Wild Tendy (IceCats 2)

I roll my eyes as the man places the huge box at my feet. “He ordered it for my size chest, not your Pamela Anderson, Baywatch-size tits.”

She scoffs. “Girl, I’m going for Queen Latifah. Get it right.”

I laugh as I hang up. I tuck my phone into my back pocket as I look down at the gold and black box. I’m beyond excited to open this. I pick it up and head into the shop. I closed a bit early so I could go figure things out over at the gym since we were super busy all day. I can usually gauge my dinner customers from my lunch rush. If we’re popping for the day, then the night is usually very slow. I don’t know why, but I’m right because no one was waiting around outside. When I get into my bedroom, I set the box down and then open it. I pause for a second and check my watch. Did Nico have a game tonight? Shit, I should know this. After a quick Google search of the IceCats schedule, I see he doesn’t. Great. I hit his contact for FaceTime and set my phone up on my dresser. When his beautiful face comes on the phone, I grin.

“Hey there, gorgeous.”

My heart flutters in my chest. We have spent almost every night on the phone. It’s weird, but in this short time, I feel closer to Nico than I ever did to Mike. I grew up with Mike, like next-door kind of thing, but we never talked. It was all physical, all the time. But with Nico being gone, all we have is talk. To say I enjoy it is an understatement. I love it. But man, I want him home.

“Hey, whatcha doing?”

“Lying in bed. I had therapy and then tapes, and then we had to get settled into the new hotel. I am ready to be home. I miss my bed.”

I make a face. “I bet. I’d hate to travel like that. The bed bug thing would freak me out.”

His face turns serious. “Aviva, I shit you not. I make them come up, spray my bed, and change the sheets in front of me.”

I grin. Of course he does. “Hey, I can’t hate, but since I’m just a mere sub maker and nothing like a hockey god, they won’t do that for me.”

He gives me a look. “I bet they will when you go to Baybridge.”

Oh, he knows what to say to chip at my walls. “You’d make them do that for me?”

“Yup. Consider it done.”

“Aw, you’ve made my shitty day twice.”

A perplexed look covers his gorgeous features. “Why is it shitty?”

“Dominica won’t tell me who the hell paid Callie’s gym bill.”

He gives me a dry look. “Who the hell cares? Let it be. This is a good thing. You can focus on getting a loan for the shop, or even getting ahead on your mom’s medical bills.”

I shrug. “That’s what Jaylin said.”

“Have you talked to her about the loan? Is she still willing to do it?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. We didn’t talk about it today. Apparently Kirby kind of called it off with her.” He makes a face, and I raise my eyebrow. “So, you know?”

He brings his shoulders up and then his palms in a very I-don’t-know way, but guilt is all over his face. “Yeah. It’s messy.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah, the girl he was in a long-term relationship with came up pregnant. She’s saying he either stays with her or she’s giving up the baby. Kirby comes from a really bad family, kind of like our fucked-up dads, but his was both parents. So he wants to try for the baby’s sake. So it can have two parents. And if that doesn’t work, then I don’t know. His girl, she’s a fucking shitshow of a disaster.” He scoffs. “If you think your life is a mess, hers is worse. And she causes it.”

I scrunch up my face in horror. “Good Lord.”

“Yeah, but he’s bummed. He liked Jaylin a lot.”

“That’s what she said, and she liked him.”

“Sucks, but life.”

“Exactly, which is why I think this thing with Callie’s gym is not good.”

He perks a brow. “Huh?”

“Life hates me.”

“Then love life more,” he says simply, and that gives me pause. “Just go with the flow.”

“The flow gives me anxiety.”

He chuckles. “Embrace the flow.”

I roll my eyes, but he’s right. Jaylin’s right. Hell, even Callie is right. This is good. This can help a lot, and I really needed that load taken off me. There is just this nagging feeling in my soul that way too much good is going on. I’m actually happy. To be honest, I’m waiting for Nico to take off and/or my dad to walk in with papers suing me for custody of Callie. Or maybe I went through the bad to get to the good.