Chapter 27 Zeke
twenty-seven
Zeke
Ihate seeing Avalon like this. Since the altercation with her mom, she’s lost her spark. Whenever we’re together, I can tell there’s something off. Don’t get me wrong, the sex is still great; I don’t think sex with Avalon can be anything but amazing; I just feel kind of guilty.
I know I’m not using her; I’ve even told her countless times we don’t have to have sex. That I can just be a friend and listen to all her rants. We didn’t have sex those few days that I stayed over while we were waiting for her mom to come home, and it didn’t feel weird.
Well, it did, but not because we had nothing to discuss.
It felt weird because being together, without sex, felt normal.
It felt comfortable. Which is the exact opposite of what both of us want.
We don’t want to feel that way about each other.
We can’t. I saw firsthand why she could never feel that way about me, and I don’t blame her.
Worrying about her mom is a full-time job.
She’s consumed by that twenty-four-seven.
If I don’t stop by with food, she doesn’t eat. She doesn't leave her place if she doesn’t have a class. That’s the only reason I’m doing this. I want to make sure she takes care of herself. I want to make sure that if I can’t bring her food because I’m away for games, she’ll eat.
“Hey, Zeke.” Brinley’s standing in front of the sink washing some veggies, which I assume are for tonight’s dinner.
“Hey.” I lean against the cabinets near the fridge. “Can I ask you something?”
“Always, what’s up?”
“I was wondering if maybe you could teach me to cook,” I reply, and she stops what she’s doing, dropping the carrots into the sink and turning toward me.
“You want to learn to cook?”
“Yeah, you’re so great at it, and there’s always so much food leftover that we can freeze if we need to and—”
“You coming for my job, Harris?”
I laugh, shaking my head, “Not at all. I just want to be able to cook for—”
I can’t tell her who I want to cook for. I can’t tell her I want to make large enough meals that Avalon has food for the week.
“Oh my god.” She slaps her forehead with the palm of her hand. “You’re mom, Zeke. I didn’t even think about that. I know how quickly she gets sick of hospital food, and I bet she’s starting to get sick of fast food.”
“Yeah, exactly. My mom… no one else.”
“I’m making a stew tonight, nothing too difficult,” she replies. “Actually, I have a proposition for you in exchange for me teaching you to cook.”
“Uh oh.”
“No, it’s nothing bad, I swear. It’s about the banquet.”
“You want me to go with you?” My face scrunches. “I assumed you were bringing your boyfriend.”
“First of all, Alex isn’t my boyfriend. He’s a friend of the opposite sex. Second of all, it’s not me who needs the date.”
“I’m not bringing one of your sorority friends.”
I know how these banquets work… they’re hook-up central, and I used to take full advantage of that, but not this year. Honestly, if we didn’t have to go, I wouldn’t.
“Not a sorority friend. Ember. I need you to bring Ember.”
“You want me to bring your brother’s girlfriend?”
“Since my fuckwad of a brother is bringing Mollie, yes, I do.”
“Mollie Greenwich?” He mentioned going with Mollie in passing, but I’m pretty sure we all thought he was joking.
“Yeah. And Ember was heartbroken when she found out. So, I thought, who better for Ember to go with than you? You guys are friends; it’ll kill my brother, and she doesn’t have to worry about you making a move on her.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I tease.
“Fine, she doesn’t have to worry about you making a real move on her.”
She’s not wrong about that. I love Ember. I do. But like a sister. Sure, I always flirt with her, but it’s just good fun. I’m never serious about it, and she knows that.
“Sure, why not,” I reply. “Why are you asking me and not Ember?”
“She may not be fully on board with the idea yet,” she continues. “And I’d ask you later, but there are two people in this house that I’m trying to avoid, which is why I chose to make stew. I can throw everything in a pot and leave, and it’ll be ready when everyone gets home.”
“Two people?” I know Jaxon’s probably one of them, but—
“My brother.” She nonchalantly swings a carrot in the air. “If I see him, I might kick him in the nuts for being such an idiot and bringing the worst possible date to this stupid banquet.”
“Got it.” I laugh. “So, I probably shouldn’t mention running into you?”
“Exactly.” She returns to the sink and tilts her head toward the cutting board. “Now, chop up that onion.”
Should I be jealous?” Avalon crosses her arms as I fix my tie in her bathroom mirror.
