Chapter 383 - Nothing

Chapter 383: Chapter 383 - Nothing

Roxie stayed on her back for a while after they finished, staring at the ceiling with a stupid smile she couldn’t get rid of. She felt completely spent, and the moment she tried stretching her legs, the ache through her thighs and hips made her rethink moving at all. There was a deeper tenderness too, enough that she slowly brought her legs back together and settled into the mattress again.

Beside her, Zac was still catching his breath.

Roxie turned her head toward him and wondered if some kind of reduction surgery existed for men. The thought made her laugh quietly.

Zac looked over. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering if reductions exist for men."

He went quiet for a second, then looked down at himself.

Roxie immediately started laughing harder.

"Absolutely fucking not."

"I didn’t even say what."

"I know exactly what you meant."

"It would make my life easier."

"You seemed perfectly fine with it five minutes ago."

Roxie pinched his side. "Shut up."

Zac caught her hand and held it against his chest while she carefully rolled onto her side and rested her cheek against him. She could still feel the ache when she moved, but right now she was too satisfied to care much about it.

For a little while they stayed there without talking. Saturday already felt different. There was no school and Zac didn’t have a coffee shop shift anymore. Usually even their lazy mornings came with some point when he had to check the time and get moving. Today he seemed just as comfortable staying in bed as she was, his fingers moving lazily through her hair while she rested against him.

She was almost falling asleep again when her stomach growled loudly.

Zac’s hand stopped in her hair.

Roxie opened one eye. "You heard nothing. Just go make breakfast."

"That was loud enough to be a medical emergency."

"I’m hungry and injured. Feed me."

Zac laughed, kissed the top of her head and finally got out of bed. Roxie watched him pull on his shorts before she slowly pushed herself upright. Her body complained enough that she had to move carefully, and when she looked up again Zac was watching her with a smile already forming.

She pointed at him. "Keep whatever you’re thinking to yourself and make sure breakfast is good."

His grin widened, but he had enough sense to leave without saying it.

Roxie waited another minute before getting up. She grabbed one of Zac’s shirts from the floor, pulled it over her head and headed toward the kitchen, still feeling the morning in the way she walked.

By the time she got there, Zac already had the refrigerator open and was standing in front of it longer than necessary.

"When did you buy all this?" he asked when he noticed her.

"Yesterday."

The refrigerator was fuller than usual. Roxie had ordered groceries after coming home from the Corner Grill and added most of the things Zac had been going through faster since training picked up again. More eggs, meat, fruit, yogurt, drinks and the protein powder he was almost out of.

Zac picked up one of the drinks and looked farther into the refrigerator. "You got my protein too. I was going to buy more of this stuff today."

"I beat you to it."

He kept looking at everything, and Roxie walked over to steal some fruit from one of the containers.

"Why are you staring at the groceries like they did something to you?"

"I’m not. I’m just saying the next groceries are mine."

"Okay."

That made him turn around.

Roxie bit into the fruit and raised an eyebrow when he kept looking at her. "What? You want me to fight you over chicken?"

"I thought you would argue."

"I can start if you’re disappointed."

Zac shook his head and went toward the stove.

Roxie smiled as she climbed onto the counter.

She understood at least part of what was bothering him. Zac had no paycheck coming anymore. He still had savings, Tennessee was waiting and the scholarship would eventually start, but she had noticed the way he paid more attention whenever she bought something for both of them.

She wasn’t interested in making it bigger than it had to be.

She had money. He needed food for training. They lived together.

That was enough.

"How many eggs?" Zac asked while pulling out the pan.

"Two. I’m eating whatever else you make anyway."

He nodded and started breakfast.

Roxie watched him move around the kitchen barefoot and shirtless while she sat on the counter wearing one of his shirts. His things were everywhere now if she actually stopped to look. His clothes had started mixing with hers in the laundry, his football stuff had claimed part of the living room, and half the refrigerator was filled with food he needed for training.

At some point, him staying with her had stopped feeling temporary.

"You know what’s weird?" she said.

Zac glanced over while turning something in the pan.

