“Change the world, Z.”
I hung up and wanted to explore what that meant for her. Calls and letters… They weren’t crossing the line, but I had an uneasy feeling about it. I made a mental note to ask my coach the following morning. If anyone knew how to handle something, it was him. My phone went off with a text from Aaron.
Aaron: Bro. Cat fights are starting.
Zade: Coming from you, I have no idea what you mean.
Aaron: Callie. Girls are after her.
Zade: What the fuck do you mean?
My heart picked up and I thumbed through Twitter to see if anyone had posted what happened, but I didn’t see anything. She also didn’t text me.She’s fine, right?
Aaron: We’re in the dining hall. Join us. Make a scene, by the way. It’ll be fun.
Zade: I hate deciphering your bullshit codes.
Aaron: It’s all in good fun. We’re by Chipotle. Callie’s really handling the burrito.
I didn’t respond and changed direction to head to the main quad. Now that I thought about it, food sounded good. The food court stood on the bottom floor of the Student Union building. It was the most accurate snapshot of who attended the university—students of every race and from various countries always hung out here. I’d only visited the lower level a handful of times and forgotten how many students went to school here. Generally, I ate at the house or at the town favorite sandwich shop off the main road of the campus. I passed a group of actors reenacting a scene, kids handing out free bibles and talking about the lord, a tightrope walker and of course, the Frisbee guys. I loved the Frisbee guys. I waved to them, their cheery faces a staple of the campus.Everyoneknew about the Frisbee guys.
Reaching the stairs that led to the lowest level, I noticed the stares I was drawing. I wasn’t immune to my looks by any means. I took care of my body, cared about my appearance, but I also knew my throwing arm was the main reason for my success. I walked toward Chipotle and smiled at the group of girls all gawking at me. One, who I recognized from somewhere, licked her lips in a grotesque way.Ugh. I hope I haven’t slept with her.
I saw Callie and Aaron sitting at a table in the center of it all and my heart fucking soared. Like, left my chest and danced around the room before returning to me. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, but I also didn’t like losing all control. Aaron raised his eyebrows to me in a greeting and tilted his head in my direction.
“Fancy meeting you here, Z,” he baited, drawing the attention of the crowd around us.
“Yeah. Happy coincidence,” I threw back.
Callie’s eyes lit up, but her smile was off. I needed to remedy that, like now.
“Hey, girl.”
“God, you’re awful at entrances.” Her lip quirked, displaying one of her perfect dimples, and I plopped down next to her. I put my arm around her and the group of girls stared daggers at her. I put two and two together and figured out what the hell Aaron was saying. I wish he’d told me, but that was Aaron.
“How about this, then?” I held her face in my hands and kissed the shit out of her. I probably got a bit carried away, dragging it out a little too long, but I felt pretty damn smug at the desire on her face. “Better?”
“Damn it, Zade. Give a girl a warning.” She wiped her lips with the back of her hand. It pleased me to see them swollen from my mouth. Aaron hid a smile behind his hand and motioned with his eyes to the girls off to the side. They had horrified expressions on their faces and I held eye contact with them, put my arm around Callie and sent the message clear as day.
“What’s up, guys?” I asked, casually.
“Enjoying a nice lunch with our girl Callie here. Nothing too exciting.” Aaron leaned back in his chair without a care in the world. “Right, Cal?”
“Right.” She gave him a pointed glare and she met my eyes. Hers softened and my chest pinched. “I feel like I missed something. You don’t have class today, right?”
“Stalking me?” Our inside joke made us both smile.
“Obviously. I have nothing else to focus on. But way to avoid the question. I don’t know why you showed up right now, but I have something awesome to tell you.” She sat straighter and her face lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Oh yeah, what?”
“Patz—you know the crazy old hockey player who became a professor?”
“Yeah, we’ve all heard of him. You have him this semester? I didn’t realize that.” I frowned, not sure why I should’ve known that.
“Our first assignment of the semester was to create an entire fitness plan for a fictional hockey team and the guy I got paired with, well, we fucking nailed it.” She clapped her hands together and I hung on her every word. “He called us back to his desk after class today and dropped a major bomb. He hand-picked two of us due to previous experience we’d both had for an extra project. It has the potential for us to have internships next year! I get to work with the baseball team!”
“No fucking way!” I yelled, drawing more stares. “That’s awesome!”
