Page 136 of Let's Get Textual

“I don’t think this is a good place for that.”

“No? And why is that, Delia?”

“Because I’m certain once I start kissing you, I won’t be able to stop.”

He grabs my elbow and spins me around. We’re standing so close that I have to arch my head back to meet his eyes.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I say breathlessly.

“I see you received my message.”

“And I see you received mine.”

“I’d like my goat back, Delia.”

“I’d like to say I’m sorry.”

He releases me and takes a step back. “Let’s play for answers, shall we?”

I don’t verbally answer him. Instead I make my way to the skee-ball wall and set us up for two games. We each grab a ball and make our first play.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you more,” I tell him.

“Why did you jump to the conclusion that it was me who sent the photo?”

“On the screen, the sender was ‘Z’.”

“I can see why that would send you into a tailspin, but you should have known better, Delia. I’d never do that to you. I’d never do that to anyone.”

“I know.”

We throw another ball. He scores a hundred points.Ass.

“Do you…” I don’t know how to phrase this, but I need to get it out there. “Do you know who sent the photo?”

“It’s being taken care of.”

I drop my ball and give him my full attention. “What does that mean, Zach?”

“It means my father had to pull me off my brother because I wasn’t capable of pulling my own hands from his throat. It means he’s done with baseball for the season. It means he’s in an enormous amount of fucking trouble, Delia.”

I can’t help it—I start crying.

He gathers me into his arms and the weight I’ve been carrying around slips away. I missed this. I missed being close to him, touching him.

I feel horrible for what he’s experienced with his brother because of this, and I hate to think about how his relationship with him will change.

“Who told you?” I ask through the tears.

“Caleb. I like that guy. Sucks for him that I’m never letting you go.”

I laugh. “I’d choose you any day.”

“Because of my ass?”

“Because of your ass.”

---