Page 57 of Buried Treasure
Chapter 19
Maybe he was wrong, but maybe he wasn't. In that moment, Andy really didn't care. He was just glad the elevator was quicker than usual and swept him away from all of that as fast as it possibly could. As the doors opened on to the cold underground parking lot, he was thankful it was deserted. He couldn't deal with people right now. Instead, he climbed in his car and slammed the door.
He was so stupid. He didn't need to go to Ryan's apartment and tell the rookie that he had finally been cleared to play. Andy could've just picked up the phone and called him. There was no need to be there in the first place. But he wanted to be there because he wanted to have an excuse to see Sydney. He had played it all our in his head.
"Oh, I was just over at Ryan's to let him know he could play again. How are you?"
He wasn't going to ask about why she hadn't called since he left her place a week ago. She probably had her reasons. He knew the case against her former boss was still hanging over her. Or maybe she would rather talk to him in person. Or maybe she somehow lost his card or didn't see his card or…
Or maybe there really was something going on between her and Ryan after all. Maybe they were hiding it from him to spare his feelings or they didn't want other people to know. At the very least, he had become well aware that Ryan didn't want him to know about Sydney.
Andy specifically remembered the look on Ryan's face as he started asking him questions.
"Is your shower running?"
Ryan's eyes had darted around nervously. "Uh, yeah," he said before throwing a completely fake grin on his face. "You told me I may be cleared to play so I started playing again, if you know what I mean." He added a wink to the end for extra emphasis.
"Yeah, sure," Andy said quickly. "Well, anyway. I just wanted to let you know that the team doctor cleared you to be back in the line up."
"Cool." Ryan had nodded his head way too much. "Cool, cool, yeah, cool."
They both heard the water shut off, and Ryan immediately started to look nervous, as if he was trying to find a way out of the conversation. Andy would've let him out too, but there was something amusing about stringing along the nervous rookie. Besides, something was up with the girl in the bathroom. Ryan rarely got nervous talking about the women he had slept with. Hell, he was more than happy to brag about them in the locker room. So this particular woman must be different. Maybe he actually liked her. Could that even be possible? Could Ryan McCloud be in a real relationship?
And then Andy heard that voice. Her voice. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as the woman came into view.
"Thank you," the woman said quietly. "I needed that."
Sydney.
She had looked at him so innocently, as if she hadn't noticed that she was talking to a man she had slept with only a week earlier. A man she had never tried to contact since then. A man who wanted so badly to trust her and believe she was different than the other women who only wanted to get closer to his players.
She was standing in Ryan's apartment in Ryan's robe with the most innocent look on her face, trying to act like nothing was wrong with the situation.
Andy banged his head against the steering wheel, which accidentally hit his car horn, the noise causing him to jolt up. For fuck's sake, he couldn't even be mad properly without messing something up. He just needed to get the hell out of there.
He finally started the car and drove out on to the streets of Detroit towards the arena. There was a game tomorrow night and he had to make sure the trainers room was all set and ready. The team had been on the road for a week. There were travel crates that needed to be unpacked and cupboards that needed to be restocked. There were things he needed to do, not because they had to be done now but because he had to push Sydney out of his mind.
The S.E.C. was gone by the time Sydney had pulled herself together. She had been at Ryan's place for four hours and had finally stopped crying after about the second one. She had pulled on her clothes and gave Ryan his robe back. She had even made them scrambled eggs as a way to encourage Ryan to keep telling her this was all going to be alright.
But based on Lucy's reaction to her when she finally walked back in the door, that wasn't enough. Lucy was straightening out some books on her shelf when she came in and dropped her bag on the floor. Her friend turned to give Sydney a welcoming smile, but it immediately looked serious when she saw Sydney's face.
"Listen to me," Lucy said reassuringly. "This is exactly how you left the place, and I made sure those idiots took as little as possible." Lucy took Sydney's hand and pulled her over to the sofa. "Don't freak out."
"I'm not freaking out."
"You look a little worn out is all."
Sydney turned to her friend. "How bad do I look?"
Lucy gave her a tight smile and took her hand. "You were in much better shape when I got here than you are now."
Sydney pulled her hand back and rubbed her face. "I messed everything up, Lucy."
"I'm telling you that you didn't mess anything up," she said. "You cooperated with the S.E.C. the best that you could. They only took a few papers from your desk. They can't come after you for being a hostile witness or something."
"This isn't about the S.E.C.," Sydney replied glumly. She took a deep breath and stared down at her hands. "I took a shower at Ryan's, and I walked out wearing his robe, and Andy was there."
Lucy leaned back against the sofa with her mouth open in surprise. "You have got to be kidding me."
