Page 9

Chapter 8

Tyler

I ’ve thought a lot about that call a few days ago with Lance. While Lily doesn’t look outwardly sad or heartbroken, she might be on the inside, and she’s just hiding it.

Should I ask her how she’s doing? Maybe, but honestly, I don’t want to. It’s not that I don’t want to listen to her or that I don’t care about her feelings, I just want her to move on and not be dragged back there by talking about him. Plus, hearing about him makes me angry, and I don’t want to hear about him.

This morning, we had coffee like we always do. I went for a run, and when I got back, Lily had already assumed the position on the couch like she has for the past two weeks. While she seems pretty into whatever it is that she’s working on, she’s starting to worry me a little bit. Maybe Lance is right.

“I think we should get out of the house today,” I tell her as I’m coming down the stairs. I’ve thought this plan through. Where we can go, what we’ll do, and who we’ll do it with.

She pulls her headphones off and looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “What do you mean?” she asks, as her eyes drag down the length of me. Nope, I take it back, Lance is wrong. While I don’t think she’s fully recovered yet, I don’t think she’s pining for Dean. She just checked me out. Subtly, but still.

“I mean, you’ve been here for two weeks, and I’m not sure you’ve left the house once. You need vitamin D, fresh air, and maybe a tour guide around Tampa.” I pop a smile to attempt to defuse some of the tension that has taken over her body as her brows pull down.

“I go outside. I’ve done yoga on the boat dock almost every day,” she says as I grab a glass and fill it with water. One can never drink too much water.

“You have?”

I haven’t seen her. Then again, it’s better that I don’t. Especially if she goes out there in the little shorts and bends over. Lord help me. Drinking the water in three large gulps, I will the coolness to cool my thoughts and set the glass in the sink.

“Yes. I like it out there. And I’ll have you know I’m up to thirty push-ups,” she says proudly.

“Thirty. Not bad, Kent.”

I’ve now decided that I’m extra grateful that I haven’t seen her work out. Women who take care of themselves, that’s a green flag for me. Exercise is so important not only for our bodies but also for our minds, so I know whoever I end up with one day will be as conscientious as I am.

She lifts one arm, pulls up the sleeve, and flexes for me to show how strong she is. Toned muscles make themselves known from her elbow to her shoulder. Damn, I bet she’s ripped all over, too. My groin starts telling me to abort the mission, but my mouth doesn’t get the message.

“Nice. But be that as it may, you need to get out more.”

She drops her arm, looks down at her computer, and frowns.

I move to sit down in the chair across from her, and she tracks me as I take a seat. While she’s taken over the couch, this tends to be in my spot when I join her in the afternoons to watch a little television.

I lean forward and place my elbows on my knees. “Listen, Lance called, and he’s worried about you. Do I need to be worried about you?”

I take in the details of her face. Even though her hair is up in a messy knot on top of her head, there are wispy hairs all around her forehead. Her skin is clear but dotted with freckles, and her eyes are not cloudy but bright with my favorite color. There are no sad wrinkles present, and her mouth, well, I’m not looking at her mouth. But overall, she looks all right.

“No, I promise I’m good. I’ve just been working a lot, and it’s felt really good. Things are flowing.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but I’ll feel better if you let me take you out.”

She frowns again. I’ve decided I definitely don’t like it when she frowns.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Her brows rise like she’s surprised I’m asking.

“What are you worried about?”

She flips a piece of her hair up, looks at it, and then looks at me.

“So what? There are plenty of girls with hair your color. Wear a hat. Besides, it’s a Sunday. There will be a crowd, but not too big of one, and honestly, who do you think is going to recognize you here?”

“You’d be surprised,” she mumbles.

“Surprised or not, can you be ready in ten?” I ask, thinking if I give her too long, she’ll somehow talk herself out of it.

“Yes.” She exhales like she’s thinking this really isn’t a good idea, but I know it is. She closes her laptop, gathers up her things, and then unfolds from the couch. She gives me a once-over, then disappears into her room while I wait.

