13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Andrew

"Bombed harder than a B-25 in the height of a world war. I kind of hate you right now." I fall back onto my sofa and chew Owen out. It was his idea to get on the app, after all, so my disappointment falls at his feet even if Koa was the one who encouraged me to spill the truth.

"How so?" he asks as if I didn't just explain to him the entire conversation, almost verbatim, that Lottie and I had after I admitted my career to her.

"I'm sorry, were you not listening? She doesn't want to date. She wants to be friends. That ex of hers ruined it for everyone."

Owen chuckles. "Again, how so? Look, when a woman says she wants to be friends and continues to flirt with you, she doesn't want to be friends. She wants to feel things out without the stress and expectation of dating."

"Forgive me for not trusting your less-than-optimal judgement skills. There's no denying there's chemistry between us, but that doesn't mean she's willing to put aside that massive elephant in the room to see if we can have more. It was Rory Elsher, by the way. He's her ex-boyfriend."

"Oh, dang. She was dating the Arctic's captain? He's a phenomenal player. Holy smokes."

"Hey, thanks for not rubbing that in. Maybe he's good at hitting a chunk of rubber with a stick, but he doesn't have much going on between the ears." My best friend is right, which only makes me angrier.

"Drew, be her friend. Show her what she's missing, and if she changes her mind that's great. If not, there are other women in the world, my friend. Check out the app. See if one of the others interests you."

Immediately, my nose crinkles in disgust. I'm not sure I have it in me to start over. It was nerve-wracking enough to set up the date with Lottie, and when it went well I got my hopes up only to have them dashed. Besides, I've got my heart set on a certain redhead who already has me thinking about her all the time. It wouldn't be fair to someone else to compare them to Lottie.

"I don't know. I'm not interested in starting over."

"You hardly started at all. All I'm asking is that you look on the app."

Goblin crawls onto the seat beside me and snuggles in. I scratch his ears and groan. "You mean the app that is supposed to have almost one hundred percent success but set me up with a woman who hates men who play sports?"

"First of all, we weren't exactly up front with your career. That's kind of on us. Second, she does not hate all men who play sports. She hates her ex, and I have a good feeling if you give her time to figure that out, she'll change her mind."

"You literally just said I should try another woman on the app. Which is it, Ow? Wait around and see if Lottie changes her mind, or give the app a second chance?"

"You annoy me. How are we best friends?" Owen's tone is par for the course but it isn't my fault he's giving me conflicting advice. "It can't hurt to see if there is another woman who might be right for you. If Lottie made it clear you're not dating, then you have every right to see other women. If you don't see anyone that sparks your interest, then I'll let it go."

With another groan, I relent. "Fine, but if I get kicked to the curb again, I'm coming for you."

"I hear you," Owen teases. "I have to go but I'll be praying for you. One way or another, this is going to work out for you. Give it time."

"Yeah. I'll try. Night, Ow." He returns the sentiment and I move to drop my phone on the coffee table. I remember I told Owen I'd at least look at the other women matched with me, though I can't imagine anyone else catching my interest like Lottie does.

When I open the app, I notice two things right away. I have four new possible matches…and Lottie has removed her profile.

"Well, Gobs, that didn't take long. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing at this point." Goblin doesn't even lift his head to acknowledge my existence. Ginger really gave him a run for his money today.

I scroll the options, noting a lot of positive things about most of the women but it feels too slimy. There's no way I can go on a date with any of them and not think about Lottie the whole time. It's unfair to everyone involved, so I go the nuclear route. I delete my profile. I have no doubt this will get the developers all tangled up in their underpants but I don't care. I'm already in deep enough. I don't need more women or complications right now.

After dropping the phone on the table, I grab a bag of ice from the freezer and settle in to rest my shoulder. Chasing the dogs around, followed by a drum lesson, has it aching more than it should if I hope to return to the field soon. I can't miss too many games. I don't want to miss them, which brings on a whole other set of questions to work through. Was what I told Lottie honest? Am I prepared to end my career this season? I might not have a choice, but if I do…am I ready to make that decision?

The traveling is getting old. That's one thing I've noticed lately. I don't enjoy it as much as I used to, probably because I've traveled to every ball field imaginable with the Sharks and my previous teams. The cities get boring after a while, especially when you only get a quick view before getting back on a bus. Most of the other guys love it, but Koa and I have always thought it was the most frustrating thing about the job.

Then there's the rookie situation. Martinez isn't the only rookie with something to prove. They seem to get more full of themselves with each passing year, only this year they might be right. I am getting too old.

Scrubbing a hand over my stubbly face helps clear my spiraling mind, but not for long. It merely skips from one roller coaster to another, and before I can stop myself, I'm doom scrolling the Arctic's social media pages. Again. But this time with a name.

I pause on a recent video of a pretty woman interviewing Rory Elsher, also known as the man I can't help but dislike even though I've never said a word to him. I note that the woman is, in fact, the social media manager. A surge of anger lights my entire body on fire and I clench my jaw. The woman is pretty, seems nice enough, but was she worth hurting Lottie the way he did? Ruining the trust she had for him? And the whole team knew, including the wives and girlfriends, and not a soul thought it was the right thing to tell her the truth.

I pull up the Arctic's website and head over to the players' page. Rory Elsher. Team captain, all star all four years in college, the highest scoring player the Arctic has ever had, and probably one of the highest scorers in the league. He's going to get called up for a major league team, and if he's a philanderer, then maybe it's better Lottie found out now rather than later when it would be more likely to blow up into a major news story. I shudder to think what it would do to her to have her personal life smeared across every social media outlet and news site.

A few taps takes me to Elsher's dedicated social media pages. There are loads of photos with him and his fans, but I'm looking for a particular fan. An ex fan. When my scrolling lands on the last picture he posted with Lottie, my heart stutters. She's gorgeous. Utterly stunning. And any fool can see she is foolishly, hopelessly in love with him. It's all in her eyes, the sparkle and softness in them as she gazes up at him like he hung the stupid moon.

I know checking the comments section is a terrible idea, but I do it anyway. It's sickening. The older comments mention how pretty she is, that he's a lucky guy, and even some who say she's lucky to have Rory. None are particularly disparaging until more recently. There's a block of them questioning where Lottie disappeared to. Speculating that they broke up and this was all a fake, staged photo to hide their tumultuous relationship. Eventually, they turn on her until the official story is that she stepped out on him.

And the jerk has the nerve to leave it all out there for anyone to see. He cheats, breaks her heart, and doesn't even have the decency to stop the rumors. Figures.

I let out a deep sigh and turn off my phone. Stalking this guy's socials won't make this better. I have to accept that there isn't anything I can do to change it, make it better, or speed it up if she does change her mind. A guy doesn't exactly enjoy feeling helpless, but the only thing I can do is wait and pray.