Inside Out

My feet ached by the time I got home. The Rangers were at home but I wasn’t rushing around at MSG. I was forced to tag along after Alexander, watching and taking notes as he organized publicity and media availability surrounding upcoming fan events and hospital visits. When we finally finished he sent me home with an assignment of filling out my schedule for the very same events, complete with a detailed description of why I picked each player for what event.

“Your job is very simple: you have to know them without actually knowing them.”

Rolling my eyes as I unlocked my door, I pushed all thoughts of Alexander and the Rangers from my mind. As soon as the door popped open I toed off my shoes and slipped out of my jacket. Somebody was bustling around in the kitchen and the smell of roasted chicken was floating through the apartment.

“Shan, if you’re cooking for Ryan again you better have saved me some,” I teasingly called out as I began taking out my earrings while I made my way to the kitchen.

It wasn’t Shannon moving around though. It was Kyle. He looked ridiculous in his Rangers apron and oven mitts, moving between different pots simmering on the stove and some mixing bowl on the counter. Piecing together what was going on didn’t take long; Kyle was obviously making me dinner as another one of his ploys to get into my pants.

“Bren!” Kyle feigned surprise. “What are you doing home?”

Shaking my head, I sidestepped him and continued through the kitchen to my bedroom. Kyle was a good guy most of the time but he wasn’t even close to my type. His idea of a good time was generally sitting on the couch and drinking beer until his extremities felt like Jell-O. And he’s a Rangers fan that really hates the Islanders and Long Island.

Peeling out of my internship-approved clothes, I pulled on an old Islanders t-shirt and slipped into some pajama pants. Doing dinner with Kyle in anything but ratty pajamas was a bad idea; he was easily encouraged and didn’t seem to comprehend that I’d most likely never be interested. If it weren’t for Peter, Shannon and Ryan I’d tell him straight up that he didn’t have a chance. But they wanted to keep the peace and when Kyle didn’t get his way he had a tendency to declare world war three.

“Hey, Bren, I made too much food,” Kyle called from the kitchen. “Do you want to join me?”

“Yeah, sure,” I hollered back as I swept my gaze over my room.

In the kitchen Kyle was busy setting our tiny island that worked as our table most of the time. Shannon and I were usually seated in the wooden stools while the boys crowded around on the other sides while we ate. But now Kyle had transformed it; there was a red tablecloth draped over the island with a bright green candle sitting in the middle flanked by two tables and silverware.

“I think I’m underdressed,” I joked as I sat on one of the stools.

Kyle glanced up and offered me a smile. “I think you look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I offered with a forced smile, unsure how else to proceed. “So uh, I guess your team won tonight, huh?”

“Yeah, weren’t you there?” Kyle smiled as he scooped noodles onto my plate. “The Isles won too though. Six to three over the Habs I think.”

It took all of my strength not to ask if John scored. “Awesome.” I smiled, holding out my hand to stop him from adding any more noodles. “But no, I wasn’t there. I was working on something else.”

Kyle nodded. “Cool, cool.”

My smile was forced. I wasn’t sure what else to say; Kyle and I almost never hung out by ourselves. We very rarely agreed, if at all. Pete thought he only had a thing for me because I didn’t let him get whatever he wanted like most people did.

“So…” Kyle started as he moved a piece of chicken from the serving dish to my plate. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about…”

Shit, shit, shit. “Um, yes?”

My roommate smiled. “I was thinking we could be good together.”

I froze. I knew it was coming but it still caught me off guard. “Um,” I started slowly, unsure of how to proceed. His earnest, almost hopeful expression was rendering me speechless. I didn’t want to hurt him. “I have a boyfriend,” I blurted finally, my hand slapping over my mouth almost immediately. It was a lie and it felt horrible coming out of my mouth.

“Oh,” Kyle sighed. He looked like someone kicked his puppy. “When did that happen?”

The sound of my phone ringing from the other room saved me from answering. Giving Kyle an apologetic smile, I slipped off the stool and sprinted for my room. My phone, vibrating across the floor by my overturned purse, was on the last ring when I finally managed to grab it. It was John.

“Hello?” I answered breathlessly. He never called me.

Laughter greeted me from the other end. “You just run a marathon?”

Shaking my head, I shut the door to my room. “No, shut up,” I teased as I flopped onto my bed. “I was in the other room. But thanks for calling, you totally just saved me from my roommate.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” I laughed. “I got home from my internship and he was cooking and I knew immediately that it was another one of his ploys to get in my pants. But normally he isn’t so forward about it and tonight he straight up said he thought we’d be good together.”

Silence greeted me. If it weren’t for the soft sounds of SportsCenter in the background I would have assumed the call got disconnected or he hung up. I wanted to prod him, to ask if he was still there but I was terrified that I said the wrong thing.

“Did you…” John sighed. I could practically picture him rubbing a hand over his face as he spoke and it made my stomach clench. “Did you tell him you were seeing someone?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. That was not what I was expecting. “Yeah, sort of,” I admitted. “He was asking when that happened when I heard my phone so you kind of saved me.”

“Glad I could help,” John laughed. “Did you see the score of the game tonight?”

My lips pulled down into a frown. “Yeah but I wish I could have been there,” I sighed. “I’m really starting to hate my internship and early morning classes.”

John laughed. “But you’ll be at the game on Thursday, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” I confirmed. It would be my fourth game since we started whatever it was that was happening between us. “Are the Islanders going to win or am I going to have to listen to Alexander wax poetic about the amazing Rangers?”

John groaned. “Matty is going to love you. You both like to give me shit.”

I bit my lip as warmth spread through me. “Yeah, well, it’s just so easy,” I teased.

“You don’t have class until the afternoon on Friday, right?”

“Right.”

“Why don’t you come to my place after the game on Thursday? I’m going to Dougie’s tomorrow and his wife always sends me home with food so we can watch a movie and eat on my couch instead of going out?” John asked.

I opened my mouth to respond, to tell him that that would be amazing but he continued before I could get it out.

“I mean, unless you’d rather go out to dinner ‘cause that’s fine too.”

A soft laugh bubbled from my lips. “It’s like you don’t know me at all,” I teased. “A movie at your place would be great as long as you’re up for cuddling.”

There was something about being on the phone with John or texting him that made me much more confident in what I could say to him. In person I was still dancing around him, unsure if it was okay to grab his hand or kiss him when the urge overwhelmed me. But with just a phone connecting us I could be brave, I could toss things out there.

“It’s a date,” John agreed. I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I’ll see you then,” I replied as I tried to contain my own smile.

“Goodnight, Brenna.”

“Goodnight, John.”

Thursday couldn’t come fast enough.