Chapter Sixteen
Macallan
“Why do you keep looking up in the stands like a lost little puppy searching for its owner?” Joey regards me with a narrowed gaze, shifting in his stretching at the same time I do.
“What are you on about?” I ask as if his observation is the furthest thing from what I’m doing, moving left to stretch out my hamstring.
This is a game day routine. We come out onto the field to stretch and warm up before the game. And while I know Maisie said she’d be here, a part of me hoped she’d come early so I could get a glimpse of her before the game. Among the few dozen people already in the stands, I haven’t spotted Maisie, much to my disappointment.
“Don’t do that. Don’t act like you aren’t transparent as hell.” He snorts out a laugh, bending at the waist. “What time did she say she’d be here?”
“Who?”
“Who?” He mocks. “Maisie. You know, the girl who’soccupied your bed the past few nights. Because I sure as shit know it wasn’t you screaming your head off last night, though you weren’t exactly quiet either.” He grins. “So what’s the deal with you two anyway?”
“No deal. Just hanging out.”
“You see, I might actually believe you if I hadn’t just spent the last thirty minutes watching you scan the stands every few seconds.” He shakes his head, pushing a strand of hair out of his face. “You like her.” It’s not a question.
“More than I should.” I allow myself to admit.
“I wondered when you’d realize your mistake and man up. Though I’m not sure what her excuse is... She was always too good for you.”
“Still is.” I huff out an agreement.
“So is it serious?” He lunges to the left.
“It feels like it’s getting serious.”
If I can admit that to any of my friends, Joey is the one. While he’ll never miss an opportunity to bust my balls, he’s also the only one of my close friends who can hold an actual adult conversation from time to time. The others just make jokes and laugh at themselves as if they’re still in high school. Children, the lot of them.
“And how do you feel about that?”
“Honestly, man, I’m terrified.”
“I thought you might say that.” He lunges to the right when the trainer calls to switch, and I do the same.
“But I’m also enamored by her, man. I’ve never met anyone like her. She’s...”
“Special.” He fills in the gap when words fail me.
“Very.”
“Then you better not fuck it up this time.”
“I don’t plan on it.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m happy for you. I know howmuch it ate at you letting her go the last time. I mean, I get why you did it. Lana really is as batshit as you said. But with her now out of the picture...”
“We hope.”
“You think she’ll stick around, after everything?”
“It’s hard to say with her. On one hand, I think there’s no way she could be that stupid. On the other, I would be the stupid one if I underestimated her. It’s not even myself I’m worried about. It’s not Lana’s style to go straight for the kill. She’ll go after the people I care about instead. You’re proof of that.”
“I still can’t believe she drugged me. I had the worst hangover of my life and didn’t even get my dick wet for my efforts.” He laughs, clearly joking.
“Trust me, sleeping with Lana isnotworth it.”
