“Sure, sure,” Jeff said. All of us used Tanner’s catchphrases, to some degree or other. Aaron had his arm around the back of the booth, his fingers dangling close to Callie’s shoulder.Fucking hell. If he makes a move on her…well, I can’t do a damn thing about it.Her hair had been twisted into braids, something I hadn’t seen her do before. It made her more girly than athletic. Just another reason why I was caught up in her I stared a little too long and Aaron cleared his throat.
“We were telling Callie about the club that opened downtown and we’re thinking about heading to it next weekend. Whatcha think?” He narrowed his eyes at me and I had no idea what the fuck that meant. His playboy status beat mine…meaning he stood no chance. Yet he tugged the end of Callie’s braid and she laughed. She fucking leaned into it and laughed.
“Yeah. I’m in. Should be fun.” My voice sounded off. I needed a drink. Jeff seemed to sense my discomfort and tried to fix it.
“We’ll order another pitcher and you can join next round. Now you’re here, we can have teams of three. Way easier than having a sub for each team.”
“Yeah, Jeff isn’t the best at this,” Greta claimed, Tanner nodding. “You guys get him.”
“Hells no. We get Zade.”Callie.I smiled as my name left her mouth. I liked it. I liked it a lot.
“Girl, please. You and Aaron are kicking our asses. We get the guns.” Greta pursed her lips and did the strange girl thing where they had a conversation with their eyes. I watched back and forth between them, smiling. They were always entertaining.
“Fine. You get him this time.” Callie pouted. Aaron leaned in to say something in her ear and I clenched my fist.
“I’ll go grab a couple more.” I headed to the bar and some pretty bartender immediately served me. One thing about the bar—they didn’t care we weren’t twenty-one. No one did. Her coy smile distracted me. Irrational anger at Callie and Aaron took over and without realizing what I was doing, I upped the charm. “Hi, there.”
“Zade Willows. What can I get ya?” She leaned over the bar, putting her tits on full display, and of course I noticed. I wasn’t dead. Her name tag readEllenand I gave her the full Zade show. Compliment them, flirt with them and leave with them. I had mastered it my freshman year, sleeping with girls way older than me. It wasn’t something I bragged about and it certainly explained why Callie wanted nothing to do with me.
“How about a pitcher of beer, Ellen? Anything on tap. Surprise me. You strike me as a girl who’s good at surprises.” I lowered my voice and winked. She ate it up, spilling a little beer on the counter. I pretended not to notice and watched her walk away.
“You never stop surprising me.” Callie’s voice broke into my thoughts and my stomach clenched in remorse. Her face crumpled for a second.
“Saw that, did you?” I leaned on the bar to face her. Her braids complemented her tight black tank top and equally tight jeans. Her legs were fucking amazing and I realized I loved seeing her in denim. Or workout clothes. Anything, really.
“The whole shebang. You confuse me, Zade. You really do.”
“Right back at ya, babe.” I smiled and a small red flush tinged her cheeks. Good. I wanted to tear down the wall she’d built between us and caveman her back to my house. But I wouldn’t until she gave in or I got over my unnatural attraction.
“I actually came over to tell you that Aaron put his arm around me to send a message to the creepy guy who hit on me earlier.” She bit her lip, looking down at the ground before meeting my eyes. “I realize it looked like flirting, but it’s harmless and not going anywhere.”
“Okay, then.” My words sounded harsh but my stomach relaxed. Her face fell and once again I’d behaved like an asshole. Ellen chose that moment to bring the pitchers with even more cleavage showing. She smiled sweetly at me and didn’t even glance at Callie.
“It’s on the house. Here, call me any time.” She handed me a card with a number on it and I gave her an awkward smile.
“Thank you so much.” Callie clapped. “I love when my boyfriend gets free drinks because he plays with balls. You’re the best, Ellen!” Ellen stared at her, mouth agape in horror. Of all things I could’ve done in that moment, I threw my head back and laughed. Ellen stormed off, probably crying, and I should’ve apologized. But I didn’t.
“Holy shit, Callie.” I put my hand on her shoulder and she fought a smile, too. “That was…something else.”
“I meant it to annoy you, not make you laugh like a goon.” She sucked in her cheeks and a full smile broke out. “But I’m glad I amuse you.”
“I don’t know why that cracked me up. I get a lot of shit like that sometimes and I’ve been known to play into it,” I admitted with a shrug. I let go of her shoulder and itched to touch her more.
“No, really? With Zwillows Pillows in full swing…it had to be tough to not get an ego. I bet youhatethe attention.”
“At times, yeah. At times, no.” I handed her a pitcher and took the other. Whatever had happened between us left and our normal banter came back. We walked to the booth the guys had taken over in the back corner, away from the bar area and enough out of sight to relax without attention. It was the charm of Cam’s—no one bothered anyone. Callie headed into the booth first, squeezing her tiny body next to Aaron and Jeff. “Scoot over, ladies. I’m on your team.”
Tanner rolled his eyes and Aaron made a scene as he moved over. I joined on the opposite side, directly across from Callie, my legs too long to fit comfortably. I stretched them out. She raised her eyebrows at me and I shrugged. “Not enough room.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Did you hear what Callie did, Z?” Tanner sniggered as we all poured a glass. “It was bad-ass.”
“Fuck yeah, it was. I’m team Callie forever.” Aaron put his arm around her and squeezed. “Tell him.”
“Eh, it’s not that big of a deal.” She shrugged his arm off, making me happier than I had been seconds ago. “Anyone would’ve done the same thing.”
“Uh, no. That’s false,” Greta added and I got impatient. “She is the definition of goals.”
