“Which one is that guy who was helping you set up for the festival?” Mom asked.
“Thirty-one,” Ty said before I could.
To me, she said, “And he’stheguy, right?”
I swallowed. “Yeah.”
Cara interrupting whatever was about to shoot out of my mouth at the festival was probably a good thing. Cal and I needed to talk, but I hadn’t a clue what needed to be said. One kiss meant nothing. We needed to air this out at best and, at worst, make sure we were on the same page of loathing each other.
“What guy?” Dad asked.
“You remember Cal, the one Jack’s hung up on.” Mom said.
“Shhh,” I hissed as they chuckled. “All of you stop.” My unrelenting crush wasn’t something I wanted to talk about here or at all. I sighed and dropped my head, then snapped to attention when a whistle was blown. The defense ran out, and I could’ve sworn Cal’s gaze locked with mine as the offense hustled out of the way. We were too far to be sure, but if he homed in on the same spot next time, I’d know.
Cal removed his helmet, rolled his head on his neck, drank and spit—and I watched every second in rapt fascination—and then he turned completely around, back to the field, and talked to Nick, who stood next to him. Only, his face was aimed toward me—and he wasn’t scowling.
Good. This was good.
Cal leaned in close as Nick responded, then turned around and watched the game.
Now what?
Since it was Homecoming, the stands were packed more than normal. It shouldn’t be weird that I was at the game. Especially since Ty was in the court. But it was weird. He knew I was here and that I was watching him. I had to talk to him, figure out where his head was, and hopefully avoid a return punch.
The Hickory Bend Wolves won. Cal scored three touchdowns. With each one, I would’ve sworn he glanced at me, and I snickered to myself.I noticed, Princess.
Surprisingly, Ty didn’t want to go to any parties afterward. As we headed for the parking lot, he gripped my arm and pulled me away from our parents with a promise that we’d be home soon.
“He was totally staring at you,” Ty said when we were alone.
“You thought so too?” It hadn’t been my imagination.
“Think you can stop fighting now? You can’t get kicked out of school.”
“It’s not in my plan.”
“What is, bro?”
I huffed but really needed to think about it. After Cal freaked, I was sure he was straight and realized what a bad idea he was playing around with. I’d made the first move against all my better judgment, and I wasn’t the type to keep pushing when there was nothing to push.
Sure, we’dalmostbeen civil at the festival, and he’d stared me down tonight, but that was inconclusive. The real test would be at school next week. Classes would be back to normal, everything would be normal. We had our sessions and the mandated texting. Would he engage?
Monday morning, I watched my phone as I got ready for school. Would I initiate it today? I wanted any letter of recommendation I could get, so yeah, I probably would. Didn’t mean he’d reply. Should I act like nothing happened? Probably best.
Think Trent will have any special projects for us today?
There. I started it. Not an unrealistic question and not giving away my thoughts either. Cal couldn’t call me out for acting differently or making a big deal out of what happened.
He read it. The dots popped and dropped for a good solid minute before he finally responded.
Dipshit
One guess as to how many fucks I have to fucking give about what fucking Trent wants from me today.
Yep. He was angry. This wasn’t good. So naturally, I fought fire with more fire.
Apparently, you’ve got plenty of fucks in that pretty mouth of yours.
