Page 33 of Pick Me

Claudia joined me at the mirror in the locker room as I put away my hair dryer, already looking flawless despite being barefaced

and with her hair still wrapped up in a towel.

“I like him. Owen,” she said as she dabbed moisturizer on her perfect face. “Are you guys a thing or...?”

I tried to keep my expression neutral despite her picking up on something I still couldn’t wrap my brain around. “Did it seem

like we’re a thing?”

I glanced around the locker room and was relieved to see that we were now alone, since everyone at CPA knew Owen.

Claudia paused with her finger hovering in front of her cheek, meeting my eyes in the mirror’s reflection. “I couldn’t tell

exactly, but I sensed something...” She flickered her fingertips as she searched for the word. “ Unresolved , I guess.”

To me, nothing that had happened during the games was out of the ordinary, other than me kicking so much ass. Owen and I had

interacted the way we always did on the court. No outward flirting, just sincere appreciation and respect for each other.

Okay, maybe I was a little uptight about keeping things civil between us, but you’d think that would make our relationship seem strained. What was it that Claudia picked up on that was quiet enough for us to be oblivious, but loud enough for her to notice?

“Honestly, I don’t know what we are,” I finally admitted softly.

When I looked at my reflection, I was frowning.

I trusted Claudia, and since my brother loved her, I already did as well. But I didn’t want to dive into the near misses Owen

and I had lived through before a long night out together.

“Okay.” Claudia nodded as she leaned closer to the mirror and resumed lotioning. “So I wasn’t wrong. Is it awkward for you

that he’s coming tonight? I take the blame for inviting him.”

“Not at all,” I said quickly as I pulled out my small makeup kit. “We could use a... a reset.”

“Right,” Claudia said with a nod. “Understood. Just catch my eye if you need to escape to the loo for a gossip or cry, got

it?”

I couldn’t have written Claudia to be more perfect for Wes or me. I’d always wanted a sister, and it seemed like I was finally

getting my wish.

“Thank you.”

I was preemptively sad that they were leaving the next day.

“Don’t worry, Wes and I will keep it light.” Claudia pulled the towel off her head, and she could’ve tucked her wet hair behind

her ears and looked perfect. “I guarantee the two of them will cozy up to discuss Barnham stats. We’ll be football widows

in the corner, nursing our pints.”

I didn’t correct her that I couldn’t be a widow without first being at least wife-adjacent.

Thirty minutes later we were both glossy and ready to go.

Claudia left to meet Wes in the lobby while I finished packing my things and shoving them into the locker.

We planned to swing by and pick up our bags either at the end of the night, thanks to Owen and his all-access status, or if things got sloppy, the next morning.

I’d opted to straighten my hair and wear a flowy white skirt and black tank top that I realized too late dipped a little too

low. I channeled Meredith and threw my shoulders back.

I might not have achieved off-duty model status like Claudia, but I looked good .

I’d forgotten to pack any sort of purse for the night, so I tucked my lip gloss, ID, and credit card in my bra and headed

for the lobby. I was so busy adjusting my boobs to make sure their purse status wasn’t obvious through my thin tank that I

wasn’t looking where I was going until it was too late.

“There she is!”

I looked up and froze with my hand cupped on my underboob.

It was breathtaking, smiling Kai, staring at me like he’d been waiting to see me.

“Ohmygosh, you scared me,” I breathed, moving my hand quickly. “Hi.”

My central nervous system had taken a beating during the game, so I felt like my body responded to seeing him with a “for

fuck’s sake, what now ?” despite the fact that he was the sole reason I was in the club to begin with.

“Hey, yourself.” He moved a step closer, scanning me so quickly that I nearly missed it. “You never texted me back the other

day.”

“Huh?” I frowned at him. “But I did. At least I think I did.”

No, I was sure I did, since I’d waited for him to respond. Funny that I hadn’t obsessed about him blowing me off, but then again, I’d had plenty on my plate over the past few days.

“That’s weird. I didn’t get it.” He leaned against the wall. “You look gorgeous. Where are you off to?”

“Thanks.” I smiled reflexively. The compliment wiped away his white lie about my text. “My brother and his fiancée are visiting

from England so we’re going out tonight. Dinner, drinks, the usual.”

“Nice. I’m heading out after I play; maybe we can link up later?” He smiled, and for the first time, I noticed the dimples

I’d somehow missed.

My stomach plummeted. Of course, part of me wanted to jump at the opportunity, but not now. Not tonight. Our little foursome

had the perfect equilibrium, and adding Kai would throw it off for a bunch of different reasons.

“That would be fun,” I said convincingly. “I’m not sure exactly where we’re heading, but why don’t you text me later and we

can figure it out then?”

It was a little test. If he really wanted to meet up, he could reach out, but I wasn’t about to text him first.

“Done.” He cocked his eyebrow and pointed a finger at me. “We’re making this happen. Right?”

I manufactured a smile to prove that us meeting up was exactly what I wanted even as my gut warned me that it was a terrible

idea.

“Right. See you later.”

Kai smiled softly at me, holding my gaze for a beat longer than necessary. “I really hope so.”

That look . Weaponized swooniness and thoroughly convincing.

I couldn’t tell if the off-kilter sensation rolling through me was anticipation or worry that I might be forced to navigate Kai and Owen at the same time.

The text came through right after Meredith finished her round of hugs. We were in VIP seats at the bar, ready for the surprise

drinks she was mixing up for us.

