Waiting on the Sidelines (Waiting on the Sidelines #1)(23)

“Hey, man” Sean said, reaching for knuckles from Reed. “Nice tosses tonight. Seriously, it was like pulling apples from a tree, man. Perfect!”

I was comforted to hear Sean praise Reed so. He was a good guy. My stomach twisted a little at my position, and I pushed it down to ignore it.

“Thanks, man. Hey, I’ll see you at films tomorrow, ok?” Reed said, walking back to the center of the party and putting his arm around Tatum, who was eyeing me suspiciously. I decided to play dumb and just smiled back and gave Sean a squeeze to throw her off of my scent. It seemed to work when she held up her beer and smiled at me.

Sean opted for water only so he could drive me home. He walked me to my door and kissed me good night at about 1 a.m. I told my parents that I was going to the tailgating party after the game, but didn’t bring up the alcohol. I knew it would worry them, or they wouldn’t let me go. And I was always going to be responsible, so I didn’t see the need. I watched as he ran down my steps and gravel driveway and pulled away in Cole’s truck. He would be taking home a lot of the guys tonight, I suspected.

I washed my face and tiptoed into my room, shutting the door and turning on my lamp for a little light. I sat on the end of my bed pulling off my shoes and pulling my shirt over my head. I pulled on my XL overly worn Dr. Suess T-shirt and kicked off my shorts and pulled up a pair of cut-off sweats. I clicked off the light and lay on top of my covers, still mulling the night over in my head when the ceiling lit up from my phone. It was a text from Reed.

Hey, you up?

I stared at it for a minute or two before replying. I wasn’t sure why I was hesitating, but something about it felt like I was hiding something from Sean.

Yep. Wide awake. What’s up?

I held the phone in my hand, willing a response to pop up on my screen.

Just feeling a little … blah. Can you talk?

I took a deep breath.

Sure.

And instantly my phone vibrated with his call. I let out a heavy sigh and settled into my pillow. “Hey, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Hey. Thanks for talking. I know it’s super late. I just wanted to say thanks, you know, for earlier?”

He didn’t seem drunk. I wondered if he had left Tatum at the party early. “Sure. You know, we’re friends, and I care about you a lot,” I cringed hearing the words come out of my mouth. I felt stupid for saying them, half because of how pompous and insincere they always sound and half because I cared about him more than a lot.

“Thanks,” he said, with a deep sigh, almost like he was letting a weight off his shoulders. “I had to take Tatum home early. She was pretty drunk. I only had a beer or two.”

“You drove?” I said, curiously. “You know, you can get in trouble for that, too, mister. You still have two weeks.”

He laughed a little. “Yeah, I know. My dad was going to be out all night and I figured it was safer if I was in charge of getting people home safely, and my dad doesn’t really care. I’ve been driving since I was 12.”

The image of a young Reed pulling cars into one of his dad’s dealerships amused me. Realizing the awkward silence, I filled it. “Speaking of… what are you doing for your birthday?”

He let out a little groan. “Uhg. Tatum wants to take me out to dinner in the city and then we might stay at one of the resorts. Her parents have a ton of time shares.”

I flinched a little at the thought of him and Tatum alone in a hotel room. I didn’t know what to say and didn’t have it in me to mask my reaction very well. “oh,” I said, a little deflated by it and shaken at how advanced they were.

“I don’t really like to make a big deal of birthdays,” he said.

“You’re turning 16. Come on, Reed. It’s a big deal. Maybe not for boys, but for us girls? It’s a big deal. We play ‘sweet 16’ when we’re little girls. It’s a thing,” I explained, trying to move on mentally from the thought of he and Tatum playing honeymoon together.

“Well, I’ll remember that for your birthday then,” he said, laughing a little.

“Damn straight you will,” I joked.

“Hey, thanks for talking. I feel a little better. I better go to bed. I’ve got films in the morning,” he said.

“Yeah, I’ve got practice. I’m varsity now, thanks to your girlfriend, you know?” I said, a bit reluctant to give Tatum credit, though she did deserve a little.

“That’s right. Congrats – I hear you’re pretty strong at that net. I’ll have to come check out a game,” he said, my heart stopping at the thought of him watching me. I’m sure I would make a fool of myself. Pulling back to reality, I reminded myself of my boyfriend.

“I’m sure Tatum would love to show off for you. You and Sean should come to one of the Tuesday games when you’re out of practice early,” I said, trying to bring us back to normal.

“Yeah, we should. And she totally would – Tatum’s a star, that’s for sure. But if I go, I’m team Nolan,” he said, leaving it at that. “Good night, Noles.”

“Good night.”

Noles. It felt special hearing him say it. I laid there holding my phone to my chest, my head swirling with my conversation that borderlined on personal, but never quite got there. I wanted to call him again, right then. But I knew that was a bad idea. So I closed my eyes and let sleep take me over.