I’m wearing a pair of shorts, a Tarpons T-shirt, sneakers, and a hat. When she emerges, she’s wearing shorts that show off her legs, a black T-shirt that’s fitted to her chest—I desperately try not to stare at—sneakers, and a sun hat that covers most of her face. She’s matched me, and stupidly, I find it kind of endearing.

“Ready?”

“As much as I’m going to be,” she exhales.

“I promise we’ll have some fun today.”

“I don’t remember the last time I went out for fun.”

“Exactly.”

I grab my keys and my wallet off the counter, and she follows me out into the garage and then into the backyard.

“We’re taking the boat?” she asks, pulling on one edge of the hat to block the sun.

“Absolutely. Any chance I get, I take the boat. Besides, it’s easier to park than the truck,” I tell her as we head down to the dock. Sure enough, just like she said, there’s a rolled-up yoga mat propped between two of the posts.

“Where are we going?” she asks.

“I thought we’d head to a place called Armature Works for lunch. This old warehouse was built in 1910 to house Tampa Electric’s streetcars, and now it serves as a venue with restaurants and has space for large events. Since I don’t really know what you like to eat, here you have your choice of everything from sushi to pizza to Greek.”

“That sounds good. I love sushi, and I guess I don’t really know what you like either.”

“I thought it would be obvious.” I smirk at her.

“Just because you like to go fishing doesn’t mean that you actually like to eat the fish too.”

“Well, I do. If there’s fish involved, count me in.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn to make sushi. I suppose I can add that into our dinner rotation.”

Taking her hand, I help her climb onto the boat. It’s weird to hold her hand, even this simple gesture, but it causes an unwanted spike of something up my arm and into my chest. I’m definitely sticking to our no-touching rule.

“You know you don’t have to cook for me,” I tell her, as I drop her hand and move toward the front of the boat to untie the last rope.

“I like to cook. And after sitting all day, it’s good for me to get up and do something else.”

“Well, I’m not complaining, and I’m sure Jonah and Sophie welcome the reprieve. I eat with them a lot.”

“You said they’re fairly new together?”

“Yes, but I think in Jonah’s mind, he’s been with her for years.”

Joining her on the boat, she settles onto a seat next to me, and I fire up the engine. I love that sound.

“There’s a bed on this boat,” she states, surprised.

“Yes, a bathroom too. This is a thirty-four-foot yacht, not just a regular boat,” I tell her proudly.

“Your fish tank and your yacht, now I’m starting to understand you,” she teases.

“I’m really not that complicated.” I back us up into the canal, and we slowly begin to make our way out of the island and into the bay.

“Has Lance been on this boat?” she asks.

“Yep. Casey and Cole, too. But it was a few years ago. Cole loved it.”

“I bet he did. What’s not to love?”

“Exactly.” I smile at her. I heard the expression once, “The best day in a man’s life is the day he buys his boat, it’s also the day he sells it.” Currently, I have no plans to sell this one. I love it too much.

“So lunch first and then what?”

“After lunch we can walk over to Shuffle. It’s a little over a half mile. You can handle that, right?”

“Of course I can. It may be hot out, but I don’t mind.”

“Didn’t think you would.” I smile at her.

I’m not going to lie, the walk was kind of brutal. It’s the middle of the day in July. What was I thinking? We finally arrive at the familiar building, brightly colored with graffiti and a single black-and-white sign that says Shuffle.

“I don’t know what I expected when you said Shuffle, but it wasn’t this,” she says, pulling off her hat and wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She’s sweating almost as bad as I am, and I find this funny for some reason.

“Where did you think we were going?” I ask her as I pull open the door for her, and cold air pours out.

“I don’t know.” She smiles as she passes me. “Shuffle tends to lead the mind down all kinds of avenues, but I’m certainly glad to be out of the heat.”

Shuffle is short for shuffleboard. She shouldn’t be surprised that I brought her to a place where we play a game. After all, I love games.

I chuckle. “Me too. We’ll grab a rideshare back to the boat when we’re ready to go.”

“I’ll pay for it,” she declares, and my smile grows even larger.

Together, the two of us walk inside, and I’m met with three familiar faces at the bar. All of them perk up at the sight of us.