"You being here on a Saturday with nowhere else you have to rush off to. Usually you’re complaining because I’m still in bed while you have to go make coffee for strangers."

"I did not complain every Saturday."

"You did."

"I complained because you’d be lying there looking comfortable while I had to leave."

"That sounds like complaining."

Zac finished her plate and handed it over. "Well, now I make breakfast for you instead."

Roxie accepted it with a smile. "Promotion."

"Terrible pay."

"You get benefits."

His eyes immediately dropped to her bare legs.

Roxie pointed her fork at him. "That was your one dirty joke for breakfast."

"I didn’t even say anything."

"Your face did."

Zac laughed and sat beside her with his own plate.

They ate slowly without talking about anything important. Roxie kept stealing pieces from Zac’s plate even though hers had the exact same food, and after the third time he simply started pushing the pieces she liked toward her instead.

Roxie noticed and smiled. "You spoil me."

"You bought half the grocery store. I think we’re even."

"That’s different."

He looked at her like he was waiting for an explanation.

Roxie took another piece from his plate. "It just is."

Zac gave up.

After a while Roxie nudged his leg with hers. "Do you actually miss the coffee shop at all?"

"Hell no. I liked some of the people there, but I’m not going to miss making coffee for strangers."

That reminded Roxie of the coworker who had clearly liked him. She couldn’t even remember the girl’s name anymore.

She narrowed her eyes. "Some people? You mean your coworkers or all those women gawking at you?"

Zac’s fork paused before a grin spread across his face. "Are you jealous?"

"As if."

He reached across and caught her hand before she could pull it away. "Good, because you don’t need to be. I already got the prettiest and hottest girlfriend. I’m pretty satisfied."

Roxie tried to keep her face unimpressed even while warmth spread through her chest. "Very smooth for an unemployed man."

"It worked."

"Did it?"

"You’re blushing."

Roxie pulled her hand free. "Eat."

Zac smiled and obeyed.

She waited another moment before asking, "You’re training again today, right?"

"Yeah. Dylan and Kyle are going. Mason might come too." Zac raised his hand like he was making a promise. "I’ll try to stay focused even with the memories of this morning distracting me."

Heat immediately rushed back into Roxie’s face. "You’re disgusting."

He laughed.

Roxie took another bite, then something occurred to her. "What time are you meeting them?"

Zac frowned and looked toward the clock.

His entire expression changed.

Roxie followed his gaze.

It was already past eight.

He slowly put his fork down and reached for his phone. The screen lit up with several messages and missed calls, and the longer he stared at it, the more Roxie wanted to laugh.

"What did you forget?"

Zac rubbed his forehead. "I was supposed to meet Dylan at six thirty."

Roxie stared at him. "You missed the whole thing?"

"It was just an early jog. I can still run later."

"That isn’t the point. How did you forget an entire training session?"

Zac looked at her without answering.

Roxie stared back at him before a vague memory from earlier started coming together. A phone had been making noise while she was half asleep. She remembered grabbing it, silencing whatever was happening and throwing it somewhere before rolling back toward Zac.

Her expression changed.

Zac saw it immediately.

"Don’t blame me," she said before he could speak. "You’re the football player. You’re supposed to remember your own training."

"My alarm went off."

"I might have turned it off."

"You definitely turned it off."

Roxie started laughing. "You still could’ve gotten up."

"You weren’t exactly encouraging me to leave."

"I never told you to miss your jog."

"You didn’t have to."

"Zac."

A heavy knock hit the front door before he could continue, followed immediately by another.

Zac closed his eyes.

Roxie smiled. "Please tell me that’s Dylan."

"Prescott!"

She covered her mouth as Zac looked toward the ceiling like somebody had personally betrayed him.

"He came to collect you."

"Apparently."

Another knock came from the door.

Roxie jumped off the counter, but Zac looked her over before she made it more than a couple of steps. She followed his eyes down and remembered she was wearing his shirt with bare legs underneath.

"Maybe put pants on first."

Roxie looked toward the door, then at him. "Fine."