Meredith’s bar was the perfect spot to wind down our night, because I could tell that Wes and Claudia were barely holding

on thanks to the jet lag. We’d enjoyed amazing food and easy conversation. Ending up in the bar’s soft-focus mood lighting

felt right.

My phone danced across the tile surface. It was late enough in the evening that it had to be Kai. My hands went sweaty as I glanced over at Owen. His eyes flicked to me quickly like he could feel it too, then

refocused on Claudia as she described her meet-cute with Wes.

I grabbed my phone and flipped it over. Would Wes and Kai get along? Would Owen leave the moment he heard Kai was coming?

What would Claudia think about me once I introduced a guy who was definitely not a part of a love triangle?

I shook my head. No. Inviting Kai to join our perfect little foursome felt wrong on so many levels. Even though it was what

I’d wanted, it wasn’t what I wanted in this moment.

I was so busy trying to pre-navigate how I was going to respond without burning bridges that it took me a few seconds to see

that the message was from building management, not Kai.

Hold on. There’d been a fire ?

A window air-conditioning unit had malfunctioned and sparked into a fire on the floor below us.

More specifically, the apartment below us, the complainers, and thanks to them and “an abundance of caution,” we weren’t allowed back in our apartment until they tested the structural integrity of their ceiling and our floor.

“Mere, fuck !” I frowned at her, holding up my phone. “There was a fire at our place! Check your phone; they said we can’t go back to

the building tonight.”

Wes and Owen stopped talking abruptly, and Meredith fished her phone out of her back pocket.

“No,” she moaned. “Not now . I don’t want to have to move right as I’m about to sign a lease for my studio.”

She wasn’t quite at that stage yet, but she was speaking it into existence.

“How bad is it?” Owen asked, sounding worried.

I reread the text. “There’s not much detail. It sounds like they evacuated the building in time and no one was hurt. Let me

jump on the building message board for the real story.”

Meredith was called away to serve a group of girls dressed as Guy Fieri, something that would normally crack her up, but she

barely managed a smile.

I navigated to the world’s most passive-aggressive message board, where people with too much time on their hands complained

about everything from the mail delivery to tenants who had the nerve to fry food in the privacy of their apartment.

“So?” Wes asked, his brow furrowed.

“Someone posted photos. It’s not incinerated or anything, but I’m sure it reeks of smoke.”

The blurry picture was taken from the hallway and showed the blackened wall and ceiling across from the open front door.

I handed Wes my phone, and after he frowned at the image, he handed it to Owen, who then passed it to Claudia.

“This absolutely fucking sucks ,” Meredith said as she came back to our end of the bar. “It better not be major damage.”

My phone chimed again.

This time it was Kai.

Hey, where are you? We just finished dinner.

It was after ten, and thanks to the fire, I was in no mind to even think about trying to meet.

“I can stay at Colton’s, but what about you guys?” Meredith asked.

I tried catching her eye, to let her know that fate had the worst timing ever, but she was rightfully caught up trying to

figure out how to deal with being temporarily homeless.

I placed my phone face down on the bar. He’d waited until late to reach out; he could wait a few more minutes as we figured

out what the hell we were going to do.

Suddenly, connecting with Kai didn’t matter.

“I guess we can get a hotel?” I offered.

“Right, I’m on it,” Claudia said, staring into the glow of her phone.

Meredith scurried back to us after serving a group of white-haired men in suits. “Turns out there’s a major medical convention at Javits. I’m guessing the close-by hotels are full.”

The situation had officially become a nightmare.

“Guys, just stay at my place,” Owen said.

We all turned to stare at him.

“I’m serious,” he continued. “I have a guest room and a fold-out couch in the basement. Plenty of space. It’s late—it’s easier

this way.”

First of all, a basement ? Did Owen live in Narnia?

“Mate, no, you don’t have to do that,” Wes said. “We can grab a couple of rooms. We don’t want to put you out.”

“Um, actually, no, we can’t, babe,” Claudia said. “I just did a quick search and there’s nothing.”

Once again, I was faced with the burden of Owen’s never-ending generosity. Although now I had the promise of payback when

I read his chapter summaries.

Which he still hadn’t emailed.

Everyone turned to me as if I had a real decision to make when there was only one possibility open to us. I glanced at Owen

to try to gauge just how put out he was by the idea of surprise hosting three randos.

He nodded, a little encouragement to convince me that he was indeed offering to open his house to us. Despite all the bullshit

we’d been through, he was still willing to be there for me.

This time felt like the biggest offer yet. Owen wasn’t just giving me his time; he was inviting me— us —into his private world. I was going to get to see where he relaxed at the end of the day. Where Marti liked to hang out.

Where he slept.

Maybe. He could very well keep that space closed off from me. Probably in his best interest to keep me far away from his bedroom.

“Are you sure everything’s booked?” I glanced around at the three of them.

“I triple-checked,” Claudia said.

“Brooke, it’s fine ,” Owen assured me.

I think we both sensed how “not fine” it could turn out for us. A bunch of drinks in, inhibitions lowered thanks to the camaraderie of the evening. We very well could run into each other in a narrow hallway in the middle of the night, half dressed, and then further complicate . . . everything .

Because now that I’d seen his thighs, I was curious to see what else he was hiding.

Worry clawed at me. I knew how I’d react if I happened upon him in the moonlight; it was his response that had me stressed.

But we didn’t have much of a choice.

“Okay, then,” I said softly, crossing my arms over my chest. “Guess we’re having a sleepover at Owen’s.”