Play Along(24)

Monty: Who’s asking?

Me: I am.

Monty: If I say yes, are you going to show up uninvited and remind me that I’m about to be related to you because your brother and my daughter are getting married?

Me: By relation, I’m basically your son-in-law now. How exciting for you.

Monty: That’s not at all how it works. And besides I heard you’re someone’s else’s son-in-law now.

Me: You heard about that already?

Monty: The whole organization has heard about it.

Me: I was going to tell you.

Monty: We need to talk about that soon, kid.

Me: I know. We will. But on a serious note, are you home?

Monty: I’m home.

Me: Good. I’ll see you at the field.



It might not be the healthiest of things, but when I can’t calm my own intrusive thoughts, I do so by checking in on everyone I care about.

Since I’ve known her, I’ve wanted to check in on Kennedy when I’m feeling this anxiousness, but I’ve talked myself out of it, remembering that outside of work, she isn’t obligated to deal with me.

Now though . . . now she’s legally obligated.

I might still be upset about how she tried to pin this whole thing on me, but that hasn’t changed my feelings for her.



Me: Hey, Kenny. Are you home?



I pace while I wait for her reply, but minutes pass and nothing comes. Not even a flash of gray dots dance on my screen.

Though, another boom of thunder shakes my building, fraying my nerves.



Me: Ken, I need you to text back.



She doesn’t.



Me: I’m calling you Mrs. Rhodes in front of the whole team if you don’t text me back.



The reply is instant.



Kenny: Don’t you fucking dare.

Me: There’s my bride.

Kenny: Gross.

Me: You home?



Again, she doesn’t respond, so I call her instead.

“What?”

“Are you home?”

“Why?”

“Just answer the damn question, Kennedy. Are you home?”

“Yes, I’m home.”

“And you’re not going anywhere tonight?”

“No.”

“Okay, good.”

“Why are you asking?”

“Just needed to know.”

She exhales like she’s already so tired of me and she’s only been married to me for less than forty-eight hours.

“You’re exhausting, Rhodes.”

I have to bite my lip to hold back my smile. “There are other ways I know how to be exhausting. You just let me know when you need a good night of sleep and we can consummate this marriage, Ken.”

She lets out this burst of a laugh and it’s so free and easy I let my lip go and fully smile while listening to her on the other side of the receiver.

“Have you made up your mind?” I ask.

Technically, I get nothing from this arrangement. We’re doing this all for her, but I still find myself desperate for her to say yes.

At the minimum I get to spend time with her if she agrees, and that’s all I really want anyway.

There’s a heavy pause on her end of the line. “This is the last thing I wanted.”

Damn. Straight to the point.

“I mean,” she corrects. “I meant to say that I wanted to have a choice. My last engagement, that wasn’t exactly my choice.”

Huh?

“I’ve never had the chance to date for fun, and I was looking forward to that, but now I’m . . .”

“Married,” I finish for her.

“Yeah. I’m married.”

“I’m sorry.”

I’m still annoyed that she blamed this on me, and now I’m over here apologizing for it.

“It’s my fault,” she admits. “I got us into this mess, and you’re trying to get us out. I just . . . Isaiah, you and I will never be more than this arrangement.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

Because I’m sure as hell not.

“We’re too different, and I don’t want to agree to this if you’re hoping for anything in our future other than an end date. It’s only for six months. When this season is over, I’m going to get back to the life I was looking forward to finally having.”

Maybe if I wasn’t such a goddamn hopeless romantic, her insistence would hurt a bit more, but all I keep hearing are the words six months.

I have six months to change her mind about me.

“What kind of life are you looking forward to having?” I ask, and how is it any different than the one she had before our night in Las Vegas?

She laughs, but it’s kind of sad. “A normal one.”

“What’s normal to you, Kenny?”

“You’re going to think I’m weird.”

“At this point, it might be best if I find one or two negative qualities. My obsession hasn’t been able to come up with any yet.”

She laughs again and it’s then I realize I don’t hear that sound often.

I’ll have to work on that.

“A normal life to me is one where I date whomever I want. Where I maybe get hit on at a bar and go to dinner with a guy that’s not also some extravagant black-tie affair. Where I don’t drunkenly marry someone for revenge, but where I’m also not engaged to someone as a business arrangement either.”