Chapter Six
P ractice was brutal. I had eaten mat throwing a back tuck. Twice. This did not appear to please my new captain.
“Maybe think about landing on your feet? That’s gonna get ugly when you’re out on the track,” she mentioned in passing. I kept my response to myself, not needing to piss her off my second week on the team.
Get it together.
I threw the next four perfectly with no recognition. There were four weeks until the homecoming game, and the schedule handed out at the end of practice was insane.
“She can’t be serious,” I complained on our way out. “That’s double practices for two weeks.” At least Liv commiserated with me until her car was idling in front of my house.
I realized I actually had a date in an hour and hadn’t even told anyone about it. All of the uncertainty from earlier came rushing back, sending my stomach into a knot.
Maybe wait to see that it actually happens.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Livy,” I said, hopping out of the car, rapidly approaching panic-mode. Rushing, I flew through the front door and was half-way up the stairs before my mom called my name.
“Yes, Mom, I’m home, but I have a date, can this wait?” There was a long pause.
Shouldn’t have used the word ‘date.’ I scolded myself.
“A date with whom?” my mom questioned, her blue eyes set in a harsh gaze as her head popped around the corner of the stairs.
“Zack Rhodes?” I answered, not sure why I made it sound like a question.
“Rhodes…like his mother is head of city council?”
“Oh, maybe? I haven’t met his parents or anything. He played football for Central in high school.”
“Hmm. Where are you going?”
“We’re supposed to go to dinner. I really need to get in the shower if I’m going to get ready.”
My mom frowned slightly, and I began to worry in earnest that this was going to be an issue. I was nineteen, and going on a date shouldn’t be an issue.
This is why you wanted to go to Bowling Green.
The lack of freedom that came with living at home was suffocating.
“Okay, well, try not to be out too late. You’re just getting started at school.”
“Yes, Mom.”
I didn’t wait for any further conversation, turning on my heel and high tailing it into the bathroom.
After showering, I tried to calm my nerves and fix my face to look like I didn’t really care that I was going out with him.
By 6:20, I had on a killer outfit comprised of strappy metallic sandals and a purple halter dress that left just enough to the imagination.
I sat down at my desk to surveil the street through my bedroom window in peace.
6:22
6:25
6:29
6:35
He’s not that late
6:43
If I curled my eyelashes for no reason, heads are gonna roll.
6:52
I.will.kill.him.
Zack’s black Charger drove up at 6:53, and I had the urge to slash every tire on it. I swung the door open forcefully moments after he rang the bell to find him leaned up against the side of my house, purple tulips in hand. The only greeting he received was my raised brows and pointed stare .
“You look…hot. Like really hot,” he let out appreciatively. I tried to ignore the tingling sensation in my gut and keep up my pissed off glare. “What’s wrong?”
He seemed genuinely confused, and my anger started to mix with relief that he hadn’t stood me up. The fact that he was standing there with my favorite flowers didn’t help my cause.
“Um…nothing, are those for me?” I asked, all but abandoning the visceral diatribe I had planned in my bedroom.
Maybe he’s late because he bought you flowers. Can you really be pissed at that?
“They are. You like them?”
“I might.” I smiled hesitantly, not sure I wanted to fully commit to being nice just yet. I took the flowers inside to place in a vase and flitted back out to meet him. “So, where are we going?” I asked, some of my earlier excitement returning.
“Wherever you wanna go, babe.”
My heart felt a twinge of annoyance that he didn’t have more of a plan.
Why are guys this way?
I suggested we go to Max and Erma’s, because well, I still really wanted that sundae.
“That’s kind of far, don’t you think? I was sort of hoping we’d have time to drive down by the river after dinner. Is it cool if we hit up that café on Main?”
Then why’d you say wherever I wanted?!
“Sure, that’s cool,” I responded as evenly as I could. I knew full well that a trip down to the river meant hooking up in his backseat. This increased the whole knot-in-my-stomach thing exponentially.
There are worse ways to spend a Monday night , I mused, looking again at his full lips and how they curved up into a smile when he glanced at me.
* * *
He pulled my chair out when we arrived at the rustic café, and I finally started to relax into the evening.
“So, what do you do for fun, Vanessa Roberts?” he inquired once we’d ordered. I got the impression he was looking for a specific type of answer, and I wavered between playing along and being a brat.
