Page 59 of The Ex Puck Bunny
He adjusts his position on the sofa and says, “Tell me everything.”
“Like the mysteries of the universe or?—?”
“What happened with you and Trey?”
“You don’t want to hear that sob story.”
“I do. I knew him too.”
“Well, at least I don’t have to worry that you’ll try to tear his head off like Derek did.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.” Fire unlike anything I’ve ever seen burns in Grady’s eyes.
Nonetheless, I tell him about the whirlwind romance. “It was over in less than two weeks. The ink wasn’t yet dry on our marriage license.”
“Did you love him?”
My lips twist and I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Not love. Lust maybe. The idea of him. We’d flirted here and there. But after that game, it’s like we were possessed. I can’t explain it. I’ve had to convince myself that I don’t regret it because of Bunny. But it’s hard.”
“Being a single mom?”
“All of it.”
Grady says, “I had one of those. My dad wasn’t a part of my life.”
“You turned out great.”
He grunts.
I make Bunny’s version of the sound which is more like a cute little piggy snort.
We both chuckle, lightening the mood.
I say, “Tell me about that.”
“I’ve never told anyone.” But without a preamble, Grady tells me his life story, including how he practically raised his brother, and then the accident that took his young life, his mother’s time in jail, and then her passing. “Through it all, I had you guys.”
I feel terrible that all that was going on and I had no idea. “I was such a brat.”
“I’ve more or less known you my whole life. Your mom met my grandmother at a playgroup.”
I learn she passed away when Grady was six. My parents all but took him in. We were his refuge.
He says, “Thanks for listening.”
“No, thank you for listening to me. I’m such a mess.”
He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “Not even close.”
Grady leans in, head at an angle.
My pulse races like I’ve been skating laps.
His presence somehow occupies the entire room, filling me with something that feels better than social media likes and popularity.
Grady Federer won’t leave unless I ask him to. He won’t turn his back unless I make him.
The puck is in my zone, so to speak. What play will I make? Take a risk and let him fully into my life to see where this goes or hate him?
