Page 18 of The Right Move

5

INDY

“Indy, I’m just saying, if you need a place to crash, my bed is available.” Rio, a third-year defenseman for the Chicago Raptors sits in the barstool next to mine, facing me and ignoring his two teammates across the table. “You don’t have to pay rent. I’d be happy, thrilled, to have you.”

“Jesus, Rio,” Zanders laughs. “Let it go. She’s got a spot. Indy isn’t moving in.”

Rio’s face falls as the rest of us laugh at his disappointment, but he’s known my answer since he offered his bachelor pad to me last June.

“Thanks, Rio.” I sling an arm over his shoulders as I sit next to him at a local bar in downtown Edmonton. “But being roommates is tricky business and I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

I emphasize the word friendship.

His green eyes begin to sparkle. “You know what they say about friends. Some of the best relationships start as—”

Curling my hand around his neck, I silence him with a palm over his mouth. “Not gonna happen, buddy.”

I feel his cheeky smile stretch against my palm. “A man can dream, Indigo.”

Regardless that nothing would ever happen between me and Rio, I wouldn’t risk our friendship. Rio is too young, too sweet, and too naïve to be anything more than my friend, but even if he were my age and his house wasn’t filled with parties and late nights on the Xbox, I truly love having him as a friend.

Besides, I have nothing left to give someone else. Alex took it all. The only thing I could possibly offer is a physical relationship, something to add that last piece of separation between my ex and me, but there’s no way I’m letting Rio know that’s where my head is.

He’ll offer and I’ll say no…again.

He checked in on me all summer after he went home to Boston. And even though last year I wrote him off as childish, goofy, and overexcitable, I didn’t realize over the four months of off-season that he would become such a great friend. Rio genuinely cares about me, regardless that he's joking around 99% of the time.

“I’m kidding.” Rio’s shoulder nudges into mine. “I’m happy that you’re getting settled.”

“How do you like the building so far?” Maddison, Captain of the Raptors, asks me as he sits across the table with Zanders.

“It’s extravagant and beautiful and I’m trying not to get too used to the luxury lifestyle, but I’ve only slept there for one night and I have an attachment growing.”

Maddison smiles. “It’s cool you’re close by. Ryan is a good dude.”

Maddison and his family live on the penthouse floor of Ryan’s building, and Zanders and Stevie are in the building across the street. Rio’s house is about twenty minutes away, but Maddison is right; it is nice to be surrounded by friends, and takes the edge off the idea of being alone, even if I did just move in with a stranger.

“Are you doing okay over there, Zanders?” I ask the defenseman across from me as he nurses the warm beer in his hand, pouting.

“I miss Stevie.”

We try to hold it in, we really do, but a small laugh settles among the table.

The boys played last night in Vancouver and tomorrow night in Edmonton. This is the first night off while on the road, and it looks a whole lot different than it did last season for Zanders. A year ago, he was on the prowl. Tonight, he’s moping at a bar about missing his girlfriend who he hasn’t seen in forty-eight hours.

“But she got to go to Ryan’s home opener tonight which is awesome.” Zanders holds out his phone to show me a picture of number five on the basketball court, but I make sure not to linger my stare too long. “How was your first night in the apartment with him?”

“I cannot believe you live with Ryan Shay,” Rio whines, his forehead lightly banging on the tabletop in front of him. “How am I supposed to compete with that?”

I roll my eyes at his dramatics.

“To be honest, Ind, I don’t know who I’m more jealous of. If this were any other guy, I’d hate them, but this is Ryan Shay we’re talking about. I wish I were you.”

I turn back to Zanders. “To answer your question, he made me cry.”

“I’ll kill him,” Rio decides.

“Settle down there, tiger. I don’t know that it was necessarily Ryan’s fault. I think I’m just having a tough time in general.”

---