Because It's You (Carolina Rebels 2)

“Fine. I just wanted to talk to you.” He’s a terrible liar.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, I decided to listen to the team’s radio until you apparently had a ‘massive’ hit. I couldn’t listen after that.”

“You don’t have to do that, Elizabeth,” he says softly. “I’ve told you—”

“Yes, I know what you said, but I’m not sure if I believe it.”

“You think I’m lying?” He sounds completely baffled, and it sucks that I’m making this a thing after he tried to get rid of my worries.

“Well, not really. I just felt bad, okay? So, I thought I would give it a chance. All I really want to know is if you were hurt or not. Answer me and then we can forget all about my stupid attempt at finding a way to support you.” Why do I try? Why am I even in this situation? I should’ve ignored his call.

“I’m not hurt.” And then, he says, “Thank you.”

His words stump me.

“For what?”

“For finding a way to support me. I meant what I said, though. You don’t need to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

“Is that why you said it?” I blurt out.

“No,” he sighs. “How about we don’t talk abut this? How was your day?”

I welcome a change in subject. “It was good. I had lunch with Sylvia and rendered her speechless when I told her we baked cakes. That’s never happened before, so it was kinda cool.”

He chuckles. “That’s good. You know, you could probably hang out with Meredith too if you wanted. She and Sylvia are friends. Are you really a big fan of hers?”

“I didn’t stalk her or anything, but I liked watching her play on TV. She was a fantastic player. I still can’t believe I didn’t realize it was her. Is she really as nice as she seemed to be?”

“Yeah, she is. A lot of people thought she was either made up or Noah was an idiot.”

“Why?”

“He has her name tattooed on his chest, but he never talked about her. So, you can only imagine what people thought when they saw him, saw her name, but knew he wasn’t seeing anyone named Meredith. Or, if they didn’t know him, there was just a lot of mystery there, I guess. But now, she has his name tattooed on her and they’re together. It’s a bit of a bummer.”

I laugh. “Why is that?”

“Because I created an Instagram account for Noah, which he didn’t know about at first, but now he does and he’ll post sometimes, and they both start hashtagging about me being their third wheel when we’re out together. If I’m honest, it’s still fun being a third wheel, especially if I can annoy Noah while I’m at it.”

“Is there anyone else on the team you like to annoy?”

“No one is free from my awesome personality, but I might not bother some of them as much. Like, Captain Hook, for example. He’s a bit stiff. Never really know when not to bother him, so I pick and choose carefully. Then, there’s a young guy, Bruiser, he’s easy. He’s always on his phone, texting some girl, but always seems unhappy about it. Savage is too fucking steady to annoy, but he’s a cool guy and unlike Scotty’s Stella, his daughter, Ainsley, likes me.”

“Stella doesn’t like you?” I carefully ask.

“Well, you know she’s shy with people, right? I’ve been trying to win her over since I met her, and nothing. She ignores me. It particularly hurt when she had only met Meredith twice and that’s all it took to warm up to her. They’re like best friends now. It probably sounds bad to say, but I’m a little ticked with the little girl. What’s wrong with me? All kids love me, except her. She wants nothing to do with me. I don’t get it. What’s worse is it actually bothers me.”

I can’t help but laugh. “If it makes you feel better, Stella doesn’t particularly care for me either and I’m related to her.”

“Really?” Finally, he sounds like Marc again. He’s perked up and totally excited that Stella might not like me either.

“Don’t sound so excited!” I chastise while I laugh. “She doesn’t seem to love me as much as Stephanie does. Sometimes, I think she wonders why she has to tolerate me at all.”

“Do you see them often?”