Someone Someday (All in Good Time Book 2) (11 page)

She shifted to point at the doors at the far end of the huge hallway. A few other small groups of friends and family came to stand in the hallway as we all waited for our respective player to emerge from the locker room.

We watched anxiously as the door opened three different times and other players came out. All of them gave a nod or wave to Morgan's parents when they saw them standing there, but the usually talkative Teresa didn’t say anything to them.

"Morgan said we have to be quiet when we're in here," she whispered after one of them walked off. "He said the guys like to get out of here and go home once it's over."

I nodded and kept my head down when the door opened again.

"Hey honey!" I heard her say. "You had a great game!"

I knew it was Morgan before I looked up, but that didn't prepare me for how breathless I'd be when I laid eyes on him.

Chapter 14

Morgan came into the hallway wearing jeans and a well-worn, burgundy, long sleeve t-shirt that hugged every curve of his muscular chest. He smelled clean and his hair was still damp, making it obvious that he had just taken a shower. He ran a hand through his dark, wet hair as he approached. He glanced at me briefly before looking at his mother who had been the first to speak. He wasn't scowling when he made eye contact with me, but he wasn't smiling either. I thought he had a good game, and the unreadable expression he wore surprised me.

"Thanks," he said in response to his mother's congratulations. He reached out to give her a sideways hug and his dad leaned in and slapped him on the shoulder a few times.

"Great game, son," he added.

Zack and I stayed quiet.

"Lexi brought Zack with her," Teresa said.

"That young man could teach me a few things about business," Jim chimed in.

Zack stepped forward and stuck out his hand. He was wearing a huge smile, making it obvious that he was thrilled to meet Morgan.

Morgan shook his hand, but barely made eye contact with him and didn't smile at all. He looked at his parents and a few seconds of awkward silence passed before he used his hand to gesture to the door at the end of the hall. "I'm gonna head out this way if you wanna walk Lexi and her friend back up," he said with the type of finality that meant we were parting ways.

For a second, I couldn't figure out what had him in such a bad mood, and then it hit me that he might have thought I was there on a date. Zack was a young, handsome guy and it probably didn't help that Jim bragged on him.

"Zack needs to be getting back to Laney and the baby anyway," I said. I looked at Teresa. "Is it okay for us to go back up the way we came?"

"We'll go with you," she said, slightly confused.

As she was saying it, I heard Morgan say, "Are you Lexi's brother-in-law?"

"Yeah, I'm Laney's husband."

Morgan shot him a relieved smile and stuck out his hand to shake Zack's again. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't realize that's who you were. I didn't even think about the possibility that you'd come with her. I saw you up there sitting in the stands and thought it was one thing for Lexi to bring a date with her, but I never dreamed my parents would bring you guys down here."

Zack took in a deep breath, realizing what Morgan was saying. "Oh, you thought Lexi and I were—"

"Yes."

Teresa gasped when she understood. "I'm sorry honey, I thought you knew who Zack was."

Morgan shook his head, smiling. "It's fine. It shouldn't have mattered anyway. It just threw me off. I'm sorry about the cold shoulder."

Zack let out a little laugh. "I'll take any shoulder I can get from the MVP."

Other players came out of the locker room one by one, but none of them really paid attention to us as they headed out to the parking lot. After a minute, the double doors to the locker room flung open and the deep, roaring sound of a motorcycle filled the hallway.

Morgan stuck his arms out and pushed us all closer to the wall. "He's coming through here," he yelled over the sound of the engine. The man had on a helmet and glasses so, we couldn't see who it was, but Morgan waved to him as he drove slowly past us, waving back at Morgan. We watched as he made his way to the doors at the end of the hallway where two more employees stood to open the doors.

"That was the skipper," Morgan said.

I glanced at Zack with a quick clueless expression and he mouthed the words, "The coach," to me.

Morgan looked at his parents. "I'll give Lexi and Zack a ride to their car," he said. "Do you need a ride home?"

"We'll go back this way," Jim said, motioning to the door that led to the elevator. He patted his stomach. "I need to walk off that funnel cake."

"Are you sure?"

Teresa hugged him again. "Yeah, sweetie, we'll be fine. I like the walk."

"We can walk out with your parents," I said. "We're really not parked too far from here."

Morgan stared straight at me for a second and then he reached out and touched my arm for a split second before he said, "I want to give you a ride."

He had me feeling breathless again, and I glanced at the ground for a second to try to compose myself before looking back at him.

I smiled. "We'll follow you, then."

We said goodbye to his parents and headed for the double doors at the end of the long hallway. Morgan led the way, while Zack and I sort of trailed behind. I risked a quick look at Zack behind Morgan's back to find that Zack was staring at me with those hilarious wide eyes again. I knew he was saying that there was a lot more going on with Morgan and I than I was letting on, but in my mind there really wasn't. I smiled and shook my head at him, telling him to just go ahead and be quiet. We approached the doors and Morgan waved at the employees who opened them for us and told us to have a good evening.

We entered a small, gated parking lot. There was room for about 40 or 50 cars, but it was only half-full. Yelling started right when we walked outside.

"Morgan, over here!"

"Morgan Turner!"

"Morgan!"

"Number 8!"

"Hey, over here!"

There was a small group of fans gathered around a section of fence near the parking lot gate. They were obviously standing there to catch a glimpse of the players as they left the clubhouse. We walked to Morgan's truck with them yelling and trying to get his attention the whole time. Morgan waved once while we were walking and then again just before he sat in his truck.

"That's what it's like to be famous," Zack mumbled only loud enough for me to hear once we got in Morgan's truck.

"This is insane," I said, giggling as the gate opened and we drove out. The windows were up, but we could still hear the fans yelling. Morgan honked once as he pulled onto the street.

