Chapter 17
Pete
Were the flowers too much?
I’m worried about that as I drop Bexley off at school and watch her walk in, the doors closing behind her, like a monster eating its prey.
I shake my head a little. My school issues might rub off on her, so I need to, at the very least, push them aside, but preferably realize that school might not have been my favorite thing, but that doesn’t make it wicked and evil.
I wait a few more minutes, although I’m not sure why. She’s safely inside.
From what I can figure out, there are no actual threats against Bexley. This is just the guilt of a mother who’s going away on an overseas trip and can’t take her daughter. Can’t, or won’t. Therefore, she’s hired someone to make sure that her daughter is okay.
It’s not up to me to question why she did it. My job is to make sure that she’s safe, even if I feel like there are no actual threats not only on her life, but on her physical well-being at all.
Still, one of the worst things a bodyguard can do is let his guard down, thinking that everything is okay.
So, I make sure there is nothing suspicious outside the school as I drive away. But my mind is already back on Zoe. I had the best time with her last night. Even Trixie seems to be infatuated with her, if Trixie finally saying something that I had taught him is any indication. Even if it was a little bit embarrassing.
Pete and his Precious. I do think that Zoe could become someone who is precious to me. But, I know I have large obstacles to overcome. The least of which is the fact that she considers me a friend, and second is the fact that she’s not interested in getting married because she wants to be successful in her career. Or show that she can earn money, or something.
Still, as a friend, I can send flowers, right?
Since I have the entire day while Bexley is in school to do whatever I want, I’ve decided that I will start my day by working out.
Cal and Leo are totally on board with changing their workout schedule in order to accommodate my new hours. I feel like they actually want me when they go through that kind of trouble, just to be able to be with me. Still, while I know that working out with them will make me push myself harder, I’ll also have to put up with their teasing.
“You’re not running today?” Leo says with a smirk as I walk into the locker room. We’re the only ones there. It’s not a huge gym, and this isn’t a huge town. The early morning people are gone, and it’s a little early for people who get up at a normal time and don’t work.
“What’s up, now?” Cal says, taking a look at my face while his own crunches.
“Nothing,” I say. I love my friends, but they’re not exactly helpful when it comes to women. Although, I guess Leo did manage to get a good one.
“Does this have to do with that naked lady?” Leo says, still smirking, as he puts his foot up on the bench and ties his shoe.
I don’t say anything. What am I gonna say? I’m not going to bear my heart to these two.
“You know Leo is an expert now on matters of the heart,” Cal says. He’s dressed and ready to go. I change my shoes and just grunt in reply.
Leo slaps his foot back down on the floor and says, “You know if you need any advice, you can take it from the expert.” He’s being sarcastic. I know he doesn’t think he’s an expert on love or anything of the sort. I think he’s just trying to make me laugh.
I don’t.
“If you’re trying to win her heart,” Cal says, and I almost completely tune him out because what is Cal thinking? He doesn’t have a girl. And as far as I know, he never has. “You want to adopt an anteater in her name. You can do it anonymously. It’s not that hard. In fact I’ll facilitate it.”
Cal sounds sincere, and it’s all I can do to keep from rolling my eyes. I’ve already talked to my buddy at the force. His wife owns a flower shop, and I had to pull in a few favors, but she had that bouquet sent to the diner this morning before her shop even opened.
I’m pretty sure that Zoe prefers flowers over anteaters, but then I stop as we walk out to the gym, the guys talking about tomorrow’s game. It’s an away game, and Cal is leaving tomorrow morning. How do I know that Zoe would prefer flowers? I don’t really know her well at all. She might not like flowers. She could be allergic. Perhaps she loves anteaters.
“I’ll do that.”
The words are out of my mouth before I even realize what I’m saying. I just volunteered to adopt another anteater? I’ve already adopted one for Cal, who seems to be obsessed with the creatures, and now he somehow has talked me into two?
Okay. He didn’t talk me into anything. All he had to say was that Zoe might like them, and bam, I’m on it. What’s wrong with me?
“All right. I can do that. Just give me your credit card number.”
“That’s not exactly something I carry around in my head,” I say, sounding a little bit exasperated. But, I’m more exasperated with myself than I am with Cal. Who thinks it’s a romantic gesture to adopt an anteater in their crush’s name?
Still, she really loves her cat, and she seems to like my parakeet okay. And, I did arrest her at an animal-rights rally. So, I guess she likes animals okay. Although from what I understood, she was there with her friend. That all came out later when I wasn’t around. A female officer took over once I had gotten her subdued and cuffed.
Thinking about that reminds me of how we met, and I know I’m going to be the laughingstock of the entire town if I’m successful in my endeavor. Maybe I should just let it go. I sent the flowers as a friend, and maybe I should just brush it off, and try to downplay everything.
Or maybe I should go to the diner for breakfast.
Cal has not paid the slightest bit of attention to me, and he already has his phone out, and has punched in all the information that I need in order to adopt the anteater. Somehow he’s got me turned around, walking back to the locker room. I’m getting my wallet out of my pants in my locker, and I’m giving him the number.
It feels like an out of body experience. I have never done anything like this for a girl before in my life, and I feel a little bit like I’ve been bewitched.
“Maybe I should go to the diner to eat after we’re done here,” I say.
“No. She’ll think you’re stalking her. First an anteater, then you show up at her place.” Leo sounds sure about this. I didn’t even realize he came back into the locker room with us.
“She’s not going to know that he did the anteater. It’s anonymous,” Cal says, as he pushes the submit button, and I feel my phone ding with a notification. Zoe’s phone would have dinged with the same notification. Only she won’t know who did it for her.
I’ll get updates on her anteater, since I’m the one paying for it. Cal has explained that at some point. But I’ve been walking around in a fog.
I have fallen, and hard.