Page 89 of Blindside Me
“We’ve heard so much about you!” Maddy beams.
About me or about me and Drew?
I stiffen.
Callie covers, chatting easily. We talk about team updates, campus gossip, and tournament plans, but the back of my mind is racing.
“It’s always boring when the guys have away games,” Amanda says. “But Blake says Drew was on fire last night. His defensive plays have never been sharper.”
I try not to blush.
I fail.
Maddy laughs. “We were starting to wonder if Drew would ever let loose again. He’s been so serious since his suspension.”
Their laughter is casual, but it leaves a burn.
They don’t know the Drew who presses bruising kisses into your skin like he’s starving.
They don’t know how his walls drop when you catch him off guard.
But I do.
I smile tightly. “Maybe he decided he likes being boring?”
They laugh and move on.
And I pretend it doesn’t sting.
We’re just settling into a rhythm when my phone buzzes again.
I expect Drew.
It’s not.
Unknown Number: We should catch up after the game next week. We have unfinished business.
My face pales. Hands tremble before I can stop them. I set my phone down too fast, the clatter drawing Callie’s attention. Suddenly, the café is too loud, too bright, the walls closing in.
It has to be Roman. The ex who spent months tearing me down and made sure everyone knew it. The guy who turned our private moments into locker room jokes. The guy who showed up drunk at my door, sometimes begging, sometimes threatening.
And now he’s back. I knew we had to face his team next weekend, but I blocked it out.
“You okay?” Callie asks, voice low.
“I’m fine,” I lie.
The conversation around me blurs. Maddy’s talking fundraisers. Amanda’s listing local bars.
I hear none of it.
I fight to keep breathing.
Roman doesn’t matter. He’s the past. A toxic, manipulative past that I’ve worked hard to leave behind. But one text and I’m right back there, weak and exposed.
The coffee turns bitter now.
What does Roman want? Why now? Is it because he knows about Drew? He always had a sixth sense for when I was moving on, swooping in just as I started to feel okay again.
