Page 24 of All I Want

Chapter 6

Alex:Can’t wait to see you in my jersey tonight at the game.

Maggie:I hope I can make it. I’m so buried today.

Alex:That’s what you said about the last game.

Alex watched the text dots pop up on his phone. They vanished, and a few seconds later popped up again. He hated that he was basically begging her to spend time with him. The last week had been insane with their schedules. He’d had a quick two-game road trip at the beginning of the week, and as soon as he was back, she’d had an overnight shift at the hospital.

But she’d told him she was going in late tomorrow, so tonight’s game was perfect. They could spend the night together. That’s all he wanted: to spend time with her.

And maybe more. But he’d start with that.

He was beginning to wonder if she was pulling away from him.

He shook his head.

They’d been here before. He’d thought they’d moved past that.

The text dots popped up again.

Maggie:I’ll try my best to get out of here on time, but I’m too exhausted to go out for drinks after.

He barely resisted the urge to pump his fist in the air.

He knew she was exhausted. Hell, she’d almost fallen asleep on top of her plate of spaghetti the other night when he’d shown up at her house with takeout.

Alex:Can’t wait to see you tonight.

Later that night, he looked for her in the stands during warm-ups, but she wasn’t there. Probably stuck at work. He went on to get an assist in the third period, and the Strikers won two to one, but Maggie never showed up.

It pissed him off. It shouldn’t. He should understand how busy she was. But this was important to him, and he hated that he didn’t know where they stood. After last week, he’d thought he’d been clear.

He took a quick shower and then grabbed his cell from his locker, turning it on.

Maggie:I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it to the game. I got held up waiting for some test results for Henry and then my boss needed to meet with me. I promise I’ll be there for the next game. Kick ass tonight. I can’t wait to see you soon.

Fuck. Why did it sound like a brush-off? Why had she said soon instead of tonight? Jesus. How much overanalyzing could he do?

Alex:I get it. Hopefully the results for Henry were positive, and maybe you’ll be able to come to the next game. You still up?

Maggie:Yeah, but I’m exhausted. Can we skip tonight?

Alex:I promise we will just sleep.

Maggie:It’s never just sleeping when we’re in the same bed. I had a shitty day.

He couldn’t imagine having her job, the day in and day out of sick kids and bad news. But he wanted to help her get through her awful days, to unwind with him. He wanted her to know she could rely on him to help her de-stress from her shitty days.

Alex:Just sleep. I promise. I sleep better when you’re in my arms.

The text dots popped up, then vanished again. He took in a deep breath when they danced across his screen again.

Maggie:Okay. I’ll see you soon.

He set his phone aside and finished getting dressed. After giving a few sound bites, he was back in his car and driving to her house. They had a lot to talk about, but he wouldn’t spring it on her tonight. Tonight they would sleep, and tomorrow they would figure out what the fuck was going on between them. He hoped she was as invested as he was.

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