Chapter Eleven
JEREMY
March 2017
“It wasn’tthatbad.”
I glance over to where Charlie sits, fuming, in the seat next to mine. Malory is at the wheel and navigating us through traffic after our first practice with the kiddos, and to say Charlie was bit out of her element is an understatement.
“Fuck off, Jeremy,” she bites at me, her face practically glued to the window as she stares out at the city passing us by.
When I bark out a laugh, she turns and glares.
“Oh, come on,” I say, trying to get her to loosen up a bit. “So, you could maybe brush up on your terminology or something. But those kids? They’relookingfor a reason to be pissed off at someone. You just happened to be their target today.”
“Well, I don’t know if acting as target practice is a good idea for me.” And then she’s back to facing the window.
I take her in where she sits next to me, her chestnut hair tied back in one French braid that drops down to just past her shoulders. She normally wears her hair down, except when she’s in her adorable scrubs, but I love when she pulls it back off of her neck. So sexy.
I clear my throat and shift in my seat.
This is the time to be convincing her to keep helping me, not getting turned on from looking at herneck.
“Charlie, I’d be happy to tutor you on basketball so you don’t feel so lost next week.”
Her stiff posture relaxes slightly and she turns towards me.
“No, thanks. I’ll just – figure it out myself. I mean, I might not be in to sports, but I’m smart. How hard can it be to do a quick refresher?”
I laugh again. “Is that what we’re gonna call it? I’m pretty sure it’s only arefresherif you need arefreshon things you already understand. You need a Basketball 101 class.”
She lets out a tiny laugh and lets out a sigh.
“It’ll be better next week, okay?”
She nods then sits back in her seat, finally getting comfortable.
“Hey, where are we going?” she asks.
“I’m gonna take you to dinner to say thank you for helping,” I reply, my eyes peeking at her, trying to maintain the picture of nonchalance.
“Were you going totellme you were taking me to dinner at any point?”
I shrug. “Would you have said yes if I had?”
Her silence answers my question.
A few minutes pass.
“So, what are we eating?”
I smile. “Burgers.”
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes later, we’re seated in a red and white booth at the In-N-Out Burger near Charlie and Rachel’s apartment, noshing on the best burgers in the world. And Charlie doesn’t disappoint. I’ve seen her eat a handful of times, and she always puts away enough to feed a linebacker. Where does she put it?
“You’re staring.”
