Page 19 of Power Play

“Look, dude,” I say, “I stopped to grab some food, and I ran into Whitley Brown,” I say, my voice hushed.

“Bro! Whitley? She fuckinglovedyou, dude!”

“I know,” I say, “and apparently, she still does. She invited me back to her place. Is that cool?”

He laughs on the other end of the line.

“Fucker. Back in town for two minutes and already getting more tail than I have in a fucking year. 'Course, dude. We’ll hook up tomorrow.”

I laugh.

“Thanks, man. I’ll call you in the morning. And I’ll bring your car back.”

He laughs.

“Deal.”

I hang the phone up and plug in the code to unlock the door that she had just put in when we walked up. I close it and lock up, slip off my shoes, and walk up the stairs. Her bedroom door is open, and when I walk toward the doorway, she’s pulling a hoodie on over her head. She jumps when she sees me.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

I walk into the room and take off my sweatshirt.

“I’m staying here tonight,” I tell her. Her eyes widen. “If that’s okay?” I ask.

She thinks for a moment, then she nods slowly.

“Okay,” I tell her. “I’ll be down the hall in Tyson’s old room if you need anything.”

She stares up at me for a minute, then she crosses the floor and dives into my arms. I catch her and hold her tight, stroking her hair again.

“Hey,” I whisper, “it’s all gonna be okay.” I hold her till she stops crying again, then let her go. But as I turn to walk out the door, she calls my name.

“Could you…could you stay in here?” she asks.

I swallow and blow out a breath.

Fuck.

Guess I won’t be sleeping much tonight. I nod.

“Yeah,” I say. “I’ll be right back.”

I walk down the hallway to Tyson’s old room and grab a pillow and blanket from the bed. I carry it down the hall to her room and plop them down on the floor. She raises an eyebrow. I lean forward and kiss the top of her head again.

“I’ll be right here,” I say. She smiles faintly, then climbs into bed and turns off the light.

The next morning, I’m already up when her eyes flutter. Sleeping on a hard floor is a lot harder in my late twenties than it was in my teens. I’ve been watching her sleep for a few hours now, and I’m just so glad she was actually able to.

When she opens her eyes and looks down at me, she actually smiles, and it makes my whole body loosen up. The old Lo is still in there somewhere.

“Mornin',” I say.

“Morning,” she says. “How’s your back?”

I smile and sit up.

“I’ll bounce back. I’m an athlete, remember?” I say with a wink. I hop to my feet and fold up the blanket. “I probably should get your brother’s car back to him.”

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