Page 23 of Whenever You Call

He jerked his head to the right. “Well, lucky for you, I have a bit of free time. Let’s see what you’re about after some time out, shall we?”

Two hours later, I walked out of TKO dripping with sweat. My muscles ached, my knees and knuckles throbbed, and the soles of my feet burned. Creed hadn’t lied when he’d warned me that he was going to put me through my paces after agreeing to sign on for a year’s membership. He’d asked a lot of questions—more than Viper ever had—and despite not usually being much of a talker, something about being in the gym around men and women who wanted to forget about reality for a while had me answering every damn one of them.

It was easier to offload to a stranger. They didn’t show as much judgment.

By the time I got home, I was ready to call it quits for the night, but my growling stomach soon reminded me that I wasn’t going anywhere without eating first. I took a quick shower and climbed into a fresh pair of sweatpants before I made my way into the small kitchen area of my condo. The cupboards were never full. Doing what I did, I often ate on the go, if I got to eat at all. Convenience food had become my best friend, but no doubt about it, my body craved wholesome meals and healthy greens every once in a while.

“I need some damn groceries.”

I searched for something that would fill me up after that workout. In the end, I decided to make protein pancakes with a little syrup on top, vowing to get out of the condo tomorrow and buy some fresh, healthier food.

I was sitting at my tiny breakfast bar, watching the sun go down through the window, when there was a knock at the door.

Nobody ever knocked on my fucking door.

I stared at it with a mouthful of pancake in my mouth, wondering if someone had stumbled upon the wrong place, but then knuckles rapped on the door again, this time harder.

Swallowing down my food, I made my way over to it and peered through the peephole, only to see Buck staring back at me.

I opened the door and held it in place, pushing my free hand into my pocket. “Home visits a thing now?” I asked with a raised brow.

“Not usually, but here I am anyway.”

“I see that,” I said, unable to hide my small smirk. Buck may have been able to bust my balls more than most people, but that didn’t mean I didn’t respect the guy. When he cared, he cared. I admired that about him. Most people were all talk these days.

“Let’s call it a welfare check, shall we?”

“Let’s call it you being a nosey bastard.”

“Mind how you speak to your boss.”

“I’m off duty. It doesn’t count.”

“It always counts,” he said, smirking back at me. His eyes trailed over my chest. “You waiting to impress someone, or don’t you wear shirts off duty?”

“I’m in the comfort of my own home. Mind your damn business.”

“I’ll take that to mean youareexpecting a friend. Thank God. The idea of you rotting away on your own for two weeks has kept this old man awake at night.”

“I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“Don’t you dare tell a soul.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Don’t keep them sealed all night. Yourfriendwon’t be happy.” He winked and laughed roughly, and I didn't correct him. Let him think whatever he wanted to think if it made him feel any better. That had nothing to do with me.

“You want to come in?” I asked, holding the door open.

He waved a hand in front of me. “Nah, I’m outta here already. You were a pit stop on my way over to…” Buck laid a playful look on me. “Never you mind.”

With a roll of my eyes and a small salute from Buck, I shut the door and turned back to my barren life, pushing both hands into the pockets of my sweatpants while I looked around the space.

White walls. Gray floor. White comforter against a wooden bed frame, a small gray couch, and a white kitchen that hardly got used. The place lacked some serious color and personality. I’d often thought about investing in a bigger home, but it had never happened. I didn’t need the room, and it seemed like a waste of savings. I liked to keep my living space like my life: compact, easy to take care of, no fuss, and out of the way.

That’s when my mind drifted back to Hannah and that huge house she now had to live in without her husband. All that space, and for what? For who? I doubted she cared how big her home was, only that she had one.

Maybe we had more in common than I thought.

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