“Me. You. Pitcher’s mound. I’d probably get kicked off the team.”
“And I’d lose my opportunity with Nicole.” She placed the jersey on the counter with care before heading out with me. “It might totally be worth it, though.”
“Oh, fuck yeah.”
* * * *
“You’re real!” Zaria met us outside the restaurant and eyed Callie as if she had a damn alien growing out of her head. I glared at her, but she didn’t notice me. She went up to Callie and hugged her. Callie laughed and gave me a questioning look over my sister’s shoulder. I shrugged. Zaria was her own person and was going to do whatever the hell she wanted, regardless of what I thought. “It is nice tofinallymeet you.”
“You, too. Zade talks about you a lot. I pictured you differently, though.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know…more mother-like. You’re stunning. Like this one.” She pointed to me and continued, “I prefer not to stroke the ego too often. I need to insult him really quickly to go back to normal.”
“Ha ha ha,” I mocked and pulled her into my arms. She leaned against me and smiled like I was the best thing in the world. Zaria saw it and nodded at me. I didn’t need her approval, but knowing I had it felt pretty fucking good.
“I like her already.” She opened the door to the restaurant. “Now, are you going to be all gross and hold hands during dinner?”
“Nah, I hate that.” Callie answered and I rolled my eyes. “Zade will try every so often, but I stop it.”
“Good for you. Stick it to him.” They shared a laugh and I decided I didn’t want them being friends. The two of them against me did not sound fun. “So, Callie. Tell me everything about yourself.”
“Uh, not sure how to start that.” She gave me a worried look and I held up my hands.
“I won’t be any help. I think it’s best if you ride her out. She’ll calm down eventually.”
“Okay. I’ll be more specific. How did you get Zade to be your boyfriend? You’re the first girl I’ve ever met and trust me, this is a huge deal. He’s been a bit of a commitment-phobe for some time.” She sat across from us at the table and smiled at our waiter. She crossed her arms and stared at Callie, waiting for her to answer.
“Actually, he isn’t my boyfriend.”
“Wait, what?” Zaria looked at me with raised eyebrows.
“Yup. You heard her. Why don’t you explain that to my sister, dear?” I said sarcastically, hoping she’d feel bad enough to agree to it.
“Well.” She bit her lip for a second, clearly debating how to answer my sister. “I keep turning him down.”
Zaria tilted her head and watched the two of us. “Why? Aren’t you two together?”
“Oh, we’re together.” I answered.
A mischievous grin took over Callie’s face. “As you probably can see, Zade can be a little…overzealous and the first time he tried asking me was due to being jealous. I wanted him to ask me because he wanted me to be his girlfriend, not to prevent another guy from looking at me.”
“That makes sense. Continue.”
“And his attempts got lazy. We’d be eating dinner and he’d ask. I’d politely decline. He’ll try to lay on the charm, but I’m tough. I’ve held out this long—another week or two or four won’t kill him.”
“God, I get it now. You’re perfect for him. Mad respect for you to hold him off this long. When he doesn’t get what he wants, he gets a little…what’s the word?”
“Crazy? Insane? Barbaric?” Callie answered and I decided they should not be hanging out again.
“Yes, all of those.”
“I’m glad you two are having a hoot talking shit about me,” I sulked. Callie patted my arm in a condescending way but kept her hand on me, which made me feel a little better.
“Having a hoot.” Callie laughed. Hard. “We are going to be talking about where the hell that came from. Good lord.”
“It’s not talking shit if it’s true and it’s not behind your back,” Zaria said between chuckles. “I’m enjoying this much more than I thought. Let’s do this again every week.”
