Page 106 of Bad Teammate
“Yeah—”
“Oh, thank God!” He sounded like he was running. “Where are you two?”
“We’re at your pla—”
“Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be there in a few.”
“Okay, but um, just so you know—” I began, wanting to warn him about the state of his condo.
But,beep,he’d already hung up and the call had ended.
The stressed and strained affect in Derek’s voice had me worried. Was he livid after their fight? Was he looking for a rematch with Sasha? WasIgoing to have to try to break up a fight between two enormous pro athletes?
Even if that wasn’t his intention, once he saw the state of his condo, there was no way there wouldn’t be a second round of fisticuffs.
“Welp.” I sheepishly handed my brother his cell phone back. “He’s on his way. He said he’ll be here in a few. And he sounds like he’s out of breath. So … I don’t know what that means.”
“Shit,” Sasha mumbled. “He’s going to flip out when he sees what I did to his place.”
We cleaned as fast as we could, even if we knew it was futile. There was no possible way we could make a dent in the mess before Derek drove over from the arena.
A few minutes later, the sound of a key sliding into the door alerted us that he was just outside. I ran to the door and opened it before he could. I slithered through the door and joined him in the hall, pulling the door shut behind me.
The sight of his swollen wounds made my stomach flutter. A line of stitches held the gnarled flesh above his eye together. One eye was already turning black. His bottom lip was busted open and fat.
“Hey, babe,” he panted.
“Derek! You poor thing.” Carefully, I touched my hand to his cheek. “You’re all battered and bruised.”
“Nah, it’s nothing,” he said. “Trust me, I’ve been in worse shape.”
He tried to reach for the doorknob. I blocked his path and pressed myself against him, doing my best to soften him up and keep him calm.
“I like your outfit,” I said flirtatiously. Every hunk of muscle on his body bulged beneath his head-to-toe athletic tights. I ran my fingers over his side, tracing the chiseled outline of his obliques.
He squeezed me in his arms, but it was clear that he was still in a hurry.
He gestured at the door. “Is Niko in there? I’m in a big hurry right now, babe. I rushed over here from practice.”
“Yes, but before you go in there, I have to tell you something.”
“I wanna hear it, Kat,” he said, “but Ihaveto find Niko.”
“You’re not going to fight him, are you?”
“No.” Moving me aside, he grabbed the doorknob. “I don’twantto, anyway, but that’s kinda up to him.”
“Wait!” I shouted. “Don’t go in there—I have to tell you—”
But Derek pushed the door open and walked in. I followed closely behind him, afraid for what he was about to see. He slowed as he walked into the living room. He looked around, his jaw hanging open with shock. He stared out the broken window at the city below.
“What … the fuck … happened?” he stammered at last. “My condo, man!”
Ashamed, Sasha gazed at the floor.
“This is what I was trying to warn you about,” I said with a sigh.
“You did this?” he asked Sasha. “You did this tomyplace?”
