Page 89 of Only in Your Dreams

“But it’s like they’re out for blood,” I say, shaking my head. “Like they think—it’s not like the team’s oblivious about how bad things have been. They’re trying.”

Callie pats my knee. “Good on you standing by your man.”

Wynn Sheffield is at his absolute finest, it seems. It’s truly impressive how much of the town he’s already managed to cover with news of me and Brooks.

“Yeah,” I say slowly. “The thing with Brooks is pretty new. But I don’t like the way people talk about him. Them. The coaching team.”

“Brooks? Brooks Attwood?” Callie frowns. “I heard the Joneses saying something about that a few minutes ago—they heard it from Wynn earlier this week, but you know how he is with his gossip. Never know what to believe.”

“Yes, well… It’s new. Very casual.”

Callie appraises me as she sips her drink. “To be young and beautiful again! You’re back in town just a few weeks, and already you’ve got all these men running around after you.”

I laugh awkwardly. “He’s quite tall, but I’m pretty sure he still qualifies as just one guy, Cal.”

“Well, I can’t wait to see how he’ll try to top your other boy.” Callie does a double take over her shoulder, spotting her wife coming up the stairs. She seems to forget both her hands are occupied and sloshes beer onto her lap as she tries to wave to her. “I know I’m blatantly biased here, but any man who treats his lady to an all-expenses paid shopping spree at Callie’s gets my vote.”

What?

I watch Callie rise unsteadily to her feet, the amber liquid in her cups bobbing dangerously around the rims. “Callie, what are you talking about? You said that shopping spree was on you—you said it was a welcome home gift.”

“Hm?”

“Callie, wait a second—”

I stare after her as she moves obliviously toward her wife, fingering an embroidered daisy on my denim jacket.

My new denim jacket.

My new denim jacket that…

I told Zac that I wanted to replace my old clothes once I saved up enough money. And in came Summer just a couple days later, there to take me shopping.

I poke my head around Parker. “Sum? That day we went shopping at Callie’s, how’d you know I was purging my closet?”

It seems to take her a moment to figure out what I’m talking about. When she does, Summer shrugs. “Oh, Brooks mentioned you talked about needing a new wardrobe. He put me on the case.”

“I never talked to Brooks about that,” I say, but the sound of my voice is drowned out by roars as the Huskies return to the field. I spot Zac and Brooks talking as they make their way to the bench, heads close together. They’re focused, neither of them looking around at us.

I think Zac… what, exactly?

Orchestrated a shopping date with Summer. Paid for every single thing I bought and passed it off as coming from Callie. Never let on so much as a hint that he had anything to do with it.

Suddenly, I’m itching to strip off this jacket. The new dress, the pair of shoes. My new underwear. I’m spiraling. It’s the same feeling I get whenever I think back on my relationship with Connor, and all the reg flags I ignored.

I’ve never been starved for gestures of affection. Connor would always think of me in that way. Picking me up a latte on his mid-day coffee break, bringing home my favorite flowers every couple of weeks. It took stepping away from the relationship to realize those gestures had been held over my head whenever he wanted to talk me into something.

Look at all this stuff. Look at this home. You know I’d never do anything that wasn’t for your own good, Melly. There’s the proof.

Down on the sideline, Zac slips a hand into his left pocket, where he put the four-leaf clover earlier.

I think about the clothes, the lip balms, the complimenting my makeup earlier.

And all I can think as I look at him is:what the hell do you want from me?

* * *

I pace up and down the deserted coaches’ office space, waiting for the game to end. I excused myself from Summer and Parker with two minutes left to go, unable to stand sitting there another second watching Zac move around without feeling brutally nauseous.

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