“Huh?”
“Your phone is blowing up. Is that Nix?”
I smiled when I realized it was.
“Tell him to get his damn head in the game and off his phone. How the hell did he even get that thing in the dugout, anyhow? And why is he texting you now?”
I shrugged. I didn’t have answers to any of those questions.
Herp: What does L.E. stand for?
Me: It’s Ellie, ding dong. It doesn’t “stand” for anything.
Herp: L.E. = Lick ‘Em.
Me: What? My name doesn’t mean that. Shouldn’t you be focused on the game?
Herp: I didn’t say it did.
Me: Yeah? Well, if L.E. described you, it’d stand for Limited Education. Is your coach aware of what you’re doing?
Herp: Or Large Extremity. You know, because I have a big…
Herp: Hand
Herp: And everyone’s aware of what I’m doing. My reputation supersedes me.
Me: You might have that confused with Little Erection
Herp: No, I’m fairly certain a little erection would mean a small…
Me: Maybe “limited” was a bit of an exaggeration in regards to your education.
Herp: Batter up!
“Be careful with Nix, Ellie. He’s not the relationship type of guy.” Coby’s warning caught me off guard, pulling my attention away from my phone.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not interested in being his girl. We’re just friends.”
“He always has an agenda with women. Just watch out, okay?”
Coby shut off the television and stood, extending his hand to me. “Wanna go out to the pool?”
“You’re not going to watch the rest of the game?”
“It’s a bloodbath. I don’t need to see the remaining innings to guess how it ends. Come on, there’s sunshine calling my name. I’ll get towels while you change.”
Less than five minutes later, we met out back. I hadn’t bothered to put anything on over my bikini, and Coby always just swam in whatever he had on under his shorts. But when he took off his shirt, every inch of skin he exposed—every ripple of taught muscle, every hair on his dark happy trail—called my name. My heart rate increased and I turned away quickly, focusing on ironing out every wrinkle in the towel I’d stretched out on the lounge chair.
“Is that a new swimsuit?”
I spun back around to find his mouth agape and his eyes wide. Nervously, I toyed with the decorative fabric on the front of the bikini bottoms. It had been on a sale rack the last time I’d been at the mall. The floral pattern reminded me of drapes from the fifties, and I loved the vintage feel and the burnt-orange color. When I’d tried it on, I was sold on how it accentuated my curves without over exaggerating them.
“Yeah, do you like it?” Coby never noticed anything I wore.
“It reminds me of my grandma’s dining room chairs.” He paused for just a second, appearing to consider what he’d say next. “Clearance item?”
“How’d you know?”
“Lucky guess.”
I threw the extra towel at him, and he laughed at my expense. As much as I wanted to be hurt by his insinuation, I loved seeing Coby be Coby. And the way his eyes lit up when he made fun of me melted my heart in a way that didn’t make sense. I chose to ignore whatever trick my brain was trying to play on me and picked up the latest in a montage of books I had to read in less than two weeks.
“Coby, where did you put my bag?” I hollered down the hall at seven in the morning.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been up this early. But Coby had gotten up with me, made me coffee and breakfast, and was ready to send me off to my first day on the new job. Except, in his futile attempt to pick up the house last night, he’d moved my things, and now I couldn’t find them.
“I put it in your car so you wouldn’t lose it.” He appeared in the hallway without a shirt on, his jersey shorts slung low on his hips.
In the short amount of time since he’d quit playing ball, he had lost just a hint of the edge to his rigid muscles, but he looked more natural now. Anytime I saw this much of his skin, it started to send my thoughts in a direction a friend’s shouldn’t go. Clearly, it had been too long since I’d had any real male attention, and that of Gage Nix didn’t count. I’d managed to avoid him the last time he’d been in town, but only because his mom had shown up unexpectedly to pay him a visit, and he flew back out three days later.
Whatever I was feeling toward Coby, whatever attraction had started to ebb its way into my thoughts, needed to vanish. It wasn’t fair to put that into our relationship. We’d never been more than friends—and never would be. Twice we’d embarked on a physical encounter, and we’d managed to survive both without destroying us—but the last time was a close call. I wasn’t willing to risk twenty-two years of friendship for a little satisfaction…regardless of how turned on I’d become by the sight of his calves and forearms. And abs. And that sexy V…
He handed me a to-go mug of coffee, and I tucked my reddish-brown hair behind my ear. “Little Ellie Teller, all grown up.”
I rolled my eyes at his mocking tone.
He kissed my cheek and said, “I’m really proud of you, E.T. I can’t wait to hear all about your first day.”
Before I could respond, my phone chirped with a text. Digging it out of my purse, I couldn’t imagine who would be texting me this early in the morning.
Herp: Knock ’em dead, LeeLee
Herp: I’ll be home the day after tomorrow. We have a date.
Me: Maybe your great aunt will show up and save the day.
