Jilted Jock : A Hero Club Novel

by Rebecca Jenshak

“Wanna grab dinner?”

  “Another night. I should get home.”

  She smirked knowingly. “I get it. I’d be anxious to get home too if a celebrity was staying there.”

  “It’s not like that and you know it. I have Richard. And besides, he’s probably already gone.”

  “Richard is snooze town.”

  My mouth fell open.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

  “Richard is a good man and good for me. Successful, kind, handsome, everything I could ever want. Just because he’s not famous or living every moment of his life out on social media, that doesn’t make him boring. At least not to me.”

  She stopped and studied me carefully. “Fine, but does he make your knees weak?” she asked dreamily.

  “Men who make women weak in the knees also tend to make them stupid.”

  I could smell Finn when I walked through the front door. The faintest hint of a clean woodsy scent floated around and stopped me in my tracks.

  It wasn’t so much Finn, but the way his presence in my house reminded me I lived alone. You never noticed the smell of your house until it changed.

  I dropped my purse on the kitchen counter and found a note scribbled on a loose piece of paper. Be back tonight for my stuff.

  I took off toward the spare room. When I opened the door kitty took off, a blur of white fur. Poor thing had been shut up in there all day probably. The litter box was set up in the corner, a fancy electronic thing that looked like a spaceship. Her pink mat with matching water and food bowl with bling that matched the rhinestone collar on her neck. I was glad to see he was taking care of her, but man he’d really spent some money on the accessories for this kitten that he was so adamant to get rid of.

  I changed into leggings and a tank and put on my sneakers for a run. The kitten batted at the frayed edges of a throw blanket lying over the arm of the couch.

  “Back in a little bit,” I told her as I opened the front door and stepped out. Either my words or the sound of the door opening caught her attention and she zipped in front of my legs before I could catch her.

  “Oh no!”

  She took off in a run, pumping her little legs fast. She passed my neighbor’s house and disappeared. I ran after her looking left and right and calling for her. The neighborhood was an older one with lots of trees and shrubs, basically the perfect places for a small kitten to hide.

  I went around the block twice before admitting defeat. I couldn’t go home without the kitten, so I went to Chance’s.

  “Hey.” My brother held the door open and gave me a curious stare. “You okay?”

  “I lost the cat.”

  “What cat?

  “Finn’s cat.” I trudged inside and threw myself down on the couch. “I was going for a run and she darted out the front door. I’ve looked everywhere.”

  “Uh, did I miss something?” Chance sat down beside me. “Why do you have Finn’s cat?”

  “It’s not a big deal,” I started, worried after the way Richard had overreacted. “We went to a bunch of hotels and no one would take the cat, so I offered to let him stay at my place last night. When I got back from work, he’d left a note that he’d be by later to grab his things.”

  Chance’s blue eyes, a darker shade than my own, studied me carefully. “You let Finn stay at your place? What the hell did Dick think of that?”

  “Not you too. I don’t see the big deal. You let him stay here.”

  “Not alone with my wife.”

  “He slept in a room on the opposite side of the house.”

  CJ came running into the living room and grabbed a small truck off the floor shouting, “Mine!” before he took off in the opposite direction.

  Chance chuckled. “See, we don’t share well – at any age.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I should go.”

  “What are you going to do about the cat?”

  “Knock on doors, put up flyers, post on the neighborhood page.” I shrugged. “Hope he doesn’t notice.”

  “Good luck with that. Did you at least take the diamonds off from around her neck first?”

  “It’s real?!” I squeaked.

  Chance laughed and gave me a little apologetic shrug.

  I walked slowly, calling for the cat and asking the neighbors that were outside if they’d seen her. No one had. Defeated and feeling a little sick over it, I approached my house. A large black SUV was parked out front and Finn sat on the front steps with kitty in his lap.

  “Oh my God, you found her.”

  “Found her?” He stood.

