not worth it.
I sway to the song as Cole sings and when he finishes it a lone tear leaks out of my eye at the beauty of his performance.
Inhaling a shaky breath, I turn around to face the table of his friends. Teddy looks at me knowingly and grabs a shot, holding it out to me. “Drink up. You look like you need this.”
“I’m not drunk,” I protest as Cole leads me out of Harvey’s. “It’s going to take a lot more than two beers and a couple of shots to knock me down.”
“Zoey,” his tone is low with warning, “you asked the waiter if he has a fire crotch.”
“Why’s that a big deal?”
“Number one, it’s not normal to ask strangers about their pubic hair. Number two, he had bright ass dyed red hair. Not a natural ginger.”
“I was just curious,” I grumble, his hold on my elbow tightening when I stumble on a piece of gravel.
“Hey!” A male voice calls out to him. “Yo, Anderson, I heard you’re not going out for the draft this year. What’s up with that?”
“Draft?” I mumble in my inebriated state. “Like the military draft?”
Cole looks from me with amusement to the approaching stranger. “Nah, man. I wanna finish senior year and get my degree. Gotta have a backup. After graduation I won’t have to declare, I’ll be automatically eligible.”
“Cool, cool,” the guy chants. “You’re one of the best basketball players I’ve ever seen. You and Andrew last year were unstoppable. Sad we lost him, but L.A. gained one hell of a player.”
“Sure thing, man. I’d love to chat, but I need to get her home.”
“Right, right.” Ugh why does he say words twice? “Nice seeing you.”
The stranger heads toward the bar.
I squint at Cole, his color washed out from the bright parking lot lights. “Did he say basketball?”
“Yeah?” He gives me a quizzical look. “You didn’t know? Could’ve sworn I told you.”
“You didn’t.” I bite out. “I’m gonna be sick.” I pull away from him and throw up beside someone’s bright red truck. Whoops.
Suddenly Cole’s there, pulling my hair away from my face and rubbing my back. “Shhh. It’s okay,” he soothes, and I start to cry.
He plays basketball.
He’s a basketball player.
Just like my dad was.
And if there’s one vow I made with myself that I refuse to break, it’s that I’ll never date a basketball player. Even if I’m trying to mend my relationship with my dad, it’s not an easy mindset to change. I’ve hated all basketball players on principle because of him. I know my dad didn’t cheat on my mom, I’ll give him credit there, but he left us. He left me and I won’t be abandoned by another person in my life.
“I’ve got you,” Cole says, still rubbing my back.
I retch again, but nothing comes up. I know I can’t tell him that my sudden sickness has more to do with learning that he’s a basketball player than anything I drank.
Straightening, I give him a strained smile. “I’m okay.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
He holds onto my arm again, so I don’t fall in the gravel as we finish the walk back to his truck.
“Let me get you some napkins,” he mumbles to himself, grabbing some from his glovebox and passing them to me.
I smile gratefully, wiping my mouth. “Can I have a piece of your gum too?”
“Sure.” He leans into the cab and grabs a piece, passing it to me before he helps me into the truck.
Once in the vehicle, I lean my head against the cool glass of the window.
“I told you not to have those tequila shots.”
I wave my hand at him in a shut up gesture. “Nobody likes a know it all.”
He chuckles, cranking the truck to life. The engine rumbles loudly and I hold my head, groaning loudly.
Cole starts the drive back to the apartment complex but before he gets there, he pulls off at a convenience store. “What are you doing?” I ask, a slight whine to my voice.
All I want to do is get home, strip out of my clothes and climb into bed.
“Just sit tight.”
The bright lights of the store flare into the truck and I cover my eyes. “Get Advil,” I beg.
He chuckles. “We’re around the corner from the apartment. There’s some there.”
“Don’t care. The sooner the better.”
He shakes his head, opening the truck door. “The next time I say you’ve had enough, just listen.”
I give him the finger and he laughs loudly, closing the door behind him as he heads into the