Page 20 of Sliding Into Love
Irate messages from fans and truly horrifying DMs didn’t count.
But he was surprised to find notifications once the app had updated. Derek forwarded inane videos like sports fails and puppies, and Jen tagged him in a few articles and photos of the team.
And one new follower request.
From Isaac Reyes.
Before he changed his mind, Ethan clicked accept and spent the next hour scrolling through his former friend’s life.
The shuttle bustook up about ten parking spots in the stadium lot, and Ethan saw his teammates milling around outside, so he decided to wait in his car until most of the team had boarded before he joined them. Pulling up his travel playlist, he set it to shuffle and let his head fall back on the headrest, closing his eyes and feeling the bass pummeling his body. The music was so loud, he almost ignored the tapping sound, but something made him open his eyes. Derek stood at the passenger side window, bedecked in a matching lounge set, with an enormous coffee cup in hand. An unfamiliar car was parked beside his, with a woman, Ivy, in the driver’s seat.
The sight of her sent Ethan’s heart rate skyrocketing. Shit. But he had to board the bus, which meant getting out of the car. Maybe she’d stay in the—nope—Ivy opened her door and climbed out, walking to meet Derek. Ethan watched Ivy lean down and peer into the window, a confused look on her face. Her smile as she recognized him sent him scrambling to switch off the music and slide out of his car.
“Hi!” Ethan and Ivy said at the same time.
Derek looked between the two of them. “Neither of you are this happy in the morning. This is weird.”
Ivy elbowed Derek in the ribs, but he laughed and squeezed her in a side hug, bopping her lightly on a bun that flopped to one side.Why is she so fucking cute?
“I have a question,” Ethan blurted out.
Ivy and Derek waited for him to speak, and Ethan realized he had nothing to say.
“Umm…” Ethan took his hat off, ran his hand through his hair, then replaced the hat. “Is it okay if I give you guys my tickets for the season?” He hadn’t planned it, but once the words left his mouth, he was surprised he’d had such a good idea. It seemed like the right thing to do. “And I thought maybe Jase would like to learn more about baseball. I could teach him how to pitch, or—”
“YES!” Ivy interrupted. “Oh, god, sorry, go on —I—Jase would love that.”
“Oh. Awesome.” Ethan hadn’t expected her to be so enthusiastic. Unsure what else to say, he met Ivy’s eyes, then looked away, trying not to stare. But the early morning sun cast her in soft light, turning the hints of brown in her eyes so bright, they were nearly golden. “Do you want my number? So, you can text me.” Her eyes grew wide. Shit. “About the tickets, I mean. For Jase. Or if he wants to learn more about pitching. Or batting. Or…whatever.” And now he was babbling like an idiot. “You can get it from Derek if you’d rather, or…” Ethan trailed off, watching as Ivy bit her bottom lip. Belatedly, he realized Derek was talking with a few of their teammates, leaving him alone with Ivy. Leaving him alone to make a total fucking idiot of himself.
“Give me your phone.”
“What?”
“Your phone.” Ivy laughed and waved her hand at him across the roof of the car. “I can put my number in for you.”
Oh. Ethan did as he was told, trying not to think of the softness against his callused fingers when her hand brushed his.
“Jase will be ecstatic.” Ivy ducked her head as she typed on his phone, then handed it back to him. “It’ll mean a lot to him. It’s so kind of you, everything you’ve done for him.”
Ethan shrugged her off.
“No, really. It may not mean much to you, but Jase has never had anything like this before, and it’s not something I can give him. It…it means a lot to me too, and I just want to—”
“Ethan!” Derek’s voice cracked the space between them, and Ethan blinked, realizing he’d leaned over the roof of the car to get closer to her. “It’s time to go!” Derek called out.
“Shit,” Ethan muttered. “Sorry, I’ve got to—” he gestured to the bus.
“Have a good trip.”
Ethan slung his headphones around the back of his neck, grabbed his bag, and boarded the bus. Travel days were the worst. Everyone wanted to either talk shop or talk shit, and Ethan wanted none of it. He and Jen usually found seats at the front and listened to their loud music in grumpy solidarity. Ethan had timed his arrival so he would be one of the last to load the shuttle but notthelast, to avoid Marshall’s attention and annoyance. Although they were generally the same thing, at least in Ethan’s case, but Derek saved him by ensuring Ethan had boarded the bus before Marshall.
And there was Derek, dropping his bag into the space between Jen and Ethan, grinning past his oversized coffee cup.
Ethan attempted to match the expression but felt more like a dog baring its teeth. He wanted to curse Derek for interrupting his conversation with Ivy and himself for being so dense. There was no way Marshall wouldn’t notice if Ivy, Jase, and Janna began appearing in the stands for more games. But it was a problem for Future Ethan to deal with.
Because Present Ethan had to deal with Ivy putting her number into his phone, but he hadn’t done the same for her.
Which meant he had to text her first.
