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I hang up the phone and collapse on my bed until my alarm rings seven hours later. We are playing back-to-back games before leaving for three days, but then we’ll be home for ten straight days. I get into the shower before getting dressed in another suit and packing my bag. The phone rings when I get in the car. “Hi,” I greet softly when I see her name.
“Hi,” she says, “I haven’t heard from you since you texted you landed.”
“I crashed as soon as I got in, and then I had to pack,” I tell her. “How was your day?”
“Good, I worked a half day and then came back home,” she tells me.
“Did you eat anything?” The worry fills my voice.
“I did because you sent me food.” She laughs. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“One can do a lot in a twenty-minute car ride.” I laugh with her. “You got the soup?”
“I got the soup and then the snacks. Then the pizza and sushi.” Her laughter is like a kick in the stomach. “I have enough food for the next two days, so don’t send any more.”
“What about cupcakes?” I tap the steering wheel.
“Demolished those as soon as you left this morning. I thought red velvet was my favorite, but that lemon blueberry.” She gasps. “That might be the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”
“Ever?” I joke with her.
I can see her roll her eyes at me even though I’m not with her. “Obviously, your dick will forever be the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. So I guess lemon blueberry is a close second.” She shrieks, “You know what we should do?” I can hear a joking tone in her voice, and I know she’s feeling just a touch better. “I should eat it off your dick.”
“Oh, that sounds like the best thing you’ve ever said.” I laugh with her.
“Better than ‘fuck me harder, Stone’?” The two of us are howling with laughter. “Or ‘you’re so big’?”
I stop the car and put it in park. “Okay, fine, it’s a close second or third.” I get out of the car and slam the door.
“Guess you’re at work. Call me later if you can.”
“We leave as soon as the game finishes.” My stomach tightens when I know I’ll be even farther away from her. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Get some rest.”
“Will do, SR,” she assures me and then disconnects.
The game that night is brutal. I end up in the penalty box three times, and I’m benched pretty much most of the third period. We end up only losing by one goal, and when I get onto the plane, Jay sits next to me. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just off tonight, I guess,” I tell him, and he nods. “I’ll be okay.”
“You let me know if you need anything,” he states, and I just give him a chin up before turning and looking out the window. The two games on the road are better. I end up with four points.
When we finally get back home, I toss my bag into the closet and text Ryleigh.
Me: Home for the next ten days.
I try to give her hints about how I want her to come and see me. Even though we are home for ten days, we have games every other day, and the coach has called practices on the off days. We’re close to making the playoffs and all need to give our best effort.
Every single day, I wait for Erika to call me. Every single day she doesn’t, I lose more and more hope. Forget the fact that Ryleigh hasn’t even mentioned anything about coming to visit me.
We talk every single night, and every single night, I end the night telling her I wish she was with me. Then I hang up. After the first five days, my mood goes downhill, and after the seventh day, our conversations get shorter and shorter.
Finally, after nine days, Erika calls me back. “Hello,” I answer after one ring.
“Stone,” she says, and I try to see what her tone will tell me, but it’s neutral.
“What did they say?” I cut to the chase. I don’t want to know how she’s doing. I don’t want to know how Cooper is doing. All I want to know is the answer.
“I’m so, so sorry,” she says, and I close my eyes. “I tried everything I could. Nashville would not budge, even if I asked for first-round picks. They wanted to hear none of that.”
