I snuggle in beside her, tug the blankets up and the next thing I know, my alarm is going off. Groaning, I reach for my phone, turn it off and make sure it hasn’t woken Maize. I find her sound asleep and the thought of leaving her in bed and going to practice make my stomach cramp.
But I don’t want to disappoint the coach or my teammates, so I crawl out from the covers and steal one last glance at Maize. The need to wake her and beg her to stay until Christmas pulls at me, but maybe I should let her cut loose now, before I’m in too deep. A sound catches in my throat and I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself. Honestly, is there any part of me that thinks I could actually get in deeper with her?
I quietly grab my gear and scribble a note, letting her know I had to go to practice. I don’t want her to think I just took off. I stand there, debating on asking her if we can talk later. What the hell do I do? I quickly ask if she wants to grab lunch later, and to send me a text.
Leaving the ball in her court, I head outside, and the early morning sun shines down on me. I make my way to the field, and meet up with my buddy Linc. He throws his arm around me.
“Where have you been, anyway? You don’t come out anymore. You don’t text.”
“Aww, what’s the matter, is Linc missing his girlfriend?” Kyle teases.
“Fuck you,” Linc says and I know he’s right. I’ve been so caught up in Maize.
“Just been busy.”
“How were the slopes?” he asks and gives me a push to back me up so we can toss the ball.
I can’t keep the stupid smile from my face as my thoughts go to Maize. “That good, huh?” he says. “Did you get some pussy?”
“Don’t do that,” I blurt out, and he looks at me like I might have sprouted a second head. The guys can be crude, but the thoughts of him talking about Maize like that doesn’t sit well with me. Although he has no idea she came with me. I’ve been keeping things pretty low key, wanting her just for myself.
“Shit, man, I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean anything.” He eyes me. “Dude, is it Maize?”
I swallow and reach for my helmet. “Yeah.” No point in lying.
“You really like her, huh?”
I nod. “She’s not like everyone said she was, Linc.” I toss the ball back to him, the need to defend her strong.
“I never thought she was corn on the cob.” He grins at me, producing the dimple that drives girls crazy. “She seems more like a ball buster.”
I laugh, as I think about the way she glared at me, like she wanted to neuter me after I took her down with my ball. “She’s not. Well, she is, but once you get to know her, she’s really sweet.” I frown. “We’re not really a couple.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
I step toward him and lower my voice. “I just bought her.”
“And now you like her, right? I’ve seen it happen.”
“I’m just not sure how she feels.”
“Then find out. How about a double date? Let me get to know her better, see you two together. You’ve been hiding out in that room of yours so much, I didn’t think you lived at Wolf House anymore.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Double date then?”
I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but Steph has never been one of my favorite people. Linc likes her and as long as he’s happy, that’s enough for me. I’d never say anything bad about her, but she walks around with a sense of entitlement, and easily fits in with the mean girls. I really didn’t like the look she gave Kaitlyn the day Maize hurt her ankle.
“What do you think?” he presses.
“Actually, I think Maize is moving back to her place today.”
“Fuck, man, what the hell?”
“It’s just messed up.”
He eyes me and is about to ask more questions when the coach calls out to us. For the next couple of hours, we practice, and after we hit the showers, I catch Linc looking at me like he wants to talk, but I have to get to class. I check my phone, disappointed that there’s no message from Maize.
My stomach drops. By now, she’s back at her own place. Am I seriously going to let that happen? Am I not a guy who fights for what he wants? Maybe I should go over there caveman-style and take her back. But I’m not going to do that if it’s not what she wants, and a few more months of fucking isn’t going to help me get over her.
Head down, I hurry outside and walk home, wanting to drop my stuff off before class, but come to an abrupt halt when I crash into Kaitlyn outside Wolf House.
“Whoa,” she says and falters. I quickly grab her.
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“In a hurry much?”
“Yeah, I… sorry.” I glance up at my window and the curtains are still drawn. It brings a smile to my face when I think about Maize’s venetian blind story.
“Something funny?”
“No, sorry, just some things on my mind. Are you here for Maize?”
“Yeah, I’ve been texting, and she hasn’t been answering.”
Maybe she’s still here. My heart leaps at that possibility.
“She might still be sleeping. It was a busy