“I don’t know why my acquaintance with benefits would be jealous of me attending an event with another girl.” I center my tie. “Should I be worried that you’re catching feelings, Stewart?”
“According to everyone on campus,” she steps into the bathroom, pulling the tie from my hands and properly fixing it, “this whole banquet is just an excuse for a lot of sex.”
“No strings, remember?” I tease, and she pats my chest.
“I’m pretty sure most sexually beneficial relationships don’t mean you getting ready to go sleep with another woman at the other woman’s house.”
“It’s an apartment.”
“You’re an ass.”
“It’s not like that.” I follow her out of the bathroom, turning the light off behind me. “Ember’s a friend. Only a friend. She’s dating another guy on the team.”
“Which you’ve mentioned. What I’m still unsure of is why he’s not taking her.”
“He can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Her brother doesn’t know about them, and he’ll be there. Along with a bunch of gossips who’ll spread the news before the event ends.”
“And she had no other options?”
“Is that the little green-eyed monster speaking?”
“Get over yourself.” She turns away from me and hops onto her bed. She rolls her bottom lip into her mouth, and as it pops back out, she looks up at me. “You look good, Zeke.”
“I know.” She throws her head back, releasing a breathy laugh. “I’ll try to sneak out early, okay?”
“Whatever.”
I take a few steps toward her until my legs are flush against the side of her bed, tilt her head up toward mine with my index finger, and kiss her.
I don’t know why I do it. Maybe it’s my way of telling her I’d rather stay here than go to this banquet because I’m only going to help out a friend. Not because I want to go. Maybe it’s because these last few weeks have felt different than when we first started.
All I know is it isn’t a steamy kiss. It feels romantic in a way a kiss has never felt before. I pull back and see the surprise on Avalon’s face. But the small, almost non-existent smile makes me think maybe it was a pleasant surprise.
I cough. “I’ll call you.”
Seems like your date left you,” Fletcher says, patting my back. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
It’s just Tate and us at the table. Brooks is off dancing with Liv, Jaxon’s making out with some redhead near the bar, and Cam’s taking one for the team and chatting up some donors. Declan ran after Ember nearly an hour ago, but they never came back. Alex and Brinley left not long after that.
I don’t know how Cam’s still oblivious about what’s going on after the way they looked at each other. I lied and said Declan wanted to talk to Ember about the project since the first half was due next week, which led to an argument.
I’m not sure if he bought it or not.
“It’s not like Ember was a real date.” I chug the rest of my drink. “Brinley wanted me to bring Ember to fix whatever the hell was going on there.”
“You mean Declan being an idiot and bringing Mollie as his date to this thing?” Tate crosses her legs and leans forward. “Declan’s lucky Ember didn’t sleep with you just to spite him.”
I chuckle, “She’s not the type.”
“Still. I don’t know what was going on in that boy's head when he asked her.”
“His dad, probably,” Fletcher says. “His dad’s always in his head. Honestly, it’s been refreshing seeing him with Ember. It feels like he’s enjoying life again.”
“Which we could all be doing if we got out of this bore fest.” I yawn.
“If you think this is bad, you should’ve seen what it was like before you bribed the DJ,” Tate responds. “Brinley and Alex were watching hockey.”
“I think we’ve been here long enough.” Fletcher stretches. “I say we dip.”
“And leave everyone else hanging?” Tate leans back.
“I don’t think Jaxon’s night is as boring as the rest of ours.”
“That’s fair, and the golden boy already left,” I argue. “He’s the only reason we even stick around, and the event’s nearly over.”
“There’s still over an hour,” Tate twists the cap off her flask and takes a drink.
“Yeah, but you guys made it halfway; that’s passing.”
“Fifty percent is not passing.”
“Tate, if you wanna stick around for the rest of this thing, go ahead. I have somewhere else I’d rather be.”
I stand up and pull my suit jacket off the back of my chair.
“Only Zeke Harris would have a date to the banquet and a different girl lined up to sleep with.” Fletcher laughs. “What’s your secret man?”
“Girls have to actually like you, Fletch.” I pat his shoulder, and Tate’s body shakes with laughter as she hits the outside of Fletcher’s thigh repeatedly with the back of her hand.
“Fuck off, Harris.” He swats my hand away, and I shoot him a wink as I head toward the exit.
“See you at the game.”