“What’s up?” he asks.
“I was wondering if I could volunteer at your hockey camp this summer,” I say, and he just looks at me with his eyebrows pinched together.
“Why are you even asking me that?” he says. “I don’t take care of that. Alex does.” With a smirk, he leans back in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest. He looks at me for a moment and then looks around to make sure no one is paying attention. He leans into me. “I don’t know what is going on,” he says. “But I know that she left, and it wasn’t for any fucking emergency.” He looks around again, and I clench my fist. He looks down and sees it, making him smirk and then smile. “Maybe no one else has caught on …” He looks around. “But I have, and if you hurt her …”
“Let’s just get one thing clear,” I say. “What’s between Alex and me is between the two of us.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “Fair enough. You can come by anytime you want.” He shrugs. “As long as she approves it.” He gets up now. “By the way, welcome to Dallas.”
He goes to sit in his seat. When I see my father looking at me, he just motions with his chin, and I shake my head. Ever since I told him about Alex, he’s been almost like my shadow. I know that he’s doing it to show me his support, and to be honest, knowing that I have it makes whatever hurdles I have to jump over just a touch easier.
The plane touches down, and I’m itching to get to her. I get up, and Julia stands behind me. “You going to go to her?” she asks.
“Nope,” I tell her. “I’m not going to go see her at her job.” I shake my head. “Besides, being there when she gets home is better.” I look at her. “Are you going to give her a heads-up?”
“Nah.” She shakes her head. “But if she calls me and needs me to help bury your body, you bet your ass I’ll be there.”
I walk down the stairs and to the side, waiting for my luggage. I hug everyone goodbye, and my father holds me a touch longer. I walk to the waiting SUV, giving him the address to Alex’s house. When I get there, I call the dog watcher and tell her I’m home. She tells me she will be over within an hour. I walk into the house, surprised she didn’t change the code. I am even more shocked when I see her luggage all by the stairs. She hates not unpacking when she comes back. I walk upstairs, taking her suitcases to her room, and find her bed unmade.
I sit on her bed and do the creepiest thing I’ve done ever. I grab her pillow and bring it to my nose. My heart speeds up even more when the doorbell rings, and I walk down and open the door. Mac barks at me and comes into the house, jumping on me. I get down, and she jumps again as she licks my face. “How was she?”
“Perfect,” she says, handing me the leash.
“Did you miss me?” I ask her as she runs into the house and smells around, no doubt looking for Alex. “She isn’t here,” I say as she looks over at me and runs upstairs to her bedroom. I wait down by the staircase, and four seconds later, she runs back downstairs. “Let’s go wait in the living room for her,” I say, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, and when I close the fridge, I see the picture we took at the aquarium. The both of us with our hands in the water with the stingrays.
Turning, I walk to the living room and sit down, looking around. I see the picture of the both of us on the side table, and then I look over at the fireplace and see that there is a picture of us last Christmas, dressed up in the same onesie pjs. I sit forward and put my water on the coffee table.
I’m about to get up when I hear a car in the driveway. Mac sticks her head up, looking at the front door and barking. “Stay,” I say as the front door opens, but she doesn’t listen to me. She totally ignores me and jumps off the couch and goes straight where she isn’t supposed to. I follow her and watch Alex as she looks down at Mac and smiles. The pain I felt in my chest for the past two days is suddenly lifted. She takes my breath away like no one else. Her hair falls into her face when Mac jumps up on her.