Page 30 of Hard Count
“Do you want to check outside?” She motions toward the door with her thumb.
“Sure.” I smile when I see Asher out back by the keg. I wasn’t kidding when I told Nash he makes me laugh with all of his random questions and fun facts.
The backyard isn’t huge but they’ve made the most of the space with a fire pit, corn hole game, and beer pong table. Frankie settles a hip against the deck railing and I do the same. “Who are you looking for?” I whisper to Frankie when her head does a full scan of the backyard for the third time.
“What? Me? No one. It’s called familiarizing yourself with your surroundings. Spotting potential threats and danger.” She hides her face in her solo cup and takes a long sip.
“You’re a good actress, but you aren’t fooling me with those lines. I’m sure they’re around here somewhere.” I wince knowing I just blew my own cover.
“How are things going with you and Nash?”
“We’re becoming friends.” I shrug. It feels like more than that most days. We’ve been doing team stuff but we’ve also been carving out time to be alone too. Even without anyone else around we’ve been keeping things platonic.
Platonic. Forehead kisses are platonic, right? Even if they keep you up at night thinking about wanting more of them?Other than his would you rather question, there haven’t been any more mentions of kissing since the game a week ago.
I don’t know if he’s trying to be respectful to his coach—my dad—or if he’s focusing on football more than dating, or if he isn’t as interested in me as I’m perceiving him to be.
“Ooh friend zoned,” Asher says, breaking me from my thoughts. “Would you rather be friend zoned and keep that person in your life or cut ties with them completely?”
“That seems extreme doesn’t?” Frankie asks, her eyes still casually searching for Eli.
I refuse to look for Nash. He knew I was going to be here. It was part of our deal. Last week I was able to get out of attending the party with an excuse of not feeling well. Now that I think about it he didn’t look very disappointed. Does he regret making this part of our bet?
“Maybe. Depends on how difficult it is to see that person date other people.” His face blanks as if he’s had a similar experience.
“If they’re truly a friend, we should be happy that they’re happy, right?” I ask.
“I guess. If they’re actually happy,” he grumbles. He takes a sip of his beer and it flips a switch inside his brain. “Would you rather be abducted by aliens or—”
“Aliens,” we answer in unison.
“But you didn’t hear the other option. How do you know it isn’t better?” he questions.
“There is nothing better than being beamed up by an alien,” I reply. Frankie nods in agreement and gives me a high five.
“I can think of at least one thing,” Nash says behind me.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” I ask, eyeing him over my shoulder.
“You’ll have to stick with me and find out.” He smirks.I’d much rather fuck around and find out.“Eli and I called next on beer pong. Are you up for the challenge?”
I glance down at my soda. “I’ll watch and cheer you on. Asher, do you want to be Frankie’s partner?”
Nash places a hand on Asher’s chest, halting him. “Drinking isn’t a requirement to play. You can still have fun like everyone else without alcohol. Pour the beer out for all I care. Do you want to play?”
“Against you? Always.”
“That’s cool. I’ll watch,” Asher says as we walk down the deck stairs.
The crowd around the table clears to let us get into position. One of the underclassmen resets the cups while Nash and I stare each other down from across the long folding table. He’s trying to taunt me but jokes on him because he’s actually just turning me on.
“I’m not good at this game,” Frankie whispers, her eyes zoned in on the cups in front of us. “If I make any, it will be a miracle.”
“That’s fine. I have decent aim. I think I can carry the team.” I played a few times in high school. It wasn’t that hard;it’s more luck than skill. Then again, I never played against someone whose career is based on aim and precision.
“Did you wear a bra?” she whispers.
“What?” I rear my head back, staring at her.
