Page 147 of Call the Shots
I ignored it. My parents loved me.
They were just…so different from Bear.
There were little things he did that changed everything. We shared food constantly. AtGianna’s,he’d tear a breadstick in half and offer it to me without missing a beat in his conversation with the guys. Another polaroid appeared under my bed but before I could do anything, Bear tore it to pieces. Nothing was brought up as a reminder. The cardboard box was all but forgotten.
Bear asked if I wanted him to start adding ingredients, little things like butter to add calories, and I told him no. I needed to know what I was eating because it’d make my progress tangible and there wouldn’t be any trust lost. If I needed that overseeing care, that meant professional help.
There wasn’t a fight. No uncomfortable silence. Bear didn’t rephrase it to get me to concede.
He was so kind and unbelievably patient.
Bear emerged in a dark blue suit jacket. “I know it’s not—uh—it’s not a dress-up occasion, right?” he asked nervously, patting his hair down. “I can change.”
“If you want to, but you look lovely.”
“I—yeah?”
Bear loosened his tie, fumbling with it. He knew how to tie a tie, but I took it from him, threading it through while he was quiet. I’d done it a million times for King, but this was different. My cheeks warmed, while Bear gazed down at me.
“I know how important your friends are to you,” he said. “I know how important this is.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
It was quiet on our walk toGianna’s. The campus used to feel so lonely during the summer but now it felt like we were in our own world. I was ready as ever to tell them, and I didn’t falter when I saw King’s truck in the parking lot.
“Hey, could I get a minute?” Bear asked, opening the door for me. “I forgot a phone call.”
“Oh. Yeah, of course.” I wasn’t planning on blurting it out when I sat down anyway.
I went to the hostess’s booth, scanning the restaurant for Cleo, Ryan and Kassie, Adam and Piper, King and now Willow. It used to just be Ryan, Adam, King, and me. Now we needed tables pushed together to accommodate us. They waved when they spotted me, but I hesitated.
What kind of call would Bear leave for?
I held up a finger to show I needed a minute and found Bear by the dumpsters, his back to the wall of the restaurant. He had a notebook, running his finger under the lines. His eyes flashed to mine and he jerked up. “Hey—I was?—”
“What is that?”
“It’s uh—it’s notes—” He held it up, embarrassed. “You have a lot of friends, I don’t want to forget anything.”
My heart squeezed and I leaned againstGianna’stoo. “That’s so sweet but I won’t quiz you on this.”
“I want to make sure I do everything I can because—” He tucked the notebook into his jacket’s inner pocket. “What if they don’t like me?”
“What if who doesn’t like you?”
“Your friends.”
“Why wouldn’t they like you?”
“I’m not an easy guy to like, June,” he said, surprised. “I can be a huge dick. I don’t mean to be, it just kind of happens. What if I say something and they don’t like me?”
“That doesn’t matter, Bear.”
“Oh.” His face cleared. “Yeah, you’re right. This is your thing?—”
“No, Bear. That doesn’t matter because I like you.”
Bear fell silent. I didn’t realize how nervous he was. I was so touched that he held my friends’ opinions in such high regard.
