Page 15 of Strong Side
Knowing Casey the way I do, I don’t think he’ll be mad about what I said. However, he’ll want to drive over to the baseball house, where Trey lives and … well, I don’t know what Casey would do. He’s never shown any violence or volatility like Trey has, but he is really protective of everyone he cares about.
And even though it’s a big campus, rumors around the athletic world circulate fast, and I just hope he will play along with the whole boyfriend thing. Guess I’ll find out tonight.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
CASEY
Tonight wasmy night to cook, and after my sister told me a few of her friends were coming over, too, I decided to go with something that was easy to make for a lot of people. So, tacos it is. I’ll have a deconstructed taco though because I have to count my carbs, and I’ll eat grilled chicken in mine, which is pretty plain, to keep my sodium on the lower side so I don’t cramp up during practice.
I hear the front door open and girls’ voices. My sister and her friends, Arbor and Lily, walk into the kitchen. We grew up with Arbor. Her mom and mine were best friends here at Walker, so I’ve known her my whole life. I’ve gotten to know Lily better over the past year since Charlie moved in with us. Arbor is like a sister, but Lily is … not. She’s been dating some frat guy, but she still flirts with all of us—except for Beck, of course. They’ve both become good friends for my sister, and I’m glad she’s found her people.
“Be right back. I’m going to see what Beck’s up to.” Charlie starts to walk away. “Hi, brother! Smells awesome in here.”
“Charlie, dinner starts in ten minutes, with or without you and Beck,” I yell after her.
“Sup, Casey?” Arbor says, opening the fridge to put some of the fancy sparkling water drinks she likes in there.
“Arbs. Lily. How’s it going?” I smile at them both while I sort cheese, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream in some bowls.
“Well, Casey, since you asked, it’s going pretty amazing. I had a fab time in Italy this summer with my boyfriend’s family, and now we’re talking about moving in together for senior year. He has to live in the frat this year because he’s the president.” Lily leans her hip against the counter next to me while she rambles on. “Oh, is that fresh salsa?” She doesn’t wait for me to reply and walks over and starts digging into the chips and salsa.
“That’s awesome. Good for you.” I shoot her a wink. “How ’bout you, Arbs?”
“Case, I saw you, like, a ton this summer. But classes are good so far.” She walks over to me and looks around me to see what I’m doing. “Yum. I’m so excited for tacos. It’s my love language. Do we have any guac?”
“Shit, I forgot to slice the avocado. Can you grab it for me and the onion and tomato?” I reach below me and pull the cutting board out of the cabinet in front of my legs.
“Yep. You have lime too, right?” She bends and peeks inside the drawer in the fridge.
“Should be in there.” I nod.
“Found it!” Arbor sets everything on the counter next to me.
“Thanks. Do you want to slice the lime for me? You know I’m not the best at it since I sliced my finger in middle school. I still have nightmares from that sting.” I hand her a knife and give her a smirk.
She starts to laugh and hip-checks me. “You’re such a baby, Case. Didn’t some of the juice get in your eye, too, and you couldn’t see for, like, three hours?”
We both start laughing, and then I wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me. “Don’t make fun, Arbs. That was traumatic for me. And you and Charlie just teased me all day about it.”
“I mean, how could we not? And you have to admit, the homemade eye patches were top-tier. You looked just like Jack Sparrow.” She wraps her arm around my waist and looks up at me, and we both laugh.
I hear a throat clear and look over Arbor’s head to see Noelle standing there in leggings and a long-sleeved shirt, next to the island, holding a dish. I can’t quite read the look on her face, which is unusual because I’ve memorized all her faces.
“Hey! You made it.” I drop my arm from Arbor’s shoulders and walk over to her. “You okay?”
“Hey!” she squeaks. “Hi, Arbor.” She places the dish on the island counter and walks over to Arbor and hugs her.
“Hey, lovely. How are you? I haven’t seen you since the end of the year. I’m glad you came tonight.” Arbor gives her a warm smile.
If Arbor doesn’t like you, you know it. My sister’s friends have gotten to know Noelle a little last year, and they all seem to get along well. She really needs some friends, so I’m glad she’s getting to know them better.
“I’m good-ish.” She laughs nervously. “Hectic start to the year, getting used to my class schedule and student teaching. How about you? Are you in the house again this year?”
“Yeah, I’m going to stay one more year, I think. We’ll see what happens.”
“Hey, Noelle,” Lily says with a mouthful.
