Page 70 of Exes That Puck
Zeke: Wouldn’t miss it.
I set my phone aside and listen to the quiet sounds of the house. Ava settling in on the couch, Dylan still out wherever he goes these days, Westley rolling in past midnight. The hum of the refrigerator. For the first time in weeks, everything feels like it might actually be okay.
26
Neither Payton nor I have moved an inch from our beds. The afternoon sun streams through our window, making my headache worse, but I can’t bring myself to get up and close the blinds.
“Are you okay after what happened with Wolf Boy last night?” I ask, my voice scratchy from dehydration.
Payton groans and pulls her pillow over her face. “I just asked him if he wanted to dance. He ignored me. So I asked if he wanted to smoke with me somewhere and he left. So rude, right?”
“Yeah…” I trail off. “So rude… I’m sorry he did that.”
“I’ve been obsessing over him and now I’m so over it. Yeah, he’s like the hottest guy I’ve ever seen like I am so attracted to him, but he’s a dick and being a dick makes him ugly, you know?”
“Yeah,” I agree, thinking about how looks only get you so far when someone treats you badly.
We’re quiet for a moment, and then I realize this is the stillness I need to confess what’s going on with Zeke.
I mutter, “I have something to tell you.”
She lowers the pillow and looks at me. “I saw you kiss Zeke. Seriously, if you want to be with him, just be with him already. Stop sleeping with him and be with him.”
“So I’m going to treat it like dating instead of fully investing myself into the relationship.”
Payton considers this. “That’s a good idea.”
“Yeah, so like dinner dates. Sex, obviously. But that’s it. Maybe I’ll go to his home games, but none of the nonstop texting and late-night phone calls. We were spending too much time together, I think, and we just need to take a few steps back.”
“That sounds so much healthier, Kare. And I hope it works out because I know how much you love him. Just... if things go back to before, you have to promise me, like really promise me this time, that you’re going to be done.”
I nod seriously. “I don’t want to go through that again. I promise. Over my life, Pay. I’ll be done if he fucks up this last chance.”
“You’re really giving him a lot of handouts, Kare. Just be careful.”
It’s quiet for a few moments, then she says, “I love that Ava calls you Kare bear. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. It’s cute.”
I smile despite my headache. “Zeke gave me that nickname. He even bought me a Care bear with the cute rainbows on the front.”
She looks around the room. “Where is it?”
“I ripped it during one of our fights.”
“Wow.” She sounds astonished. “You did that?”
“It’s so embarrassing. I wouldn’t normally, and I hate admitting it, but I did it to prove a point, and honestly I just sound crazy now, but yeah... he made me crazy.”
“I can tell.”
We fall back into hungover silence. Around two, my phone buzzes.
Zeke:Still on for today?
Kara: What time?
Zeke:3:30? There’s a park near campus we could walk through after.
Kara: Sounds good.
