22. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
CHRIS
I t’s six-thirty p.m. on Friday when I leave the locker room with the boys, the day Lettie and I were supposed to have our date.
Glancing down at my phone, I shoot Charlotte another text. One I assume she’ll ignore, since that’s what she’s been doing for the last few days.
Tomorrow is our game against Ohio State. It’s on home turf, and every single one of the guys on the team knows the stakes. They’re ranked number two, so if we beat them and take home a win, it means we clinch their spot and rise up the ranks.
For this reason alone, most of the guys are choosing to stay in for the night, prioritizing rest and sleep, so they can bring their A-game to the field, and though I want to do my part to guarantee a win, I can’t seem to take my mind off Charlotte.
She’s been avoiding me all week. In fact, ever since she and my mother went dress shopping, her presence has been scarce, which might lead one to believe their outing didn’t go well. But when I questioned my mother about it, she seemed in good spirits, if not a little tired. A little fatigue is par for the course with the crazy hours she’s been working the last couple of weeks at her own insistence so she can help Garry pay for the wedding. So, if she’s lying, I wouldn’t know.
I lift my gaze from my phone, a pout on my lips, to find Damon staring at me. “Trouble in paradise?”
“I think Charlotte’s avoiding me. We were supposed to go out tonight, but she’s not answering my calls, and I haven’t been able to pin her down to discuss the details.”
“I think that’s called rejection, bro.” Brandon claps a hand over my shoulder, but I refuse to hear it.
Shrugging him off, I shift my gaze to Jace. “Call Brynn and find out where she’s hiding for the night.”
Jace raises his hands. “I promised her I wouldn’t get involved.”
I roll my eyes. “What happened to bros before hoes?”
“Clearly it’s been a long-ass time since you’ve had a girlfriend.”
“Or gotten some.” Brandon smirks.
“Like you’re one to talk. You’re so far up Tatum’s ass all the damn time.”
Brandon’s smile fades. “It’s not like I couldn’t get any if I wanted to,” he grumbles.
“She’s ghosting me, both through text and social media,” I say, ignoring him, “and unless Samantha’s lying, every time I’ve checked, she’s not in her room. She even bailed from her class early yesterday. I waited just outside the lecture hall and when she didn’t show, I asked Danger about it, and he was far too excited about informing me she’d already come and gone.”
“Yep. Sounds like rejection to me,” Damon says. “Hate to say I told you so , but better to cut your losses now.”
I look at him, eyes narrowed. “She’s just freaking out because she’s catching feelings. Trust me, I know these things. If she’s not falling for me yet, she will be. It’s only a matter of time.”
Damon snorts. “Says the guy she’s avoiding.”
The truth is, I do think she’s avoiding me, but I also think there’s more at play than meets the eye, and I can’t help but wonder if her mother has something to do with her absence. And if that’s the case, then what she needs is a little stress relief. A night doing something she loves, something relaxing. And what I need is my fucking date, because thinking about her is driving me wild.
Maybe I can combine the two.
All I need is to find her first.
I glance over at Jace who’s gripping his phone in his hands, a shit-eating grin spreading over his stupid face.
“So, Brynn’s coming over to the apartment tonight?” I confirm.
“Yep.”
“And Charlotte’s not going to be with her?”
“Nope.”
His answer only confirms that they’ve discussed it, and I find it hard to believe her best friends don’t know where she is on a Friday night.
“Interesting,” I say, before I reach out and snatch his phone from his hands.
“Hey!” He lunges for it, but I anticipate the move and dodge him easily, sprinting away from him as fast as my feet can carry me, all while scrolling through his texts with Brynn. I bypass all the sexy talk until Charlotte’s name catches my eye and I crow triumphantly.
“Ha!” I point at the screen. “Says right here she’s staying in and studying with Liz tonight. You knew all along and could’ve told me. Traitor.” I shake my head at him, disappointed as he stalks toward me and snatches his phone back.
Damon claps. “Congratulations, detective. You’ve just discovered she’s likely been lying to you all week about her whereabouts.”
“Man, someone’s getting increasingly bitter about me trying to establish a love life,” I shoot back, to which Damon frowns.
“So you know where she’s going to be,” Jace says, shoving his phone in his pocket. “What are you going to do about it? Force her to spend time with you?”
“Damn straight I am.”
Jace groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And what if she doesn’t want to go out with you?”
“She will,” I say with confidence.
“For someone she’s been avoiding, you seem pretty confident,” Brandon says.
“That’s because if she’s avoiding me, she’s feeling something for me, and I refuse to let her hide. It’s that simple.”
