I gotta go,” I said, setting down the controller, fingers fumbling for my phone on the way out the door. I had Derek on the line by the time I waved goodbye to Lena, Mila, and Kalani, still splayed out on the porch.

I was going to romance the shit out of Kit. And hopefully, it’d be enough.