The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

“Too good to sit in the box?” I squawked. “I just don’t want to get friendly with the other players’ wives. That’s all.”

That had Zac sitting back with a frown. “Why?”

“I told you.” Or was it Aiden I told? I couldn’t remember. “I feel like a phony.”

“You’re not a phony.”

I lifted up a shoulder. “I feel like one. Plus the season is almost over. Who knows what’s going to happen. He hasn’t kept me in the loop at all about what’s going on with Trevor or even brought up when he’s leaving for Colorado this year.” Honestly, I hadn’t thought too much about him leaving for the offseason because I didn’t want to. The one and only time I had, it had made me sad to think about not seeing him for months at a time. I’d rather live ignorantly than with this weight of missing someone who wasn’t gone around my shoulders. Plus, he would tell me when he was leaving… wouldn’t he?

“He hasn’t told me a single thing, Vanny, and the last time I talked to Trevor, it was just to go over what my goal for the offseason was,” Zac explained.

That gave me an excuse to forget about Colorado for the moment and remember that what Aiden decided to do with the rest of his career didn’t just affect me; it affected Zac too. If he went to a different team, it wasn’t like Zac would go. Things had been so strained between them the last couple of months, that I had no idea where they stood. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

“My old Texas coach gave me a call a few weeks ago. Said he was plannin’ on retiring this year, and he’s from a town real close to Ma’s. I think I might end up heading back to Austin to work with him.”

Austin? I gulped selfishly. “Really?”

“Yeah. It wouldn’t hurt to go home. I told you how guilty PawPaw made me feel during Christmas,” he explained. Zac said his grandpa kept reminding him he wasn’t getting any younger.

Then the second step of the future hit me. Sure we’d only been living together for five months, but… we might end up in different states. Forever. I’d be essentially losing Zac, one of my closest friends. What kind of messed up, self-absorbed dimension had I been living in to not contemplate these outcomes?

He must have seen the despair on my face because he let out a sharp laugh of disbelief. “Why you gettin’ upset, sugar?”

“Because I won’t be seeing you anymore,” I said with every ounce of horror I felt. “You’re basically my second best friend.”

“Ahh shit, Van. You’re basically my best friend, too.” Those blue eyes widened for a moment. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you these last few months.”

I had to reach up to swipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. I’d been the biggest crybaby since Christmas, and I had no reason for it. “Why am I getting so upset? We’ll still text message each other, right?”

“Of course we will. Of course we will. Come on.” Were his eyes getting shiny? “Gimme a hug. You’re gonna make my mascara run.”

I laughed even as I threw my arms around him. “You’re an idiot, but I love you.”

With two arms slung over my shoulders, his chest gurgled beneath mine in what sounded like a watery chuckle.

“You don’t have to do the marathon if you don’t want to,” I let his shirt know.

“You haven’t put me through hell for me to back out on you now, darlin’. We’re doin’ it.”

“But if you’d rather go to Austin sooner than later…”

“We’re doin’ this,” he insisted. He pulled back, his hands going to my upper arms so he could peer down at me. “You know you’re gonna be all right, don’t you?”

“Doing the marathon or if I have to move with Aiden?”

Those light blue eyes narrowed down at me. “I’m not worried about you doin’ the marathon. You got that thing in check. I meant movin’.”

“Oh, yeah.” I shrugged. “I’m not that worried about it. I don’t do much here in Dallas anyway, and Aiden’s been keeping me company a lot more.”

Part of me expected him to say something like “I’d noticed” because he’d been teasing me mercilessly from the moment he came home after the New Year and seen the ring Aiden had bought me. The fact I only took it off when we went running didn’t help. Instead though, Zac nodded, his smile easy. “He’ll make sure you’re fine.”

That had me snorting. I wanted to tell him about Aiden and how I’d been feeling but… I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. Every day this thing with him just got stronger. Worse. How do you fall in love with the man you’re supposed to divorce in a few years? I was an idiot, and sometimes I didn’t want to face the facts of just how stupid I was.

I wasn’t really convinced of the idea that Aiden would make the effort to make sure I settled in okay in a new city. I knew what his main focus in life was, and it definitely wasn’t me. “How are things going with both of you anyway? Has it gotten any better?” I hadn’t really seen them talk much in the last few weeks, not that they ever talked much to begin with, period.

“All right.” His answer was as innocent as I expected. “Why?”

“I haven’t really seen you two talk. I was just wondering if something had happened.”

Zac shook his head. “No. Things are different now. That’s all. He doesn’t know what to say to me, and I don’t know what to say to him either. The last time I tried to talk to him he lectured me on how it was my fault I got cut from my team. I know it’s my fault, but I don’t wanna hear him say that. Look, don’t worry about him and me; I’m not the one who’s got his ring on my finger. You two are gonna be fine.”

Wait a second…. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what.” He winked.

“No. I don’t know.” I didn’t like where this was going, and I definitely disliked the intelligence in his eyes even less.

When Zac put a hand on the top of my head and gave me a pat, I crossed my eyes. “Don’t be a dunce. He got into bed with you—”

“Because I was scared!”

“He got into a fight for you, Van. If that doesn’t say it all, I don’t know what does.”

“Because—”

He apparently didn’t care what I had to say. “I’ve seen the way you look at him. I know how you’ve always looked at him.”

No.

“You’ll never meet anybody more loyal than him, Van, and I don’t know anybody better that Aiden could have ended up with. You might be the only person in the world who can put up with his ass. I just hope you two do something about it and not waste time.”

I could only stare at him blankly.

It was the garage door opening that snapped us both out of the stare down we were having. By the time we separated, with Zac thinking he knew some dirty little secret and me not sure what the hell was going on, Aiden had opened the door to the garage. Leo shot up from beneath the table, bounding toward his daddy.

Immediately crouching down, Aiden scooped up his blond ball and hoisted him up into those brawny arms that seemed so at odds with the now ten-pound puppy. His eyes swung from Leo to Zac then to me. I was sure we looked pretty suspicious just standing there like deer caught in the headlights, but oh well.

I smiled at him, hoping I didn’t look as flustered as I felt. “Hey, big guy.”

“Hi.” With the arm that wasn’t holding Leo up, he reached up to stroke down the length of Leo’s spine, his irises bouncing back and forth between Zac and me once more. Walking toward us, he tipped his chin down to nuzzle the puppy before stopping in front of me and dipping his cheek to plant a soft, dry kiss on my cheek that had me rooted in place.

What the hell was happening?

What in the hell was happening?

“I’m going to shower,” Zac said, shooting me a smirk that said ‘See?’ With a smack to my lower spine, he left the kitchen, leaving me there alone, confused and wondering if this was a dream I hadn’t woken up from.

Restraining the urge to pinch myself, I gulped and glanced at Aiden as my insides went haywire. “How was your day?” I pretty much croaked out.

Mariana Zapata's books