Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
HELP Z FIND HIS BALLS TO ASK OUT SUTTON
KEN DOLL: Suspicious that Ms. Brady wasn’t at work the day after pottery class.
WEBBY: How do you know where she was?
KEN DOLL: Z.
WEBBY: Well if Z did his job right then maybe she couldn’t walk.
KEN DOLL: Nah. Z wouldn’t be looking so morose if they’d finally fucked.
WEBBY: True.
MACKEY: They both seem off. Did you see her yesterday? She looked like she had been crying.
CAP: How can you tell?
MACKEY: Her face was puffy and her eyes were red. She looked exhausted, too, and she didn’t seem as bubbly as normal.
CAP: Huh. I didn’t notice.
WEBBY: Me either.
KEN DOLL: I noticed! She didn’t even crack a smile when I flirted with her.
MACKEY: Why are you flirting with her when we’re supposed to be helping Z?
KEN DOLL: My charm cannot be contained. I have no control over it.
MACKEY: I find that hard to believe, but whatever.
KEN DOLL: Z, have you heard from her at all? Seen her? Talked to her?
KEN DOLL: Hello??
KEN DOLL: EARTH TO Z!! We need information!!
*ten minutes later*
KEN DOLL: I guess I’ll be interrogating you before the game.
It feels like a million centipedes are crawling over my skin, and my right leg won’t stop bouncing. Every time my phone buzzes, I fumble to look at the screen. I’ve dropped it four times in the last fifteen minutes.
The weight of disappointment gets heavier each time it’s not Sutton’s name appearing on my phone. The fucking group chat that Kendall started is blowing up, everyone wanting information.
Information I don’t fucking have, because other than at work, I haven’t seen or talked to her since Wednesday night. When she didn’t show up to work Thursday, I texted her to ask if she was okay, and all she said was she wasn’t feeling well and needed a personal day.
Yesterday when she was back, she looked like she hadn’t slept. That, paired with the fact she seems to be avoiding me makes me think I’m the problem. The urge to fix whatever’s wrong was so strong I made Webby keep my phone in his locker so I wouldn’t overwhelm her with texts.
The feeling of rejection starts to bubble up inside me, adding to the crawling sensation on my skin.
Did she finally realize I’m crushing hard on her, and it scared her away?
Did she feel my boner on Wednesday and it grossed her out?
Is she overwhelmed by me and the stupid shit I said about us fake dating, or did Jace show up again and hurt her?
Fuck. What if he did?
Determined to find out, I slip on some sandals and head next door. I knock three times, and barely keep myself from pacing. After a few seconds that feel like hours, I hear the click of the lock and Sutton cracks the door open.
Wide hazel eyes blink at me in surprise. “Ezra? Wh–what’s up?”
“Are you okay? You’ve been—”avoiding me—“quiet. I’m worried about you.”
Her angelic face softens and she steps aside, inviting me in. I glance around her place, seeing if anything is missing or different, but it looks the same as it did when I was here on Tuesday.
Has it really only been three days since I saw her? It feels like a lifetime.
She sits down on the couch, tucking her legs up underneath her. I sit down opposite her, turning so she knows she has my full attention for whatever she wants to say.
“Thank you for checking on me. I’m sorry I’ve been unavailable.
It’s been a hell of a week. I… realized some stuff and I’ve been trying to get my head on straight.
Therapy Thursday was rough, and I knew it would be, so I took the day off to prepare myself.
We worked through a lot of family stuff, and it was hard to cope with.
I actually just woke up after sleeping through the night for the first time in a few days. ”
“So you’re not mad at me?”
Her brows furrow.
“About what happened this week?”
“Why would I be mad about what happened this week?”
“You hadn’t texted me, and I just thought after I said I was your boyfriend, I’d scared you off. Jace didn’t show up here or anything?”
“Uh, no. Jace didn’t show up. I haven’t heard from him since we saw him Tuesday.”
“Okay, well I’m glad he hasn’t shown up.” Not sure how to ask this with tact, but I need to know. “Can I ask… Why weren’t you sleeping? Why did you come to work looking like you had spent the night crying?”
“You noticed that?” she winces.
“Of course I did.” I notice everything.
“Thursday my therapist wanted to dive into how my parents treated me. She drew some parallels between how I let Jace treat me, with my family, and when I came home, I broke down. I couldn’t sleep because my brain wouldn’t stop running.
I thought I’d put a lot of my childhood behind me, but apparently there are still some open wounds that need to be healed. ”
God, my heart hurts for her. As shitty as my family may treat me, it’s nothing compared to Sutton’s. If Jace treated her like her parents used to, well, that makes me hate him even more.
I reach over and place a hand lightly on her thigh. “I’m sorry, Sutt. Is there anything I can do to help you? Want me to find Jace, and punch him in the face?”
She laughs, the melodic sound easing some of the tension I’ve been carrying.