Herp: My mom’s an only child
Me: On your dad’s side
Herp: Artificial insemination
Me: You were conceived in a petri dish?
Herp: Turkey baster.
Me: I don’t want to know.
“Are you two serious about each other?” A glimmer of jealousy flickered across his eyes before he gave me a shit-eating grin.
“There is nothing serious about Gage Nix. I gotta go. I’ll see you this afternoon. Try to do something other than watch ESPN.”
“I plan on working on my tan. Have a great day.”
Six classes, one planning period, and a lunch hour later, I dragged my nearly lifeless body out of St. Michael’s Catholic High School. The kids were great, the staff welcoming, but I was beat. Student teaching had been a different ballgame. The public school I’d done my last semester in had been a breeze in comparison to what I’d endured today. The college-preparatory school didn’t allow for days to ease into the curriculum—we were in full swing the minute the bell rang until it sounded again fifty minutes later.
I could only imagine what tomorrow would bring when I had homework to grade on top of the material I still had to read to plan the second semester. My first year would be brutal if today were any indication of how the next nine months would go. Thankfully, the semester started on a Wednesday, so I only had to make it through two more days before I had a weekend to recoup. And I was afraid that with Gage coming into town, two days wouldn’t be enough.
Gage hadn’t made it home that weekend, and it seemed life continued to intervene, preventing me from paying up on the date debt. But in the process of missed opportunities, we’d taken to talking and texting regularly. Somehow, Gage had managed to worm his way into a friendship with me, but I was still scratching my head about how that had come to fruition. At best, I tolerated the guy, but when I didn’t hear from him for a couple of days, I found myself wondering if he was okay. I knew how hard traveling could be on the players. But Gage didn’t lack for companionship—although, the media had been rather quiet about his escapades in recent weeks.
The last time he’d been in town, I had gone home for my mom’s birthday. I’d begged Coby to go wi
th me, but since he hadn’t seen Gage either, he opted to stay home—which he did most days. Gage showing up was about the only thing that got him off the couch anymore, so I let it go and made the trip alone. When I finally lugged myself home late Sunday night, my only thought was collapsing in my bed.
I hadn’t even lingered in the living room long enough to offer Coby more than a hello and a hug. He needed a shower and appeared to have on the same clothes he’d been wearing when I left Friday. Too exhausted to bother getting an explanation, I let it go.
My bag hit the floor of my bedroom, and I collapsed onto my bed, thinking I’d be asleep by the time my head hit the pillow. That was, until I yawned. An exaggerated exhale led to a deep inhale, followed by the scent of Gage’s cologne. Rolling over with a groan, I sat up and pulled the pillowcase off and tossed it across the room to my hamper where it clung to the edge. But when I forced the pillow back to the mattress with a huff and laid my head down, I realized the smell had permeated the entire thing.
A frustrated whine escaped my lips, and I reached for my phone.
Me: Why did you douse my pillow in the essence of…you?
Herp: You recognized me in your bed.
Me: Please tell me you didn’t sleep in my room.
Herp: I dreamed there.
Me: Did you seriously spray my sheets with your cheap cologne?
Herp: Just wanted you to have a reminder of me when you got home…since you ditched me again.
Me: I didn’t ditch you.
Herp: We had a date.
Me: We do not have a date. I have an obligation to a debt. One that you only won on a technicality.
Herp: Still a win.
Me: Goodnight, Gage
Herp: Night, LeeLee
Me:
As noxious as the amount of cologne he had sprayed on my bed was, it made me smile that he cared enough to play this charade. If nothing else, Gage Nix was entertaining.
Or he was until I got out of the shower the next morning.
Standing in front of my dresser, wrapped in nothing but a towel, I pulled open my top dresser drawer only to find it empty. I closed it and yanked open the one beneath it. Nothing was missing from it or the two below it. Returning to the one I’d originally found empty, reopening it produced nothing.
“Coby,” I shrieked as I stomped my foot. Pouting wouldn’t get me anywhere, but it didn’t stop me from poking out my lip. When he didn’t respond, likely still asleep, I yelled louder. “Coby!”
He stumbled through my door, eyes wide and wild, ready to attack. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Where are all my panties?”
“How the hell would I know?” The panic in his expression turned to confusion.
“You and Gage were the only ones here this weekend. And when I left, there was a drawer full of them. Now…” I waved my hand over the empty space.
“Maybe he just moved them.” Coby rubbed his face and started picking up knick-knacks like my entire collection of lingerie would be hiding under a picture frame. He stopped as suddenly as he’d started. “What’s that smell?” His nose scrunched as if his nostrils were offended.
I grabbed the pillowcase, holding my towel with one hand and shoving the fabric over his nose like it was bathed in chloroform. “That would be your friend’s cologne…all over my linens.”
He pushed my arm away in disgust.
“Coby, I have to go to work. What am I supposed to do?” Like he had an answer to that question.
