Chapter 7 #2
She did know me. And I wasn’t sure whether that thought scared me more or less than what I was about to say. “Alright. I need a safety net, Tuck.”
Shelby’s brow furrowed slightly, but she waited patiently for me to say more. And with great reluctance, I knew I had to give her more.
“Look, I don’t want to get into what happened with Miranda, alright?
But everybody seems to think I should be dating again.
Even my own mom gave me a lecture today about getting out there.
If they’re not telling me that, they’re trying to set me up with somebody.
Ever since the divorce papers were signed, it’s…
been relentless. But you know what? I don’t want to. I’m not doing that to Sophie again.”
The words came out quick and sharp, like I feared that if I took a breath, she would counter everything I was saying.
Deep down, I knew I was probably pushing it too far.
But grief and anger continued to cloud every thought, and I couldn’t imagine getting close to anyone like that again.
Not now. Not ever. Not at my daughter’s expense.
But instead of telling me I was wrong or feeding me lines full of clichéd sentiments, Shelby just nodded once.
“Okay,” she said.
That was it.
I stared at her in disbelief as relief clambered down my veins.
To my utter horror, my eyes began to burn slightly before I got a hold of myself.
Even as kids, she always seemed to understand what I needed.
Always giving me the space I needed, even though it must have driven her crazy growing up.
There were no lectures. No telling me I was wrong.
No trying to change my mind. She was already on my side.
I had forgotten how easy it was to be her friend.
Good hell, I’ve missed her.
“So, what does being your safety net entail?” She folded her arms across her chest, looking toward me in question.
I cleared my throat and did my best to inject some humor back between us. In a space of one minute, I had gone from teasing her, propositioning her, and almost crying. It must be the parenting that had made me so soft.
“Well, first of all, you should know that lots of women would kill for an opportunity like this.”
My comment did just as I intended, and when Shelby smiled, I did too, and suddenly, breathing became easier.
We’d be fine.
“I just want people off my back for a while. Even if it’s only for the summer.
If I need a date for something, you’re the date.
If I need an excuse, it’s you. Thanks to the subpar matchmaking work of Kelsey and Tessa, we’ll be working together a lot this summer, so it shouldn’t be hard to think of things to keep us busy.
If people see us together and think we’re starting something, maybe then everyone will leave me alone for a while.
I just want a summer like the old days with you, Tuck. ”
Her brow furrowed. “So…are we dating, then? Pretending?”
“No. I’m not doing any of that. I want you to deter dates.”
“But you said…if you needed a date, that’s me.”
“I’m not going to need a date. I just want you to be there in case I need you. Like safe non-dating dating. Clear as mud?”
She huffed out a laugh while rubbing at her forehead like this all pained her. “Safe dating?”
“Safe non-dating,” I corrected. “You’re going to have to control yourself. I’m off the market.”
She shook her head slightly but appeared to be thinking it over, so I added in my bargaining chips.
“And in exchange, I’ll turn you into a flirting machine.”
She gave me a look that made me laugh.
“And how exactly are you planning to help me”—she motioned toward the court she had just shared with Briggs—“with this?”
“Tuck, you have all the tools you need. We just need to work on your confidence.”
“And I get that by…?”
“Practice.” I eyed her carefully. “Just like you wanted.”
She had asked for this. Yet, she looked like a deer in headlights.
“What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to practice flirting with someone you’re comfortable with?”
“I do. I just…” She bit her lip, drawing my gaze to her mouth. “Now, I’m imagining doing that with you.”
Folding my arms, I smiled. “Getting hot flashes?”
“More like a cold sweat.”
I held up a hand. “If we do this, I have a couple rules that I will be adding to the contract later. The one you claim you still have.”
“I do still have it.”
“That’s sad,” I said.
“It’s sad that you were almost not going to fulfill your end of the bargain.”
I cleared my throat. “Number one, no kissing. All we’re doing is getting you to the point where you can snag a guy on your own and then go kiss him all you want.”
“Fine by me,” she said, folding her arms. “I still have nightmares from the last time.”
“You and me both. And whenever we have a lesson, it happens after dark. When Sophie’s asleep. I don’t want her to get confused. During the day on the ranch, we hang out, and hopefully, people will think we like each other and leave me alone. Do you have anything you want to add?”
“So how are you going to teach me to flirt?”
I rubbed at my chin and stared at her thoughtfully. “I’m going to help you get comfortable with touch. So…I don’t know…I’ll figure out a few scenarios and walk you through a few things.”
There. That sounded like a business deal. Walk her through a few things. Even my heart, which had begun to pound at this discussion, calmed at those words. Very businesslike.
“You can back out at any time,” I said when she seemed to have zoned out for a minute.
“And when I say touch, I’m just talking about the stuff you might do in the first couple of weeks of dating someone.
Hand holding, cuddling, not giving someone a black eye when you're playing one-on-one…easy stuff like that.”
“Can we add a doorstep scene?”
“Huh?”
“It’s not just flirting. It’s certain places on dates that I seem to overthink and get scared about.
The places where expectations are high for some reason.
Watching a movie on a couch, walking down the street and not knowing what I should do with my hands, and getting dropped off at the doorstep from a date… things like that.”
