“I didn’t say we should eat salad. I was suggesting it as a joke. I know it’s our night to splurge and I’m not going to stop you from doing it. We’ll hit the store on the way home.”
Noah narrowed his eyes, but then his expression cleared. “Good.”
My lips twitched as he turned back to his food and took another large bite of his burger.
“You shouldn’t tease him so much,” Liv said, laughter evident in her voice.
I shrugged. “If I don’t, who will keep him on his toes?”
Liv made a noise in her throat, but said nothing.
We all ate in silence for several minutes before I stood and gathered my trash. “Anyone want anything while I’m tossing this? I’m going to get a crepe.”
They all shook their heads, and I turned to head to the trash cans. After tossing everything, I followed my nose toward the sweet smell of fresh crepes.
There was nothing quite like it. I knew how to make them and would occasionally make them at home. But I didn’t enjoy doing it, so I’d rather wait until I could have one fresh, like now.
I got in line and studied the board as I considered what I wanted to order.
Someone bumped into me, and I took a step forward from the force.
“Sorry,” a deep voice said behind me.
I straightened and looked over my shoulder to tell them it was okay, but froze when I saw it was Jacob from six months ago. Mr. Good Looking. Mr. I-want-to run-my-hands-through-your-hair.
“No problem,” I said, my voice pitched higher than normal.
I quickly turned around and swallowed thickly. My shoulders were tense, and I worried about whether he remembered me.
I looked the same, and so did he. But people didn’t always remember someone they met briefly months before.
A light tap on my shoulder had me looking over it and back at Jacob.
“Zoe, right?” he asked, grinning.
I swallowed thickly and nodded, turning toward him, but keeping my body angled toward the line in front of me. “Yeah. Jacob?”
He smiled wider. “Yeah. I wasn’t sure it was you, but your hair is kinda distinctive.”
I reached up a hand to run over it before I caught myself.
I laughed lightly. “Yeah. I tend to stand out with it.”
“It’s nice, though. It suits you.”
My cheeks warmed at his words. “Thanks,” I said softly, shuffling forward as the line moved.
“What are you doing here?” he asked after a few beats of silence.
“I was here for work. We’re one of the main sponsors, and since I’m the newest hire, I was told I had to be here.”
He grimaced. “That sucks. But at least it’s a pretty day, if a bit chilly.”
A gust of wind swirled around me, and I shivered, huddling deeper into my jacket. Funny how I didn’t notice how cold it was until he said something.
“Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. We got rid of our stuff pretty quickly, so we’re already packed up. Once we finish eating, we’ll be heading out.”
Jacob nodded, looking away briefly.
I took the chance to quickly scan his body, noting his jersey was covered by his own jacket and he was wearing a pair of well-worn jeans.
“Uh,” I said after a moment. “Did I see you at the baseball table?”
I wanted to slap myself for my question as soon as I asked it, but it was in the world now.
Jacob looked back at me and arched a brow. “Yeah, you did. You a fan?”
I shook my head. “No, I was over there looking for my dad and my nephew. I saw you when I was looking for them.”
My cheeks burned more, and I shuffled forward again, wishing this line was shorter and that I was out of this misery.
Jacob straightened at the mention of the two men in my life, which I found odd. He scanned my body quickly before giving me a tight smile. “You should have come to say hi.”
“The line was pretty long,” I said, taking another step forward and noting that I was up next.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped up to the window to order my crepe with toppings, paying quickly.
I didn’t know why, but I felt so uncomfortable with him, and I wanted to be anywhere but in his general vicinity.
As I turned to walk away, I caught his eye and smiled. “It was nice to see you again.”
And then I walked away without looking back.
8
Jacob
I stared after Zoe for a lot longer than I should have, considering I was standing at the front of a long line for a crepe.
“Are you gonna order or what?” a guy snapped, forcing me to look away from where Zoe had disappeared into the crowd.
I turned around and quickly ordered, looking back to where Zoe disappeared.
I couldn’t believe she’d just walked away like that.
Okay. Maybe I could. It wasn’t like she owed me anything.
It just burned that she had.
“Here,” the guy from earlier snapped, thrusting my crepe into my hands.
I fumbled with it for a few moments before getting a grip and walking away. I took my first bite and sighed. I needed to savor this because I was about to start my pre-season regime, which meant almost no extra sugar or carbs.
I rejoined my friends as I popped the last bite of crepe into my mouth. I quickly tossed my trash and wiped my face and fingers before joining them at the table they'd commandeered earlier.
“I was wondering if you’d left us here,” Alvarez joked before taking a bite of his hotdog.
I shrugged. “The line was long.”
He flicked his gaze to my fingers, then back to my face. “You already finished it?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Just a quick snack.”
He nodded, and Derek leaned over to ask him something.
King nudged me and I glanced at him, taking in his still styled hair. Even though we’d been outside for a while now, he looked like he’d just stepped off the pages of a magazine.
