“Because he’s really cute and deserves his own space.”
She looks at me like she’s waiting for the punch line, but I’m not joking. When this dawns on her, she continues. “Right. Two, Zach knows who I am, so I can’t pretend to be a helpless stranger.”
“You make an excellent point.” I steeple my hands together and rest my chin on them. “Ideas?”
“How about I go over there pretending to want to chat with him about what a sleaze you are?”
I glare at her. “We’ll work on your angle.”
“Fine. So, three, why are we stealing the goat again?”
“I told you: so then he’ll have to talk to me.”
“Why don’tyoujust knock on the door and talk to him?”
I screw my face up at her. “Because that isn’t as fun as stealing Marshmallow.”
She stares at me, not blinking.
“Youdon’t get it. Zach will. He’ll understand.”
“He’ll understand you stealing his goat?”
“Just wait, you’ll see.”
“When are we to execute this plan of yours?” she asks.
“Do you work tomorrow night?”
“No, but you really need to think about this, Delia.”
“Think about what?”
She sits on the couch next to me. “Your relationship with Zach and what Shep did. Will you be able to move past it? Can you forgive him? If you’re planning to become serious with Zach, which is where I believe you two were headed, you’ll be attending family functions. Shep will be there. How will you handle that?”
“I…”
Well, hell, I hadn’t thought of that. The only thing I’ve had on the brain as of late is Zach.
IfZach lets me explain, what am I going to do about Shep? I already plan to go to the dean’s office about him—there is no way in hell I’ll be able to watch him out on the baseball field representing our school and not think of the time he spread a naked picture of me around.
There should be no reward for doing something so degrading.
Baseball isn’t a necessity; it’s a privilege.
But what about outside of school, during the family functions Zoe mentioned? Will I avoid him? What happens when I tell his parents?
This is more complicated than I thought it would be.
“This might be one of those bridges I cross when I get to it. Besides, we aren’t even sure if Zach will want to talk to me.”
“I wouldn’t talk to you if you stole my goat.”
“Liar.”
She nods. “True. So, tomorrow is when you’ll try to win your man back?”
“Tomorrow.”
