Page 16 of The Silent Count
Well, my father appears to be none the wiser about Fortune and me, but man does it hurt my heart to lie to him.
* * *
By the timeI settle under the thick comforter on top of my bed an hour later, there’s already a message waiting from Lucky Charm on my home screen.
Lucky Charm:You’ve been quiet tonight. I’m hoping that means you took my suggestion to get out more.
Ladybug:You’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that I did, in fact, take your advice.
Lucky Charm:Didn’t you say it was supposed to rain yesterday?
Ladybug:I did get a bit wet. Somewhat… unexpectedly, you could say.
Ladybug:It wasn’t as bad as it sounds though.
Not at all, I think to myself.
Lucky Charm:I’m sure it’s nothing a long, hot shower couldn’t fix.
Lucky Charm:Glad to hear you had fun.
Ladybug:Maybe I’ll take your suggestions more often.
Lucky Charm:That’ll be the day *laughing emoji*
Lucky Charm:Goodnight.
A sinkingfeeling settles in my stomach knowing that Fortune and I’s first night together—possibly our only night together has ended. I release a pent-up breath as I type out the word I’ve been dreading saying since the moment I got in his car yesterday.
Ladybug:Goodnight.
SEVEN
FORTUNE
“Parker,are you coming to Lea’s party tonight?” Gonzales calls over the lockers. “Need to plan ahead if you’re going to be putting moves on my future girlfriend all night.”
I roll my eyes with a chuckle.
I find it adorable that he thinks he has the chance at landing a girl like Lea. It’s even funnier that he doesn’t seem to care about Coach’s warning. Part of me wonders if Phil didn’t lay it on as thick with this rookie class as he did with me when I signed.
Granted, Gonzales is freshly twenty-two and Lea is nearing twenty-eight. The guy might have a crush on her, but it’s one sided at best because she’d never go for someone that young.
“I’ll be there.”
I make eye contact with October, who’s sporting raised brows like he can’t believe I’m actually coming. I’ll be the first to admit two parties in one season is out of the ordinary for me. On second thought, I’m not sure if I’ve ever evenconsideredattending two parties in a season, let alone in the same month. If you count the yacht party I went to for Mae’s birthday right before the roster was finalized, that makes the total three which is unheard of for me.
There are players, like Calhoun, who won't miss out on any chance to party or attend an event. He finds amusement in schmoozing with sponsors, whereas people like Abel and I can’t be bothered with it unless we want to feel like we got our souls sucked out.
I think that’s one of the biggest misconceptions about being a professional athlete. Growing up, it is a dream job—playing on television, big checks, and winning rings. Once you get here, you realize there’s a lot more expected of you than the simple task of playing well. A few months in, the awareness hits that this is like any other job, and at the end of the day, The League is a business. Even if you have the best job in the world, there are still aspects of your work that you don’t love. Parties and social events just so happen to be ones I typically loathe.
In part, because I’m protective of my time and who I spend it with. More often than not, these events are soul sucking, and the only reason I’ve considered these few are because of Lea.
Two dozen squealingoohhs erupt around the room, but I brush them off with an eye roll. Those guys assuming Lea and I are a couple all because we showed up at a party together is proof that they need to improve their judgment when it comes to dating.
A week later, they're still unaware of what happened after we left the party. Not that it's any of their business to begin with.
“Listen up!” Abel’s voice booms through the locker room. For a dude who doesn’t speak up much, it’s somewhat terrifying if you’ve never heard him do so before. Which might be why some rookies on the opposite side of the room look like they’re half a second away from shitting their pants. “Fortune is not dating Lea. He drove her to a party and back to her car. A party thatyou—” He points a finger at Tommy. “—asked us to carpool to so you didn’t have four dozen cars lining the streets of your neighborhood. Stop making something out of nothing.”