“You see Lexi?” he asked.
I grimaced at his question as I shook my head. “Nah. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s avoiding me.”
King nodded. “You’re not going to seek her out?”
I shook my head again, shrugging. “Why would I? Our divorce was finalized months ago. I’ve got nothing to talk to her about.”
King pursed his lips. “Didn’t you say she was trying to get up with you?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“So you’re not going to seek her out?” Derek chimed in.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t know why I would. What could she have to say to me that she hasn’t already?”
The guys all traded glances before Alvarez said, “You were married to her for a while. What if she wants you back or something?”
I snorted. “Fat chance of that. I begged for I don’t know how long right after she told me she wanted a divorce and she still left. Why would she want that now? Doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe she’s had a change of heart,” Derek said.
“Maybe,” I agreed. But I didn’t believe that. I was sure Lexi had something else she wanted.
If divorcing her had taught me anything, it was that the Lexi I married wasn’t the one I divorced. She was like a completely different person, one who enjoyed playing games to get what she wanted.
“Incoming,” Alvarez muttered, dropping his gaze to his basket of fries.
That was all the warning I had before I heard my ex-wife’s voice.
“Jacob!”
My nose wrinkled. I could honestly say that whatever love I felt for her was well and truly dead.
We were divorced and we didn’t have kids. I couldn’t see anything she’d want to talk about, but she’d found me, so I’d have to grin and bear it.
I sighed before turning. “Hey.”
Lexi grinned as she walked up to me, her hair swinging around her shoulders.
I quickly scanne
d her, taking in her tight pants, puffy jacket, trendy ear warmers, and heeled boots.
She looked good, there was no denying that. But where this would be enough to get me hot under the collar before, there was nothing now.
“How was your booth?” she asked, flicking her gaze to the guys.
Her smile dimmed slightly as she realized who I was sitting with, but she quickly widened it. I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been looking right at her.
“Great. Had a lot of fans come by,” I told her.
She nodded, her gaze flicking to the guys again. “Can we talk?”
I arched a brow. “Isn’t that what we’re doing?”
Her lips pinched. “In private.”
I glanced around us, noting the still growing crowd. “I think privacy is going to be hard to find.”
Lexi’s smile finally slid off her face, and she glanced around. “Yeah, that’s true. But I can get us away from the crowd. I have something I want to talk to you about.”
I sighed and looked at my friends who were all watching this exchange like it was the seventh game in the World Series and the fate of the league rested on the outcome.
I looked back at Lexi and shook my head. “I don’t know what you want to talk about, but if you can’t say it here, I’m not sure it’s something I want to hear.”
“It’s important,” she hissed, stepping closer and widening her eyes.
“If it’s that important, why is it coming up now?”
Lexi’s nostrils flared as she took a step back and pressed a hand to her chest while looking around again. “I tried to talk to you about it before we finalized and since, but you’re not cooperating. Why do you think I’ve been calling?”
I arched another brow. “What’s so important you couldn’t tell my attorney? Does it have to do with the settlement?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s about us.”
“Called it,” Alvarez muttered behind me. I ignored him and hoped Lexi hadn’t heard him.
“Us? There is no us,” I told her.
She blanched, and I briefly felt bad. But I quickly buried that.
“You wanted a divorce, and you got it. I’m not sure what there is to talk about with us.”
I watched Lexi swallow, looking around again.
She turned and walked away without another word.
I snorted and shook my head. That was common since we separated. Instead of sticking around to talk about whatever was on her mind, she walked away.
Made it damn hard to work on a marriage when one partner wasn’t willing to put the work in.
I turned back to face my friends. “What?” I asked them.
Derek shook his head, looking away while Alvarez studied me. “You want to say that there’s nothing to talk about still?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“I disagree, man,” King said. “Based on that, I think Lexi has something she wants to talk to you about, and you better watch out. I remember you talking about some of her antics before you separated. I don’t think she’s going to give up that easily.”
I looked between the three of them and shook my head. “If it’s not about the settlement, then there’s nothing for us to discuss. It’s ridiculous that she’s trying to talk to me when we’ve been divorced for months.”
My leg was bouncing, and my shoulders were tense. I needed a run or something to channel everything I was feeling.
I wouldn’t let myself think about the possibility of Lexi wanting to get back together. I couldn’t. I was trying to close the door on that chapter of my life.
“Come on, dude. Let’s go hit the gym. You up for it?” Alvarez asked, standing up.
I nodded and followed suit, as did the other two.
“Y’all good if we tag along?” King asked.
I shrugged and looked at Alvarez, who was nodding.
“The more the fucking merrier. Let’s go.”
We tossed the last of our trash and wound our way through the crowd.
As we left the food area, I saw Lexi standing to the side, and we made eye contact. She quickly looked away, but not before I saw the hurt in her eyes.