His shrug confirmed how little he understood the severity of the situation.
“Ugh. You’re super helpful. Just go. I have to get to work.” I pushed Coby out and closed the door behind him to get dressed…minus panties.
I didn’t even want to think about how uncomfortable the day would be going commando. I opted for a long skirt in hopes no one else would know. Gage Nix was going to die a gruesome death. The second I got in the car, I grabbed my phone to send him a text before driving to work.
Me: Payback is a bitch.
Herp: Little LeeLee…such language.
Me: Don’t you LeeLee me. Where are my panties, Nix? Please tell me you haven’t resorted to sniffing them in my absence.
Herp: Calm down, Teller. They’re in a box in your closet.
I hadn’t pulled out of the driveway yet and glanced at the clock. Gambling on time, I put the car in park and ran back inside. The race for panties had begun. Throwing open the door to my closet, I wasn’t sure how I’d missed the black box sitting on the floor. When I yanked off the top, I found a pile of panties…there was just one problem. None of them were mine. Pair after pair looked exactly like the ones before. I rolled my eyes, realizing my options were to either risk the breeze up my skirt all day or wear the white bikini briefs with red stitching made to look like that of a baseball. Which wouldn’t have been so bad if they didn’t have Gage’s jersey number for the Titans printed on the rear end in the same offensive crimson color and the words “Gage’s girl” embroidered on the front in black. With no other choice, I stepped into the underwear, refusing to admit how soft they were, and stormed back out the door.
Me: I hate you.
Herp: But thoughts of me are exactly where they should be.
Without responding, I drove to school, unable to think of anything other than Gage under my skirt, his name branding me the way ranchers marked their cattle. If I didn’t love steak so much, I would’ve felt sorry for cows and added beef to my list of banned meats. Once I got into class, the morning was left behind, and I forgot about the missing lingerie or what he’d left in its place. I hadn’t thought about it again until I was back in my car on my way home and his name flashed on my caller ID.
“I’m installing a deadbolt on my door tonight.” I hadn’t bothered to answer with a greeting.
“I’ve always wanted to learn to pick a lock.”
“You’re insufferable.” Feigning mad was far more entertaining than actually being angry.
“As much as I’d love to chitchat about our love affair, I actually called to talk about something other than the panty snatching that may or may not have occurred in your absence.”
“You admitted doing it.” My voice rose an octave in mock chastising.
“I admitted nothing.” The way he chuckled on the other end of the call brought a smile to my lips. He irritated the snot out of me in the best of ways. It was like having another Coby around, except…he wasn’t Coby. “Have you talked to your boy recently?”
“I live with him. I talk to him every day. Is there something in particular I should be chatting him up about?”
His silence sent me from kidding to concerned quickly. “Is he doing more than he’s letting on?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he’s become a hermit who never leaves the house…and his personal hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. If the guy has millions, why does he wear the same sweatpants day in and day out?”
I hadn’t wanted to make an issue out of it, but I’d noticed the same things. Coby was retreating from life, but I’d hoped it was just his way of taking his time to figure out his next move. As the days turned into weeks and weeks were turning into months, I’d grown concerned that the loss of the Titans had become exactly what I’d feared…the loss of Coby. I’d been able to ignore it and push my feelings aside until Gage acknowledged them.
“I’m out of ideas to help him, Gage. I keep thinking he’ll snap out of it and start moving on.”
“Did you guys ever talk about the offer he got from ESPN?”
That was a sore subject in my book. Not only had Coby kept it from me when he got the call, but he’d also blown me off when Gage spilled the beans that night we all got drunk. Coby had promised we’d talk about it later, but later had never come.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He didn’t tell me for a reason, Gage. It wasn’t like it had slipped his mind and he’d simply forgotten to mention it—he went o
ut of his way to make sure I didn’t find out.” As much as I wanted Coby to tell me every nuance of his life, I had never expected or demanded him to. But it’d be a lie if I said that hadn’t cut me so deep I still felt the ache in my chest. “I’ve tried to respect his privacy. But at this point, I have no idea what he was offered.”
“An MLB commentator spot.”
“On ESPN?” My mouth hung open like a fool. Thankfully, no one was in the car to witness my reaction. Or the sting of rejection I was sure marred my face. My best friend was distancing himself from me in a way I’d never thought possible. We shared everything, but somehow, Gage now had the insight, and I’d been benched as an active player in Coby’s life.
“Yeah. I don’t know the details or anything, just that the offer was made. “And he turned it down.”
“He did what?” I had to have heard him wrong. “Why?”
“I have no idea. They just announced the new commentator for the MLB season, and it wasn’t him. When I tried to ask him about it, he stopped responding to my texts and ignored my calls. At the risk of sounding like I need a box of tampons, I’m worried about him, Ellie. He’s alone all the time and isn’t interested in doing anything other than watching movies or sports channels. The fact that he’s not talking to you freaks me out even more.”
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