“I’m flattered, but should I be concerned about that?” I teased, knowing I would’ve done the same thing.
“Nah, I’m not creepy. I prefer the word ‘dedicated’. I haven’t smiled that much with someone I just met, ever.”
“I have to agree with you on that one. It is overwhelming, though, don’t you think?” I waited for his answer.Our chemistry is crazy, intense and most definitely two-sided.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before.” His eye pierced mine. “It is a lot to deal with, but I like high-pressure situations. I can handle it.”
“I’m assuming you mean on the field? You have baseball player written all over you.” I scooted over and pulled my hand out of his grasp. “Let’s see here. Hmm.” I ran my fingers down his forearm, a bold and foreign move on my part, and caressed his muscles. “Strong forearm, left slightly larger than the right.” He sucked in a breath and kept his eyes on mine. My presence affected him and the notion empowered me. I traced the vein that bulged out. “My bet is left-handed pitcher, definitely a starter. You have the confidence and swagger needed.”
“You’re killing me right now, by the way.” His eyes heated over in the sexiest way. “You’re spot-on.”
“Not my intention, but I’m enjoying it. No bases will be met tonight, Zade Willows.” The name.Zade Willows. Zwillows.I knew him. I’d heard of him. Greta had told meallabout him. I released my hand and jumped back. The recognition and awareness threw a bucket of cold water over me.
“What’s wrong? Are you all right?” The heat lingered in his eyes but now worry had taken over. I blinked a couple of times, wishing I hadn’t figured it out. He had a reputation. A womanizing one.What a deal-breaker.
“I’m okay.” I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut as an unwelcome pain went through my chest. “I should go, Zade.” I said his name with a hint of regret and his face fell. I felt bad, but I knew I could never get involved with him. I knew the type and it always led to heartbreak.
“What happened? I thought I read the signs like we were really hitting it off? Did I say something?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry if I led you to believe…I don’t know. We were flirting. But I just, hell, I need to head out right now. I’m sorry. Nothing can happen.Wecan’t happen.” I crawled to the window and slid down the desk. I paused, fighting the urge to cry. My eyes stung as I ran into Greta on the stairs. She didn’t even ask why when we walked out of the party two minutes later.God, what did I do to deserve her as my BFF?
“Care to share or want to wait?” Her calm voice and her arm around me grounded me.
“Mr. T is Zade Willows.”
She hissed and let out a string of cuss words. “I did not see that coming.”
Chapter Six
Zade
I woke up feeling hungover, although I wasn’t at all. The clock read six and I groaned as I got ready for a seven-mile run. Fuck if I wanted to forget the whole half marathon and play video games all day.Am I depressed?The feeling was unnerving and unfamiliar. I thought about asking my friends, but I already knew their reactions. Zaria always blamed me for doing something wrong, Jeff and Aaron laughed at me and my mom, well, she rationalized and picked the best solution.
I had no idea what had happened with Callie, but it had fucking sucked. Something had changed for the worse and I needed to find out what it was. A long run always cleared my head, or at least burned a couple hundred calories. I snatched my phone and headphones, needing a hell of a playlist to get me pumped. Before running, though, I needed food. The kitchen had every shelf filled, thanks to my roommates’ moms.Some might call it cheesy, but we appreciated our moms. They were the backbone of baseball players. When we needed encouragement, they were there. When we needed advice, a reality check or food, they were there. I sent a quick text to my mom to talk later.
“Morning.” A voice purred at me from the hallway. I recognized her as one of Veronica’s friends, Lilly or Laurie or something. Another cleat chaser and nothing but trouble. I refused to acknowledge her. “Grumpy today? Did you not get a happy ending with the new girl last night? Shame, shame. I can give you a quickie right now if you want.”
“Do you even have dignity left? No. I’m more than okay,” I barked at her. I hated girls who reeked of desperation. “Get the hell out of here.”
“Mm. You are cranky. Let me help you.” She walked up and put her hands on my shoulders, the contact making me cringe. I had no idea what she carried or who she’d slept with. I needed trust and my mom had warned me about the types of girls who wanted a guy for one reason alone—popularity. She stank of one of those girls and I needed to warn the other guys about her.
“Please don’t touch me.” I stood, causing her hands to drop and her face to sour into a godawful expression. “I’m heading out.”
I slammed the door, opting out of eating anything more than fruit. I’d luckily put my wallet in my pocket because I would need food after the run. I preferred to not dodge the crazy slut all morning, actually. Thank god I’d bought a lock for my bedroom door. I knew I sounded whiney about girls chasing us because we were baseball players about to go into the majors, but sometimes it sucked.Like right now.
I blasted some punk rock and took off running down the trail by our house. No one else was out, it being an early Sunday morning. I welcomed the peace. Three miles in, my lungs got used to the movement. I powered through the first cramp when it settled into a rhythm for the last four miles. I thought about the future, what I wanted and of course Callie. I hadn’t had a relationship since high school. And, honestly, that really hadn’t been a relationship—more a continuous hookup for a couple of weeks. I wasn’t a relationship type of guy. I didn’t do flowers or dates or romantic dinners. But Callie could have dragged me anywhere and I’d probably have gone. I needed to talk to her and demand answers.
The world enjoyed playing with me sometimes and this had to be one of those times, because, farther up the trail, I saw a long dark ponytail bouncing in a run and tan, athletic legs. I grinned, sped up and, by god, Callie had chosen to run the same time I did. She had headphones in and wore tiny running shorts.Fuck me.Every step she took, I fell harder. I didn’t want to scare her so I sent a quick text, hoping she’d read it.
I paced myself behind her and she turned back, recognition on her face. I waved at her. She didn’t stop running but pulled out her headphones. I took that as an invitation and ran up next to her. “Hey.”God, I sound lame.
“Morning.” She kept her pace and continued running straight ahead. “If you weren’t sweating like you’ve been running for a while, I might accuse you of stalking me.”
“I can see how that it looks that way. But no, I’ve already run three miles. Four more to go.”
“Training for anything or off-season workouts?” She spoke in a friendly tone, but she didn’t meet my eyes. Unlike me, she didn’t gasp for each breath.
“Both. What about you?”
