Page 59 of Thunderstruck
I chuckle. She’s something else, worrying about me when it’s her being dragged into the media. Outside of my friends, I’ve never met anyone like her. “The same way I did before you showed up, Paxton. Believe it or not, I can generally take care of myself.”
“Can you?” Her eyes go wide. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded! I just mean you seem like you do better when you’re around people, and your friends would probably agree.”
I can’t decide if I like how much she notices about me or if it scares the crap out of me. Derek often says something about being known. He says being known can be a good thing, but when you’re famous, not many people truly want to know you. They decide which parts of you they want and despise the rest.
But she’s right. Isolating myself doesn’t do me any good, something I also learned from Derek back when we first met. He’s a firm believer that no one should be alone. I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been for him to stay away the last few days, especially after I ignored his call yesterday.
Though my fingers itch to send him a text and assure him that I’m fine, I can’t bring myself to look away from Carissa. I swallow the words that rise in my throat—Would you take care of me?—and instead say something far more innocent. “I guess, if you’re offering a ride, I’d be stupid to refuse.”
Carissa lifts a saucy eyebrow that pulls me right back into her orbit and the sweet floral scent that envelops her. “You guess?”
The curl I touched earlier is still hanging on its own by her cheek, and I can’t stop my hand from rising. I run the curl between my fingers, loving the way it bounces back into place. There’s a playfulness to her hair that matches her open personality. “I would love a ride,” I amend.
She takes a breath, lips parting, and I’m pretty sure she leans closer. “Good,” she whispers. “Because I’m starting to really like our drives together.”
My phone buzzes in my hand. I jump back a full step, landing myself in the doorway, and shake my head as if the movement can knock some sense into me. Even if it weren’t Derek calling me, I’d answer the call just to give myself a distraction before I get pulled back into Carissa’s inviting eyes.
“Hey,” I say, lifting the phone to my ear.
“Finally,” Derek replies.
Resisting the urge to sigh, I lean my shoulder against the doorframe. “You do know I had a game tonight, right?”
“Yeah, and I also know it ended almost an hour ago.”
Carissa makes her way to the back of the room, but her scent still lingers in the air around me. I watch her grab her bag and busy herself with organizing supplies like she’s right at home here. She’s been here less than a week, and it already feels like she’s been a part of the Thunder since the beginning.
Or maybe I am simply getting used to having heraround.
“Cole,” Derek says.
I pull my gaze from Carissa so I can focus on my phone. “What?”
“You okay?”
“Fine.”
“Lies.”
I grit my teeth. My friends are good at calling out each other’s moments of dishonesty, which is great until it happens to me, apparently. I don’t like to lie, so it’s not often anyone has to say anything. Taking a deep breath, I drop my voice even though Carissa already knows all my issues.
Most of my issues.
“Moxie got injured tonight,” I say.
“I heard. Is he okay?”
I explain what Carissa thinks it is and that we won’t know for sure until Monday. But Moxie’s injury isn’t all of what’s bothering me, andDerek seems to know as much with the way he’s being pushier than usual. So I close my eyes and say, “Coach told the guys he’s making me team captain.”
However I expected Derek to react to that announcement, it wasn’t for him to burst into laughter. “Seriously?”
I growl. “Why is that funny?”
“Don’t get me wrong. It sucks for Moxie, and hopefully he can get back in the game quickly. But dude. If ever there was a time for you to make friends with your teammates…”
I switch my phone to the other ear and glance behind me to make sure no one has left the locker room. “If ever there was a time for them to hate me even more,” I counter. “They love Moxie.”
“And Moxie likes you.”
