“It’s a cake, Ollie. We’ve been over this five times already,”I sign back.
“Deny it all you want, Fallon, but the proof is in the pudding. Or in this case, the very delicious vanilla cake. That’s all the evidence I need right there. Vanilla with white frosting is my favorite. You bought me my favorite cake and it even has a picture of me on top. You went above and beyond.”
“That’s a duck, Ollie.”
“And a very handsome one. But he looks like me, see?” Instead of holding the cake up to his face, Ollie leans his head down toward the counter. “See? He’s wearing a blue shirt and so am I. And we both have fluffy blond hair. I’d swear his eyes are blue, and he’s a captain. I’m a captain. We’re practically twins.”
“Who’s your twin?” Mickey asks, doing his best to sign the words. I’m pretty sure Ollie’s giving them all basic lessons in ASL.
“This guy,” Ollie answers, leaning his head down again.
“Oh, yeah, I see it.” Mickey agrees.
I shake my head. These guys are fun, but this is why I need the weekend to hurry up and get here. I need twenty-four hours away from the ridiculousness.
16
Ollie
It’s not easy getting twenty-seven people to Vegas, but we’re doing it. We’re scattered throughout the plane and if all our luggage actually arrives when we do, it’ll be a miracle, but that’s why hotels have gift shops, right?
We’ve been in the air for a couple hours now, and Mickey’s fast asleep next to me. Blue’s watching a movie and Wagner’s conked out next to him. Van and Josie are all lovey-dovey in the seat in front of me, and Calla’s curled up on JT’s chest while Maggie reads a book.
I get antsy if I sit still for too long, so I’ve made the rounds a few times. Since this trip was my idea, I feel responsible for making it a success. It’s Vegas, so it’s pretty impossible not to have a good time, but with this crew, anything can happen. I’m all for spontaneity, but I’m also hoping no one gets arrested.
Now feels like a good time to make one more pass through the plane. Maybe I’ll check on Dime and Baby Santos and see if they have any snacks left.
Before I make it to the back of the plane, though, wehit some turbulence. I steady myself on a nearby seat and wait for it to pass, but it doesn’t.
When a passing crew member tells me to take a seat, I have no choice but to sink into the closest vacant one, which just so happens to be next to Fallon Zabek. I’m not complaining about it but based on the icy glare she’s shooting my way, Fallon is not thrilled that we’re suddenly seatmates.
I last through about three painful minutes of silence before I break and turn toward her.
“I thought we were cool now? You gave me a captain gift.” I say, signing.
“What are you talking about?” Fallon asks, before turning her attention back to the sketchpad in front of her.
I tap her shoulder to get her attention before I start signing again.“We were becoming friends. I made you grilled cheese. You promised to stop hating me. You brought me a cake. Does any of this ring a bell?” I ask, fully aware that I sound needy as hell but not caring one bit. Everything felt right in the universe after we made peace, but now that she’s freezing me out again, everything feels off.
“Oh, that,” she acknowledges. “We were becoming friends, but then you pissed me off again. And the captain gift wasn’t a big deal.”
The seatbelt sign is off, and the plane’s path has evened out, but I stayed glued to this seat until I find out what the hell I’ve done in the last two weeks to be back on Fallon’s bad side. My confusion must show on my face, or maybe Fallon just wants me to head back up the aisle and sit next to Mickey. Whatever the reason, she puts me out of my misery and explains exactly what I did to piss her off.
“You hijacked my plans,” she says, the words rolling off her fingers. “This was my birthday road trip to see my brother and you had to make it about you. And I get it, you’re his team and yourseason is about to start, but dammit, traveling with a caravan of people was not part of my plan.”
“Shit.That never even occurred to me,” I admit. “What can I do to make it up to you?”
Fallon turns back to her drawing for a moment and finishes shading something. When she looks back at me, I’m struck once again by how fucking beautiful she is. I’ve seen pretty people before. Hell, I’ve seen beautiful ones—models, actors, influencers. But Fallon’s almost ethereal with her wide eyes and long lashes. Her hair is in a messy bun and the oversized BU sweatshirt she’s wearing might have belonged to Pete at one point because it’s huge on her. She still looks beautiful, though.
“It’s fine,” she signs, when I know by the expression on her face that she’s anything but.
“You’ve always given it to me straight, Fallon. Don’t start lying to me now. You’re right, this was gonna happen because everything fell into place, but how about this. We’re gonna see Book before the game, but then after, you guys can have some time to yourselves without us. I’ll text him where we are and we can meet up after you’re done with your birthday bonding time. Okay?”
I know my words make me sound desperate, but dammit, I guess I am. Just when I think I’m making strides with the team, I go and piss Fallon off. I can’t fucking win this year, but that’s not the only thing bugging me. Yeah, I’m thrilled to be Captain, and it feels good to earn little wins with my teammates, but disappointing Fallon throws my mood into a tailspin, and that makes no sense. We’re just roommates. Barely friends. And yet, her opinion matters more than almost anyone else’s.
When her lips curve into a genuine smile, I feel like I’ve won the damn lottery.
“That would be perfect. Thanks,” she signs.
