Page 28 of The Surprise Play

What the hell is wrong with me?

Nobody calls people anymore.

But if I hang up now, he’ll see a missed call from me, and then I’ll have to bumble my way through a text message explanation and?—

“Hello?” His deep voice fills my ear, and an involuntary shiver runs through me. It’s not one of those creepy shudders, though. It’s warm and feels almost… nice.

What the hell is happening to me?

I should not be doing this.

Hang up!

Or freaking say something!

I open my mouth to respond… and nothing comes out.

CHAPTER 9

WILY

“Hello?” I say again, wondering if I’m getting a butt dial, then tipping my head as I try to picture Elizabeth Satchwell’s butt.

The two times I’ve seen her, she’s been wearing skirts or a long sweater that covers her ass, but I bet she’s got a classy bubble butt. That girl’s got some curves on her. I checked her out in the library—as I do every girl I ever meet. Okay, probably sleazy, but I can’t help myself. I love women. They’re beautiful, and if I were a praying man, I’d thank God every day for putting them on this planet.

From what I can tell, Tutor Girl has some luscious tits under that cardigan of hers. I bet she’s an E, maybe even an F or a G. Holy shit. Have I dated a girl with tits that big before?

Why the fuck are you thinking about her tits?

Snapping my eyes shut, I rub my forehead and try one last time before hanging up. “Hello?”

“Uh… hi. It’s, um… it’s Elizabeth… Satchwell.”

I grin, finding her awkwardness kinda cute. “Hey, Satch. How’s it going?”

“It’s Elizab—never mind.” She sighs, and I can’t help a soft snicker.

Why’s she calling me?

Is she finally responding to my lame-ass apology?

I pick up the soft fabric ball from the stack beside me and launch it over the sofa when Zoey yells at me from behind the beanbag. “Ting! Ting! Wywee!”

I have no idea what she thinks these balls represent, but she wanted to play Cowboys and Cowgirls and obviously figured that the ol’ west was all about throwing balls at each other and shouting random words like “Pip! Pip!” “Bop! Bop!” and “Ting! Ting!”

It’s fucking hilarious.

“Foo! Foo!” New syllables are shouted back at me, and another ball lands near the couch and rolls past my leg.

“So, I—” Satch starts to say, then abruptly stops. “What was that? Are you busy?”

“Ahhh, yep. I’m currently in the middle of a very important game of Cowboys and Cowgirls.”

“What?”

“I’m playing Cowboys and Cowgirls with Zoey.”

“Who’s Zoey?”