The Hardest Fall

“How big is it?” she asked, her gaze still focused on the screen and the photo she was working on.

At her words, my lips stretched into a full grin.

When I didn’t answer quickly enough, she lifted her eyes to find mine. She must’ve understood the reason for my grin because her cheeks turned a rosy color and she huffed out a breath.

“How old are you again?” she mumbled.

I chuckled and opened the fridge to get some orange juice.

“It’s big, but not so big that you can’t handle it.”

She faced her laptop. “I already saw it, remember? It’s not that big. Sure, it looks impressive since you’re a shower, and if I remember correctly, I already congratulated you on that. I don’t think it’d get any bigger though, which takes me back to…not that big.”

I was watching her in shocked silence with the box of OJ still in my hand. She usually had that effect on me, so it wasn’t new, but it still got me every time.

“Not that I remember it vividly,” she muttered as an afterthought. “What?” she snapped when she saw the look on my face.

“Uh, Zoe, I was talking about the favor I wanted to ask—as in, it’s a big favor, but nothing you can’t handle.”

Her lips parted. “Oh.” She cleared her throat. “You’re going to ignore the word vomit. You didn’t hear any of that.”

“Of course. What are friends for?” I smiled and poured myself some juice. “Do you want some?”

“No, thanks. So what is this favor?”

In the days following her little earthquake freak-out, we’d gotten a little closer, a little more like actual friends—not buddies, exactly, but friends. She was still having trouble meeting my eyes, but the amount of time she spent looking at my chin or ear while talking to me had decreased. Plus, even though we only saw each other in passing, and some days not even for more than ten minutes, the more time passed, the more I learned about her.

It was great. I liked that she was opening up little by little every day—apart from the fact that I still wasn’t sure about her boyfriend situation, that is. I was having trouble getting a read on her. She had secret phone calls, whispering to make sure I couldn’t hear anything even when I wasn’t in the same room with her, but it could’ve easily been one of her friends. Still, I had my suspicions, but that was all they were—suspicions—and I hoped some of them really were just that.

Until I knew for sure, I wouldn’t get to steal the kiss she owed me, and from seeing how seriously she was taking our bet, I didn’t think she’d cave any time soon either.

“I’m swamped today. I need to meet with one of my trainers to discuss if he can help me get ready for the combine. If it’s a go, we need to make a schedule. After that, we have a team meeting, and then I have a class and another study group right after. I need to get a few things for the week, like pasta, chicken, and a few others, so if you have time, can you help me out with that? I’ll owe you one.”

“You want me to get you groceries?”

“If you have the time. I’m pretty much out of everything, and this week’s already going to be crazy as it is with the game, so I don’t think I’ll get a chance to do it myself. I’ll give you my debit card if you say you can do it.”

She twisted at her waist to look at me. “I have photography lab at two-thirty, but I’m free between four and eight. I was planning on texting Jared and Kayla to see if they were free to hang out, but I can get what you want after my class.”

“Are you sure? If you already made plans, I can ask one of the—”

“It’s fine. I love grocery shopping. I can do my weekly shopping a little early—two birds with one stone. I also happen to love grocery lists. Do you have a list for me?”

“I do.” I smiled at her and reached into my pocket so I could take out my debit card and the short list I’d made earlier. I placed them on the marble island right in front of me. “The pin is seven five three two.”

Her face lit up with a playful smile. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal all your money and run away?”

“I’m pretty much broke, and even if you did steal the hundred or so dollars, I’m afraid you wouldn’t get that far.” That reminded me that I needed to somehow handle my schedule better and get in a few hours of work at Jimmy’s bar. Not only was my money dwindling, I also needed to send some back home, too, just to help out a little.

Her eyes softened. “I won’t steal your money.”

I smiled at her and didn’t think before speaking. “I know you won’t, baby.”

I managed to hold her gaze a few seconds longer than our usual before she cleared her throat and turned back to her work.

Maybe baby hadn’t been the best word choice, but I couldn’t take it back now.

“You said you’re free between four and eight, right? Do you have a study group at eight?” Maybe I could thank her with a small surprise.

I watched her shoulders stiffen. “Not exactly. Why?”

“I’ll think I’ll make it back around nine, thought maybe we could watch a movie together or something. I haven’t seen you much this week.”

I put my palms down on the counter and waited for her answer. It took a while.

“I’m not sure when I’ll get back. I…uh…I have a date tonight.”

Well then.

“You have a date.”

Our eyes met for just a second when she looked at me over her shoulder, but she was quick to glance away.

“Yeah. I don’t think I’ll be too late, but you go to bed pretty early on weekdays, so I’m not sure if you’ll still be up when I get back.” Her eyes flicked up and then down again. “We can do it another time? This weekend, maybe?”

“I won’t be around this weekend. We have an away game.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Okay? “I guess I’ll see you later then. Have fun on your date.” Or not, I thought, but didn’t repeat it to her. “Thank you for helping me out today. I owe you one.”

Her lips pressed together and she nodded.

“I have ten minutes before I’m supposed to meet up with my trainer so I’m gonna have to run.” Gulping down my orange juice, I started to look around in the drawers for my last protein bar.

I sighed. “Zoe, have you seen my protein bar? I left it on the counter this morning.”

“Yeah, I put it in the cupboard next to the bowls, the one next to the fridge.”

It’d been weeks since I’d moved in, yet I still didn’t know where everything was in the kitchen. I knew where the pots and pans lived, the mugs and glasses, and the spoons and forks, but that was where my knowledge ended, even though I’d already cooked dinner in there once or twice. I usually ate with the team, since we had our own chefs, but if I was home early, I didn’t go back out just so I could have dinner with everyone else.

One other thing I’d learned about Zoe was that she hated having things lying around. I wouldn’t call her organized, exactly, because I’d seen the state of some of the drawers, but it seemed like as long as the counters were empty and clean, she was fine, which meant if I left something out, she stashed it away as soon as she could get her hands on it.

I opened the cupboard in question and just stared.