“Other than boosting cars and hustling people at poker, you mean?” I grinned.
A slow smile appeared on his face. “Right, any other exciting hobbies?”
“Well, there’s cheer, and that takes up a lot of time, but I just got maybe the best birthday present ever from my parents this weekend, and it will be my new project.”
I couldn’t stop the grin from taking over my expression. The image of the floor plan and the plethora of perfect rooms I’d ripped out of magazines made me feel like hearts and stars might shoot out of my eyes when I talked about it.
“Which is…” Zack asked, interrupting my daydream.
“Oh, sorry. I kind of got lost there. They are letting me remodel our basement. I’m meeting with a contractor soon. Interior design is kind of… well, I like it.”
It felt foreign to share that information with someone new, and once the words were out of my mouth, I wondered if they sounded silly, like a little girl wanting to dress up in her mother’s heels.
“I totally thought you were going to say they bought you a car. That’s a bummer. What all are you going to do with the basement?” His response was lackluster at best.
“I feel like you are not fully appreciating the awesomeness of the situation,” I replied, trying to sound flirty rather than annoyed.
He raised his eyebrows doubtfully, and I proceeded to tell him about my plan to create the perfect ambience in the new space while I dug into my grilled cheese and tomato soup.
When his eyes started to focus on the décor around the room rather than me, I decided perhaps I’d gone a step too far in discussing Moroccan lanterns.
“I’m sorry, I went off on a bit of a tangent, didn’t I?” I smiled, biting my lip.
“Nah, that’s okay. You’re still pretty to look at even if I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he informed me, taking a sip of his soda. Confidence returning, I brushed his ankle with my foot in a juvenile attempt to flirt.
“Well, now it’s your turn. Feel free to geek out on whatever it is you do for fun,” I said.
“I dunno. I think I’m a pretty open book. I like to play football, hang out with my friends, and I guess I go hunting with my dad and brothers sometimes.”
Images of Bambi crossed my mind, but I let them go around the same time he reached for my hand across the small wooden table.
Why isn’t anyone here to see this?
“That’s cool. I can’t say I’ve ever been, but you know, dressing in camo seems like it would be a fashion adventure. Kudos to you,” I said, grinning.
“Ah, well, I’m nothing if not up for a fashion adventure. You think I can pull off the camo, though, huh?” he asked, amusement playing on his face.
“I imagine you can. You’d look like a catalog model for something called The Fashionable Hunstman or something . That’s probably not a thing.”
He just laughed and played with one of the silver rings on my finger. “So, I’m starting to think of a couple of other things I’d like to do for fun.”
His dimples showed when he smiled this time, and my heart sped up. He interlaced his fingers with mine tightly before meeting my gaze, his lips turning up into a smirk.
“Like?” I questioned.
I wanted to kick myself for asking; I was really just searching for something to say that would keep my heartbeat from becoming audible to everyone in the restaurant. But now I sounded na?ve. Or slutty. I didn’t know which was the better option. He just laughed again and shook his head.
“Let’s get out of here, yeah?” he asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.
He threw some cash onto the table with the bill and stood up, finally releasing my hand.
I took a breath to steady my nerves before following him towards the exit.
The cool night air made me shiver, and I wished Zack would offer his jacket.
It seemed, at the moment, however, that he was very focused on getting to his car.
I quickened my pace to keep up, my heels clicking on the pavement.
Sinking into the passenger seat, I watched him open the moon roof and felt a pang of jealousy about my non-existent car.
My body shivered again as the cold air fell down around my shoulders, and this time he noticed.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot you weren’t wearing…well, much,” he declared appreciatively. I straightened my skirt involuntarily, squirming under his gaze.
“I’m fine,” I insisted, more to convince the feeling rising in my stomach than to reassure him. He turned on the heat anyway.
“I told you that you looked hot, right?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“You still down to head to the river for a bit?”
“Sure,” I responded, determined to shake off whatever had come over me to dampen my mood. “I just have to be home around ten,” I informed him, checking the clock.
He let out a breath somewhere between a sigh and a laugh before turning up some form of god-awful screeching noise from the stereo speakers. I gritted my teeth, but almost smiled when I thought about how forcefully Courtney would disapprove of this musical selection.
“Interesting melody this band has going on.”