Page 44 of Unrivaled Love (D.C. Renegades #2)
Bryson
I love your boobs.
I try calling Jo as soon as the podcast interview ends. It rings out no answer.
Hey - give me a call when you can.
I pocket my phone and get out the scrabble board. Crosby, Duncan, and I have a running score and try to play once a week. My parents gave me one of the deluxe edition boards that spins so we always play at my place.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out hoping it’s Jo.
It isn’t.
FELIX
I cannot believe I haven’t been invited to Snapple night.
Scrabble.
Duckin auto correct!
Exactly.
You want to come over and play? We’re going to start soon.
Yes I do. And I’m inviting E.T. and Young Gun too.
A tiny part of me feels bad for not including the bigger group in the first place but Scrabble is difficult to play with more than four people. We’re going to need to buddy up.
***
“Get off!” E.T. yells as Duncan traps him in a headlock and goes in for the noogie.
“Boys! Control yourselves.” Felix commands and they separate.
“But you can’t put a plus four on top of a plus two! They’re totally different cards!” Duncan yells.
“They’re both in the wildcard category!” Emmett yells back.
Instead of scrabble we got out a deck of UNO cards and all hell broke loose.
First it was a fight over automatic outs for collecting more than eighteen cards.
Then it was whether you could use a skip card on yourself to make it harder for the person next to you.
Now it’s whether you can stack a plus four and a plus two.
E.T. says you can, and that it multiplies to eight cards to pick up.
Duncan says they’re different cards and can’t be played on top of each other.
“That’s such bullshit!” Duncan grumbles. “I say we vote.”
“We don’t vote.” Crosby says as he pops a sour patch kid in his mouth. “Wock, Papwhr,” he finishes chewing and swallows. “Scissors.”
“Good idea.” Aiden says. “If Duncan wins then we can’t put a plus four or plus two down on each other. And if Emmett wins we can.”
“Such bullshit.” Duncan grumbles. “But fine.”
The two square off and we count them out.
“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot! ”
Duncan confidently shoots paper but Emmett throws out scissors.
“Best two out of three!” Duncan yells but we just laugh.
“Nope, one and done bud. Guess we get to stack pick up cards.” I say and I tap my hand of cards against the table. “Should I write this down?”
“Yes.” Crosby says with another handful of candy.
I walk to the counter for a pad of paper. I see my phone and tap the screen. I’ve got a missed call from Jo. Before I head back to the table I send her a quick text.
Try you later babe, the guys are over playing cards.
We honed the rules to BrUNO over the next three hours. The Yard Sale rule resulted in Crosby cutting his knee as he dove to catch the cards he threw in the air when Emmett played a skip card to him. He caught all his cards before any hit the floor, but at what cost?
I clean up and climb into bed. I pull up Jo’s number and dial.
No answer.
I really wanted to tell her about my night.
About practice. I wanted to hear how her day went.
How the team dinner was last night. It feels like ages since we’ve spoken to each other.
It is nearly impossible not to let my thoughts spiral to a version of this relationship that doesn’t work.
I force it out of my mind and send her a text.
Hey Jo. I’m climbing into bed. Call me when you can. I miss you.
I curl into the pillow I’ve started hugging at night and drift off to sleep dreaming of a BrUNO tournament at Teamsgiving with Jo and the boys.
When I wake in the morning I see a text from Jo.
Sorry babe. I fell asleep on the sofa. I’m wiped out. Call me tomorrow?
It’s five in the morning in Salt Lake so I’m not going to call now but, damnit, I miss her. I need some advice. After pissing and washing up I make breakfast and text Crosby and Duncan.
Boys, I need your help.
DUNCAN
Anything.
CROSBY
What's up?
It's girl problems.
CROSBY
Let's hear it.
I just haven't been able to connect with Jo. We've had like opposite schedules the last few days and I think she's slipping away.
DUNCAN
What makes you say that?
Well, nothing specifically, but like, we have only texted for the last few days. No phone calls or FaceTimes. I tell her when I'm available and she never is at the same time. So does that mean she doesn't want to talk to me?
CROSBY
I think you're catastrophizing but we've got an idea.
DUNCAN
It's a good one.
Are you two together?
DUNCAN
Yeah
CROSBY
Nevermind that, are you ready for our idea?
I guess so.
DUNCAN
Gift bomb her.
Huh?
CROSBY
Just send her gifts all day long. Flowers, chocolates, fruit baskets. I even saw a deli in New York will ship pastrami and all the fixings across the country if you want them to.
You're suggesting I try to buy her attention?
DUNCAN
Don't think of it like that. Think of it as demonstrating your love for her from D.C. while she's still in Salt Lake City.
I'll think about it.
But buying Jo gifts doesn't seem like the way to get to her. Cros and Dunc mean well but neither of them have been in a serious relationship. That might have been my first mistake. I need to get advice from someone who has.
Hey Young Gun - I've got a question.
Shoot
How do you and Harper deal with the hockey schedule?
We FaceTime and text.
And that's enough?
Well yeah, we text about our days and she sends me updates as she's working. I do the same when I'm off the ice. And we schedule times for calls.
I also leave her little notes around the house. I just started doing it this season but I'll hide one in her closet or bathroom drawers and I know she's smiling when she finds it.
That's really sweet man.
Are you and Jo okay?
I dunno, I think so.
I hate that I’m doubting us. We knew it would be tough. And this is literally the toughest time where we’re both in our seasons. It’ll be easier for a few months before it gets crazy again in the spring.
No, we're fine. It’s just a blip.
We're having trouble lining up our schedules.
Yeah it's tough that she's an athlete too. And across the country.
Harper and I realized our love is constant regardless of our schedules. Some days you're just not as connected with each other. It happens. You'll figure it out.
Yeah. Thanks .
I don't feel as hopeless as I did before and I like the idea of texting and checking in. Most of our texts are full conversations, not just random thoughts. But maybe sharing our random thoughts will bring us a little closer.
Jo consumes my thoughts as I get ready for practice. Crosby and Duncan are already on their way for our early skate. It’ll be light on game day and we’ll review film this afternoon. Then it’s nap time and packing because we hit the road for Florida tonight after our game.
My car turns on and I check the clock. I know Jo likes to sleep until 8:08 a.m. and it’s only 5:20 a.m. for her but I don’t want to wait until after practice to reach out to her.
With my eyes closed, I conjure an image of Jo. A smile cracks across my face as I watch her in my mind’s eye. She’s naked, of course, laying below me surrounded by a bed of feathers. Her brown hair fanned out across the bed and her perfect tits begging me for attention.
I love your boobs.
Maybe not the most sentimental of lines but it's the truth. I dream about her tits at night. I know it’s early so I don't expect an answer but I won’t let that stop me anymore. Jo needs to know how I feel about her so she never doubts how deeply I love her.
And how desperately I want her.