Ah, that explained the eye twitch. She wasn’t just unhappy. She was pissed.
“There’s a car waiting outside,” she said, calmly, linking her fingers with mine. Under her breath she added, “You look good. Walking without a limp, no bruises. Everyone will be happy.”
Everyone but me.
Security noticed our situation and came to help us out the airport door. The paparazzi wasn’t done though. The cameras continued their assault and I held my hand up to black the flashes, each one compounding my growing headache. Along with the clicks, questions came fast and furious.
“Hayden are you all better?”
“Much better, thank you.”
“How’s your recuperation?”
“Painful. Slow. And hopefully over.”
“Did you suffer a concussion?”
“I did, but thank goodness I have a thick skull.”
“Will you be ready for the preseason conditioning Monday?”
“I plan on it.”
“What was it like being back home? See any friends? Catch up with anyone?”
My eyes slid to the person that asked the last question, his eyes twinkling with mischief. I didn’t change my expression, not once but replied, “I spent most of my time at the A5 gym getting my ass kicked—unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of time for socializing.”
The car idled by the curb and the driver held the door for us as we squeezed in the back. Sabine kept the smile on her lips as long as we were in sight of the cameras, but the minute we got enough distance, it vanished.
“Somebody hand me an Oscar,” she muttered. “So listen, we’ve got a packed weekend. Once you told Bryant you were coming back, he wanted to get you visible before practice on Monday.”
“What? No. I need a few days to acclimate.”
Mope in my apartment was really what my plans entailed. Dwell on my anger. Stew about my friends. Try desperately not to think about how incredibly hot Heaven looked with my friends’ hands all over her.
“You had eight weeks, Hayden, you don’t get any more than that. Sure you’ll get to ease into practice and they’ll take it slow, but from here on you’re back at work.”
I groaned and reached into my bag for a bottle of medication. I took out three and swallowed them dry. Sabine watched me carefully, a flicker of empathy ran across her face.
“I’m glad you’re home. My spring was boring as hell. Bryant didn’t think it would look good for me to be seen without you and my schedule was packed anyway.” She rested her hand on my thigh. “I know things have been strained lately. Your friends back home have a way of winding you up, but we can ease back into this again. Hanging out. Having a good time. You can prove to the world that you’re better and ready to bring the championship home.”
I stared at the window, watching the lights of the city get closer. The stadium just to the west. I made this decision, I told myself. I wanted this. I left, for god’s sake. I could have had everything back, and I left.
Sabine’s hand tightened against my leg unnecessarily, and I slowly removed it.
“Did you fuck her?” she asked, pushing her hair over her shoulder.
“What?”
“Heaven, that girl you’re so obsessed with.”
“I’m not obsessed with her, Sabine. We’re just…” I swallowed. Saying the word cut me if I wanted to admit it or not. “Friends.”
She snorted. “Well, whatever. I obviously can’t get mad if you did. She’s pretty. A little annoying, but as long as you were discreet, sleeping with an ex-girlfriend isn’t the worst thing you could do. Honestly, I wish you would have, then you could’ve knocked that chip off your shoulder.”
I touched my temples, willing away the headache. “Shut up, Sabine. You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not stupid, Hayden. I saw how you looked at her.” She rolled her eyes. “How you all looked at her. Is that the problem? Did you lose her to one of the other guys?”