  “She got out when I was leaving for a run and disappeared. I’ve been around the block looking for her. Where was she?”

  “She was sitting here when I pulled up.”

  I reached out and petted her – or attempted too – she swatted my hand and brought my finger to her mouth to bite. “You little wild thing. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  I scratched around the diamond collar but didn’t dare ask why in the world he’d give the cat diamonds… a cat he was trying to get rid of no less. Finn cleared his throat. I pulled my hand back and let us into the house.

  “Did you find somewhere for kitty?” I walked to the fridge and grabbed a water. I offered him one, but he shook his head. His gaze swept over me and I realized I was probably a mess from running around looking for kitty.

  I raised my brows when he didn’t immediately answer, and he snapped out of his judgmental trance. “Not yet. I spent the day finding a new place to live.”

  “And?”

  “I found a place.”

  “That’s great. Do they allow pets?”

  He flexed his jaw. “Yeah, but I can’t move in for two weeks, so I was wondering if you’d reconsider letting her stay here? I’ll take care of everything. She’s got food and water, a litter box. And if you want me to hire someone to feed and change the litter, I will.”

  “Where are you going to stay?”

  “At one of the hotels nearby. It’s quieter in Hermosa Beach. I think I’ll stay until my place is ready.”

  How lost did a person have to be that they didn’t want to be near any of the family or friends he knew – not to even be in the same town? Pretty lost. I remembered that feeling well. Not wanting to call Chance or my mum and admit I needed them. Oh God, I was going to do something stupid.

  “That’s silly. You don’t need to stay at a hotel. The spare room is yours until your place is ready.”

  “I couldn’t impose.” He held his hands up in front of him, embarrassed, but where would he go? Kitty snuggled in his arms and he stroked her absently. Something told me kitty would be good for mending his broken heart. Any discomfort or misgivings seemed less important than giving him a place to heal – a place that loved cats.

  “It’s no imposition. I work during the day, so it isn’t like we’re going to be bumping into one another very often. Kitty is already comfortable here.” She jumped from his arms and pranced to the living room. We watched as she tried to jump onto the couch. She couldn’t quite make it yet, but she was determined. “You really need to name her before ‘kitty’ sticks.”

  Finn sat down on the stool in front of the counter and let his shoulders sag. A reluctant and tired agreement.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  I smiled. “No.”

  I grabbed a spare key from my junk drawer and handed it to him, then rummaged through the pantry for what to cook for dinner. I was just about to ask him if he was hungry when I turned to find his nose buried in his phone.

  “Got a new phone too, I see.”

  “Is Flemings any good?”

  “Yeah.” I paused with a box of off-brand penne pasta in one hand. “Their food is incredible. Best steak I’ve ever had. And the mashed potatoes.” My mouth watered. “Richard took me there for our one-year anniversary.”

  “Richard?”

  “Oh, my boyfriend. He travels, but you might see him on
the weekends. He’s a financial analyst.”

  “Chance didn’t mention you had a boyfriend.”

  I sidestepped that wondering what Chance had said about me. “Café Mod is also good. It’s right on the beach. Incredible views.”

  “Great.” He stood. “I’ll get out of your hair for the evening.”

  Sometime in the middle of the night I woke to the sound of scratching. It took me a minute to place the sound. My brain was foggy from the carb coma I’d put myself in after Finn had left. It hadn’t tasted like Flemings and I was irrationally bitter about it.

  I unlocked my door and opened it a crack. Kitty raced in. I left the door ajar, despite Richard’s insistence that I lock it, and scooped up the cat and laid in bed.

  Richard wasn’t thrilled about Finn staying for the next two weeks, but I’d assured him I could take care of myself.

  I wasn’t the type of girl Finn dated. I knew that without even looking up pictures of his ex. I was six years older and lived a completely different lifestyle. But more importantly, Finn wasn’t my type. Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore. His being here reminded me of how gracious people had been when I’d needed a safe place to lick my wounds. I could be that for him. It felt like fate, and I wasn’t sure I even believed in fate.