“I just need you.”
I am absolutely sure she doesn’t mean it the way I hope she does, but I’m mentally fist pumping anyways.
“That, I can do. We’re still on for pottery classes, right?” I need to make sure that’s still something she wants to do.
Her entire face lights up with excitement. “Yes! I’m so excited to keep learning. Thank you again for coming with me.”
“Stop thanking me, okay? You’re not forcing me, I want to do it. I had a lot of fun with you Wednesday, and I won’t improve my skills if we don’t go back.”
“And you could use a lot of improvement,” she teases.
“Oh, look at the time. I better go get ready to head to the game.” I look at my empty wrist and move like I’m going to stand up.
Sutton cackles, pushing me back down. “Sit down, I’ll get to see your handiwork when class starts.”
“You wait and see, Ms. Brady. I’ll show you how talented these hands really are. They can do more than tackle and catch a ball.” I hold them up and wiggle my fingers.
Her beaming smile transforms in an instant as she looks at my hands. Her plush bottom lip gets pulled between her perfectly straight teeth as her cheeks take on a pinkish hue. The expression on her face doesn’t look like amusement at my joke. It looks like…
No.
It can’t be… arousal.
It’s got to be something else.
My body still reacts as if it is, my dick perking up. Apparently, the only thing that gets me going anymore are thoughts of Sutton. Thoughts I shouldn’t have. Thoughts I definitely shouldn’t stroke myself to, but do anyway.
“I won’t hold my breath,” she finally whispers, then clears her throat. “Ready for the game tonight?”
“Oh yeah. The Akron Aces won’t know what hit them.”
Now that I know Sutton is okay and she doesn’t hate me, my mind can be fully focused on the game and making sure we win.
Sutton and I ended up talking up until it was time for us to head to the game. She made us both salmon rice bowls for a late lunch, making sure to give me extra so I can be all fueled up, her words, not mine.
If we win, that may need to become a tradition, because I’ve never felt more focused and ready.
Until Kendall pulls me aside.
I recall the text he sent about interrogating me, and groan as he drags me out of the locker room and down the hall with Webby hot on our heels.
Nosey fuckers.
My best friend crosses his arms, looking like a disappointed dad. “Spill it, Z,” he demands.
“Dude. We’re all on the edge of our seats wondering what happened,” Webby adds. “Have you talked to Sutton?”
“I did.” I can’t quite keep the small smile off my face when I think about our afternoon together. How easy it was. Hearing her laugh at my jokes, and relax in my company, dissipated my nerves and anxieties.
“And?” They say at the same time.
“She’s not upset about the fake dating thing?” Kendall asks.
“Wait—What fake dating thing?!” Webby asks.
“No, she’s not.”
“I fucking knew it. Wait, then why did she look like she was crying yesterday?” Kendall asks.
This part, I refuse to tell them. It’s one thing for them to know about her ex or my big mouth, but it’s another thing for me to tell them about her family trauma. I may like to gossip, but I know when to keep my mouth shut.
Most of the time, anyway. If I had kept it shut in the first place, I wouldn’t be in this situation.
“She had some things to deal with, and she wasn’t feeling well Thursday, but she’s okay now.”
My lips twitch again, thinking about how open and bright she was this afternoon. Kendall catches it and points an accusing finger at me. “You know more. Something else happened. Spill!”
“Nothing else happened, okay? We hung out this afternoon, that’s it. It was nice. We’re still going to do our pottery classes, and… that’s it.”
“I don’t believe you, but since you look less like a kicked puppy today, I’ll let it slide so we can focus on winning this game.” Kendall nods, like his word is final, and I roll my eyes. “Next week, we move on to the next phase of our plan.”
“What fucking plan?”
Knowing Kendall, it probably has something to do with seducing her. Which I will not be doing. I’m grateful she’s still talking to me after the boner incident.
My best friend scoffs. “The plan to move this from fake dating to the real deal. Now that you know she’s not scared off, you’ve just got to show her how great you are.”
“She’s still pretty fresh off a break up, and needs time to figure herself out. She probably doesn’t want to jump into another relationship.”
“He’s right,” Webby agrees.
“Thank you, Webby. Good to have you on my side.” I hold my hand up for a high five.
“No,” Webby says, shaking his head. “Ken Doll is right, as much as I’m loath to admit it. If you don’t make a move now—and it already sounds like you kind of have—you might miss your chance.”
“Yeah! Listen to the love guru, Z. I know what I’m doing.”
“I’m not going to do anything different than what I’m doing now, so stop scheming. I don’t need help, I can handle this on my own.”
“Sure, whatever,” Kendall dismisses. “When you’re ready, we’ll be waiting. But know that it’ll cost you now since you think you can handle it.”
With those ominous words, he claps me on the shoulder. “Now, let’s get back to the locker room and kick these Ohio fucker’s asses!”