Ben chortles. “What does that even mean?”
“What? It means they’re young and cute!” Natasha smacks him with her free arm, then adjusts Junie on her hip to grab her water bottle.
Calder’s making his way over, and he looks stupid hot. His skin glistens, his shirt clings to his toned chest.
When my pulse rushes, I turn back to the group and hop off the stool. “We’ll definitely look into it.”
Sam quirks a brow. My voice was a little too high, and even I heard it. “I’m nervous,” I murmur, just to make sure she knows that’s all this momentary weirdness is. Because thatisall it is.
“You ready?” Calder asks.Was his voice always that low?
I spin and nearly hit Junie with my bag. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”
Ben laughs. “You had inches to spare.”
Calder looks between Sam and me. “Sorry to make you wait.” He unclips a towel from the side of what must be his bag hanging on the fence and wipes his brow. His phone sits in the side pocket.
“Here.” I point to it and hold out my palm.
He freezes. “What?”
“Hand me your phone.”
His brow furrows, but he pulls it out and gives it to me with the screen locked.
I sigh. “Open, please.” I want to say something about how his phone would never recognize me because my face wouldn’t do the whole permanent scowl thing, but people are still milling around us. I don’t want to embarrass him.
Calder hands it back, open, and I tap on his contacts.
“This is so you can text me next time. I don’t typically check my email outside of work hours,” I say. He raises an eyebrow, and I give him a look. “Okay, that was an anomaly.”
Sam’s eyes narrow. “What was an anomaly?”
I wave her off. “Nothing. I just happened to see a message. About the lessons.” My cheeks heat. Calder’s eyes seem to bore into my forehead, so I focus harder on typing in my number since I seem to have forgotten the last four digits.How long had we email chatted the other night?
Giving him my number wasn’t about that, it was practical. What if he’d needed to cancel tonight? I would’ve been ticked to drive all the way over with no notification.
I hand the phone back to Calder, and grab my bag, purposefully not watching as he reads his screen. I wasn’t planning to write out my full name, but it only felt right after seeing “Frederick” in my emails. You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.
Mabel Alecia Monroe. At least as embarrassing as his first name. Who names their kid Mabel? Did my parents expect me to come into the world loving polyester and hard candy? I may have teased him the other night, but I, of all people, know what it’s like to grow up dreading roll call on the first day of school.
Calder catches my eye as Sam and I say our goodbyes to the disassembling group. He’s still holding his phone. I expect him to look away, but he doesn’t, so I laugh a little too loud at Ben and Junie, then ask, “Which court?” in Calder’s general direction.
“Six,” he says.
Calder hasn’t warmed to me, which would normally be fine. However, this isn’t a normal situation. I very much want him to give a good recommendation to his friend, but no matter what I do, it only seems to sour him further.
My heart is still racing after that look he gave me, but bringing it up now would be weirder than just letting it go. First my wine-emailing and now this?Damn it.He probably thinks I’m trying to hit on him or something.
I replay the woman walking past the court, then me asking for his phone. I should’ve said it more formally. Something like, “Perhaps I should give you better contact information so you’re able to apprise me of any schedule changes.” How many times had he told me he wanted to be professional?
“What’s happening right now?” Sam whispers as we walk to the bench at court six and drop our things.
“Nothing.” I smile. “Just thinking.”
“About a pap smear? You look like you’re going to crack a tooth.”
I blow out a breath. “Calder isn’t my biggest fan.”
