Page 22 of Made For Me

He just stares at me with his mouth open. “Jesus Christ, Dr. Grant, it’s a good thing you aren’t a motivational speaker.”

I can’t help but laugh at him. “Just keeping it real, Tristan.” The door opens and my eyes fly toward it, seeing it’s just Nico and Manning who come in. Manning was a big part of the team when he was the captain. When he retired, Nico brought him in as the GM of the team.

“Gentlemen,” Manning says, coming to sit down. The guy is massive at six foot five and built. He sits down next to Tristan and they spend the night watching the game. The two of them talk about the plays that will happen or should happen.

When the third period is almost over, I get up and make my way back to the locker room. It’s been a quiet night over all, and I’ve only had to go down and check on things a couple of times. I sit down on the bench, taking out my phone, while I wait for the buzzer to tell me the game is over. My fingers move to the Instagram app, and when I open it, the first thing that pops up is Jillian’s name. The picture there is of Julia looking at Bianca with a huge smile on her face, their noses touching. The caption reads “Thick as Thieves.” I can’t help but smile at the picture and then instead of just double tapping it to like it, I zoom in on Julia’s face.

The buzzer sounds and I can hear people walking down the hallway toward the dressing room. I turn off the phone and get up, making my way into the hallway. I always stay until after the last person leaves, just in case they have ailments after the game.

When I get into the car and pull away from the arena, I see it’s just after ten thirty. My car heads in the direction of my condo, but at the last minute I drive by it. I don’t even give myself time to think about it before I’m parked in front of her apartment building. I get out of the car and stare at the building, I’ve picked her up before, so I know the building but I don’t know which apartment is hers.

I walk over to the front of the building, seeing the six doorbells for the tenants. I go down the list, trying to see if I can find her name but it’s not there. I walk again to the front of the building, making sure I’m in the right spot. I look down at my phone and then up again at the building. There are six balconies but not one light is on. The only light I see is the fairy lights on one of the railings that barely give out any light.

I think about just getting back in my car and getting the hell out of here. But instead, I stand here in the middle of the sidewalk looking around. The street is so quiet, there is no noise. It dawns on me at that moment if someone looked outside their window, they might think I’m trying to one, either break into an apartment, or two, stalking someone. Either way, none of it is good.

So I take one more stab at it and call her. I put the phone on speaker as I look up to see if maybe a light comes on. I’m not really expecting her to answer her phone, and after the fifth ring I’m about to hang up when I hear the sound of her voice. “Hello.”

CHAPTER13

Julia

I think about letting the call go to voice mail. I didn’t even hear the last message he left me. I know, after everything he did for me, the least I could have done was answer him.

The whole night I’ve been lying in bed trying to forget the last two days. After walking in, I spent an hour on the floor with my back to the door sobbing, until it felt like I had no more tears left. I didn’t turn on a single light, walking straight to the bathroom, and soaking in a bath until the water ran cold. I grab my white and pink tie-dye shorts set, slipping it on.

I didn’t even have the energy to cook nor did I have the appetite to eat. So instead, I slipped into bed and turned on the television. Finally, after the fifth ring my finger presses the green button. “Hello,” I answer softly, bringing the phone to my ear as my hand slips under the covers.

“Julia.” I hear his voice and my eyes close for just a second, and for the first time tonight my body relaxes. “Where are you?” His voice is so soft and low, I can’t help but blink away the tears that are threatening to come again.

“I’m home,” I say and hear him huff out. My eyes focus on the television and not on the way my heart is beating faster because he called me again.

“I’m outside your building.” His words shock me and I hold my breath, not sure I heard him properly.

“What?” My eyes fly open and I toss the covers aside, getting out of bed, and walking to the bedroom window. I push the curtain to the side and see him standing there looking up at the building.What the hell is he doing here?I ask myself. I mean, it’s not like he didn’t know where I lived. He’s picked me up a couple of times and even dropped me off, but he’s never, ever been here.

“I came to make sure you’re okay?” he admits, looking up at the building. “I tried to ring your bell but I didn’t see your name.”

I walk away from the bedroom window and step out to the living room, making my way over to the patio door. I move the curtains to the side as I bend and unlock the bottom lock and then the top lock of the door, opening it. I step out into the warm air. “I’m Suzie Wong.”

“What?” he asks, confused. “Why?”

“Max.” I try not to laugh. “He said it wasn’t safe to have my name out there, so he made me change it.” I mean, he didn’t make me change it; he gave me the option of either him changing it or me changing it. I took longer than a day, so he did it for me.

“To Suzie Wong.” He shakes his head and I walk to the railing, looking down. “Obviously he would.” His eyes find me. “Of course you would have the fairy lights.” He laughs and I see the phone in his hand as he talks to me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him the loaded question. I stand here with the phone still stuck to my ear, and I’m not sure if I should hang up or not.

“You never got back to me,” he states as he looks up at me. He is wearing a blue suit I’ve seen before. I know it fits him like a glove. I know that when he raises his hand to run it through his hair, the material pulls tight on his arm. “So I was stopping by to make sure you were okay.” His eyes find mine in the darkness.

“I’m alive”—I wave at him—“as you can see.” I hope now that he’s seen I’m okay, he will turn around and just get back in his car and leave.

Then he says the words that let me know he is not going to leave. “Now is a good time for you to invite me up.”

My heart clenches in my chest, and I ignore it, pushing it away as fast as it came. “Now is not a good time,” I reply, hoping he just takes it as I need alone time and walks away. “I’m not up for company.”Not even yours, I say in my head.

But I should have known better, considering who his father is. Considering who the whole family is. “We don’t have to talk.” When the words come out of his mouth, my stomach gets tight.

“What else is there to do if we aren’t talking?” I smirk at him and his eyes never leave me.

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