Page 48 of Bagging the Blueliner
Hunkered down in my room for the night, I dialed my sister. Listening as the phone rang in my ear, I acknowledged that this could either be a great idea or a huge mistake.
The line picked up, and Zoe’s voice filtered through the speaker. “I think hell may have just frozen over. Is thistheCal Berg calling his big sister?”
Knowing she couldn’t see me, I rolled my eyes. “You know what? Maybe I’ll call my other sister. She’s more helpful.”
I could hear the smile in Zoe’s voice. “Very funny. Another sister is my worst nightmare. I thank God every day that I have two boys.” She paused for a moment. “Did you say you needed help?”
“Not in so many words,” I grumbled.
“Can I get a formal request in writing? My baby brother calling me for help needs to be documented.”
“I’m hanging up now, Zoe. Thanks for nothing.”
“Wait! I was kidding. Well, kinda. What in the world could you need my help with?”
Sighing, I swallowed my pride and answered, “Girl trouble.”
Zoe burst out laughing so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear. Gasping, trying to catch her breath, she managed to respond, “You? Girl trouble? Wait. Is this the part where we pretend that women aren’t lined up around the corner for a chance to bob on your knob?”
“I feel sorry for your boys.”
“My boys will be just fine.” She let out another laugh. “Sorry, I find it extremely satisfying that at least one woman out there isn’t falling all over herself to wind up in your bed.”
“I’m glad you’re amused.” There was no humor in my tone.
“All right. I’ve had my fun. Lay it on me.”
“So, there’s this girl,” I began.
“That much was implied when you said you were havinggirltrouble.”
“You wanna interrupt, or do you want to listen?”
“Fine. Proceed.” Zoe’s sigh came through the line.
“We had this one amazing night. I can’t stop thinking about it. But we work together, and she’s acting like nothing happened.”
“Have you ever considered being an adult and talking to her about it?”
“That’s part of the problem. We can’t talk to each other without wanting to tear the other to shreds.”
“She sounds feisty.”
I groaned. “That’s putting it mildly. She’s driven me insane since the day I met her.”
“I like her already.”
“Look, all I really want to know is, do you think she’s playing hard to get?” God, this was killing me. I sounded like a needy teenager nervous about his first real crush.
“If she is, it’s clearly working. You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?”
“Every second of every day,” I breathed out.
“I know it isn’t what you want to hear, but there’s really nothing more for you to do. You either initiate a conversation with the girl or wait for her to come to you. And from the sounds of it, you could be waiting a while.”
“You’re right. That’s not what I wanted to hear.”
“If you like her, you’ll suck it up and figure it out.”
