18. Grey

Grey

" S he said she wouldn't shut me out."

Angry, inpatient, even scared, I paced the locker room after practice, trying to get Ellie to answer her cell. She ignored my voicemails and texts, not replying to either one. While I agreed to give her time, she agreed we needed to see one another.

So where did this agreement go wrong?

My fear growing, I shoved my phone into my coat pocket, and stalked naked into the showers. As I lathered my body to wash the stink of my sweat off, I considered going over to Ellie's apartment and banging on her door. The hour was late, but I knew she worked her freelance job until eleven or midnight.

She'll be pissed if I do that right now. I'll see her in the morning.

"Dude," someone snickered.

I glanced over at the occupant of the next shower to find Devon grinning at me.

"How's things with the ‘lil lady?" he asked.

I growled under my breath, looking around for anyone close enough to overhear. "Use a bullhorn next time."

"Oh. Sorry."

"You know how these assholes gossip."

Devon grimaced. "Yeah. Is everything okay? You look uptight."

After another glance around for eavesdroppers, I said, fast and low, "She's pregnant."

Busy washing his face, Devon sputtered soap from his lips and blinked. By his sharp yelp of pain, he got some in both eyes.

He rinsed quickly, then squinted at me. "Holy God. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, if it's mine."

"Jesus."

He continued to scrub while I shut my spray off and began to towel dry. Leaving the showers, I wrapped the towel around my waist, then fetched my street clothes from my locker.

As I dressed, Devon joined me, as his locker was opposite mine, and murmured, "Want to have a quick drink?"

I nodded without turning. "Yeah. I could use an ear."

"Fortunately, I've got two."

At the same pub, served by the same bartender, we both ordered beer. Over the bottles, I told him about Ellie, Colton, and which of us might be the baby's dad.

Devon listened with incredulity and a whole lot of sympathy. "I guess Colton doesn't know?"

"No, unless Ellie told him. I doubt it since she can't stand him."

"And you both, er, had sex around the same time?"

I moodily drank from my bottle. "Sounds like it."

"Sorry, bro, but this is a fucked-up mess. You have to figure out who the dad is."

"How do I do that? I'm shooting a full load, and I'm sure Colton is too.

Devon drank, then put his bottle down to signal the bartender for another round. Neither of us spoke until the big, tatted guy dropped fresh bottles on little napkins, took our money and departed.

At last, Devon shrugged. "Keep it simple then, bro."

"By doing what?"

"Claim the baby's yours no matter what. Be its dad. Don't let Colton even think there's a possibility he might have skin in this game."

I swallowed my fresh beer, thinking. "That isn't a bad idea. If Ellie is willing to go along with it that is."

"If the baby has dark hair, he's yours for sure. Blond, maybe Colton's." Devon grinned. "Genetics are funny things, ain't they?"

"Ellie doesn't know her parents," I said. "One may have been blond."

"How interesting is that?"

"Handy excuse for a blond kid." I grinned.

"I can see it now." Devon waved his hand gracefully in the air. "You invite me to the wedding, you and Miss Ellie tie the knot, have more babies, name one after me."

I laughed. "It takes two to tango, son. First, I have to get Ellie to agree to marry me. Right now, she won't even move into my house."

"Independent ‘lil thang, ain't she?"

"You have no idea."

"I can't wait to meet her." He eyed me over his bottle. "I will meet her, yeah?"

"You know it, brother. Right now, I can't even get her on the phone."

"Women are more mysterious than God," he observed. "Let her have some space. She probably with girlfriends oohing and ahhing over the pregnancy."

"She doesn't have any girlfriends."

"No? That's weird. All girls have girlfriends."

"She ended hers when Colton slept with her friend."

"Yikes. That had to hurt."

"It did."

I told him of finding Ellie walking along the road in mid-winter with a blizzard headed in our direction, the cold well past zero. Devon gaped, choked on his beer, then coughed into his fist. His eyes wide, he stared hard into mine.

"Ellie isn't that hot chica with the purple streak that was outside our locker rooms in Boston? Is she?"

"The very same."

"She's hotter than a habanero, bro. What was Colton thinking?"

"He wasn't." I drank my beer in a long swallow. "At least not with his brain. Maybe he was thinking with his mini me."

"I talked with her at the hospital, too," Devon went on. "All I knew was she's Colton's lady. She seemed very nice, intelligent, articulate, sweet. I saw what you must see in her."

"Yeah." I set my bottle down. "She's all that and more. Funny, brave, and scared at the same time, kind, smart as a whip." I sighed. "And as independent as fuck."

Devon chuckled and clapped his heavy hand on my shoulder. "Tough gals are the best, bro. Don't let her get away. I know you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you do."

"If she doesn't love me, I won't have much choice. I'll have to let her go."

"Don't give up, man. You love her. Ellie will see that, give it back tenfold. Have faith."

"An expert, are you?"

