“What else did you do?” I knew that tone. That tonenevermeant anything good for me.
“Well, you know how we were going to watch the Sox at our place tonight?” She held up her hands in surrender and I readied the spatula to hit her if needed.
“Yes. Yes, we are.”
“I invited people over.”
“People.I have a feeling not just random people. People that include baseball people, right?”
“Yup. You’re quick.” She hopped onto the stool and held her head in her hands. “I asked Tanner and Aaron to come over to which they replied, ‘We’ll all be there.’”
“I can’t fault you for inviting them. They are tons of fun. However…Zade.”
Her eyes clouded. “I hate that your dream guy is Zade Willows. I fucking hate it because the guy you described is not the one that I know or I’ve heard about. But you can still be friends with him, yeah?”
I regretted the worry on her face. She loved her friendship with Aaron and Tanner and she worried aboutme.“Greta Michele. I can handle myself. Zade is…I don’t know. We’re going to be friends.” My heart ached, disagreeing with my brain, but my brain knew better.
“I don’t want him messing with you. I saw your reaction to him and I know his reputation. I’ve seen it in action. I hate it.” She bit her lip. “Are you positive you’re good?”
“I agreed to run with him every morning. I’m going to have to get used to seeing him. I love living with you and I want to experience everything. I’m fine. I promise I’ll tell you if I’m not.”
“I can’t believe you agreed to run with him. He’s hot as hell. I want to rip off my shirt every time I see him sweat. How can you handle it?”
“It’s hard.” I pointed to my head. “But I’m usingthisto think, not my lonely, overactive lady bits.”
“Part of me finds it admirable that he’ll run with you. It makes me feel more comfortable that you aren’t running alone.”
“Thanks, mom.” I dodged her swat and opened a couple of beers the guys had brought over the last time they’d been here. “I need to prep the chicken. Will you put the game on?”
“You got it, girl. Put on an apron or something. You’ll drive him crazy.”
“That’s not my plan, G. I don’t want the attention, because I know I’ll cave. I want him to not look at me with those sexy eyes.” I shivered, imaging it. “This isn’t some rom-com where we play cat and mouse. I don’t want that. You know how hard I worked to get here. Even if he is a damn saint, which we know damn well he’s not, I can’t lose focus.”
“Sure, sure.” She gave me a small smile, her eyes telling me she really did understand. “You’re going to kill it this year, kiddo. Trust me.” After giving my arm a pat, she left the room to put on the game. By the time I had the chicken ready to cook, the front door burst open and if testosterone had a smell, it was them. Cologne and soap and leather all mixed together as the four of them walked in.
“Hey, guys!” Greta walked up and yanked the beer from Aaron’s hands. She’d changed into jeans and a cute striped low-cut shirt. I’d never changed from my shower, still wearing my old Sox long-sleeved shirt on with running shorts. As I’d said, I wasn’t trying to catch Zade’s attention. I wasn’t tryinganything.
“Greta, looking good.” Aaron patted her head and veered toward me. “What the hell smells good?”
“Beer-battered chicken.” I pushed myself up on the counter, ignoring Zade’s stare. I sensed it everywhere but I chose to not accept it. “I didn’t realize all of you were stopping by. I’ll have to make more.”
“No worries. We had food earlier.” Jeff joined us and rammed more beer into the fridge. I’d always known college students drank, but I had no idea where they all got it. Their parents? Siblings? Older students?What if they have fake IDs? Am I lame that I have no idea how to get one? Ugh, stupid year off is screwing me over socially already.
“Speak for yourself. I want to eat that.” Aaron pouted and opened a beer to hand to me. “Want one?”
“Hells, yeah.” I thanked him and set the timer on for an hour. “We probably have more in the fridge. I’ll cook more. Owe us next time.”
“You sure?” Jeff asked, closer to me now. I glanced at Zade, who leaned against the counter with a bottle to his mouth. His eyes were dancing with humor, that jerk. He loved every second of this.
“Yeah. Go enjoy the game and banter. Greta has been dying to play Cards Against Humanity all day. Shoo.” I hit Jeff with the spatula I’d threatened Greta with earlier. He smiled at me and left the kitchen, and Greta laughed at something Aaron said.
“Need help?”
“Nah, I got it.” I knew Zade would offer, just as I knew I’d say no. I went to the fridge and searched for an extra pack of chicken. I heard him behind me but misjudged my step, causing me to run into his chest. “Damn!”
“Sorry. I thought you heard me.” He placed his hands on my shoulders, making me feel small and protected andugh!“Let me help. Tell me what to do.”
“I have a feeling you’ll insist. I might as well let you help. It would be more work to get you to leave, I’m sure.” He laughed as I distanced myself and poured out an extra can of Heineken. I’d learned what beer worked best with the chicken, and I always chose Heineken. My dad argued, but no one could tell me differently.