“Or she can’t stand your guts. She hasn’t exactly been shy about saying so,” Damon reminds me.
“Bullshit. She waited up for me after the Arkansas game, didn’t she?”
“The man’s got a point,” Jace says. “She was wearing his jersey, too.”
“Fuck yes, she was!” I shout.
Damon hums under his breath as we walk for another couple of minutes before I split away from them, heading toward the other side of campus instead of the athlete apartments.
“Where are you going?” Damon calls out to me.
“To get my girl!” I holler back, then set off toward Hyde Hall.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
I knock on Liz’s door for the second time, pounding my fist over the solid oak. “I know you’re in there, Charlotte. I can hear you guys whispering and giggling.”
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
“Better let me in or I’m going to strip down and spend the night right here on your doorstep. Naked .”
A small blonde passes, eyeing me with a combination of interest and alarm as I lean against the door and flutter my fingers in a wave. “Hey. Hi there. How ya doing? I’m just out here waiting for my girlfriend, Charlotte.” I hook a thumb toward the door. “Have you met her? She likes to play hard to get.”
“Uh . . .” The girl’s eyes widen in alarm at the same time the door swings open suddenly, and I fall, arms flailing like a helicopter before my ass hits the floor just inside their doorway.
Well, at least I made it inside.
I groan, rolling from my side onto my back like a sack of potatoes to find Charlotte staring down at me, arms crossed over her chest, one brow quirked. “I’m not your girlfriend.”
“Yet,” I say, holding up a finger.
With a sigh of exasperation, she helps me to my feet, which I take as a good sign.
“What’s up?” I ask with a grin.
Charlotte rolls her eyes and motions for me to come in, then shuts the door behind us. “Hey, Liz,” I say, shooting her friend a dopey smile.
“Hi, Chris.” She giggles, fixing her attention back on the textbook in her lap.
“So, you really are studying?” I rub my chin. “Huh.”
“ What are you doing here, Chris?”
I glance over at Charlotte, soaking in the sight of her, pink-cheeked and flustered. “The question is what are you doing here, and why are you avoiding me?”
“Who says I’m avoiding you?”
“We had a date, remember?”
“That was never set in stone,” she says, looking anywhere but at me.
“I beg to differ. Regardless, you owe me a date.”
“I thought you said that’s not how relationships work?”
“And I thought we moved past all of this hot-and-cold bullshit after our make-out sesh in your dorm room two weeks ago. Not forgetting the night you waited up for me after my away game when you?”
Charlottes slaps a hand over my mouth, silencing me with a hissed Shhhh .
Grinning, I lick her hand, and she yelps, dropping her hand.
“I like this,” Liz says, motioning between us.
“Don’t encourage him,” Charlotte grumbles.
“Listen, I don’t know what this is,” I say, waving a finger out in front of her, “but you’re done with the avoidance tactics. You’re coming with me.” I reach out and take her hand while she protests, dragging her feet toward the door.
“What? Where are we going?”
“You owe me a date, and I’ve come to collect your debt.” I wink, and a flush creeps to her cheeks.
“Okay, but, right now?” She glances at her friend, her dark eyes pleading for help, but Liz just raises her textbook in front of her face, sinking further into her chair.
Basking in triumph, I give her arm a little tug. “Yep. Right now,” I confirm.
Charlotte’s gaze bounces from me to her outfit when she releases a resigned sigh. “Fine, but shouldn’t I at least change?”
“Nope. Your outfit is perfect.”
She glances down at her hoodie and leggings with a dubious expression before lifting her gaze to mine. “Where are we doing on this date?”
“Let’s just say we’re going to do a little stretching, get hot and sweaty, maybe even get a little exercise in, all while relieving a little stress.”
She narrows her eyes. “Sex isn’t a date.”
I scoff. “Lettie, do I look like the kind of man who would expect sex on the first date?”
She purses her lips.
“Don’t answer that.” I point. “Though I’d love nothing more than sexy times with you, that’s not what this is. But since you doubt me and you’re intent on being a smartass, you’re just going to have to wait and see.”
“Fine,” she grumbles as I pull her out the door, “but this better be good.”
Twenty minutes later, we step out of the chilly October night and into the warm interior of Om Sweet Om where the soft scent of lavender and the low hum of instrumental music greets us. The last of the fading sun filters through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a serene glow over the lobby that instantly relaxes me.
“You brought me to a yoga studio?” Charlotte asks, glancing around the place.
I shrug. “It’s what you’re into. Besides, I figured you could use a little inner peace.”
Her eyes meet mine, and the brown deepens to rich espresso as she releases a shaky exhale, then peers around the room while I watch the tension in her shoulders melt away.