Page 23 of The Fall

My teammates are mostly quiet on our bus ride from the Vancouver airport to our hotel. Normally Dom would be sitting next to me and I’d probably show him the text to ask for his opinion, but he’s sulking in the back of the bus.

He doesn’t know what happened on my date with Cam, but Tess told him it didn’t go well, so he tried to get details out of me. When I refused to tell him anything, he tried to dick punch me. I saw it coming and blocked the hit. He’s been avoiding me since.

I’ve kind of been in a daze since leaving Cam’s house after our date. I still don’t get what happened. It was the best date ofmy life, and then she tried to pin me down about whether I was seeing anyone else.

That caught me off guard. I was out of my mind with wanting her, and the question came out of nowhere. Then she said she’s not ready to date. After waiting a year? Even more confusing.

I accidentally left my AirPods in my seat on the plane this morning, so I had to go back for them after I’d gotten on the bus. By the time I got back to the bus, he only open seat left was next to Griff. I glance over at him.

“Hey man, got a woman in your life?”

He lowers his brows and shakes his head. Every nonverbal cue he’s sending is telling me to fuck off, but I’m not in the mood to keep brooding inside my head. I’ve been doing it for days.

“Why are they so difficult? I mean, the good ones. The ones with multiple brain cells. They basically want us to read their minds.”

“About what?” he asks gruffly, taking out one of his in-ear headphones.

I’m about to say “everything,” but that’s not a fair thing to say about Cam. We’ve always gotten along great. I once spilled some beer on her shirt over at Dom’s and I felt terrible about it. Not just because of the shirt, but because it was white and I started to get hard when I saw the outline of her nipples. She waved it off and went to Tess’s bedroom to find a shirt to change into.

Cam is cool. Understanding. Real. That’s why I’m so frustrated she dismissed me so easily.

I glance over both shoulders, confirming Dom isn’t within earshot. “I’ve been waiting almost a year for this woman to go out with me,” I say in a low tone. “And then we have the best date. It was...seriously, it was great.”

Griff’s expression is half annoyed, half disbelief. “Great for you or for her?”

“Both of us.” I cut him a glare. “Don’t treat me like I’m a fucking idiot. I took her to a restaurant she loved and then we went roller skating, which she also loved.”

He nods, satisfied. “So what’s the problem?”

“We got back to her place and we were...you know, and before any clothes came off or anything, she asked me if I was seeing anyone else.”

I pause for reaction, but he just stares at me. After a couple of seconds, his eyes widen with frustration.

“Well...? What is it? Are you dating her sister or something?”

“No, but Dom is.”

He rolls his eyes. “There’s your fucking problem. Aren’t you dipshits friends?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t wonder why no one likes you, do you? Just tell me you get that it’s your personality.”

“Fine.” He says it like I’m a toddler testing his patience. “She asks you if you’re seeing anyone else, and then what?”

I sigh heavily, remembering the moment I crashed and burned. “I told her I’m not. Then she started saying she wanted the sex tomean something. Was I supposed to bullshit her and tell her it would be a deep emotional connection? Can’t great sex just mean great sex?”

“Yeah, as long as that’s what you both want out of it. If she made you wait a year, wasn’t that a clue that she wanted more than a quick lay?”

I scowl at him. “Who says I just wanted a quick lay? I really like her, and I like her kids.”

Griff’s lips part, his eyes lighting with awareness. “She’s a single mom?”

“Yeah, she has twin boys and they’re awesome.”

He makes a fist and reaches over, using it to knock lightly on my head. “Is there anything in there? You’re confused about why a single mom wants to be careful about who she sleeps with?”

“I’m not some random guy. She’s known me for a year.”

The bus pulls up in front of our hotel. Griff unzips his bag and stuffs his earbuds into it.

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