  “Hi Kitty.” She settled on my chest and purred as I scratched behind her ears. “You need a name. What should we call you?”

  Her eyes were a bright blue. Even in the darkness they reminded me of her owner’s eyes. Hyper blue. Fitting. “Hyper isn’t a good name. Don’t want you to get a complex. How about…” I yawned and gave up on thinking of anything clever for tonight. “For now, I guess you’re just kitty.”

  Adele

  In my dream there was someone at my front door, banging and yelling. I wasn’t scared in the dream, more confused and a touch annoyed. I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t stop. I thrashed and covered my head with a pillow.

  A yelp and a small thud finally pulled me to. I sat straight up and looked at kitty lying on the floor giving me a puzzled and betrayed look and the banging… oh my God, the banging was real.

  I tiptoed from bed, blood pumping and slowly eased my bedroom door open.

  “Woman! Open the doooooooor,” Finn’s voice bellowed, and my fear turned to straight annoyance.

  I rushed to the door and pulled it open. He tumbled forward like he’d been leaning on it.

  “Are you trying to wake the entire neighborhood?”

  “You locked me out.”

  “I did not.” The smell of alcohol hung over him like a cloud. “And even if I had, I gave you a key.”

  “Don’t know where it is,” he slurred.

  I glanced outside noticing his truck wasn’t here. “How did you get here?”

  I shut the door and turned to face him, body still buzzing from the adrenaline of being woken up in the middle of the night.

  “Walked.”

  “You walked here? Are you nuts?” The closest bar was at least three miles away. The palm of my hand met his forehead before I could stop myself. Seriously, what was he thinking?

  His glossy eyes widened. “Did you just slap me on the goddamn forehead?”

  “Someone needed to.”

  He muttered something under his breath and rubbed his forehead with two fingers. I stormed back to bed with kitty and slammed the door behind me.

  The next couple days, I barely saw Finn. The door to his room was closed when I woke up and when I got home from work, he was gone. It wasn’t until long after I went to bed that I’d hear him coming in at night.

  He might not have been there, but the faint scent of his soap and the closed spare bedroom were constant reminders. After not having a roommate for so long, the comings and goings of another person made me acutely aware of every sound – the front door creaking when he entered. A creak I never noticed but had added to my list of things to fix. The shower in the spare bathroom, the sound of someone undressing. Yeah, there’s a sound for that – shoes coming off with a thud, clothes being tossed to the floor. I even had the unfortunate experience of listening to him puke his guts out early one morning. I was counting down the days until he was gone.

  On Thursday, I was pouring coffee into my to-go mug, yawning from another night of fitful sleep, when he entered the kitchen.

  “’Morning.”

  “Good morning.” My eyes landed on his bare chest and traveled down to his six-pack and that V that disappeared into those damn gray sweatpants. I turned quickly and placed the carafe back in its holder. “I wasn’t expecting you to be up. Coffee?”

  “I’ll grab some in town.”

  I grabbed a bright yellow mug with the words TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED written in pink script and filled it with coffee. “When someone offers coffee, the polite thing to do is say yes.”

  He quirked a brow. “What if I don’t want it yet?”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t matter if I want the coffee or not?”

  “No. I was being polite.”

  “And I politely declined.”

  “Is that what you think you did?”

  To his credit, he was silent for a moment like he was trying to remember. He picked up the mug and brought it to his lips and took a long sip. Steam billowed out and he winced at the hot liquid.

  “Happy?” he asked hoarsely.

  “Yes. Extremely.”

  He shook his head and took a seat. “How come you don’t have as much of an accent as your brother?”

  “It slips out a little more from time to time. I was three when we moved to Australia and I was an early talker so that’s probably some of it.”

  “How long were you there?”

  “I was twenty-one when Mum and I moved back.”

