West
By the time we get to Minnesota, I’m beyond exhausted. The trip to Alaska is always a bear, but starting in Los Angeles is a lot different than starting in Atlanta. Then it feels like one game, one flight, one practice after another. Coach Teller makes us watch video daily when we’re on the road since, ostensibly, we don’t have any other obligations.
And I have to admit it helps.
We’re undefeated so far this trip.
But today we’re back in Minnesota. Thankfully, it’s the last time I’ll go up against DeMarco this season, but now that I know he’s Joey’s father, I’m even more apprehensive about seeing him.
Coach let us sleep in this morning, and we’re just getting to the arena at four-thirty. There will be a team meal, and then we all have different pre-game rituals, but we keep everything low-key on the road.
“Dude, the girls are having a blast!” Bodi says to me as we head to the dressing room.
“What?” I glance at him in confusion.
“They’re out buying a car! How did you talk her into letting you buy her one?”
I frown. “Bodi, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“They’re buying her an SUV right now. They’re at the dealershipand Jayne is sending me pictures.” He holds out his phone, and I stare at the pictures, flipping from one to the other. Serena leaning against a shiny red Toyota Rav-4, a huge smile on her face. Jayne and Serena standing on either side of the car giving thumbs up. Serena dangling what I assume is a new key fob.
What the hell is happening? She never mentioned getting a new car. Of course, we haven’t talked at all in the last four days. We’ve texted good morning and good night but haven’t actually had a conversation. She did send me a picture of a pair of her panties last night—pink and lacy—but that’s as close to conversation as we’ve come.
It feels like she’s been holding out on me.
“You didn’t give her the money?” Bodi asks, clearly confused.
He can’t be nearly as confused as I am, but I’m not going to air our dirty laundry until I’ve had a chance to talk to her.
“I have to hit the head,” I mumble, making a quick exit.
As soon as I get out into the hallway, I dial her number. To my frustration, it goes straight to voicemail. If she’s actually in the middle of buying a car, that makes sense, but…why wouldn’t she have said something? Even if it was just a quick text?
That weird, uncomfortable feeling starts winding its way through my gut—the same one I felt every time I saw Briar with her ex. Every time she cut a date short because she was tired. Every time she whispered that she was with me, even though her heart wasn’t in it.
Fuck, I’m so tired of feeling like this.
I lean against the wall, trying to calm my nerves when I hear a familiar but unwelcome voice.
“Look who’s back in Minneapolis.”
I glare at DeMarco.
“Don’t you have a whole other side of the arena to be on?” I ask.
“Had a meeting.” He shrugs. “But this is good. I wanted to talk to you.”
I don’t respond, merely stand there, waiting for whatever it is he wants to say. I’m sure it’s about Serena. Or Serena and Joey. Or some other thing I’m not going to like.
“Look, I know we’ve had our issues in the past,” he says, in the most unreasonably reasonable tone I’ve ever heard in my life. “But this is different. Joey’s my son. And Serena was mine first.”
I don’t react, merely waiting for whatever bombshell he’s going to drop.
“She told me you guys are still pretty new, so I’m asking you, man to man, to walk away. Let me have my girl and my kid. It’s the right thing to do.”
“The right thing for whom?” I ask quietly. “If you truly cared for Serena or your kid, you wouldn’t have threatened her and walked away four years ago.”
He waves an impatient hand. “I was dumb, okay? My frontal lobe still wasn’t fully formed—but I’m different now. I’ll be thirty in another year. It’s time to settle down, and since I already have the kid—why not Serena?” He winks. “She’s still pretty hot, even after having a baby.”