Page 52 of Force Play

Chapter 18

Dom

Everyone is heading to Draft to celebrate the Bandits beating the Rose City Roasters and the whole crew is waiting for me when I step out of the locker room. The girls have their heads together, leaning against the black brick wall and the guys are spread out on the couch, their focus on their significant others. At some point in the last two years almost all of my friends found love. Watching each of them turn into absolute simps for their women only makes me want the same thing more. Someday soon I’ll step out in this hallway and find my firecracker waiting for me.

“I’m worried about her,” Lilah whispers, her expression soft.

“She said she wanted to stay in.” Poppy sighs.

“I know. I just don’t like that she’s alone. Maybe we should let the guys go to Draft and head to her place. You know . . . just check in.”

Bracing my shoulder against the wall I casually scroll my phone far enough from the girls that no one suspects anything, but close enough to hear the conversation.

From what the guys have let slip over the last two days I know that Mia and Poppy got home late last night and spent most of the day with Indie. None of my friends were very pleased with me when they found out I knew about Indie’s crash and didn’t tell anyone.

With as much nonchalance as I could muster, I told them it wasn’t my place. Who Indie wanted to know was up to her.

“Lilah, I get it. It’s killing me to stay away too, but she’s stubborn. And right now, bombarding her is only going to make her more withdrawn. I think we need to let her be,” Mia says, siding with Poppy.

As Bri pointed out, I’m persistent as fuck and a little stupid for this girl. I know this plan could backfire but it’s not going to stop me from trying. The girls had one thing right, Indie shouldn’t be alone right now.

I slip out of the locker room before anyone can stop me, claiming I have a headache. I just have one quick stop to make on my way to her apartment. If I’m right, it’ll be what saves me from getting my ass chewed out when I show up at her door uninvited, again.

Thirty minutes later, with a shopping bag dangling from my fingertip, I’m practically whistling as I wait at Indie’s door. I’m about to knock again, but the telltale click clack of her approach finally comes.

“It’s you.” Her greeting is flat. Some people might be discouraged by the lackluster welcome, but not me. I’m hyper focused on the way my basketball shorts hang off her hips, leaving an expanse of skin exposed below the tattered hem of the thin tank top she’s wearing.

Picking my jaw up off the floor my gaze moves to her face. The vibrant spark of life that belongs in Indie’s eyes is missing. My firework is letting her fuse burn out and that bothers me—like really fucking gets under my skin. There’s more going on here than just being bummed over her injury and I’m going to coax it out of her sooner or later. My sister tells me my inability to quit is one of my most annoying qualities. But when someone I care about is hurting it feels more like a superpower.

“It’s me,” I say, remembering why I’m here in the first place. “And I brought you something.”

Dark hair falls over her eyes as she cocks her head eying the plastic shopping bag. “I’m not really in the mood for games.”

“Well, shit.” That sucks because that’s exactly what I brought. “Are you sure? It’s your favorite.”

“Tell me about your mom.” My lips graze the smattering of stars and planets inked across her collarbone. I know asking is risky, but it’s been nagging at me since Indie told me she got the tattoo in memory of her. We’ve spent hours in bed exploring each other physically, but I want to know something deeper than how hard I can make her come on my tongue. Moving along her chest I kiss every dot of ink marking her skin until I reach her neck.

“My mom was everything, a personality as big as the galaxy and a heart that couldn’t be contained within this universe. She was the center of my world, the calm to my storm . . . just all of it.”

“Sounds like someone I know.”

Her puff of laughter ruffles my hair. “You don’t know me that well. And you didn’t know her.” There’s nothing but admiration in her voice as her eyes grow misty. “She was endlessly giving and kind. Even when she was exhausted from chemo, she was there with a warm smile, playing board games with Poppy and I. Losing her broke part of me and I’m not sure I’ll ever be the same.”

“What was your favorite game to play with her?”

She hits me with a painfully beautiful smile. “Sorry. We all loved it. She played until the very end, even when she could barely move the pieces. Her head would be on the floor next to the board and she’d keep going until she knew whatever nonsense Poppy was dealing with at home was evened out by love and attention from her.”

“And she passed that fierce loyalty on to both of you.” My hand cradles the side of her face, tracing my thumb along her jaw. “Did you, or did you not, threaten bodily harm to Hendrix if he hurt Poppy again?”

Sucking her cheek like it’s painful for her to admit that I might be right, she finally sighs and says, “Yeah, I did that.”

“And you did it in your own terrifying way, I’m sure.” I kiss the swell of her breast right over her heart. “You might not be a mirror image of your mom, but those qualities you love about her, they’re engraved on your heart.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Pulling away from my hand she rolls her head to the side looking out the window at the night sky.

My fingers trace the words inked into her stars. “That’s fine, because I am, and she was too. Neither of us will let you forget how to soar, Firecracker.” She stays silent, her throat bobbing as swallows roughly. Nothing good will come from pushing her, not yet. She might trust me with her body, but that bond doesn’t extend beyond the bubble of this bed, so I change topics. “Do you still play?”

“The board stayed at my dad’s. It didn’t feel right to take it out of our home. Poppy and I used to play when she visited, but that happens less than it used to. Dad doesn’t play and I can’t bring myself to buy a board of my own.”

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