She went back to the bedroom and pulled on shorts while Zac grabbed a shirt. By the time Roxie returned, Dylan had knocked again.

When she opened the door, he was standing on the porch in running clothes with sweat still around his collar, a folder tucked under one arm and his phone in his hand.

"You look happy," Roxie said.

"I ran alone because your boyfriend apparently died sometime before six thirty. Is he alive?"

"Unfortunately."

Dylan looked past her just as Zac came out of the kitchen pulling his shirt down over his stomach.

"Nice of you to finally join the living."

Zac rubbed a hand through his hair. "I forgot. I’ll run later."

"I called you, messaged you and stood outside wondering whether I should come drag you out of bed."

Dylan’s eyes moved toward Roxie.

She lifted both hands. "His phone being silent might have been my fault."

Dylan closed his eyes for a second. "I really don’t need the rest of that explanation."

"Nobody was giving you one," Zac said.

"You both look way too relaxed. I can figure out enough."

Something changed between them when Dylan said it.

It was small, just Zac looking at him a little longer than necessary before Dylan looked away. Roxie noticed it, but Dylan was already lifting the folder beneath his arm.

"I also need your ID. Tennessee wants the forms sent today, and I already sent you everything yesterday."

Zac frowned. "I read that."

"You read the beginning."

"That still counts."

"It absolutely doesn’t. Go get your ID."

Roxie smiled. "You really do need him."

Zac looked at her. "I’m starting to think you invited him here just to gang up on me."

"The person who remembered your schedule gets my support."

The corner of Dylan’s mouth moved, but he looked down before Roxie could decide whether he was trying not to laugh.

Zac muttered something and headed toward the bedroom.

Roxie stepped farther away from the doorway. "Come inside while you wait. You already ran this morning, so standing on my porch isn’t helping anything."

Dylan smiled slightly. "I’m fine here. He’ll be back in a minute."

"You’re making it weird now. Come inside."

He hesitated before admitting, "I’ve never actually been here before."

That made Roxie pause. She thought about it and realized he was right. Dylan had somehow never really been inside the bungalow.

"Well, now you have. Come in."

Dylan finally stepped through, and Roxie closed the door behind him before heading toward the kitchen.

"I’m packing Zac something before you two leave. He keeps coming home starving because apparently football makes him forget food exists."

Dylan followed her far enough to lean against the counter. "He eats. Just usually three hours later than he should."

"That’s exactly the problem."

Roxie pulled a container from the cabinet and opened the refrigerator. While Dylan stood there, she started filling it with rice and chicken from the food they already had, then added fruit in a smaller section.

She noticed him looking around between their conversation.

Zac’s shoes were mixed with hers beside the door. His jacket was hanging over one of the chairs, his football was tucked beneath the television and one of his shirts was still lying over the arm of the couch.

Dylan’s eyes stopped briefly on a framed picture of Roxie and Zac before moving away.

Roxie smiled as she closed the container. "It’s different actually seeing him here, isn’t it?"

"A little."

"You can say the place is tiny. This whole bungalow could probably fit inside one room of the Prescott house."

"I wasn’t comparing."

"You were absolutely comparing."

Dylan laughed quietly.

Roxie grabbed one of the drinks from the refrigerator and put it beside the container. "He likes it here."

"I know."

Something about Dylan’s answer made her glance over.

He sounded certain, but there was something underneath it she couldn’t quite read.

Roxie opened Zac’s training bag where he had left it beside the counter and started making room for the food.

"Hey, I actually wanted to thank you."

Dylan frowned. "For what?"

"For helping him with all this. Tennessee, the paperwork, training. I know you’re doing your own stuff too, but I’m glad he has you around for it."

"You don’t have to thank me. He’s my best friend."

"I know, but I still appreciate it." Roxie pushed the container farther into the bag and moved one of Zac’s shirts out of the way. "I know football, obviously, but the college side is different. Recruiting, conditioning, reporting early, whatever Tennessee wants every other day. Half the time you two start talking about it, I just stop listening."

Dylan laughed. "He probably knows."

