AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We grab some sandwiches at a sub shop nearby. We argue part of the time, in between bites of chips and the turkey club I’m eating. Eliott doesn’t understand why I have to live with Sam or what I’m doing, accepting this position in the first place. I didn’t discuss it with him; I just leaped. Eliott’s never been a big fan of sports or athletes for that matter. I try to stress that I need the money and reassure him that this job changes nothing. It’s a temporary blip in our otherwise normal life. But I’m not sure if that’s true because I’ll be traveling now and gone for days at a time. I won’t be around as much to indulge Eliott’s packed schedule. I’m not sure why I feel relieved rather than sad about the distance, but at some point, I’ll need to explore those feelings.
My boyfriend seems uneasy that I’ll be roommates with Sam, hockey phenom by day and playboy by night. Eliott is usually steady and even. Unemotional. So, I’m not sure how to react to his jealousy. But even those who aren’t sports fans seem to know of the hockey player’s reputation. And if they don’t, all they have to do is pick up a phone and google his name. The first articles that pop up are about his transfer to the Hawks and the reasons behind it. The media eats up salacious stories, and Sam caught with his former GM’s daughter is a gossip site’s wet dream.
I do my best to reassure Eliott before he heads back to his place to study and I return to the apartment.
As the front door to my new place shuts behind me, I see that the kitchen lights are on, and the living room is dark. The television flickers as it plays some action movie across the screen. Sam’s head rests along the back of the couch, and his bare feet are propped on the coffee table in front of him. He doesn’t turn or acknowledge me when I enter the room.
“Hi,” I say softly, pausing at the edge of the sofa to watch as Tom Cruise walks into view, wearing a naval aviator suit.
“Top Gun,” I say, resting my hip on the opposite corner of the couch from where Sam sits.
I glance over. His eyes are still glued to the television. I’m across the room from the hockey star, but it feels more like we’re a million miles apart.
“I like this movie.”
Sam lifts an IPA and takes a drink. There’s an empty takeout container and two other empty beer bottles on the end table next to him. He still hasn’t looked at me.
I glance beyond the windows at the buildings that are glowing in the dark. The lake view is completely black now that the sun has disappeared for the day, though I think I see the faint lights of a boat in the distance.
“This place is amazing,” I admit, my voice low and reverent as I attempt to bridge the gap between us. The silence drags. I sigh. “Look, you’ve made it crystal clear that you don’t want me here. And I get it. I do. But can we at least be civil?”
His eyes narrow as his neck swivels in my direction.
“It could be worse,” I mumble. “You could have some giant, hairy guy breathing down your neck all the time.”
He turns back toward the screen and takes another drink. I spot a folder with my name on it on the coffee table.
“May I?” I ask, reaching for it.
“Go ahead.” He nods, speaking for the first time.
I open it and discover all the basic information about myself. My name and age. Hair color, eye color, height, and weight. My family. Where I grew up. When I attended Sinclair University and the arts degree I graduated with. Where I’ve been living in Chicago. Suki is mentioned. My sparse work history. They even included that I paint. All the facts are here. But there’s nothing personal. No mention of my favorite things or the way I take my coffee in the morning. The way a sunrise or a sunset evokes a thousand different emotions in my chest or the way my breath catches from excitement when I’m creating a new scene on canvas. There is only basic information here, nothing about what really makes me … me.
I close the folder and toss it next to his feet. It lands with a slap before sliding to rest against his heel.
“Is there anything you want to know about me?” I ask.
Kelly McGillis walks into the bar on the screen.
“Everything is in there.” Sam tips his chin toward the folder.
“The basics are there,” I admit.
He glances at me. “I only need the basics.”
He only wants the facts. He doesn’t really want to know me, though by the way he’s acting, I could’ve guessed that. It’s apparent that Sam resents me being here, in his space. He’s a grown man who doesn’t feel like he needs someone looking over his shoulder all the time. I expected as much, but getting iced out by him feels so much worse than I thought it would. Regardless, we have to deal with each other for this to work, and we both need it to work. I’m counting on the money, and he’s relying on a long career in hockey. It would be so much easier if we could develop some sort of friendship to break through the wall, even if it’s a tenuous one. It would make this situation much more tolerable for both of us.
“Do you remember me at Sinclair?” I ask, unsure of why I care.
His eyebrow arches. “Should I?”
I glance away. “No, I guess not.” I rise from the couch, surprised by the sting that revelation brings, and walk behind it toward my room. I pause when I get to the hallway. “We don’t have to be friends, Sam. But it would be a lot easier if we weren’t enemies either.”
I walk into my bedroom and shut the door.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SAM
