Page 118 of Rewind It Back

“Maybe you won’t have to feel that way for long.”

I do my best not to react to that, not to ruin those words or push for more meaning. This could very well be her post-coital fog speaking for her. But I, instead, decide to assume those words mean what I want them to mean in hopes they might help me find sleep tonight.

Standing from the bed, I take my naked self over to the sink and wet a washcloth to wipe myself off, leaving the phone pressed to my ear.

“Are you feeling better now?” I ask.

I can hear the smile in her words. “Exponentially. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep now.”

Chuckling, I slip my sweatpants back on, dropping myself onto the mattress again. I want to talk to her all night. I want to leave this call going and set my phone next to my bed to see if that helps, but I’m also at the place where I just want to give her anything she needs from me.

“Thank you.” Her words are a whisper.

“Happy to help. Literally anytime.” I swallow hard. “I’ll let you get some sleep.”

“Wait,” she stops me quickly. “Would you... I don’t know. Do you want to stay on the phone for a while? Unless you’re tired.”

My chest squeezes the way it started doing again after she moved in next door. It might be foolish to let myself, but there’s something about her tonight that’s making me feel hopeful.Wefeel hopeful.

“Yeah. I’d love to talk to you, Hal.”

Tossing the comforter back over my body, I put my phone on speaker and leave it on the pillow next to mine.

And I can’t help the contented smile from lifting on my lips when she says, “Tell me all about your day.”

Chapter 26

Rio

The rideshare drops me and Zanders off in front of my family home.

My mom’s home.

The house I grew up in. Fuck, I don’t even know what to call it anymore.

Regardless, as soon as the car drives away, my attention immediately drifts to the house next door. Hallie’s house. Hallie’s bedroom window. The roof where we spent years falling in love with each other.

Zee zips his coat for the short walk up to the front walkway. “Hallie lived there?” He nods towards the house next to mine.

“Yeah, she moved in when she was eleven and I was twelve.”

“Is her family still there?”

“No, they moved out of the area sometime during my rookie year in the league.”

Zee is quiet for a moment and stops before we reach the front door, clearly understanding that the Hallie talk needs to be put on hold as soon as we go inside.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us about her? We’ve been friends for so long now, and this whole time, we all thought you had never been in a relationship before.”

I groan. “It’s complex, and kind of messy. And well, the entire time I’ve known you, I’ve tried my hardest to forget Hallie existed, so there’s that.”

A cheeky smile spreads across his lips. “I always wondered what you’d be like in a relationship. I thought you’d be a fucking idiot, not knowing which way was up. Like a too excitable puppy, but you seem... grounded.”

I laugh at his analogy. “Well, my mind doesn’t like to shut the fuck up most of the time, so yeah. I’ve got a lot of energy, but I don’t know. It’s always been quiet around Hal. But also, for clarification, I’m not in a relationship. She’s not interested in going there right now.”

He waves me off. “Give it time.”

“Yeah, it’s a little more complicated than that.”

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