Page 80 of Love me, Maddie Mendoza

“You don’t need to give me the rehearsed line.”

My eyebrows shot up, and I relaxed in the chair. “I miss it.” I replied, stronger this time.

“People sometimes don’t get it that some things are part of who we are. You know my family are mechanics, right?”

I shook my head. I knew she altered cars for fun. I didn’t know it was a family trade.

“It’s everything to us.” She drank from her cup, watching me over the rim. “It’s survival and a way of life. It’s family and everything in between.”

I dipped my chin, understanding what she was saying. “I miss it hard.”

Cathy chuckled, happy she got something from me.

“You still play though?”

“For fun.” I nodded. “I worked my ass off in physiotherapy to get there.” Maddie worked my ass, but I didn’t say that. I canceled my date with Cathy because of Jason, but I still felt weird for all my feelings when I promised that Maddie and I weren’t a thing.

It felt like a lie, even though it wasn’t a lie at the time.

“Maybe that’s for the best.” She lifted a shoulder. “Not everything has to be a career. Jackson, my older brother, he used to love to go to work. And now it’s bills and admin work. Sometimes he spends days in the office, not a lick of grease under his nails. That’s no way to live.”

I chuckled. “You’re a strange woman, Cathy.”

She giggled and looked away, sipping from her beer.

“You’re right.” I accepted. “I wasn’t ready to quit, but I didn’t want it to take over my life. Let the game play me instead.” I shrugged. “It’s a toss of a coin. Some days I feel like it was for the best, that I still have the best parts of it. And some days I feel like my life is over.”

Cathy turned her body toward me. She wasn’t making a move, as much as it might appear to other people. I could see that her expression wasn’t sexual, just kinship.

“It isn’t over until you say so, King. I hope you know that.”

I agreed. Yeah, the feeling I fucked my life on that day back on the court wasn’t haunting me anymore. Not like it used to be, when I spent hours thinking it over, blaming myself for the wrong move. I opened my mouth to ask how she was so versatile in loss when a movement caught my attention.

Maddie stood there, arm looped around Aisha’s, both of them staring at me with fire in their eyes.

“There you are.” It was Aisha who spoke.

“Glad you could make it.” I tried a half smile. Aisha looked like she was ready to kill me, and I dropped the smile. Maddie was looking down at her shoes. When she looked up, her mouth was set in a line and her brow furrowed.

“Hey, Cathy.” She forced it out.

“Hi, Maddie. You look amazing,” the woman by my side said.

Maddie was wearing a dress today. It was loose but somehow highlighted her curves. The fabric was soft in a pale green shade. She was so fucking beautiful.

“Thank you.” Maddie strangled out.

“Is everything ok?” I asked, standing up.

Maddie was acting weird and Aisha was looking me up and down like it was the first time she was seeing me. Something was up, something that I should know about.

“It’s all good.” Maddie replied too fast.

Before I could dig deeper, she turned on her heels, dragging Aisha with her, and left the yard. My confusion must have been showing in my face as I stared at the backdoor long after they went through it.

The sound of Cathy’s chuckles made me remember she was still there. “No Zaddie, huh?”

My brow furred further. Yes, my mind was a mess these days, but the situation remained the same. There was no Zaddie to be talked about.

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