lock when I leave." I nodded, and he pulled the blanket up to my chest and quietly took me in. There was longing in his eyes, like once he left he'd never see me again. My brows pulled together and my heart dropped.
Leaning down, he gently kissed my forehead, then pressed his lips to mine. My hand cupped the back of his head as he kissed me like he was saying goodbye forever, a thought that terrified me.
Kova pulled back and I licked my lips.
"By the way, I would find you anywhere." I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "You said you are going to move so I cannot show up whenever I wanted. Ria, I will always find you. You have a part of me that no one has ever had, as I do with you."
Then he was gone.
Sixty
Despite the odds, I walked into World Cup the following morning feeling a little recharged.
I fell asleep shortly after Kova left with a lot still on my mind, though I slept soundlessly, even if it was only for a couple of hours. That's what exhaustion did to me. On days when my body just couldn’t take another minute, it fell into a deep slumber and I slept like the dead. Everything was put on hold and that's it. I wish sleep always happened like that. Most days I tossed and turned in bed no matter how tired I was.
I sighed. I still needed to call and get the results of my blood work. I'd missed the doctor's office call three times now due to training, and because I had forgotten to call back. It slipped my mind and I assumed them calling meant they found the reason behind my low vitamin levels. I prayed they had a better alternative to the damn shots they had prescribed. I wasn't sure how much more I could take of those.
Speaking of shots, I'd have to ask Hayden to give me another injection soon.
I'd gotten to practice early to see how Kova was doing. With the way he was last night, I was worried about him. Something wasn't sitting well with me and I had this gut feeling he was trying to tell me something more. We never had sex like that. Kova never showed his emotions, because it made him vulnerable, and he never allowed himself to be exposed. But last night he had, and I wanted to understand why. More than that, I wanted him to tell me what was on his mind yesterday. I planned to leave our notebook in his desk at some point, so he could write down his thoughts.
Though we both expressed ourselves through touch last night and kissed our pain away, I knew Kova did better with writing it.
But he still wasn't here, which I found strange.
I quickly checked my cell phone to see if I had a text from him, but I didn't. I did have one from my dad checking on how I was doing, which I responded to, and one from Avery, which I ignored. I couldn't deal with her right now. I wasn't ready for that.
Stuffing my bag into my locker, I snuck the notebook into Kova's desk, then I made my way to the gym and started my morning conditioning for the next hour before practice began.
I couldn't stop checking the front door to see if he was about to walk in. Unease settling into my stomach, I was so anxious. Two hours passed and Kova still wasn't here. I was beginning to fear something had happened to him.
"What are you looking for?" Reagan asked, fixing her ponytail. She stomped her feet in chalk.
"What do you mean?"
"You keep looking at the front door. Are your parents coming to town since we have qualifications soon? Mine always come when there's a huge meet the week before. I hate it. It stresses me out big time, but they want to be there for me."
I regarded her, wondering why she was actually going out of her way to talk to me. "Yeah, my dad said he was going to try and come earlier. Apparently he has business in the next town over." The lie rolled off my tongue much too easily.
"That's cool. Are they going to dinner after?"
Creases formed between my eyes. I really wanted to ask her why she was talking to me.
"Dinner?"
"Yeah, there’s a big parent-coach dinner planned, but I think they're celebrating too."
I shrugged, applying chalk to my feet too. "Maybe,