Page 56 of 7 Nights of Sin

"From where?"

"Dinner. With one of my teammates. You don't have to worry, I'm not up to the old shit."

She laughed again, and it was nice to have made her laugh twice in one conversation. "I wasn't worried. I think you've learned your lesson. I think...this isn't really a phone conversation. Do you want to come over?"

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, blinking in surprise. It seemed like a big thing to be invited to Caro's apartment. I knew she was private.

"Sure. Yeah. I can do that. I can get a car right now. Text me the address?"

"Okay. I'll see you soon, then."

The address came through just a bit later, and I was already arranging a car over to her place, heart pounding. If she was just going to tell me to fuck off, she could have done that over the phone.

Unless she just wanted to let me down gently or something and didn't want to be callous about it. But then she could have come to my place or met me somewhere neutral.

For Caro, having me over had to be an intimate sort of thing. Right?

My mind was twisting over itself in circles, going round and round with the possibilities, and I had to make myself stop and breathe and focus on the way over there. I didn't want to come off as desperate and weird any more than I already had.

Her building was in one of the nicer areas of town, and I caught the door as one of her neighbors came out, heading for the elevators so I could go up to her floor.

I remembered the address from when I'd sent her coffee and pastries, of course, and I remembered how I'd wanted to come deliver them myself but knew she wouldn't let me get close to her door if she knew.

It was so different now, and that felt like ages ago.

I knocked when I got to her door, and I could hear her moving around inside before she came to let me in.

She was dressed down and comfortable for the weekend, her hair in a thick braid over one shoulder, sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt completing the look.

It could have been frumpy on anyone else, but she was managing to look cozy enough that it made me want to curl up with her.

Caro smiled when she saw me and stepped back to let me in.

"Hi," I said, hoping I didn't sound too nervous.

"Hey. Welcome to the mess."

I glanced around, and of course her apartment wasn't messy. There were dishes in the sink and a blanket on the couch, but those were just signs of it being lived in.

"So," she continued before I could say anything. "I um. I guess we should talk."

I nodded. "Should we sit?"

"Yeah. Yes. Let's sit down."

Caro took the armchair and I took the couch, and we looked at each other for a long moment, neither of us speaking up just yet.

"I missed you," I finally said. "After having you back in my life, a week seemed like a long time."

She fiddled with the end of her braid, eyes on her lap. "You know, you're right. Six years without seeing you, and then you come crashing back into my life, and suddenly I'm thinking about you all the time. What's that about?"

"It's my magnetic personality," I teased her lightly. "But you're the same, you know. I saw you once and then I couldn't stop thinking about you. That time you came to the gym to talk to me? You were in my head the whole rest of my workout. And after it." I gave her a significant look, and she blushed, picking up on what I meant immediately.

"Yeah, well. There were some nights like that for me, too. None of them compared to the real thing."

"Same for me. Imagining that I had you was not even close to actually having you." I sucked in a breath and then let it out. "I'm sorry," I said. "I should have said that before."

"For what?"

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