I didn’t want to feel bad about what I said to her earlier, but at the same time, I truly didn’t know what she would want to talk about that hadn’t already been hashed out.
I scrubbed a hand over my face.
“Hey, I meant to ask if you went by the credit union’s booth,” Alvarez asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Why?”
He knocked his elbow against mine. “I think you would have been pleasantly surprised by who you saw there?”
I arched a brow. “Besides my wife, you mean?”
Alvarez laughed and shook his head. “Nah. She wasn’t there. But a certain bunny you met in the fall was.”
I almost asked him who he was talking about, but I knew exactly who because I’d seen her at the crepe stand.
She was just as beautiful and interesting as she’d been six months ago.
“I saw her at the crepe stand,” I told him against my better judgement.
“You get her number or anything?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Nah. We chatted for a few minutes, then she went back to her friends or whatever.”
“Man,” Alvarez said, shaking his head. “You need to get that. I know you like her. What are you waiting for?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m ready yet.”
Alvarez made a noise, but said nothing after that, which I was grateful for.
He and the other guys were great friends, but none of them except King understood what it was like to have a marriage end. Though we were divorced and I didn’t love Lexi anymore, that didn’t mean I was ready to try dating or whatever it was you called it when you didn’t date, but saw someone casually.
Zoe had me questioning if I was ready to try dating again. I could see myself spending time with her and enjoying the fuck out of it.
9
Zoe
“Here ya go,” Cass said, handing me a glass of wine as she joined me on my back deck.
The sun was setting, the temperature was dropping, and Noah was staying with my parents tonight.
With the lit tiki torches scattered around my deck, the thick trees separating me from my neighbors, the heat from my small space heater, and the quiet, I could almost pretend that I was somewhere else and not sitting in small town North Carolina with one of my best friends from childhood.
“Thanks,” I said before taking a sip and sighing.
“You need to spill,” Cass said as she sat back down beside me. “I know you brushed me off earlier, but we’ve eaten and I know something is eating at you.”
I blew out a breath, staring down into my wine. I didn’t want to talk about Jacob. At all.
But maybe talking about him would make me feel better about him since we’d met twice now with nothing to show for it.
Though, to be fair, I left him this time.
“I saw that guy from the bar at the event today,” I told her after a few moments of silence.
Cass froze with her glass halfway to her mouth. “What?”
I nodded. “Yeah. The Spartans were there and apparently he’s one.”
Cass sipped her wine and set it down before shifting to see me more fully. “Did he ask for your number or anything?”
I shook my head. “No. We just chatted and once I had my crepe, I walked away.”
Cass’s mouth dropped open before she burst into laughter. “You just walked away?”
I nodded and hid my grin behind the rim of my glass. “It felt pretty good to walk away from him considering Paul.”
Cass wrinkled her nose at Paul’s name, but kept chuckling. “I seriously can’t believe you just walked away from him.”
I eyed my friend. “What do you mean?”
She dropped her gaze and fidgeted with the hem of her sweater before glanci
ng at me again. “A lot of girls would kill to be in his sights.”
I said nothing at first, thinking about what she said and what that meant.
“What do you mean? A lot of girls?”
Cass bit her bottom lip and studied me before blowing out a breath. “I need to tell you something.”
I arched a brow and sipped my wine while waiting for her to say whatever was on her mind.
She picked her glass up and threw half of her wine back, grimacing as she swallowed.
“I haven’t been completely truthful about some of the girls I hang out with.”
I nodded and waited for her to continue.
“The ones you met that night at The Splinter aren’t just my friends. They’re ball bunnies.”
I blinked at her. “Okay? What does that mean? They like baseball?”
Cass’s lips twitched, and she shook her head. “Not really. It means they… well… it’s a nicer way of saying jersey chasers.”
I narrowed my eyes, still not getting what she was trying to tell me. “I think you need to spell out whatever it is you’re saying because I don’t get what the big deal is about being baseball fans.”
Cass stared at me and finally blurted out, “Ball bunnies are girls that like to hook up with ball players.”
Silence stretched between us as I processed what she was saying.
Then I thought about the night I met Jacob and earlier today.
My eyes widened, and I looked at Cass. “Do you think he thinks I’m a ball bunny?” I asked Cass, my voice sounding strangled.
Cass slowly nodded. “It’s possible. You were with some other well-known bunnies and I wouldn’t be surprised if some players assumed you were a bunny, too…”
I stared at her for a few beats more. “I honestly don’t know what to think or say.”
“I’m really sorry,” she said, reaching out to touch my hand. “For what it’s worth, I haven't heard any of the girls mention you, so maybe you flew under the radar. But I wouldn’t be surprised if you see some players out and they say something.”
I paled at that thought. What if I was with Noah or my parents when that happened? I would be so embarrassed.
The Slider (Boys of Summer Book 5) Page 4