“I bought you tampons. You owe me majorly. And I meanmajorly.” I cringed, thinking about the terror again. Except I’d gotten to meet Callie, which had been the highlight of the month.
“I know. You’re a real hero.” She reached for some tissues and blew her nose. “You mentioned someone helped you pick them out? How in the world does that happen?”
“She offered to help, commented on my Toledo Mud Hens hat and we hung out for an hour or so. She refused to give me more than her name and, this is the best part, she said she goes to the university. She has to know who I am, right?” I could barely walk into a dining hall or lecture without people coming up and talking to me. Professors who I’d never had said hello to me. I know I was dabbling with an ego problem, but I had broken plenty of school records and made a good name for myself on the field. The attention had been well earned, in my opinion.
“You are pretentious as hell, baby brother. Maybe, justmaybe, the girl knew who you were but didn’t want to start anything because you’reyou.” Zaria spoke with love, but her words stung a bit. We shared almost everything except my hookups, but she also wasn’t stupid. She attended the same school to become a teacher, only a year older than me, and unfortunately she knew about my, uh, fans. Hell, even our mom gave me shit about them every once in a while.
“I never thought of that. Honestly though, her eyes showed no recognition. She never asked my name, which makes me question her. But I judge people pretty quickly and I had no warning signs.” I frowned, trying to perceive any hint of fame chaser in her. “She caught my attention for more than an hour. First time it’s happened to me.”
“Hell. Zade, I find you sad and hilarious.” Zaria picked up her cup of tea with a spark in her eyes. She gave me a grin that I knew from experience meant she was enjoying my pain. “Tell me more. No, tell meeverything.”
“Aren’t you sick? Wipe that smile off your face and stop being a pain.” I took my phone off the charger and replied to the group message sent from my teammates and housemates. They were having another party. I always had a good time at them, but I wanted to sit tonight out. Plus, Zaria and I always hung out once a week. Our mom had instilled the rule without room for negotiation since she’d gone to Europe for the year. She demanded weekly calls with us both present. Finding time in our schedule had been tricky, but somehow Zaria and I had worked out a routine. Our mom had moved away four months ago, thriving in her late career, and we wanted nothing but the best for her.
“You look smitten. How cute. I’m emailing mom in the morning with a page-long summary. She’ll love it.” She laughed, but then it transformed into a pathetic cough. I cringed. She sounded gross. I regretted coming over.
“I shouldn’t have fucking told you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you need advice and I’m an expert.” She had always been a littletoosmug with her counsel.
“It wouldn’t be creepy to Google Image Callie and students at the university, right?”
She broke out into laughter.
“Probably, then?”
“Why not? I think it’s vague and this girl is way too good for you.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “Obviously I like her. And approve. Callie from Target.”
“I’ll let you rest. I’m going to read up on some baseball stats.”
“You crashing here?”
“Maybe. There’s a party at the house. If I head back, I’ll have to hang. Not sure if I’m up for it. I have a killer run tomorrow.” I’d decided to train for a half marathon, to keep me focused in the off season but also to raise money for a charity. Three of the other guys, none of whom were my roommates, were also doing it. I wanted to be prepared before we began our group runs because, although I worked out a shit ton for baseball, I had zero running endurance. People assumed athletes were able to run or go upstairs without getting winded, but I always got out of breath. I hated it.
“You know where the couch is. Have at it.” She stood, sniffed and gave me a sleepy smile. “Thanks for helping me tonight. You’re the best, bro.”
“You got it, Z.” I uncovered her laptop from the excuse she called a desk, helping myself to it. I did my normal routine of checking the baseball highlights. The nerves and anxiety about the future grabbed hold of me every time. I wanted the opportunity to play in the majors more than I could breathe. The dream and desire had burned in me for the past year—well, more like since birth. Every single decision I made followed the path to achieve my dream and it caused me just as much anxiety as it did excitement. I already had the attention of three scouts after a killer Freshman year, had talked with two others and had begun looking for an agent. It wasalmosthappening.
My phone went off with a notification from Aaron. I clicked on the Snapchat, assuming he’d sent me a video of chicks making out or dancing. I watched a dumb video taking place in our game room. Greta, a cute girl who’d become a good friend over the past year, stood playing a game of foosball with some other girl. Aaron placed the camera on them, Jeff standing next to them with his arm around…No. No fucking way.
Callie.My Callie. Callie from Target! My heart raced, my ego needing to know if she’d played me, but my gut telling me to find her. I fired off a text to Aaron to keep her company and ran out of my sister’s townhouse. Adrenaline coursed through me, making me tap my fingers on the wheel of my jeep as I broke every speed limit to reach the house.
Why is she at the house? Does she know who I am and messed with me as a prank?Jeff…he loved pranking me.Asshole.The thought of being played pissed me off. I thought we’d clicked and I wanted to spend more time with her. I hadn’t been captivated by a girl in…well, forever.Fuck.
The music blared as I parked down the street. I had to walk to the house and it annoyed me.Why live here if I can’t park in the driveway?
“Hey, Zwillow! Lookin’ good, baby.”
“Z-man. How’s the arm doin?”
“Z-money. My main guy, good to see ya.”
I waved at the various passersby as I ran up the sidewalk. I appreciated their concern and interest in my pitching career, but I wasn’t feeling diplomatic or noble. My mission remained—find Callie. The front door stood wide open and I made a mental note to say something to Aaron and Tanner. They were the party animals, Jeff being the middle child who went along with the flow and I took the cool, older brother persona to heart. I looked out for them but also had a lot of fun. I walked in to the sound of a raging party and had decided to head downstairs when long fingernails clawed my arm. I saw who had touched me and sucked in a breath of dismay.
“Veronica.” I jerked at her fingers on me and waited for her to remove them. She took her time, caressing my chest in the process.
“Zade. I came here hoping to run into you.” Her high-pitched baby voice made me cringe.
“I live here, so yeah, odds were good,” I replied. I had no desire to talk to her now, or ever again. She used men and was toxic to the baseball team. She wanted to fuck a baseball player and I wouldn’t have put it past her to film it.Hell to the no.
