“Tell me.” My voice commanded Callie’s attention and she took a large sip of beer.
“Some bitch in the bathroom came up to us and talked shit about us hanging out with you guys. It was ridiculous and rude as hell.” She shrugged and made an amused face. “I happened to walk right up to her and threaten her.”
“Bro, she’s on Snapchat. Some girl filmed it in the bathroom. It’s Veronica!” Jeff handed me the phone and I watched the encounter with a surge of pride and a whole unfamiliar feeling floating through my chest.
“Fuck. This is awesome.” I grinned. “You are one bad-ass chick, Callie. I’m glad you’re with us.” I refrained from sayingelated, ecstatic, overjoyedbecause I wasn’t a damn chick, plus my teammates didn’t need more fuel to make fun of me. But damn, Callie changed the game.
“Here, here.” Aaron held up his beer and I followed suit. “Cheers!”
“I told you guys that you’d love her. Cheers to me, too!” Greta yelled and we did. These two crazy girls somehow fit into our odd team.
Chapter Thirteen
Callie
Callie: I can’t run today. Beer. Beer is the devil.
Zade: Beer is the devil but don’t let it win!
Callie: No. I’m canceling. My head is a pile of hammers. An entire team of hammers.
Zade: I promise you’ll feel better if you come.
Callie: Darkness. That makes me feel better.
Zade: Don’t crap out on me. I’ll bring coffee.
Callie: I like that word. Keep going.
Zade: We’ll walk. It’s okay to have an off day.
Callie: Cinnamon rolls.
Zade: You got it. Thirty minutes?
Callie: I’m wearing my Crocs.You can’t force me to run.
Zade: If anyone can pull off those monstrosities, it’s you.
Callie: One point for big word. Nice.
I rolled over in my bed and chugged the glass of water on my nightstand. I wasn’t one to feel ashamed of drinking the night before, because I knew I’d done it to myself. It had been a great night, full of laughter and jokes. I popped two aspirin to stop the storm in my head before grudgingly putting on some loose shorts and a baggy Sox shirt. I tied it on the side, pausing to help the pounding stop, and threw on my Crocs. I didn’t care how fashionable they were. They were comfortable as hell.
The Midwest weather hadn’t broken yet and the humidity still suffocated my lungs on the walk to the meeting spot. And I moved at a slower pace than normal due to the damn hangover. I took my time getting to the bench and Zade watched me with a shit-eating grin on his face. He wore an old baseball shirt and black shorts. It was simple yet he pulled it off pretty damn well. I shielded my eyes and groaned.
“Hi there, champ. Looking great today. Ready to go?” He patted my knee as I sat down. Unlike our normal runs, no people were out this beautiful morning. Birds chirped, trees rustled and my heart beat way too fast with just the two of us on a deserted trail.Yikes.
“Ugh. Your energy is obnoxious.” My knee tingled at the touch.
“I get called a lot of things but obnoxious, no way. I’m happy. Perky. Flirty. Bossy.” He paused and handed me a cup of coffee. “I can keep going.”
“Shh. Coffee. Now.”
“I got it black with peppermint flavoring.” He grinned his half-smile and I groaned into the container. “That’s how you like it, right?”
“Exactly.” I took a sip and leaned against the bench. “Thank you.”
“You got it. We’ve got a good streak going and we couldn’t have a mere hangover ruin it.” He pulled out a small bag and handed it to me. “Cinnamon rolls, as promised.”
