Page 10

CHAPTER 10

Matt

I have no idea why I’m pacing my living room, but I do know I’m anxious as hell. I can’t stop thinking about Zoey being on a date with Dean . What could she possibly see in a guy like him? He’s got a few years on me, which means he’s got several on her. Zoey is smart and beautiful. Why would she feel the need to date someone so much older, and so… I nearly drop my phone when it starts ringing. Liv’s picture fills the screen and I answer.

“Hey, Liv.”

“Hey! What’s going on?”

I look around my apartment like a weirdo, as if my sister is watching me and knows I was just thinking about her best friend in ways I probably shouldn’t be.

“Nothing, just hanging out at home. You?”

“Same. I actually just got off the phone with Gi. We were thinking about doing brunch on Saturday and wanted to know if you wanted to join us?”

“Yeah, that should work,” I say.

“Oh, good. Josh said he can either take Jayden for you or I’m sure Mom would love to take him.”

“Josh is willing to take on two kids under one?” I ask, surprised.

“Josh will be fine with both of them.” I hear the smile in her voice. “Plus, if we’re going to have more, we’ve got to get used to it.”

“I guess…”

“Oh, stop it, Matty. Josh will be just fine for a few hours. We haven’t gotten together just the three of us in a long time. Indulge me, please?”

Damn it, her pouty voice is coming out, and I’ve never been able to say no to it.

“Please, Matty.”

I sigh. “Yeah, I’ll drop Jayden off at your place and pick you up.”

“Oh, yay. I’ll let Gi know. I’ll see you Saturday! Love you!”

“Yeah, love you, too.”

The line goes dead, and my mind immediately goes back to wondering what Zoey is doing on her date. Is she having fun? Is she leaning in as he talks? Is she making him her sole focus?

Jayden wakes up and starts to cry, and I feel horrible for thinking it, but I think thank God. Jayden being awake means I’m forced to focus on things other than my friend across town on a date.

I may have bought Zoey two coffees this morning on my way to the rink. I’m not sure how I convinced her to come watch Jayden again, but I did. I’ve got Jayden in the car seat today, and I’m hoping the two coffees can help to butter her up so she’ll spill details about her date last night, because I couldn’t sleep not knowing what was happening.

Zoey offers me a soft smile when she rounds the corner. Her eyes light up whens she sees both coffee cups I’m holding out for her. She grabs them both and takes a tasting sip of each, her eyes remaining on me as she evaluates them.

“Pumpkin spice and peppermint mocha. You did good, Matthew.”

I hold back the face I want to make when something akin to butterflies start in my stomach. I, Matthew Carter, do not get butterflies, especially when it comes to girls. Never have. I’ve always been able to get whoever I wanted, and I don’t mean that as a brag, it’s the truth. Every girl I’ve ever asked out has said yes. So why the fuck does Zoey fucking Williams have me getting butterflies when she uses my full name and praises me for my coffee choices?

I clear my throat, trying to push this feeling aside.

“Uh, so how was your date?” I ask, and I sound so pathetic. I grip the back of my neck, the tension in my muscles growing.

She looks up and to the left as she rolls her bottom lip between her teeth. I can see the wheels turning as she tries to figure out what to say. “It was...” she trails off as she moves her coffee cups up and down. “Fine. I don’t think I’ll be seeing him again.”

Fuck me if that doesn’t take a weight off my shoulders. I physically feel myself perk up at this news.

“Really?”

She rolls her eyes so hard I’m sure she gets the start of a headache. “You don’t need to seem so excited I’ve had another failed date,” she says.

“Not excited,” I say. “I just thought you could do better than him.”

The vulnerability in her eyes is like a stab to the gut. “Really?”

“Of course, Zo. There’s no way someone as smart and beautiful as you has to resort to someone so much older than her and who’s kind of a pig.”

She snorts, a full on, sounds like a pig snorts. “You noticed that, did ya?”

I can’t help the laugh that leaves me. “Yeah, I noticed that.”

She guffaws. “The way he kept calling our waitress hun was disgusting.”

I think she actually gags as she says it, and I laugh again.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asks.

I look her straight in the eyes and say, “Because no one should tell you who you can and cannot date, and I believe you’re an excellent judge of character. You would have picked up on it eventually, and I was right, you did.”

She nods. “Yeah, I did. Thank God he’s not here this morning. Not sure I could put up with being that close to him for your entire practice.”

The sound of the kids exiting the dressing room fills the rink, and I watch them get on the ice. Zoey follows my line of sight and tips her chin their way.

“Go. Jayden and I will be fine here.”

