The Hardest Fall(36)
“We’ll see you at Jack’s place tonight?” JP yelled as I pushed open the door. Jack was our kicker.
“I’ll text you if I can make it.”
When I slammed the door shut and rounded the corner, I could still hear JP shouting after me.
I had taken only a few steps when I heard a loud thump echo in the quiet building.
A brunette caught my eye as she exited one of the meeting rooms at the other end of the hall. I only realized who it was when she whipped her hair back while holding the door open for someone. Coach walked out next, right on Zoe’s heels. Both of their shoulders were stiff, and neither of them looked particularly happy as they moved as far away from each other as they could get. Coach’s face turned toward her and I saw his lips move. Even though I was walking toward them, there was no way I could catch up before they made it to the lobby and exited the complex. I didn’t notice Zoe replying to Coach, but I noticed her posture stiffen even more. He turned around and disappeared into the team viewing room. Zoe picked up her pace, passed the trophy displays without lifting her gaze from the ground, and walked out…unaware that I had stopped moving and was standing completely still, full of questions.
Chapter Eight
Zoe
The weekend after Dylan and I made the bet passed in the blink of an eye. His team won their second game, which I heard about from Jared, and the whole campus was buzzing with the sweet taste of victory. Me? Not so much.
I had watched the first half of the game before heading out to meet up with Jared, and even though I didn’t know much about football—I had a hard time following where ball the was, who had the damn ball, who tackled who, who lost the ball, who caught the ball, etc.—even I could see that Dylan became a whole other person out on field. At least, with my limited football knowledge, I thought so. His movements were sharper. He seemed super focused, super attractive, super aggressive—in a hot way, not in a Hulk way. Did I mention super attractive? He was super strong, super fast—the guy could run—and again, just in case you weren’t following, super attractive. I was very appreciative of it as a viewer. It was probably the uniform and those damn shoulder pads that made him look like a sexy beast. Even the black face paint under his eyes that was supposed make him look ridiculous did the exact opposite. He looked like a warrior out on that field.
Obviously…obviously it would be a lie if I said it wasn’t hot as fuck to watch him play. When he made his first touchdown—a forty-five-yard run, according to the announcers—I was all caught up in the excitement and did a little jump in my seat with the biggest grin on my face. I laughed when all his teammates rushed over to him as he did a little dance with his hips and they bumped chests and fists—see! Friends do fist bumps all the time. Then I saw number five run toward him—Chris. He hooked an arm around his neck as they pushed each other around, and my heart warmed at the sight. When the camera panned to the face of their coach as he paced the sideline, I turned the TV off.
I could definitely understand how the rush of the game…oh, and the uniforms…and, ah, okay, specifically those shoulder pads…and maybe those tight, tight pants affected every girl on campus. I assumed it would be a hundred times worse if you were actually right there in the stadium. I wasn’t about to give in completely and become one of his shrieking fans, but I didn’t see a problem with just watching his games every now and then either…you know, because he and I were on track to become best friends, and best friends kept up with each other’s interests. In fact, as he was rushing out one day, he’d even asked for my phone number, and then later I’d gotten a Hello, roomie. In my book, that meant we really were becoming friends.
Which was exactly what I wanted.
Exactly.
Speaking of friends, as the clock neared eight PM, I picked up my phone and called Kayla.
She answered on the fifth ring. “Hey, Zoe.”
“Hey you. I’m starving. When are we meeting? Are you done with your study session?”
I was planning on begging her to go for pizza, but I wasn’t sure if she was in one of her dieting phases thanks to Keith making random comments about her weight. If that was the case, I knew it would be a no-go, but as I listened to her sigh on the other end of the line, all thoughts of food disappeared from my mind pretty quickly.
“What’s going on?” I asked carefully, even though I could already take a wild guess.
“I can’t make it tonight. I’m so sorry, Zoe. I’ve been looking forward to it, and I haven’t seen you or Jared in days, but I think Keith is coming down with something so I’m gonna have to head home and check on him.”
It was right on the tip of my tongue, but she beat me to it.
“And before you say anything, he actually wanted me to meet with you, but his voice sounded so bad when he called so even if we went out, my mind would be on him the entire time.”
I sat my ass down on the couch and slipped off my shoes. Just minutes before, I’d been ready and excited to meet up with her.
“I wasn’t gonna say anything,” I grumbled. “And I understand, of course. You should take care of him—I’d do the same. Don’t worry about us. I can meet you tomorrow—would that work? I think Jared is free of babysitting duties so maybe he could make it too. Might even work better. Lunch, maybe? My class isn’t until four.”