Page 70 of The Red Zone
“Things were going great, but your pregnancy scare spooked her a bit. Now I’m afraid thatshe’safraid to step out of this unlabeled fuck buddies situation and into something more… committed.”
“Why are you saying that like it’s Red’s fault Mae doesn’t like you back?” Abel butted in.
“I’m not, dude… if it’s anyone’s fault for freaking her out, it’s yours.Youcaused the pregnancy scare, becauseyoucouldn’t pull out.”
Scarlett threw her head back and laughed. Meanwhile, Abel sighed at her side. “What’s that look for? We both know he’s not wrong.”
“And, to be clear, I don’t know if she likes me back yet because I haven’t told her—don’t know how to tell her without petrifying.” I set the record straight, before turning my attention over to Scarlett. “I wanted Scar’s opinion on how to go about it, but now I’m curious about ‘Operation Red’ or whatever it is you call it.”
“Operation Red to the Red is my master plan to help you get to the red zone with Mae.” Scarlett squared her shoulders with a well-pleased grin. “I’ve been learning about football and Abel told me once that the chances of scoring are higher in the red zone, it’s just the matter of getting there…”
Scarlett looked to Abel for confirmation and he nodded in response.
“Keep going…”
“Yeah, what else did you tell me… something about how the offensive strategy changes when the plays are finite.” Scarlett perked up. “Isn’t that right?”
Abel puffed out his chest with a pleased smile like a proud as fuck boyfriend. A twinge of jealousy came over me. Not because he was proud of Scar, but because for the first time in my life, I wanted to be the boyfriend who got to wear the beaming grin when his girlfriend did or said something amazing.
“Well, your plays are finite because she doesn’t want to be fuck buddies anymore. Therefore…”
“I have to change my strategy to get her back in the red zone so I can win her over.”
“Touchdown!” Scarlett raised a fist in the air.
“That’s what the whole ‘operation’ is?”
“Fantastic, isn’t it?”
“Alright, so what’s your plan to help me get to change my strategy then?”
“Haven’t thought that far ahead yet…” Her words trailed off at the end until a wry smile began transforming over her lips. “You know what, on second thought, I think you need to just tell her straight up. No grand gestures or crazy shenanigans. Admit that you’re done playing games, and just… see what happens.”
She made it sound like the easiest thing in the world.
“What if she doesn’t like me back?” I questioned.
Scarlett was looking at me like she knew something that I didn’t and I wasn’t sure whether or not I should let it plant a seed of hopefulness in my mind. “What if she does?” She lifted a brow, keeping that smug smile plastered on her lips.
“I know you said you like her, but are you in love with her?”
“No… maybe… I don’t know.” I opened my mouth to explain further, but nothing I could’ve said out loud would have sufficed. “I guess, sometimes, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole not hating her anymore part.”
“What’s that saying? ‘There’s a thin line between love and hate’.”
“That’s the problem… I can’t figure out if I’ve hated her since we were kids, or if it’s just been a backwards form of love this whole time.”
Scarlett smiled. “I think we both know the answer to that.”
TWENTY-FIVE
MAE
“Has anyone seen Lea?”I shouted loudly, standing on top of the coffee table with a crisp beer in one hand while Scarlett temporarily cut the music that was blaring through Lea’s surround sound system.
Lea lived a few blocks over from us, in a four-bedroom, forty-five hundred square foot house. Which was currently filled to the brim with jocks, D list celebrities, and the like as we celebrated the Matrix’s landslide win over the Jacksonville Jackrabbits and the upcoming bye week.
“This is her party.” Some knuckle headed looking jock piped in from across the living room. At least the three equally boneheaded looking dudes standing next to him had half a braincell based on the “you’re dumb as fuck” expressions they shot at him.
