“I do feel better now.”
“I have a way with people.” He stood up, stretched and I ogled the hell out of his abs. “I can pose for you if you want a picture.”
“Shit. I got caught.” I shrugged and heat rushed to my face. “I’ll join Zwillows Pillows and get a pillow case or something.”
“Fuck. That’s embarrassing.” He clapped his hands and pointed to the trail. “Now, we are walking five miles. No complaining.”
“In Crocs? No way.”
“Stop your excuses. They say excuses are like assholes—everyone has one.” He puffed out his chest and I snorted.
“Classy guy. You’re a real prize.” I stood up and threw the empty cup in the trash. “Fine. Let’s walk.
“Go ahead of me. I can’t trust you to not look at my ass.”
All I could do was flip him the bird.
Chapter Fourteen
Zade
A week later, Jeff and I walked into the store, bearing a list that consisted of meat with a side of meat. Our diets demanded protein and vegetables, but none of us cooked worth shit. We’ve heard of some guys having their parents send them meals, but most of ours were out of state and by now we’d gotten through the food they’d packed us off to college with. It was up to us to cook and we sucked. No other explanation.
“Ay, hamburger helper is total shit, right?” Jeff threw a box of it at me. I caught it and read the back. Generally, fake ingredients were the worst.
“Yeah. Probably shouldn’t.” I set it back and searched for mashed potatoes. I couldn’t make them from scratch but boxed ones were fine. “Has Nicole sent you a meal plan yet?”
“Yup. Pretended I didn’t get it, though. I want to enjoy August this year. I’ll focus more in September.” He found a pack of Oreos and threw them into the cart. “Yolo.”
“You’re a tool.” I didn’t put them back. I loved me some Oreos. “If Nicole knew we were drinking tonight…”
“Who the hell cares? We’re young. We’re in college. I love the sport and have dedicated my life to it. We can kick it back sometime.” He picked out some other boxes of shit and we made our way to the liquor and beer aisle. “We haven’t had a party since before school started. We’re due.”
“You right, you right.” I saw the case of beer I wanted, damn well knowing we couldn’t actually buy it. One of the older guys on the team had already dropped the alcohol off. Having good teammates was fucking great. “You invite some of the Kappas?”
“Hell yeah. Kappas, Thetas and Omegas. They are the best sororities.
He clapped his hands together, tilting his head to the side. “Oh, and Callie and Greta? Yeah, they’re coming, too.”
“Yeah, she told me this morning.” Tonight would be hard as hell. We were pre-gaming and all going out to the new club. I’d let what Callie had told me about her high school boyfriend sink in all week and it made sense. She didn’t quite put me in the same category as that asshole, but she was hesitant before getting involved with someone. I understood it, but I couldn’t be her boyfriend. What a stupid thought…right?
“You guys good? You have a weird relationship. She’s hung around us as much as Greta, who we see as a little sister. But Callie is not…sisterly.”
I stopped the cart and waited, praying he wasn’t interested. I had no claim on her, not anymore, and yet contemplated telling him to back the hell off. “We’re fine. We’re friends.” I shrugged. “Not that I haven’t tried for more.”
“I think it’s hilarious. All the women whose hearts you broke—this is payback for that. Callie and Greta are way too cool for the likes of us. That’s why our friendship is awesome. They keep us on our toes and call us out on our shit. I like to think of them as our life coaches.”
He pulled out his phone, seemingly unaware that his words bothered me. “Sweet, Kelly and her twin sister are coming. They are my goal for the night. Want me to see if they can bring more friends?”
Kelly was hot. Like, cover-of-a-magazine hot, but she was also fake as hell. I hadn’t been with her but had always wanted to, until now. The thought scared me. Jeff stared at me, waiting for my answer. “Sure, the more the merrier.”
“That’s my boy.” He kept walking down the aisle and I followed, worried about my sex drive. It had been a month. The longest dry spell I’d had since coming to college. I owed nothing to anyone and something needed to be done. I was cranky and uptight. “Hook up with someone tonight, Z. With the stick in your ass, you need it. Callie ain’t going to happen.”
“Thanks man. Appreciate it,” I replied. Even my friends knew my swagger was off.
“Looking out for you. It’s what I do.”
We bought everything on our list, but my mood worsened. I liked challenges. I never gave up, but what Jeff had said rang true. The world had served me up a good side of karma.
