Bags and gear were being collected, last drinks guzzled as more departure preparations took place.
“Thanks, Roller,” Karver called. He was usually pretty quiet and one of the guys who didn’t give Henrik much shit. Was it because he liked him or didn’t? Henrik could never tell.
Still no Jacqui though. Where is she?
He was turning to head back upstairs when Vanessa cut off his path with one smooth step. Her usually cool expression was gone though, replaced by something that would be called warm on others, odd on her. Apprehension prickled over his skin as he looked for a dodge or pick, anything that’d get him out of the encounter. Her hand was oddly gentle on his arm when he’d expected a firm hold.
“You’re changing, Henrik.” The statement didn’t require an answer so he gave none. Just like he hadn’t the twenty other times in the last two months he’d heard it. “I think for the better. I hope it is for you, because that’s what’s most important.”
Again, no answer for that. He swallowed, stared down at her dark eyes and waited.
“Be careful though.”
His dry laugh was void of humor. “About what?” he couldn’t help but ask. There was so many damn things waiting to fuck him up.
“All of it.” She shifted in under the pretense of letting someone pass behind her, but she stayed there, too close yet not intimate. “Let me know what I can do. I’m here as your friend too.”
She waited for his nod of confirmation before walking away. That was it. Direct and stunning once again. His friend? It was a new concept from her, yet he got that she cared.
He said a few more goodbyes then headed back upstairs, still looking for Jacqui. He froze when he spotted her coming out of his bedroom, full backpack slung over her shoulder. Head down, hair blocking her face.
She didn’t look up as she wove through the thinning crowd. Her path clearly marked for the front door before she pulled up. Her shoulders heaved, and he was moving to her. Had something else happened? Her chin lifted as he reached her, a thin smile pasted on in false joy.
“There you are,” she chirped, tone too bright for her expression. “Max called. He’s sick and needs me to cover his shift at the store. I’m sorry about taking off like this, but I owe him. I can’t really say no.”
She was leaving. He eyed the fullness of her backpack, the cracks in her story. Her departure plan was being put into action.
His stomach ground around the sick weight of understanding. Running. He sniffed, debated what to say. “Is this about what I said?” I love you. That was all it’d taken. Three words to end their relationship. Fuck.
Her brows drew down. “What you said?” She shook her head. “No. I have to work. That’s all.”
The lie strung between them, wrapped in barbed wire and ready to rip him to pieces if he touched it. Hold it together.
“I’ll see you later then, after work. Right?” He laid out the line of hope even though her path was clear. She wouldn’t be sleeping here tonight, unlike every other night this month when he’d been home.
Her light touch on his bicep barely penetrated the coldness creeping over him. “I’m really tired after today and we both have early mornings. I think I’m going to crash at home tonight.”
And takeoff had commenced.
“I leave tomorrow after our game.” The ice in his veins had attached to his vocal chords, freezing them into a monotone. “I’ll be on the road until Friday.”
“Damn.” She cringed over what he swore was relief. “That’s right. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” He scoffed out a laugh, eyes closing to block his hurt. “Me too.”
“Excuse me, Grenick,” a tall man with a rounding belly and thick glasses under graying hair interrupted. “I wanted to thank you for your hospitality. We had a great time today. I’ll remember that game for a long time.”
Henrik shook his hand, managed some words of thanks, watched as Jacqui gave the guy a hug before he finally left them alone.
She shifted, hitched her pack higher. “I need to go.”
He managed not to sneer at her choice of words. Need to go. Running. So fast she couldn’t wait to get away from him. So much for the slow exit plan.
“I’ll call, okay?” Her hug was brief, her eyes blinking rapidly when she pulled away. “Good luck in your games.”