Chapter 20
TWENTY
STOP COCK-BLOCKING ME, UNIVERSE
MONDAY
Life is so unfair.
Universe-altering sex with Zach one night, a break to heal up over the weekend, and just when I’m ready to rock, my period makes an appearance.
And not in a kind way.
No, I had to scar my professor for life and rely on Zach’s hoodie because a forty-two-year-old scholar has no idea how women’s bodies work.
Snarking as I scrub Zach’s hoodie, dousing it in peroxide like Mom suggested, I fume, “I hate being a woman.”
“I dunno. I’m glad you are one if that’s any consolation.”
“Nope, it’s no consolation. At all.” I push out a stream of air to blow a hair that flops into my face away.
When he rounds the counter and gently tucks it behind my ear, I close my eyes at the tender touch.
This whole day has been a surprise.
What, with him coming to rescue me because Callan texted him, followed by him rushing in with a hoodie, and then the fact that he carries tampons for me as well as inviting Callan around for a snack after hanging out with him and Peeks for most of the weekend…
Zach as a friend is awesome.
As a boyfriend, he’s a whole other ball of wax.
And that’s just too much for me to process today of all days because if I do, I’ll cry.
“Leave that,” he chides, his concern sliding around me like a hug.
“I don’t want it to stain permanently.” I sniffle, wiping at my cheeks with my knuckles.
He pops up next to me. “Let me do it then?”
“No! Honestly, Zach, just go and watch the game.”
“Not without you.”
“Fine.” I motion at the counter. “Make popcorn then.”
Happy now that he’s been assigned a task, he gets to work.
Into the silence, I mumble, “Thanks for being kind to Callan.”
“It was nothing.”
“Not true. You don’t like him that much, do you?”
He turns to face the microwave. “He’s okay. I…”
“You?” I prompt when he doesn’t continue.
“I’m being dumb.”
“What about?”
“Do you… like him?”
Perplexed, I frown at him. “Thought we’d established that already?”
“No. I mean… like.”
“Oh.” My brow puckers. “He’s not interested in me that way.”
“Which isn’t an answer,” he gripes.
“It kind of is,” I reason. “If… before… this…” Whatever the hell this is.
The glimpses of Zach today as a boyfriend don’t match up with how I’ve seen him behave around every other temporary girlfriend he’s had.
Trust me, the man’s body count makes that serial killer who knocks off pedos in the tristate area look low.
I get that things would be different between us, considering our friendship, but this is all moving so fast.
The only place Zach is ever this fast is on the ice, never in relationships, and it’s messing with my equilibrium.
If he picks up on my concern, his amused smile doesn’t show it. “This being?”
More air gusts from my lips. “Us.”
That appears to satisfy him because he hums and grabs the bag of popcorn from the microwave.
Well, that was easy enough.
Even if it is a lie.
Fine, not necessarily a lie. But unclear.
As unclear as my philosophy essay was today according to Loser Langton.
Harrumphing at the stray thought, I squint at the hoodie and sigh with relief—no blood.
Phew.
I toss it in the washing machine just as Zach throws the popcorn into a bowl and douses it with salt and sugar.
My favorite.
God, he’s being too perfect.
I’m not used to this.
It’s weird.
And I like it too much.
Which is dangerous.
Once I’ve washed my hands, he drags me into the living room.
I blush when he tugs me into his side, not stopping until his arm’s curved around my shoulders.
“You’re on edge.”
“The Stars are playing the Sting Rays. Of course, I’m on edge.”
He hums but seems content to let me get away with that bullshit answer. Bullshit because I already know who won and this is a replay.
In fact, the rest of the day, he’s perfect.
And it’s lovely.
Really.
So why is he right? Why am I on edge?
Why don’t I watch him practice?
Why do I sleep in my room when he invited me to stay in his?
And why, an hour after finally getting to sleep, when I wake up to change my tampon, do I blush even harder when I find he’s sleeping next to me?
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He wasn’t. And I’m not even sure how I expected him to be. I just…
This is everything.
And I don’t know how to deal with that.
Not without wanting more.