I reach out and squeeze her shoulder before walking past her and joining the kids.

Practice goes by relatively quickly today. The kids pick up on the new things I teach them, and I manage to steal several long glances at Zoey. Zoey may hate mornings, but I can’t help but notice how beautiful she looks right now. She’s fresh faced, not a stitch of makeup on, and is relaxing with a book while she occasionally looks lovingly at my sleeping son. When he begins to wake up, she takes him into her arms and starts rocking him.

I have to force myself to look away and focus on the group of kids I’m coaching. I blow my whistle and bring the kids in for a huddle before sending them off to change. As I step off the ice, one of the overeager mothers stops me, and I have to bite my tongue from rudely asking her to get out of my way so I can get to Zoey.

I offer her a practiced smile, and the one she gives me is flirtatious as she runs her hand from my shoulder and down my arm. I’m no stranger to a woman making her interest known. In fact, over the years, I’ve grown to love it because it’s less work for me, but I’ve also never shit where I eat. That means no sisters of friends, no friends of sisters, and definitely no mothers of kids I coach.

“I wanted to thank you, Coach Carter,” Ms. Johnson practically purrs. “Benjamin has improved so much since you took over coaching the team.”

Her fingers dance back up my arm, and it takes everything in me not to step back in revulsion.

“I was hoping to thank you for everything you’ve done. I make a really good pot roast, maybe you’d like to come over Saturday night and I can make it. Maybe open up a bottle of wine?”

I gently grab her wrist and remove her hand from me, keeping in place my practiced smile. “While I’m flattered, Ms. Johnson, I have plans on Saturday. I do this because I enjoy coaching, not for any rewards.”

That only has her doubling down her efforts. She steps closer and practically shoves her breasts against my arm as she leans in and whispers, “That just makes the reward so much better.”

I take a step back again, and immediately, I’m looking for Zoey. When I spot her, I plead with my eyes for her to come save me, but she just shakes her head slightly with an amused smirk. Of course, Zoey is getting a kick out of my being uncomfortable and needing to find a way to tell this overeager mom I’m not interested.

Taking another step back, I say, “Well, Ms. Johnson, I should really get back to my son, and the boys should be finished soon.”

Her eyes flick to Zoey then back to me, and her mouth drops into a little O shape. “That’s your kid?”

I nod.

“And your girl?”

I go to open my mouth to say no, she’s not my girl, but the thought of her being mine fills my mind and I can’t help but think about what it would be like if she was.

That seems to be enough, though, because Ms. Johnson takes a step back and nods before quickly turning and leaving.

When I join Zoey, she’s rocking Jayden’s car seat while holding back a laugh. I do an over exaggerated mock laugh and that breaks the dam. Her laugh is contagious, and it has me smiling and shaking my head.

“Laugh it up, chuckle bunny. I know, very funny watching me squirm as she had her hands all over me.”

“I swore,” she says through her laughter, “that I saw you gag.” She bends over clutching her legs as she rides out her laughter. “Oh, man.” She wipes are her brow. “Thanks for that. I needed a good laugh.”

I roll my eyes. “Harty har har har. Laugh at my misery.”

“I think that was just karma for some of the shit you’ve done to me over the years. The universe wanted me to see you suffer in a way.”

“Oh, pray tell, Zoey, what do you think that was karma for?”

She levels a look at me, telling me with her eyes she thinks I’m an idiot for not knowing. “How far back we going? Childhood or keeping it to adult years?”

I roll my shoulders. “Zo, there’s no way you have that much.”

“The time in sixth grade when you showed up to walk Liv home and called me Bug so loudly everyone could hear.” She starts ticking them off with her fingers. “The time I brought my first boyfriend to your family’s Canada Day celebration and you proceeded to tell him all about the time I got food poisoning during a sleepover with Liv. New Year’s Eve last year when you caught me and the guy I was seeing outside Josh and Liv’s place and interrupted us, making it so awkward he left.”

I put my hands up in submission. “Okay, you may have a point.”

“May?” Her voice rises an octave.

“Okay,” I sigh. “You have a point.”

She nods, and I move to check in on Jayden. He’s been pretty decent about sleeping. It sucks I have to wake him up so early on Mondays and Wednesdays, but coaching happens so early so the kids can go to school after, and by the time we get to the rink, he’s usually ready for his first nap and sleeps the whole time for Zoey. I get to feed him after practice.

Zoey and I have developed a routine now for these early mornings. I bring her coffee, she reads and watches Jayden, and then we go to breakfast before we head in separate directions.

When she leaves after breakfast today, I’m immediately looking forward to seeing her at my game on Friday.