"Do you ever stop and sign autographs?" I asked.

"Not right there. None of us do. Those people know we're ready to get home. We sign plenty of them before games."

Zack and I were both sitting in the front seat of Morgan's truck. He was by the door, and I was in the middle, and as soon as we made it to the corner, Zack's hand flew out in front of me so he could point out the window. "Take a left right here. I'm about four blocks up in a parking garage on the right."

"Did you drive?" Morgan asked.

Neither of us knew who he was talking to.

I said, "Zack drove."

And at the same time Zack said, "I drove."

"How about if I drop Zack off at his car and I give you a ride home?"

"Oh, that's okay," I said. "I live at the same house Zack does. It'd be silly to take two cars."

Morgan breathed a little laugh and glanced over me at Zack. "Is she always this elusive?" he asked.

Zack laughed. "That's an understatement. I've known Lexi for over three years, and she's…" he hesitated, trying to choose his words carefully. He sighed as if giving up. "Let's just leave it at she's elusive. It's a major compliment that she's even sitting this close to you right now."

Morgan laughed a little and rubbed his jaw. "I know Zack's headed to the same place you are, Lexi," Morgan said in a patient tone. "I was just trying to squeeze in a few minutes with you since we're both so busy."

I shrugged. "I'm fine with that, I just didn't want you to have to bring me to the house when Zack's headed that way."

"I get that," he said, laughing.

We sat there in silence for a few seconds. So many things were swirling through my mind. I couldn't help but think of the beautiful Nadia Lewis and what sort of past or future he might have with her. I didn't know what to say, and the longer I took to respond, the more awkward it got. "I'd like a ride home, if you don't mind," I finally said.

Morgan used the back of his hand to playfully wipe sweat off of his forehead as a breath of relief escaped his lips. "Whew, she was making me sweat that one out," he said.

Zack laughed. "I'm not even exaggerating right now when I say you're super special."

I slapped Zack's leg. "You make it sound like I'm impossible," I said.

"I think he's smart enough to grasp the challenge here," Zack said.

That made Morgan laugh.

Zack pointed out the window again and Morgan pulled up in front of the garage. "I would bring you up, but getting in and out of there would be a nightmare right now."

"This is great," Zack said. "It was really nice meeting you. Thank you so much for the tickets."

"No problem," Morgan said. "Anytime."

We were in heavy traffic, so it was impossible for Morgan to stop for very long. Zack got out in a hurry. "I'll see you at home, Lex. Thanks again!" he said, closing the door.

I scooted over a little once Zack got out, and Morgan patted the empty space next to him. "I liked you back where you were," he said.

I didn't say anything; I simply shifted to the spot I was in before, which put a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry I got jealous back there," he said. "I should have put it together that Zack was your brother-in-law. You just looked so beautiful and seemed so happy, and my first thought was that you were at the game with him."

I didn't see that sort of statement coming, and the honesty of it combined with the compliment had my heart rate going again. "Well, I really didn't expect to see you or your parents at the game," I said, "so I was thrown off too. I thought I'd just pick up a couple of tickets and blend into the crowd. Going downstairs and seeing you up close was completely unexpected."

"Good unexpected or bad unexpected?"

I slapped his leg playfully. "Good unexpected, of course!"

"Good," he said, smiling. "You have to tell me where to go."

I explained how to get to my house. Traffic was bad down there by the stadium, so it took us twenty minutes to get there. We talked about baseball the whole time.

As we pulled into the driveway, I told him to park behind my SUV so he wouldn't block in Laney or my neighbor.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked.

He smiled as he turned off the engine. "I wasn't going to push my luck, but as long as you're asking, sure."

We got out of the truck and I pointed at the main house. "Laney and Zack live there, and I stay in one of the apartments above the garage." I led him up the iron staircase. "Laney and I used to live in this apartment together when we first moved to town, but Zack bought the house when they got married." I unlocked the door and we stepped inside. "It's tiny, but I'm happy here," I said. I didn't realize how tiny it was until someone as big as Morgan stepped inside, but now that he was standing there, it seemed so little.

Morgan saw me kick off my shoes when I came in, and he did the same, leaving his by the door. I went to the kitchen area and turned on the light while he headed for the couch.

"All I have is water or juice," I said. "Or I can make coffee if you want."

"Water's fine," he said.

I reached into the cabinet, got glasses, and poured water out of the filter pitcher I kept in the fridge. Morgan was looking around my apartment curiously when I came into the living room.

"Tell me something I don't know about you," he said. I handed him the glass of water. "Thanks," he added.

I sat next to him on the couch with my legs crossed. "You're welcome."

I thought about all the things I could tell him. The first thing that came to my mind was that I had painful scars and baggage as a result of being raped—that I wasn't normal at all. Obviously, I wasn't going that deep for now.

The second thing that crossed my mind was to tell him that I had money—that I'd won the lottery and had a nice little chunk of change in the bank. I thought of both of those things, but opted not to tell him either one.

"I drink a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar every day," I said, even though it was a silly, insignificant fact.

"You do?"

"Yeah, Laney got super sick a few years ago when we first moved here, and when she was trying to figure out what was wrong with her, she talked to this nutritionist who told her she should take that every day."

"Did it help her?" he asked.

"No. The thing she had just had to work it's way out of her system, but that little bit of advice stuck with me for some reason."

"I think my mom takes that," he said. "Is it Braggs?"

"Braggs, yeah, that's the stuff." I paused and looked at him for a second. My eyes, as usual, were drawn to his gorgeous curved lips, and I had to make an effort to tear them away. "What's something I don't know about you?" I asked.