Once Upon A Half-Time: A Sports Romance - Sosie Frost Page 0,146

like to be desired—Bryce loves you. And I’m hot on the market.” She glanced at me. “Maybe you’ll understand one day, Mandy. Once your hair grows out. And you lose a little more weight. And maybe we can do something about your nose…”

And I was done.

If they only knew. I was desirable. Hell, Nate couldn’t stop touching me.

It just so happened he’d already touched everyone else too.

I stormed out of the boutique, cell in hand. I had no idea if it was right to be flattered by Nate’s constant chasing, or if it meant I didn’t give in as easily as the other girls.

All the other girls.

And nothing was wrong with my nose!

This was getting overwhelming. I needed some sort of insight about Nate. I knew the person I had to call, but Rick wasn’t going to like these questions.

I paced outside for a minute before building the courage to call him. Rick answered with a groggy profanity.

“Rise and shine,” I said.

Another profanity. “Is anyone bleeding?”

“Nope.”

“Heart attack?”

“Nope.”

“It’s my day off.” Rick grumbled. “Call back never.”

“I gotta talk to you.”

I permitted him a minute to complain, but Rick wouldn’t hang up on me. Once the telltale sputtering of his coffee pot hissed over the line, I knew I had him.

“Lindsey driving you crazy?” He yawned.

I took a breath. Now or never. “Not Lindsey.”

“Your mom?”

“Well, yeah. Pretty sure we’ll need the Jaws of Life to get her out of the dress she chose, but…it’s not her.”

“Uh-oh. What happened?”

Why was it so hard to say? My throat closed. I’d make it easy. Just start with the basics.

“I, uh…it’s Nate.”

Rick groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”

I quieted. He knew exactly what that meant.

“No! Mandy, why in God’s name would you sleep with Nate?”

Good question. I had no idea how to explain it.

“It was…something that happened.” And it happened more times than I could count thanks to the cabin and that night of mistaken pleasure. “I was lonely. And the wedding was getting nuts. And my parents were stressing me out. I needed something to take my mind off of it all.”

“Jesus, Mandy. Take a walk. A cold shower. Anything but Nate.”

“I know.”

“Especially since he’s slept with all the bridesmaids now. Christ, this wedding served him all the fresh meat he could want.”

“As I learned.” I sighed and stopped my pacing. At least the sun felt nice—warm…non-judgmental. “It’s just…I thought there might have been…”

“What?”

A spark? “Something else there.”

“Don’t.” Rick took on his older brother tone. “Don’t look for anything more with Nate. I know the guy. It was a one-night stand.”

“Except it wasn’t.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t…a one-off fuck.”

“Did you just use the word fuck?”

“Listen to me. It was more than once. And he’s been…pursuing me. Calling me, texting me. He wants to talk. He even apologized for the other girls before me.”

“Nate.”

“Yes.”

“Nate Kensington?”

“Yes, smart-ass.” I plunked down on the bench outside the boutique. “You’re his friend. What’s he doing? What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t have the answers for you, but I know what I have to do.”

I was afraid to ask. “What?”

“Kick his fucking ass.”

“That’s not why I called you—”

“He knows better than to confuse you like this. You’re too damn inexperienced for him.”

“That doesn’t matter. Even if it wasn’t my first time—”

“Holy shit! You were a virgin?”

Pretty sure the elderly couple passing on the sidewalk heard him through the phone.

Rick swore. Something crashed in his room.

Yeah. We definitely weren’t telling him about the baby yet.

“Rick, listen to me,” I said. “It’s just confusing. Nate’s been nice and supportive and…it’s not like he’s looking to score.”

“That’s all he’s ever wanted from anyone.”

“Then why would he come back for more?”

“Because he can take advantage of you.”

“That’s not it, and you know it.” I heaved a breath. “This past weekend, when he was at the cabin with us, I thought…he seemed so…”

“Don’t say it.”

“I think I have feelings for him.”

This was the moment Rick’s head would explode, but, fortunately, I only heard the crash of his coffee cup in the sink. I flinched. He exhaled.

“Look, Mandy. I know he’s a smooth talker. After Jada left me, he taught me a couple tricks so I could hook up with girls at the bar—”

“You did what?”

“Let’s focus on your fuck-ups now, okay?”

My words caught in my throat. Rick apologized and softened his voice.

“My advice?” He hesitated. “Stay away from him. You’re not his type, and he is definitely not yours. I want to see you taken care of. Loved. In a nice big house with a