I Never Told You

After the game, I sat in the locker room. I looked at my phone and saw that I had a missed call and a message from Katy. I was just about to listen to it when some of the boys came out of the shower area.

“Hey Landy, you coming out with us tonight?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know, man. You guys know I’m underage.”

Erik Johnson, my road trip roommate, chuckles at me. “We know that dumbo. You’re not the only one. We’re going to a pub. Your pretty head can get in, don’t worry.”

I kept switching my gaze from my phone to Erik. I really wanted to hear Katy’s voice again, but I hadn’t been out with the guys in a while. I shook my head with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I’ll go. Where are we going?”

Paul Stasny shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure yet. We’re going to get in the cars and decide.”

I rolled my eyes. Typlcal Stasny. Always living by the seam of his pants. “Alright. Who’s driving?”

Erik raised his hand. “You’re coming with me, pretty boy.”

I lightly chuckled to myself. “Would you stop calling me that?”

“Nope.” He said with a shit-eating grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes once again and glanced at my phone one last time before finished getting changed. By the time I was done, I was the last person in the locker room. I picked up my phone again. I walked out of the locker room and put the phone to my ear, listening to the message that Katy left. I was happy to hear her voice, but I could sense that something was bothering her. I took my phone away from my ear and looked at it with a raised eyebrow. I wanted to tell the guys that I was just going to go home, so I could call Katy back. Just as I began to type a text to Erik, I heard my name being called. I lifted my head and saw Erik leaning against his car and signaling me to walk over to him. I shrugged my shoulders, Katy’s message still weighing on my mind and walked over to Erik and his car.

“You okay, man?”

I slowly nodded my head, hesitant. “Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.”

He smiled and nodded. “Alrighty then.”

I hopped in the backseat and saw Matt sitting beside me. “Hey, isn’t your car here?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Stasny took it. He came with Mitchell, and he’s not coming.”

“So why are you in this car?”

“Cause Stasny’s annoying, why else?”

I chuckled lightly. “Yeah, fair enough.”

I sat in the backseat with Matt as we drove throughout Denver. I was looking out the window to try and figure out where we were going. Knowing that Paul was driving the car in front of us only made me more impatient. I wasn’t planning on staying out late. I knew that Matt would, so I could go home and hopefully talk to Katy.

Finally we stopped. I was trapped in my thoughts to see where we were until I got out of the car. I smiled. I had loved this place and it had great food. I waited until all the boys were out of the three cars we took to get here before we walked in. Just before we walked in, I heard Erik ask Paul if he had made reservations, looking at the large group of us. Paul laughed.

“Of course I didn’t. But this place shouldn’t be that busy.”

We walked in and Paul was wrong. The place was packed. Erik turned and looked at Paul.

“Shouldn’t be that busy, huh?”

Paul just shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I didn’t expect it to be.”

After Erik pestering Paul for another minute or so, we decided to walk to the restaurant just up the block. Luckily, that one wasn’t as busy and we were able to get a table that fit all of us. It wasn’t as much of a restaurant as it was a sports bar. We sat down and all of the guys that weren’t minors ordered a pitcher of beer to share, while the rest of us got pop. I wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation that was going around the table. I kept my phone clutched in my hand, glancing at the time and wishing that my food would come soon so I could eat then leave.

I felt someone nudge my shoulder. I looked up and saw Matt raising his eyebrow at me.

“You okay, bud?”

I nodded curtly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just hungry, that’s all.”

He nodded slowly. I wasn’t quite sure he believed me, but I didn’t say anything more. I leaned back in my chair and looked around the table. The guys were all talking in their own little groups. I played with my phone in my hand, running my thumb over the screen as I watched the apps screen continue to change.

By the time my food got me, I had looked up at the waitress.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but could you put this is a to-go container? I’m getting a little tired.”

She gave me a small smirk, which I didn’t pay too much attention too, before nodding.

“Sure, not a problem.”

Paul looked across the table at me.

“Landy, you leaving?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m feeling a little tired.”

Erik clapped a hand on my shoulder. “You worked hard tonight, bud. I’m surprised you lasted this long.”

I smirked at him as I waited for the waitress to come back. As soon as she did, I said my goodbyes to the boys and made my way out of the pub. I heard footsteps behind me, turning my head, I saw Matt.

