Page 144 of Call the Shots
Saturday’s practicemeant Vernon glaring, but I wasn’t doing anything against his stupid rules. I even calmed down Elijah when he antagonized Riley. Vernon couldn’t say shit.
Feeling pretty good, I left the showers and found June waiting for me.
“Hey.” She gave an awkward smile. “Want to do something fun today?”
What did that mean? Studying for classes? Going out for lunch? Long walks on the beach, holding hands? I shouldered my bag. “Yeah. What’s up?”
“I’m telling my parents about my eating disorder.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline, and I brushed Montoya away when he tried to join the conversation. The rest of my teammates were leaving so I brought June to a quieter corner. “I—uh?—”
“You don’t have to get out of the car,” she assured me. “I can do it myself, I just need the accountability.”
“Wouldn’t you rather have…King?”
“Um, you’re the only one who knows.”
“Oh.”
She hesitated. “Sorry, I kind of sprung it on you. If you’re not comfortable, I understand?—”
“No. That’s awesome—not awesome—” I cleared my throat. “That’d be cool. Yeah.”
It wasn’t the ideal date scenario, but June trusted me enough to take me along. I fell into step beside her, my chest light.
I glanced at my shorts and wet t-shirt from the shower. “What do I wear?”
“I don’t think there’s a dress code for this.”
“I’ll wear a button-up,” I decided.
The farther we drove,the bigger the houses became, until we arrived at a long driveway, sheltered by leafy trees like we were entering a portal or something.
“Holy shit,” I muttered.
Her family home was enormous. Seriously, I thought my dad’s place was big. The front archway was at least two stories tall, curving over the enormous wooden doors. There were gardens outside—plural,gardens—and a blonde woman walked along the house, she had to have been June’s mom.
June didn’t say anything, just tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.
I shifted over. “Do you need me to come in?”
“No—no.” With a deep breath, she pushed open her door. “I can do this. I just needed to…not do this alone.”
I watched from the passenger seat. June’s hands were shaking and the woman returned with a pair of gardening shears, stopping by June.
There were tense seconds. Her mom put a hand on her hip and listened while June talked. The front door opened and aportly man in a Hawaiian shirt tried to hug June before she continued talking.
They were in a triangle, an awkward distance between them. The longer June talked, the more the distance eased, until her mom dropped the gardening shears. She wrapped her arms around June, and my throat tightened while her dad hugged both of them.
It felt wrong to peer into their private moment, but I couldn’t look away.
Until June gestured to me.
My eyes dropped to my lap.Shit.Caught.
I stared at my sneakers, listening to the footsteps outside the car. June opened her door, eyes red, and she hurried to wipe away the tears. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I said back, in that same awkward inflection.