He snorted. "Hardly. Girls scare me, man. If a gal said she loved me, I'd head for Canada."

***

"What's this fucking ass bullshit?" I growled.

Under gray and dreary clouds, light snow swirling in delicate, ghostly tendrils, I stopped my car in Ellie's building's parking lot. Determined to talk to her, I drove to her apartment. It was late morning, I thought I would take her to an early lunch…

Only to find her smiling cheerfully at a tall good-looking dude who appeared close to my age, then she hugged him. They shared a quick kiss on the cheek, a laugh, then proceeded across the lot to his car. He opened the door for her and walked around the hood to get in behind the wheel.

A myriad of horrible thoughts raced through my mind. Ellie already had herself another guy. She'd been two-timing both Colton and me. Did she lie about the pregnancy? Was the baby this dude's after all?

Confused, hurt, jealous, and growing angrier with every passing second, I jerked the shifter into drive, and followed them from the lot. It's easy to say I saw red. Truth is, I barely saw anything at all. Not the road, the traffic, pedestrians in danger of me hitting them. Amidst the phantom snowflakes that melted the instant they hit my windshield; I saw only his car.

He drove to a small diner about six blocks from Ellie's apartment. Had he driven further, I suspected I'd have never made it. I'd certainly have smashed my car into another, or worse, hit a kid crossing the street. The old cliché of being blinded by rage had a powerful element of truth to it.

I saw little except Ellie and the man she was with.

I parked in the diner's lot, and saw them enter while holding hands. A low, animal-like growl rose in my throat and slid through my clenched teeth.

How dare she fuck around. How could she say she could fall in love with me while seeing this asshole on the side? I thought I knew you, Ellie.

I guess I don't know her at all.

Locking my car, I followed them into the diner. Sucking in deep breaths helped me to control my fury, to not plunge my fist through the entrance's glass, or the dude's face. I stepped inside the restaurant, scenting the odors of frying bacon, coffee and maple syrup. I unzipped my coat, glancing around at the diners, the waitresses.

Still fighting to maintain a level of cool, I found them at a booth across the diner. The dude still stood, busy removing his coat before sitting opposite Ellie. My fists clenched, not knowing what I planned to say or do, I stalked across the diner.

Mid-smile, Ellie glanced up as I loomed over the booth. "Grey? What are you doing here?"

I observed the sharp lack of guilt in her open expression. Her utter lack of guile, her beautiful blue eyes wide with warmth, sincerity and…innocence. Taken aback for a split second, I glanced at the dude.

He smiled up at me, then scooted from the booth to stand. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you, Grey. I'm Frank."

I stared at his extended hand as though he held a venomous snake in it. "Is it, asshole?"

Frank blinked. "What?"

The low growl returned to my voice. "You heard me."

"Grey!" Ellie said sharply. "That's rude. Frank's being nice."

I turned my head slowly to look down at her, my fists shoved into my coat pockets. Making certain I didn't lash out or do something I'd really regret later.

"You cheating on me, Ellie?" I snapped. "You fucking this guy?"

My question slash accusation startled her into a slight recoil. "What are you talking about? Frank's my friend."

"Friends with benefits, right?"

Frank slid back into the booth, laughing under his breath. "I like this guy, Ellie. So he-man."

I controlled my fists with a powerful effort as Ellie's lips thinned in anger, her face blushing a furious red. She stared up at me in defiance, and still no guilt. Having been caught red-handed with the dude she fucked behind my back, I thought I'd see some kind of remorse, or even defensiveness.

Ellie displayed none of that.

"Sit down," she hissed. "You're making a scene."

"Sit with the girl who's two-timing me? Join you and your squeeze like nothing is going on? Are you shitting me, Ellie?"

Frank laughed again. "You're really making a mistake, man. I'm not sleeping with Ellie."

"We're friends, dammit," Ellie snapped. "We met about a month ago, he's someone I can talk to. And I really needed a friend, Grey."

"Why haven't you been returning my calls then?"

She swiped her hair back in irritation. "I told you I needed some space. Time to think. And a chance to talk to Frank about things I can't talk to you about."

"Oh?" I eyed Frank and his amusement with a hostility I knew would soon slip from my control. "Like what, Ellie? Are you comparing our bedroom techniques?"

"For God's sake, sit down." Ellie seized my sleeve to pull until I must either lose my coat or sit beside her.

As a waitress hovered nearby with a full coffee pot, watching, I opted to sit down. She advanced on us, pouring coffee into cups while watching my face carefully. Maybe she was a fan. Or she recognized the rage I barely kept in check.

All the while, Frank looked at me with a combination of amusement and resignation. "You really are making a mistake, big guy."

"I don't think so."

The waitress departed after leaving menus, leaving me to face my rival. Ellie snorted behind her folded hands, her fingers hiding her eyes. I glanced from her to Frank then back.

"Look, man," Frank said, his tone low. "Ellie isn't my type. You are."