Page 96 of How to Score Off Field

Grady, too.

Can’t get ahold of him either, and now I’m starting to worry that something serious may have happened. Did one of them get sick? Did something happen to their mom? Their dad? Is one of them hospitalized?

Jesus, I can’t stop worrying, and I wish one of them would answer my fucking text messages or answer my calls.

“She stopped respondin’ to my messages,” I tell my brother as I set my phone down on the coffee table, eager to forget that I was stupid enough to shoot off yet another text.

“Dude, she probably started seein someone else and didn’t have the heart to tell you.”

“Gee, thanks.” I pause. “And we weren’t seein’ each other. We were talkin’.”

Drake shrugs his big shoulders. “Is there a difference? You like her, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re seeing each other.” He jams a handful of potato chips in his mouth. “Have you talked about, you know—not datin’ other people?”

“No.”

He shrugs again. “Well, that’s the problem, then. Chicks ain’t mind readers. How was she supposed to know she isn’t supposed to go out with other dudes? It’s not like you’re in the Army; she shouldn’t be expected to wait for you.”

“I don’t expect her to wait for me. All’s I said was she hasn’t responded to my messages. Grady, either.”

This time, Drake pulls a face. “Huh. That is weird. That dude loves texting. He texts back embarrassingly fast.”

“Obviously, she doesn’t.”

My brother puts down his chips and faces me. “How soon after you phone fucked her did she stop responding to you?”

I shrug. “I don’t know—a few days?”

“She’s probably embarrassed. Some girls do impulsive shit and then they feel guilty about it. Maybe that’s the problem.”

“Thanks, Einstein, I am aware.” But Tess isn’t apologetic; she is a take-charge kind of girl who knows what she wants. She wanted me, and she went for it. So there’s no way in hell she’s ashamed of a bit of masturbating together over the phone.

“Too bad you can’t ask her what the problem is.” His arm is back in the bag of chips, and when he stuffs more in his face, he crunches loudly.

I want to smack him.

“You’re an asshole.”

“What! It’s the truth.”

“You don’t think I texted her to see if there’s an issue? Hell, do you know how hard it was to text Grady? He’s going to see right through it and know something was going on between us.”

I nudge my brother. “You text him. Ask him if everything is alright with his sister.”

Drakes rolls his eyes but takes his phone off the table, thumbs through it, and taps out a message to our friend.

He talks out loud as he types. “Hey, Grady. Is. Everything. All. Right. With. You. And. Your. Sister. Question mark.” He glances up at me. “Send.”

He plunks the phone back on the coffee table.

“He told me to piss off.”

Fuck. “He did?”

Drake grins, leaning back on the couch. "Hey, you're the one asking your big bro for dating advice. Now you’re coming off as desperate."

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