Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 49239 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49239 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
“Fuck. Can I call the principal and explain that this is completely my fault? I’ll do it right now.”
“No, but thanks for offering. The principal was actually very sympathetic, but she said the suspension is district policy and there’s no way around it. They’re still letting him do his schoolwork, so it’s just two days at home.”
“I still want to talk to him and explain that I gave him dumbass advice and this is all on me.”
She scoffs lightly. “I mean, I won’t deny you the chance to say it was dumbass advice.”
“Thank you. I’ll bring over Chinese carryout for everyone. Just text me the orders. I will obviously be eating nothing but humble pie for the next three years at least.”
Tess blows out a breath. “I’m still mad, but I won’t punch you in the face.”
“You are a goddess.”
She laughs. “Stop putting me in a better mood. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay. Send me the orders.”
When I end the call and stand up, half my team is standing there looking at me with expectant expressions.
“What the fuck? Haven’t you guys ever heard of not eavesdropping?”
“Fuck no,” Ford says. “When we hear you say you’re an idiot who got in trouble with the principal, we’re not going anywhere. So what’d you do?”
I shake my head and shove my phone in my pocket. “None of your business.”
“Dude, no,” Beau says. “You tell us when you didn’t wipe your ass well enough and have shit in your underwear, so you need to tell us this.”
It’s true. I’ve always been the most open of books. When I got my nipple stuck in an elevator door, it took me, like, a month to stop talking about it.
“I gave Tess’s son some bad advice, okay?” I snap. “Someone text Ben and tell him. He’ll be thrilled because he thinks I’m too much of a screwup to be dating a single mom.”
“What was the advice about?” Gray asks.
There are literally a dozen teammates standing there waiting for me to tell them about my fuckup. This team is ridiculous.
“Women. Girls.” I glare at the group of them. “I told him to use a cheesy pickup line and it blew up on him. Happy?”
“Huh,” Colby says. “Weird, since we were just talking about that.”
“Yeah, well, now I’ve dug myself into a twenty-foot hole with him and Tess and I have to figure out how to get out of it.”
“Poor Zee,” Beau says, remembering him from the day he was here. “Tell him to hang in there.”
Several of the guys walk away, one of them chuckling. Ford walks over to me and leans his back against a locker.
“You did a good job apologizing. Everyone fucks up sometimes.”
“I skew the numbers pretty high.”
He grins. “Yeah, you can be a clown. But that doesn’t mean you can’t change. You’ve never needed to give kids advice before and I’m sure you learned from this.”
Ford’s a good team captain. He doesn’t relish people’s misery like some of my teammates. Including me, which is something I’m going to work on. I look from side to side to make sure no one’s listening before telling him, “It was the beaver one, and he hit on his teacher with it.”
He groans. “Shit. Well, kid’s got an enormous set of balls. I’ll give him that.”
“Yeah, I’d be impressed if I wasn’t so horrified. He got suspended.”
“How’d you ask his mom out?”
I smile as I think back to the other night when I put my feelings out there to Tess and she agreed to a date with me. “I was honest. I told her how much I admire her and why.”
“There you go. Tell the kid that’s the way to ask a woman out and that consent matters and buying dinner doesn’t entitle a man to jack shit. It’s good for him to hear that from a man he looks up to.”
I nod. “I’ll do that. If he’s not too pissed at me.”
“If he is, just keep showing up. It’ll pass.”
“Thanks, man.”
“And bring Tess some flowers. Do some more groveling.”
I laugh. “Yeah, this is all new to me.”
“I’m happy for you that there’s something you’re willing to grovel for. That’s how you know it’s the real deal.”
“Have you ever groveled to Elle?”
He scoffs. “Are you kidding? All the time. And she apologizes to me when she’s wrong, too. No one should be a doormat.”
“I just keep screwing up, and I don’t want to ruin my chances with her.”
“If she’s letting you come over tonight, you haven’t ruined anything.”
I nod, grabbing a hoodie from my locker. “Okay. Here’s to successful groveling.”
“You got this.”
Chapter Fourteen
Tess
* * *
Cam and I are folding laundry at the kitchen table when she bursts out laughing and I scowl.
“Enough, I told you about it like two hours ago.”
“I know.” She tries for a serious expression, her voice so low it’s almost a whisper. “I just can’t stop picturing him walking up to her, and she’s thinking he has a question about the next test and instead, he asks if her daddy is a beaver.”