Hard Checked (Ice Kings #4) - Stacey Lynn Page 0,72
still stuck on the possible no bra part, so it takes me a minute. “Right. Thanks. Sorry I’m late calling. Guys wanted to go party.”
Her sleepy eyes crinkle at the corners. “You deserved it. Have fun?”
“I did. We got Mikah too drunk.”
“Not nice,” she says, but she’s grinning. A cute little laugh follows her schooling.
“He’ll deal. Mostly I thought of you and wished you were here with me.”
Her eyes widen, surprised at the admission. This week has been… weird, to say the least. I thought after she came to the game she’d get that I want more. But then it seems like she pulled back.
So maybe I’m the one who’s gotten wires twisted. Maybe she really does want easy.
“That’s sweet. I watched all your games.” She scoots back on the bed and yawns again, covering it with her hand with that broken heart tattoo and fingernails that are hot pink. “I’m sorry. Long day.”
“Everything okay?”
She drops her hand and the typical, excited glimmer in her pretty eyes dims. Gigi almost always looks like she’s having the time of her life. There’s a sparkle in them that draws me to her, that pulled me in, and now it’s missing. Especially when she doesn’t answer right away.
“Hey. What is it? You can talk to me, you know?”
“I know. It’s… nothing. We can talk tomorrow. When you get back?”
For the first time since we started hanging out, I get the distinct impression she’s lying to me. Or brushing me off.
Either way, my chest constricts, like a fist is squeezing it, bringing back more pain than I’ve felt in several months.
I don’t want her to leave. I want her to trust me. I want to know what all her looks mean. All her thoughts—good and bad. Tonight isn’t the night to press. She’s tired. I’ve been drinking.
“Our plane gets in at one. Can I see you?”
“Yeah. I can meet you at your place?”
“Sure. You’re always welcome there.” This conversation isn’t going at all like I want it to, but as she fights against another yawn, this time I notice the dark rings under her eyes. She is exhausted. “I should let you go; let you get to sleep.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to talk more, but like I said… long day.”
“I get it, Gigi. No worries. See you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there.” She grins and that grin disappears as she bites her lip. It’s a nervous gesture, one that catches me by surprise. She always seems so sure of herself. “And I missed you this week. A lot.”
That fist squeezing my heart finally loosens. Finally. I sigh and my shoulders slump. “I missed you too, Gigi. Probably just as much.”
Her smile wobbles and she blows me a kiss. “Good night, Sebastian.”
“Good night, sweetheart.”
The last thing I see is her eyes blinking in surprise.
Sweetheart.
I’ve teased her with Georgia even though she finally admitted she doesn’t really like the name, but unlike her nickname for her, I’ve never given her one.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll talk. I’ll figure out what happened this week, and then we’ll move forward.
Hopefully, together.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gigi
My sandals click a rapid staccato beat on Sebastian’s wood floor. I arrived early, hoping being in his home again before him will help me gather my thoughts and everything I need to tell him.
I’m pregnant.
How exactly am I supposed to tell him this when he doesn’t think he can even make children and we’re not even really together? There’s no denying the grainy little gray blob on the small picture in my back pocket though.
It’s been a week from hell. Between an all-day exhaustion setting in that makes me feel like I’m walking through a constant fog, and decisions I’ve made with my dad regarding the bar, everything has gone wrong.
Everything is changing all over again and a part of me, a large part, wants to do exactly what I did the last time things didn’t turn out the way I imagined.
I want to slide on my running shoes and flee. I’d probably only get a mile away before I collapse from the exhaustion my body constantly feels, but I still want to run.
The only thing keeping me from doing it so far is needing to tell Sebastian. He has to know.
I only wish I knew how he was going to respond to this. I’ve imagined a thousand different scenarios this week. Multiple endings.
Only a couple of them end happily and the way I want to.