“Alright. We’ll add them to the list.”
She nodded, blowing out a breath, and finally gave me a real smile. “Okay. Then I’m in.”
“What’s your end goal?” I asked, grabbing the basketball once more and taking a shot.
“I’d love to just practice stuff with you so I can hopefully date people in Boise like a normal person.”
“I’m not a miracle worker, but I’ll do my best.”
“What about Briggs?” she asked.
“Do you like him?”
“I don’t think we’re a match, but he’s nice.”
“He may have gotten the hint tonight.” I bit back a laugh, remembering the sound of Briggs’s grunt after the fat lip. “But if you need to talk to him, you can do that too.”
“What happens with everybody here at the ranch?” she asked. “How far do we take this thing on your end?”
“We just keep it casual. Seeing us hanging out is obviously what they want. Hopefully, that will make them stop trying to set me up with anything single that moves. Then by the end of the summer, you’ll be all fired up and ready to snag a man.”
We both went for the ball at the same time, nudging and pushing each other out of the way before she yanked the ball from my grip, spinning away from me.
“In regard to Briggs, he asked me to play one-on-one. In my world, that means we play ball. If I had known ahead of time the objective, I could have changed my approach.”
“The guy isn’t going to spell it out like that. It’s a vibe you need to feel.”
“Well, after four years of playing in college, it’s really hard to tamp down the aggressive energy into something sweet and flirty, especially with a cocky guy thinking he’s going to take me down.”
“You don’t have sweet and flirty energy anywhere, though. Not just on the court. You jump like a skinned rabbit every time somebody comes close to touching you.”
“What?! No, I don’t!”
“You do. You have a problem with touch in general.” The idea just now struck me with a force.
She gaped at me. “I touch people all the time.” She walked toward me, reaching out and poking my chest, and attempted to give me a hug before I pushed her away.
“That’s not the kind of touching I’m talking about.”
Her cheeks flamed a fiery red while her hands found her hips. “Well, I don’t have a problem with touch, okay? I just didn’t realize what Briggs was doing. I’ll prove it.”
“Alright, let’s play to three,” I said. “I’ll be Briggs.”
She stared at me for a long moment before her chin raised. “Fine.”
The game started immediately, and she had the ball.
For a second, I forgot I was Briggs and had naturally fallen into our usual rhythm.
Even after so long, I knew her plays. She’d definitely gotten even better since we’d last played, so after a minute, watching her fake a left and easily breeze past me to sink a layup, I remembered my purpose.
She gave me an aggravating grin and tossed me the ball.
Briggs. I was Briggs.
I dribbled the ball slowly toward her, waiting for her to pounce.
I couldn’t remember how much touching we actually did in the game.
She didn’t pounce, though. She waited patiently like a large cat stalking her dinner.
So I inched closer, dangling the bait. Immediately, she moved forward to swipe the ball away, but I was ready for it and used my arm to block her advance.
It worked for a second before she stole the ball anyway and bounded down the court to sink another layup, this time, a reverse.
I’d forgotten what a show-off she was.
The next time, I gave her no opening. I was on her, using my body as much as possible to block and touch, but to no avail. She blew past me, and it didn’t seem like she’d even registered any of it. She was all business.
When she made the last shot and turned toward me, a proud, self-satisfied look on her face, I knew I needed to change my approach. She knew me too well like this.
“I told you. I don’t have a problem with this kind of touch—at least not with you.”
She gave me the opening I was looking for. I took a step toward her, reaching my hand out like I was going to brush her hair across her forehead. Before I could touch her, she took a step back.
She blinked.
I grinned.
“That didn’t count,” she protested while I only shook my head, suddenly feeling lighter than I had in years.
“Prove it,” I said.
“Fine. Do it again.” Shelby sounded touchy, defensive, but I could see right through her raised chin and flushed cheeks. She was terrified.
“Nope. Too easy. You’re expecting it now. We’re going to have to do something more drastic.”
I turned from her, walking to the edge of the concrete court, trying to talk myself into what I was about to do.
Over the past few years, Shelby had morphed into a beautiful, vibrant creature.
There was no way guys didn’t stop and stare when they saw her coming.
But while her physical appearance had softened, she still had the abrasive instincts of a younger Shelby.
Like part of her had grown up while the other stayed on a basketball court.
It was the way she slugged shoulders and gave high fives and fist bumps like she was one of the guys in a locker room.
She had a habit of putting herself in the friend zone before any guy could try his luck with her.
Giving space for a guy to show her he liked her required her to have some confidence.
Some experience. All things I planned on helping her with, but tonight, I needed to switch up my approach.
And first…I had to prove to her that she had a problem.
I gripped the hem of my shirt and turned around, pinning my eyes on hers.
Then I watched in secret delight at the growing alarm on her face as I stripped the shirt completely off my body and tossed it on the grass.
A lot of time had passed since we’d last hung out like this, not to mention the fact that I just promised myself I’d avoid the very thing I was about to do, but messing with her was different than tangling with her.
And one thing was certain: messing with Shelby would always be one of my favorite things in this world.
“Now, it’s game time.”