"He absolutely knows. I’ve told him."

She zipped one compartment before looking up at Dylan again.

"You’re going too, so at least he already has somebody there who understands everything. It makes me feel better."

Something shifted across Dylan’s face.

It disappeared quickly, but Roxie caught it.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. It’s just weird thinking about Tennessee being that close already."

That made enough sense, though Roxie still thought there was something else sitting behind the answer.

She grabbed an extra piece of fruit and added it before closing the bag.

Dylan nodded toward it. "You always pack his food?"

"Lately. If I leave it to him, he’ll say he’ll buy something and then come home starving."

"He does that."

"See? This is why I’m thanking you. You’re supposed to stop him from being stupid when I’m not there."

Dylan gave a small laugh. "That’s a full time job."

"He’s been pushing harder, hasn’t he?"

The smile faded slightly.

"He thinks he lost some conditioning with everything that happened, so he’s trying to get it back before we report."

"Did he actually lose much?"

"A little, but nothing he can’t fix. The bigger problem is getting him to stop once we’re already done. Yesterday he kept adding shit after everybody else finished."

Roxie frowned as she leaned back against the counter. "He blamed you for almost killing him."

"Of course he did. I was the one telling him his arm was done."

"That sounds more accurate."

"He doesn’t listen."

"He listens to you sometimes."

Dylan looked at her for a moment before giving a small shrug. "Sometimes."

"That’s still more than most people get. So keep trying."

"I do."

Roxie smiled. "See? Useful."

His smile came back, but it didn’t last long.

Zac returned with his wallet and slowed when he saw Roxie and Dylan standing together in the kitchen. His eyes moved between them, then dropped to his training bag sitting open on the counter.

"What are you two doing?"

"Talking about you," Roxie said.

Zac looked at Dylan.

Dylan immediately shook his head. "She’s lying."

Roxie laughed. "I was thanking him for keeping you alive."

"That sounds suspicious."

"What? You think I’m going to steal your best friend?"

Zac chuckled as he came closer. "I don’t know. Mason likes hanging around you now."

"Mason’s different. He likes Karen."

Zac pulled his ID from his wallet and handed it to Dylan, who slipped it into the folder and spent far more attention on the simple task than it needed.

Roxie caught another brief look between them.

She frowned. "Seriously, did you guys fight?"

They both denied it quickly enough that Roxie stared at them.

Whatever was happening, neither one planned on explaining it.

Dylan checked his phone. "We should probably leave. We already missed the jog, and I’d rather not lose the rest of the morning too."

Zac sighed. "I said I forgot."

"I know. I’ve accepted your apology even though you never actually apologized."

Zac gave him a look.

Roxie picked up the training bag and handed it to Zac. "Your food’s already inside."

He looked down at the bag, then at her. "You packed it?"

"While you were looking for your ID. Chicken, rice, fruit and one of the drinks."

Zac glanced toward the refrigerator before looking back at her. 

Dylan headed toward the door. "Come on, Zac."

Zac lifted the bag over his shoulder while Roxie followed them through the living room.

Dylan stepped outside first.

Zac stayed behind long enough to lean down and kiss Roxie. His hand settled around her waist, and when the kiss lasted longer than she expected, Roxie caught Dylan turning away toward the car through the open doorway.

When Zac finally pulled back, Roxie smiled. "Was that necessary?"

"Yeah. I wanted to."

"Okay, then go before your best friend abandons you."

Zac squeezed her waist once before stepping away. "Thank you babe."

"You’re welcome." Roxie followed him to the door.

Dylan was already walking toward the car when Zac reached the doorway and stopped.

Roxie nearly walked into his back.

At first she thought he had forgotten something else, but then Zac turned around.

Something about his face made her smile fade.

His hand tightened around the strap of his bag, and for a second it looked like he had already decided what he wanted to say.

Roxie waited.

"What?"

Zac opened his mouth.

He hesitated.

Then closed it again.

"Nothing."

Roxie frowned, but Zac only looked at her for another second before stepping outside and closing the door behind him.