  He smiled, flashing me that gorgeous mouth and white teeth. They weren’t perfectly straight on the bottom but for some reason that made me like his smile even more. “There it is. Mum. Do you miss it?”

  “No, but I wish I hadn’t taken it for granted so much when I lived there. I didn’t see a lot of things I should have before we left.” I put the lid on my cup and took a careful sip. “Do you miss it?”

  “No, I love California. The Pacific Coast is pretty spectacular.” He started toward the bedroom with his mug. “Add that to your list of things to be grateful for today.” With a cocky wink he was gone.

  My face grew hot and I glanced at my open gratitude journal lying on the counter. He wouldn’t. But of course, he had. It wasn’t like I’d hid it. It was in plain sight so I couldn’t really be mad.

  I re-read yesterday’s entries, pretty typical, mundane things like good hair day and beef wellington – nothing embarrassing except the very last one… phone sex.

  As I drove to work, I took in my surroundings like it was the first time. Hermosa Beach was beautiful and hate as I might to admit it, Finn was right. I mentally scribbled it down on my gratitude list.

  Along with gray sweatpants and morning voice.

  Later that day I was on the phone with Richard when UPS showed up at my house.

  “Finn McCash?” a short, stocky guy with a blond beard asked without looking up. There were two giant boxes at his feet, and he scanned them with his little handheld thingy.

  “Uhh…”

  He glanced up at me impatiently.

  “He’s not here.”

  “Sign here and I’ll grab the others.”

  The others turned out to be a dozen more boxes just as big as the first two.

  I waited up for him that night. Or rather, I was awake when he got home. Kitty sat on my lap as we watched an old episode of Man vs Wild when Finn walked through the front door.

  Dark jeans, a black sweater, and a ball cap pulled low… he looked like he’d been on a date. Don’t ask me how I knew – years of dating bad boys and being picked up wearing something similar. Though none of them ever looked quite that good.

  “Some boxes came,” I said absently like I wasn’t dying t
o know what was inside. He’d already told me the stuff from his apartment was in storage so I had no clue what could be in the large boxes.

  He nodded and slowed as he took them in. They were taking up a good portion of the entryway, so there was no missing them.

  He surprised me by blowing out a breath and taking a seat on the opposite end of my white couch. His long legs stretched out in front of him. Kitty walked over to him and he petted her while staring straight ahead at the TV.

  “Have you named her?”

  “Who?”

  I pointed to his lap and he stopped like he was embarrassed to be caught petting the cat.

  “She needs a name,” I insisted.

  He frowned. “Her next owners can pick. She’s just kitty.”

  For some reason I hated the idea of him giving her up. I got it – really, I did. It was a constant reminder of his ex, but that wasn’t the cat’s fault.

  I wondered if he had any idea what the sight of him with that kitten did to women everywhere. I bet I could snap a photo and it’d be reposted a million times by morning. Heck, I could probably sell it and pay rent for a month.

  “You really never had a pet before?”

  A small shake of his head. “No. We lived in a small place growing up. Wasn’t a lot of room and my parents both worked long hours.”

  “Siblings?”

  Another shake of his head and this time he stood and removed his hat. “Is it okay if I leave the boxes there until…” He ran a hand through his hair and looked weary.

  “Yeah, of course. It’ll be like an obstacle course every time I come and go.”

  One side of his mouth pulled into a smile. “’Night.”

  “Good night, Finn.”

  The next morning, I was only slightly disappointed when Finn didn’t appear in the kitchen while I poured my coffee and wrote out my gratitude list. I didn’t write down men with kittens, though I thought it, but I decided to write out some possible names for kitty. If Finn didn’t read the list then no big deal, but if he did, then maybe it’d spark an idea for him.

  Spot

  Lola

  Princess

  Diamond

  Striker

  The last one was my least favorite, but I was playing to Finn’s love of soccer. Maybe if the kitty had a name that reminded him of something he loved, he’d transfer some of that love to her.