“You forget that you didn’t drive here?”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I actually did.”

I heard the dangling of keys as he pulled them out of his pocket. “Paul gave them back to me. Here,” he threw me the keys. “You’re going to be taking it to the same place I would, anyways. I’ll get a ride back.”

I raised my eyebrow at him. He was very particular about who drove his car. He had only let Paul drive it outside of him and tonight was only the second time.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yes. Look, I know I’m iffy about who drives my car, but at least I know you’re not going far. Now go, go talk to Katy.”

My eyes widened. “I, uh, um, I, I’m not going to talk to her.”

“Why not?” He asked, shocked. “She is your girlfriend, right?”

I nodded, a small smile forming on my face. “Yeah, yeah she is.” I took the keys from him and started to walk away from him. I turned back to face him and raised my hand in a wave. I walked to the car, got in and drove home.

When I walked in my apartment, I put my food container on the counter and plopped onto my couch. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began to think about what Katy would want to talk to me about.

Before I found myself in a puddle of worry, I dialed her number. After three rings, she picked up.

“Hello?” She said in a sleepy voice.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“No, it’s okay. I just dozed off. I’m awake.”

I sighed in relief. I didn’t want to bother her, but her voicemail left me puzzled.

“So, I got your message after the game.”

“Which was amazing, by the way. Great goal.”

I felt my lips curl in a small smile. “Thanks. So, what did you need to talk about?”

Right after I asked, I wanted to take it back. I didn’t want to sound too forward. I could hear light shuffling on her end, and could feel my body tense a little bit.

“I just wanted to talk to you. I need a break from all the school work.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “A lot of work, huh? Well, you know you can always talk to me.”

“Yeah, it is, and I know I can always talk to you. I just feel a little guilty for not knowing about this sooner and kind of leaving you hanging. I really wanted to come there and be with you for the week, that’s why I’ve been a little distant lately. I feel really guilty.”

I sat up straight and reached for my food container. “There’s no need to feel guilty. Your school comes first.”

“I know, I just wish I would’ve known about this project sooner.”

“It’s okay. So, how is the project coming along? Almost done?”

She sighed. “I wish. Nik says we’re probably going to be working all week.”

My eyebrow raised Nik?[ I thought. Who the hell is Nik? I didn’t want to push the subject right now, but I know I’d be thinking about it for a while. I closed my eyes and tried to re-collect my thoughts. I was interrupted by Katy’s voice.

“I don’t know exactly what you’re thinking, but we’re just friends. He’s in my group and that’s all.”

I shook my head with a soft chuckle.

“How do you do that?”

“Do what? Know that you’re a male, and when you hear of your girlfriend being around another male your primal sense of attack creeps up on you and turns you into the Incredible Hulk?” She asked with a sarcastic chuckle.

“Yeah, that.”

“Well, I have special powers. I’m Canadian.”

I felt my smile grow. “Woman, you are something else. So, it’s gotta be late there, you should get some sleep.”

“You mean early morning, and it’s fine. If I don’t get out of the bed now to get ready, I’ll fall back asleep and miss breakfast. You know, your mom’s a little pesty about that sometimes.”

“Yeah,” I chuckle. “She like the family to eat together.”

We continue to talk until I start to fall asleep and she got out of bed to get ready. I fell asleep dreaming of when I’d finally get to see her again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Katy’s POV

Getting off the phone from Gabe, I crawled out of bed and began to get ready. After I got dressed and went through my morning bathroom routine, I made my way downstairs. I see Cecelia in the kitchen, making the final preparations on breakfast. She hears my footsteps and turns her head, sending me a small smile.

“Good Morning, sweetie. Have a good sleep?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I did, thanks. I’m ready to tackle the day and hopefully finish the project today.”

She raised an eyebrow at me, her smile growing. “You guys still have lots to do?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “A little over half, I guess. But the rest is mostly putting it all together. That shouldn’t take too long.”

Cecelia and I waited for Bea and Tony to come downstairs. After we all finished eating, I finished up getting ready and waited for Nik to pick me up. He picked me up right on time. I hopped in the car with a slight smile.

“We gonna finish this today?”

He gave me a nod. “That depends. Are you going to be able to focus today?”

I leaned back with a small smile. “Yeah. Today’s a good day.”