Even the Score(43)

Brody pressed his lips together, trying to contain his laugh.

“Seriously, enough,” I snapped. “I don’t like her. Not like that.”

Brody rubbed his chin, eying me suspiciously. “Not like what?”

“Not like in the way you guys are thinking. She’s just my coworker,” I barked back.

Brody and Viper stared at me with the same deadpan expressions on their faces.

“What?” I barked.

“She’s just a coworker in a you-want-to-throw-her-down-and-fuck-the-hell-out-of-her kind of way?” Viper chuckled.

Brody shook his head. “No, no. I think what he’s saying is that she’s just a coworker in a he-wants-to-make-her-scream-his-name-in-bed type of way.”

I inhaled sharply through my nose. “I think what he’s saying is that his friends are assholes and he’s going to walk away now.”

“Wait a minute, let me get this straight. If I watch you walk away, like you watched her, does that mean I’m interested or not interested?” Viper called out, getting one more jab in.





CHAPTER 16

Danicka

All-Star Week was long and exhausting, and I was actually glad when it ended. It still took a few days to recover after all was said and done, but by early the next week, it was business as usual.

“You know what today is?” Ellie squealed as she snuck up behind me.

I whipped around. “Jesus, Ellie!” My heart was thumping so loud I could hear it in my ears.

“Sorry, I got excited.” She giggled. “But seriously . . . do you know what today is?”

I turned back to organizing my desk. “Tuesday?”

“Not just any Tuesday, silly. It’s Taco Tuesday! What time do you want to go?”

“Oh, uh . . .” I pretended to be busy with my papers to stall, instead giving myself time to think of an excuse. Ellie and I took our lunches together at the same time every day, and that was fantastic, but she loved to go to this same little Mexican restaurant every week for Taco Tuesday. After three Tuesdays and three pieces of paper sent to me, one by fax and two by FedEx deliveries, I’d started to notice a pattern. “I don’t know that my stomach can handle tacos today. Can we rain check that and go for salads instead?” I pleaded with her, throwing in a pouty lip for extra pity.

“Oh, that’s no problem at all.” She waved her hand. “Twelve thirty?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, crinkling her brow at me.

“Totally fine,” I lied with a smile before retreating to my office to bury myself in my work for a while and forget the rest of the world existed.



Twelve thirty came around, and I stared at the door, waiting for Ellie to knock on it. Just like clockwork, there she was.

She stuck her head into my office after she knocked softly. “You ready to go?”

I grabbed my purse, and we were off.

It was hot, at least eighty-five out and totally muggy. We walked down the street, looking for a good place to pop in and grab a cool, refreshing salad.

“What’s with you?” Ellie hip-bumped me as we stood on the corner, waiting for the crosswalk light to change.

“Nothing’s with me.” I smiled as normally as I could. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You seem . . . different. Quiet. Distant.”

“I’m sorry, I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Anything you wanna talk about?” she asked sweetly as we crossed the street and made our way into the Slice of Life, an amazing little deli one block over from our office building.

“No, just work stuff. It’s really totally boring.” I pulled the door open for Ellie and took a step back, looking around quickly before following her in.

We got our salads and sat down at a table for two in the back corner. After a few minutes of silence, except for our chewing, Ellie got a little smirk on her face.

“What’s that all about?” I pointed to her face.

“What’s what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, you have a look. A wicked little look. Spill it.”

She didn’t even try to hide her grin anymore; she was openly beaming. “I met a boy.”

My eyes widened. “You did? A cute boy?”

“A very cute boy. I think I like him. I think I like him a lot, actually.”

“Details.”

“Well . . .” She pressed her lips into a smile and looked up toward the ceiling as she thought about him. “Last week when you guys were all off having fun, it was mostly just me and Ethan in the office—”

“Oh, God. Is it Ethan?” I scrunched up my nose and set my fork down. “I’m gonna need to stop eating if it is.”