Friend Zone to End Zone - Judy Corry Page 0,4

heading out.

I’m here.

I sent the text to Chad when I pulled into the passenger pickup area at the Denver International Airport.

As I waited for him to come find me, I turned down the volume on the Ben Rector song I’d been listening to so it wouldn’t be too loud for Chad.

A moment later, a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes, in a gray business suit with a red power tie, came into view, wheeling his black carry-on behind him.

I pushed a button to pop my trunk open, and after he’d placed his luggage in the back, he climbed into the passenger seat beside me.

“Hey,” I said, smiling, happy to see him despite the mix-up we’d had earlier.

“Hi,” he said tersely, grabbing his seatbelt to buckle himself in.

I waited a beat for him to lean over the console to give me a quick kiss like he usually did when we greeted each other, but when he didn’t make a move to do so, I just put my car into drive and started heading out of the loading area.

“So, how was your trip?” I asked, hoping a little conversation might help improve the weird energy coming from him. “Did you sign the account?”

Chad leaned his head against the headrest. “They wanted to think about it a little longer. They’ll let us know next week.”

“Oh.”

Which I guess explained his mood. He wasn’t exactly known for his patience, and so, not immediately signing the account he traveled across the country to sign had to be somewhat frustrating.

“Did the presentation go well at least?” I asked.

“I think so,” he said. “Amber laid out all the reasons why Mercer and Avery is the best company to sign with, and I did one of the best closings I’ve done.” He loosened his tie. “The owner is just overly cautious so he wanted to think it over.”

“Sounds like it went well then,” I said, hoping to encourage him. “You’re the best closer that Mercer and Avery has. I’m sure they’ll be signing that contract soon.”

A hint of a smile showed on Chad’s lips, and I was happy to see my encouragement was helping to lift his mood a little.

“Did you have any downtime while you were there?” I glanced away from the road to look at him. “Were you able to see much of Tallahassee in the evenings?”

He narrowed his blue eyes at me. “What’s with the interrogation?”

“Interrogation?” I frowned, confused at how taking an interest in his life was suddenly considered an interrogation.

“Ever since I got in your car you’ve just been asking one question after another.”

“I’m just interested in how your trip went.” I shook my head. “I didn’t realize having your girlfriend ask you questions after not seeing you for four days was so offensive.” I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and took a deep breath, hoping to calm my sudden surge of anger.

I mean, I certainly wouldn’t have minded if he’d taken a little interest in my life and asked how Vincent and Emerson’s wedding had turned out after all the planning I’d done for it.

He ran a hand through his semi-tousled hair. “Sorry, I’m just tired. It’s been a long day and I just want to go to bed.”

And then, as if to prevent me from continuing to “give him the third degree,” he turned up my music so we couldn’t comfortably carry a conversation anymore.

Ten minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot at Chad’s apartment complex. Thankfully, he didn’t live too far away from the airport, so the uncomfortable ride hadn’t lasted forever.

Before our conversation in the car, I had hoped to go inside with him to hang out before heading home, maybe watch an episode of The Office together and make out, but since he was obviously in one of his moods I didn’t even attempt to ask.

“Thanks for the ride,” he said before climbing out. “Sorry I was short with you earlier. I’m just tired after traveling and you being almost an hour late didn’t really help.”

Well, that almost sounded like an apology.

And I still couldn’t remember agreeing to pick him up at the same time I was supposed to be at my brother’s wedding. But it wasn’t worth the fight.

Instead of telling him he had probably forgotten to tell me about the change in his schedule, I said, “Are you still coming to my house tomorrow night for the live Q&A on my Instagram page?”

“That’s tomorrow?”

“Yeah. We go live at seven.” Had he forgotten