Tomboy

LL: What?

Zach: Getting defensive because you feel vulnerable.

LL: Look who’s been reading all the self-help sites.

Ouch. That was a direct hit. Still, it just made him snort-laugh. She wasn’t wrong. His yoga teacher had recommended a few sites for mindfulness, and he’d overheard one of the other guys talking about this personality quiz he’d taken at his girlfriend’s insistence about some kind of love languages thing. So yeah, he was a Googling motherfucker, but that didn’t mean he wanted anyone to know.

LL: That was bitchy. I’m sorry.

How did she make that look so easy? It literally took her thirty-five seconds to go from explosion to apology. Him? He usually stewed and held grudges and plotted revenge that he’d never carry out. But this time, he needed to try something different.

Zach: I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have been an ass when you first texted.

LL: It’s a little awkward now, I guess after the sex.

And there was his Fallon—who really wasn’t his, and that was starting to make his stomach cramp—blunt and to the point.

Zach: It’s not that.

LL: What is it?

Did he really want to go there? On text? Screenshots lived forever, as one of his old teammates found out when some chick put him on blast after they’d broken up. Some dudes really shouldn’t take dick pics.

But this wasn’t someone with a grudge. This was Lady Luck. No. This was Fallon.

Zach: My parents were at the game.

LL: Oh, that’s nice.

Zach: Not at all.

LL: Oh. I don’t want to butt into your business. I know how it feels to have an overbearing family that’s always too involved in your life.

Yeah. That wasn’t his problem—unless by business she meant bank account.

Zach: There was shit that went down.

LL: I’m sorry. You don’t have to say any more. Just know, whatever it was, that it sucks, and I’m sorry it happened.

Most people would want every detail. Hell, he would, too. Yet, Fallon kept her nose out of it. He should be thankful. He should move the conversation in another direction. He didn’t.

Zach: I’m millions in debt because of them. They were my managers and didn’t pay my taxes when they told me they had. They signed me up for loans I didn’t know about, and some that I did, but I didn’t realize how predatory the terms were. I just signed because my parents said it was a good deal. They siphoned off money in addition to their salaries from my first paycheck to the last one before I figured everything out. Too late. Dumb jock for the win.

By the time he finished and hit send, he wasn’t sure if he was still breathing. Everything hummed and burned and felt great all at the same time.

LL: You’re not dumb.

Zach: I was for trusting them.

He should have known better. He should have seen what they were really like. He’d been an idiot.

LL: How have you kept all of this on the down low? This is huge. They should be in jail. I want to fly out there right now to yell at them at the very least.

Of course she did. She was Wonder Woman in scrubs, out for truth and justice. The mental image of her in a metal breastplate

and thigh-high boots while holding a lasso put a different spin on his mood. Yeah, he’d totally be putting that in his pocket to think about later when he could be alone.

Zach: Lucy stamped out any hint of it in the press. Coach Peppers helped make sure the team took care of my basic necessities. Kyle worked out a payment deal with the banks and the IRS. They’re the only ones who know. And now you. I don’t want anyone to know. Ever. I just want to pay off my debts and get free from underneath all of it.