Page 225 of Catch Me
“No,” I said immediately.
“Boo. Your dad’s a dick. Since I’m the only one who’s met him, I should be him.” He cleared his throat and leaned his elbows on the bar. “Hey, Rome. Why’d you kiss that hunk of man?”
The deep voice he put on made me choke on my beer. “Bro, what the hell was that?”
“I don’t know. It sounded like him. At least, after I throat punch him.”
Despite everything, I burst into laughter, along with the rest of them. I realized, not for the first time, how lucky I was to have these guys in my corner. If I hadn’t run away from Travis, it was unlikely we’d all be here like this, making jokes to keep the bad shit at bay. Without them, I didn’t think I’d have the courage to do what had to be done, so for that, I was incredibly grateful.
Chapter 73
Roman
“What if we did this somewhere public,” I suggested.
“Is that what you want to do?” Travis asked calmly from the couch.
I chewed on the skin around my nails as I continued to pace. My studio was too small to make it satisfying, but I couldn’t stop. I was starting to feel like Travis. Pace, pace, pace. He did it all the time, though, not just when he was stressed.
“I can invite all the guys over,” he said. “Not public, but it’d be intimidating as hell. He wouldn’t be that much of a dick, then.”
“He would.”
“Well, it’s probably a bad idea. If he says something rude, there are at least two in the group who would throw hands.”
“You wouldn’t?” I asked, smiling a little.
“Do I have permission to hit your dad? Just kidding. I wouldn’t do that unless you were in danger or you asked me to.”
That was weirdly sweet, but I couldn’t fully appreciate it in my current state. It’d been over a month since the game, and I couldn’t put it off any longer. Travis did a bunch of team shit, interviews and the like, then he told them that he’d be gone for a week and wouldn’t answer his phone. He got in yesterday, my dad would be here today, and I’d have five days with my boyfriend afterward, which might consist of me being depressed and worrying the hell out of him, but we’d see how it went.
I hadn’t answered any of my dad’s questions, and he was still demanding explanations, as if there was some other reason I’d kissed Travis on live TV. He was coming all the way to Seattle, so he hadn’t written me off yet. Maybe that meant there was hope. Some people gradually became more open when it was their own child, but after what he’d told my mom, I didn’t have high expectations.
Travis stood and came over to me. Sometimes, when he approached me, I felt like I had over winter break—a mixture of uncertainty and hope. It gave way to familiarity and comfort. It was still so early in our relationship, but the connection I felt with him made it seem like it’d been longer. If I hadn’t run the first time, we’d be coming up on a year, but we were here now.
“Relax,” he instructed softly.
“Don’t say stupid shit like that.”
“Are we back to not being agreeable?”
“Today, yes.” I watched him pour a cup of coffee, which was his fourth by my count. “It’s almost five. You’re not gonna sleep tonight.”
“It doesn’t do shit to me.”
“Why do you drink it?”
“Good question.”
“I’m done with your bullshit today.”
When I tried to walk off, he stepped into my path. “Breathe.”
“No.”
“Breathe.”
“No.”
