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Stupid idiot!
Desperate girl…
How could I have been so naïve?
I bit my bottom lip. It was time to take a stand for myself. Daydreams didn’t get anyone nowhere. “Nice. Do you get paid every time you talk to a girl, or just ones with more balls than you?” Let’s play. I slammed my trash into the bin and walked away.
“Wait.” He called. “I’m so sorry.” He tried again. Real men don’t let a good woman walk away.
He did.
Chapter 10
Chase
The next morning, I paced my apartment, racking my brain for a way to apologize to Grey. If knowing was half the battle, I was going down hard. I’d only just met her. My knowledge was limited. Usually, I’m the best on the field— the top of my game! I’d already lost Grey before I ever made her mine.
Jarod and Adam owed me. Big time! They left me with an enormous mess to clean up. I looked like a giant fucking asshole. My momma taught me better than to bet anything on a girl. I tossed my wallet into the air. Think, man!
I knew Grey studied finance, and that she liked to read. I could take her a book. That’s silly. She probably has tons of books. If there was a gift that went with banking and business, I couldn’t think of it.
“What else do you know about her?” Luke asked from his recliner.
I placed my wallet in my back pocket and took a seat on the couch.
Think!
“Jarod’s a dick!” Luke broke the silence that had settled in the room.
Practice was scheduled to start in a few hours. My head wasn’t in the right place and coach was going to recognize it. I wanted to go pro, which meant I couldn’t risk a single “off” moment, not even at a practice.
“Does she have a hobby? Where does she work?” He rubbed his forehead.
I snapped my fingers. “That’s it! She works at Suzanne’s.”
“That coffee shopo? Dude, you’ve been there about a thousand times. You’ve never seen this girl before we mentioned her to you?” He picked his shoes up from the floor and put them on. “She’s probably been wondering why you’ve never talked to her before.”
“Fuck! I’m a dick too.” I threw on my ball cap and let the door slam behind me.
The House of Coffee was a few blocks away. Only a short, brisk walk stood between Grey and me.
Couples sat at tiny tables, talking about shit that didn’t matter to me. I scanned the crowd behind the counter. A woman with a bandana wrapped around her head worked the drive-through window. An older woman refilled the syrup. There was no sign of Grey.
“Chase Harrison! What a coincidence meeting you here again.” Olivia spotted me before I saw her coming. She placed her hands on my shoulders. I glanced down. Call me shallow if you must, but had she gained some weight? Her jeans were a little snug, and her face was fuller.
“What are you doing here?” Olivia went to school in Savanna. At least an hour away from this small college town. I wish it were farther…
I tried to pull her hands down. To an outsider, it may have appeared like I was trying to hold her hand. I wasn’t. My mother wouldn’t have approved of the way I wanted to push her hands away. She always taught me I had to be gentle when it game to girls.
“I came for your game, silly.” She brushed away an imaginary piece of lint.
Her hands dropped when I took a step back.
“Speaking of game, If I don’t get my caffeine fix and get to practice, coach might not let me in the starting line-up. You wouldn’t want me sitting on the bench the whole game, would you?” So get the fuck away from me so I can find Grey.
“Oh, no. Better hurry then. See you at the game.” She stood on her tippy toes to kiss my cheek. If a guy had done that to a girl, she would have slapped him. I had to be better than that.
I walked up to the counter. The woman I wanted to talk to glared at me from behind the counter. Where did she come from?
