Chapter 2

The evening, which had devolved into a farce, finally ended.

Alex, with a drunk Chloe in his arms, left.

They hadn’t even walked out of my sight before they kissed under the garden lights.

Through the rain-streaked glass, I watched them calmly for a while.

Then I lowered my head and carefully put the check away.

I pulled out my phone and tapped on the pinned chat.

A simple "Miss you a little" I’d sent before the party had received six replies.

Five hours ago: "1."

Four hours ago: "Training now."

Three hours ago: "Actually, I don’t mind being interrupted during training."

Two hours ago: "They said it’s your birthday today."

An hour ago: "Happy birthday."

And the one that had just popped up: "I’m coming to see you."

I curved my lips into a small smile.

I replied: "No need. I’ll come watch your game next week."

The "Typing..." above his name flickered for a long time.

Then he sent two replies:

"Okay."

"Don't mess with me."