Here I am doing her a favor and she’s making special requests. “This is temporary. She’s not staying with me forever.”
“Got it.” Stevie’s smile is unable to hide. “Have I told you that you’re my favorite person in the entire world?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I turn back to the gym. “Come rebound for me. I have fifty free throws left.”
“You said you had twenty-something.”
I continue to the free-throw line, not bothering to turn around. “Looks like I lost count while I was letting my sister talk me into having a random chick move into my apartment.”
Stevie’s beaming smile radiates in her tone. “Fifty it is.”
2
INDY
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no.’”
“I mean no. I’m not moving in with your brother.”
Stevie’s eyes narrow in confusion. “Why not?”
“Hmm, let me think. Because it’s a terrible idea.” Yes, moving in with my best friend’s brother sounds like a plot pulled straight from one of my favorite romance novels. Not to mention, said brother is Ryan Shay—basketball superstar who looks like he just walked out of one of my wet dreams. But more important than all that is… “Because he hates me.”
“He hates most people.” She pops her shoulders, and the casual-ness of her tone is a bit alarming.
“Really selling him, babe.”
Stevie takes a seat on the hotel room’s couch as I finish cooking my breakfast on the single burner stove. My vegetarian sausage looks like dog shit thanks to this god-awful cooking pan the hotel provided.
Extra-flavor, I tell myself, hoping I can put up with living in this hotel for a bit longer.
“I know Ryan is my brother, so I’m probably biased here, but he’s great. Sure, he may come off cold because he doesn’t exactly wear his emotions on his sleeve, but he’s a good guy. I love you and you’re my best friend. Ryan and I share the same DNA which means he’s going to love you too. Eventually.”
“Nice logic, Vee.”
“It’s science.”
I don’t honor that with a response, so she continues. “You both travel for work so much that you’ll barely cross paths. Plus, he doesn’t date, so you don’t have to worry about random girls coming in and out of the apartment.”
A single brow raises. “Just because he doesn’t date doesn’t mean he doesn’t sleep around. Have you seen the man?”
“I don’t want to think about that, thank you.” Her face scowls with a bit of disgust. “All I’m saying is he never had anyone over, and I lived there for almost a year.”
Probably saves his hookups for the road. Smart. And it would be nice not to worry about finding random girls in my home for once.
“I’ve offered our place, but you don’t want to move in there either. Zee has two extra bedrooms,” she continues.
“Vee,” I sigh. “The last thing I want to do is play third wheel and I sure as shit don’t want to hear the two of you going at it like a couple of rabbits every time we come home from a road trip. Really, I’m fine.” I take a seat on the ottoman next to the coffee table with my breakfast in hand. “Look at these places.” I toss the stack of printouts across the table, hoping my future home is in that mix, seeing as they’re the only places I can afford in this city.
The more papers Stevie flips through, the harder it is for her to hide her disbelief. “Indy, no. You can’t live in any of these places. Some of these are sketchy as hell and look at this.” She begins reading one of the descriptions. “Fifty-something-year-old male looking for a twenty-something year old female roommate.”
“I’m a twenty-something year old female and that place is only five-hundred bucks a month!” I take a bite of my veggie sausage, but it’s burnt to shit so I spit it back on my plate.
“Yeah, probably because you’d have to pay the remainder of rent in a different way.”
“Okay, gross.” Pulling that page from the stack, I crinkle it up, adding it to my plate of inedible garbage.
“Indy,” Stevie sighs, dropping the papers on her lap. “Please move in with Ryan. If not for you then for me. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing you’re staying in one of these places. You can text me daily updates of how it’s going, and I can keep Ryan in check if I need to.”
Pulling out my phone, I decide to send her one now.
INDY
Daily update—if you make me move in with your brother, I will sexualize him every chance I get. I will text you every single day and remind you that he is the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. Daily, you will hear just how badly I want him to do dirty, dirty things to me.
She pulls her phone out, a grimace forming on her lips.
Stevie blinks rapidly as if she were clearing the image from her mind. “I’m going to gamble here and hope you’re bluffing.”
“Well, this is going to be fun.”
“If you move in with Ryan, we’d be neighbors!”
I can’t help but allow the smile to pull at my lips, thinking of living across the street from my old coworker and her boyfriend. I love them together, and I got a front-row seat to watch their relationship unfold last hockey season. As much as I’m going to miss having her on the road this year, I’m glad she and Zanders don’t have to hide their relationship any longer. Love like that shouldn’t be hidden away.
“That would be fun,” I agree.
“See! Plus, your favorite coffee shop is two blocks away and Ryan’s doorman is an absolute gem. You’re going to love him.”
While the idea of living in a luxury apartment in downtown Chicago stacked with every imaginable amenity sounds like a dream come true, I can’t help but hold back from saying yes.
I guess in part, I’m still convincing myself that being back in Chicago is a good idea. Every corner, every building, every street reminds me of him. That’s what happens when you spend your entire life loving one person. Every memory includes them.
And now I’m left grieving a version of my life that no longer exists.
It took everything in me to finish out the hockey season last year after I walked into our apartment and found Alex with someone else, but as soon as the Raptors won the Stanley Cup, I threw my shit in storage, packed a bag, and followed my parents to their new beach-front retirement home in Florida. Spending my summer there was a nice reprieve from the heartbreak, but being back in this city, where my entire life fell apart, it’s like I’m starting the healing process all over again, regardless that the initial shock occurred six months ago.
And after living in this hotel for a few weeks and training two new flight attendants to work under me, I can’t say for sure that I made the right choice by coming back here.
As if she could read my mind, Stevie shifts the subject. “First road trip of the season starts in a few days. Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be with a completely green crew. Watching hockey boys strip down every flight won’t be the same without you.”
She tilts her head, shooting me that sweet Stevie smile. “Part of me will miss flying, but mostly I’ll just be missing you and Zee while you’re on the road. Though, I am excited to catch all of Ryan’s home games this year. How does it feel to be the new lead flight attendant and boss everyone around?”