“Tyler, my boy! It’s nice to see you,” says Rick. Behind him, Gus stands to greet me with a hug.

“We see you brought some competition with you today.” Mack is the third of their trio, and he sweeps his gaze over Lily. “Some distraction competition.”

I glance at Lily, and the smile on her face grows even larger as she takes in the three grampas in front of her.

“Competition is still to be determined. Gentlemen, this is my friend Lily,” I tell them as I place my hand on her lower back. It was reflex to do so, and the second time I've touched her today. I also realize my hand almost spans the whole width of her lower back. Of course I noticed that she was fit, but I didn’t really think about how she was also so thin as well.

“What is she doing with you? She’s way too pretty for you,” declares Mack. He stands to greet her, and he leans in and kisses her on the cheek. “It’s nice to meet you,” he says to her.

“Lily is my friend. She’s visiting and trying to decide whether she wants to make Tampa home.”

“So you brought her here?” Gus asks.

“Of course! One of the coolest places in town.”

And it is. This place has indoor and outdoor courts, a full menu, and a bar where they keep a ton of local beers. On the weekends, they have live music that plays on a stage outside. It’s super clean and trendy, and one of the few places I get to be myself.

“Darlin’, do you know what you’re getting yourself into with this one?” Gus asks.

She looks up at me. Her eyes scan my face, and I hate that my stomach dips a little under her scrutiny. And then she gives me a quick, evil smile before turning back to Gus.

“Actually, I do, and I can handle him.”

All three of them whistle.

We sit next to them at the bar and order a drink. The five of us settle in as they get to know Lily a little more. They pepper her with questions, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t soaking up every detail she gave about herself. She tells them how long we’ve known each other and briefly skims over several of our interactions through the years, including Lance’s wedding. She tells them she’s a writer, which I picked up on by how much time she spends on her computer. I have no idea what she's writing, and she doesn’t elaborate, but then she tells them how she went out of her way to make sure she watched me play in my first NFL game.

Knowing that someone is supporting you after the fact is a weird feeling. I had no idea she watched that game. My parents and Lance were there, but it didn’t even occur to me that others would be rooting for me outside of my old teammates. Especially her.

“So do you want to play?” I ask, tilting my head toward the indoor lanes. There just happens to be an open one that is calling our name.

“I think I do.”

“Gentlemen?” I ask our three companions. We need another team of two to play against.

“Bet your ass we’re in,” Gus says as he and Rick stand.

We follow, and even though I shouldn’t, I watch from behind as Lily grabs her hat with one hand and pulls her shorts down a little with the other. Her legs are killer, and it really isn’t fair that I have to keep reminding myself that she’s Lance’s sister.

Together, the five of us, Mack following, drop our drinks on the high-top table at the end of the lane. I point toward the large chalkboard on the wall with the how-to-play instructions, so she can read it and follow along.

“The rules are really simple, the first team to get to seventy-five wins. You get points by landing on the seven, eight, or ten. If you land on a line, the points don’t count, and if you land in that first section, the kitchen, then we lose points. Now, if one of us lands on the line, the other can try to knock it in, or if our opponent has a great spot, we can try to knock them out. Make sense?”

“Yeah, actually. Sounds fun.”

“She says that until I wipe the floor with both of you,” Gus says.

“And here I thought you were the nice one.” Lily raises a brow at him, while I grab four cues.

“He thinks he’s a tiger, but a kitten is more accurate,” Mack says.

“That’s not what your wife said,” he flings back.

“Ohhh,” Rick and I both let out. “Shots fired.”

“The only shots around here are the ones which will be kicking your ass,” he tells me.

I lean into Lily, her smile is so big, it’s infectious. “Don’t worry.” I wink. I have us covered.

“Oh, I’m not worried. I may be new at this, but a girl always has tricks up her sleeve.”

And damn if I’m not wondering what those are.

“Who goes first?” she asks the group of us as she grabs a disc and lines it up like she’s a professional.

“Ladies always go first with us,” Gus winks.

All of us catch his euphemism, and I just shake my head. Lily looks at me. “Looks like Gus might have a few tricks up his sleeves, too.”

I laugh, and damn, it feels good to laugh with her too.