Under the Owl Tree

by Sara Daniell

  “What kind of music do you like?”

  “Classic Rock mostly. Some country.” He looked over at me. “What about you?” he asked as he looked back at the road.

  “Everything except jazz and classical. I’m not very picky when it comes to music.” I picked up the old ballcap. “Where’d you get this? I believe that there is a story behind every hat.” I set it on his head and smiled when he adjusted it so it was on just right.

  So hot.

  I told him to turn right and then watched him touch his hat and get lost in thought. That hat definitely had a story. He put his hand back on the wheel.

  “Do you not want to talk about it?”

  We were only a few minutes from my house, and I was disappointed. I wanted more time with Zach, even if we just rode around in silence. I liked his presence.

  “It was my dad’s.”

  I looked at the road as a frown set in. “You said was,” I looked at him, “Is your dad not around?”

  “No. Him and my mom were killed in a car accident a little over six years ago. Elliot was a senior in high school.”

  “Oh, man. I’m sorry, Zach.”

  “It’s life.” He tried to play off how much pain their death had caused. “My dad was a doctor. And a baseball junkie.” His crooked smile returned a little.

  “Well, he must have taught well because you and your brother are great teachers.” I told him to turn left.

  “Thanks. And he did.” His full smile was back. “How are you liking it here?”

  “I like the team,” I said with a chuckle. “I haven’t seen enough of Stockbridge to decide on the town yet. Dane promised to take me to a lake. I miss the beach in Gulfport.”

  “That’s good. The town takes some getting used to. The people are full of shit.” He frowned. “Of course, I don’t really like people, so you can’t go by my opinion. And Dane said he would take you to a lake?” His eyebrow shot up a little. “Did he mention a beach?”

  I nodded. “He did.” I smiled. “Why, do you know where?”

  He chuckled. “Yep. It’s mine.”

  “No way! I want to see it!” I was bouncing in my seat.

  “When?”

  “Whenever I can!” I was beaming.

  He slowed down when I pointed to my house. “I can take you whenever you want. Just let me know.”

  “How about tomorrow after practice?”

  “Sounds like a plan.” He pulled into the driveway.

  “Thanks for the ride.”

  I watched as his eyes sparkled, and he bit his lip.

  I got out and was shocked when he got out too and grabbed my backpack from the back.

  “What are you doing?” I laughed.

  He shrugged and slung it over his shoulder as we headed to the door. I couldn’t stop smiling. When we got to the door, I reached out for my bag. He handed it over to me and messed with his hat a little.

  “I’ll see you at practice tomorrow.”

  He looked a little lost as he stared at me, then turned and walked toward his truck. I waved bye, completely confused of why he was being so weird. It had to be because of the stupid comment I made about him being hot.

  He waved back quickly, then got in his truck and pulled out of the driveway.

  I woke up to Dane jumping on top of me.

  I screamed and shoved his shoulder

  He burst out laughing. “Time to get up, sleepy head!”

  “Did my dad really let you up here?” I ran my fingers through my messy hair.

  “I promised I’d be good.” He put his hand over his heart. “Now time to get up. We have practice.”

  I got out of bed and stretched. “I’ll go change.” I went into the bathroom and quickly got ready.

  We headed downstairs, and I grabbed us both energy drinks and some Gatorade. I hugged Dad just before he walked out the door. He kissed the top of my head.

  “Kick ass today, kiddo. Oh, and Dane mentioned something about the lake later?”

  I raised a brow at Dane and then nodded at Dad. “Yeah. Is that okay?”

  Dad looked at Mom and then smiled at me. “Sure. Just be sure to be careful and don’t stay out past eight.” Dad looked at Dane. “I can trust you with my daughter, right?”

  “Dad! We’re friends. I swear!” I rolled my eyes.

  “Yes, sir. I will make sure she’s safe and sound.” Dane smiled. “Just friends.”

  Dad winked at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I had told him that Dane was gay, so he’d calm down about us hanging out a lot.

  “Okay, let’s head to practice.” Dane said goodbye to my parents, and we headed outside. “So, why is your dad so cool with me? The way you talked, I figured he’d be flippin’ out more.” He opened the door for me after I put my bag in the back. “You excited about seeing that beach today?”

  “Very and… He just is.”

  When Dane got in he looked at me. “He thinks I’m sassy,” he said with a dramatic snap.

  I burst out laughing. “O-kay, you are wayyyy too good at that!” I got in the truck. When he got in, I was still laughing. “And yeah, I may have told him you were gay. But he’s very skeptical about it, so he’s still watching you very closely.”

  He laughed. “I figured that’s what you told them because your dad was keeping an odd distance from me. I guess I will just have to be careful then.” He winked at me.

  “What was the wink for?”

  He started driving. “Maybe I have a twitch,” he said, then laughed at the look on my face. “It was to let you know I can play a part for ya. You better turn out to be one badass friend.”

  I smiled. “I’m not so bad. And I’m putting a lot on the line banking on that you’re not an asshole.”

  “Touché. So, how was the ride home from practice yesterday?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Yeah, you totally set that up. It was fine.”

  I looked out the window. “Weird though.”

  “Why was it weird? Was he an ass to you?” He asked seriously as he looked at me quickly before looking back at the road.

  I scrunched my eyes. “What? No,” I said, looking at him.

  “I had to check. He is an ass to most people. He lets very few people see anything but his ass side. I think it’s a way to… Anyway, why was it weird?”

  “No, finish what you were going to say.”

  “I think it’s his way to protect himself from getting hurt.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that. I saw Zach as the type that would do the hurting.

  “He was just being really nice. He walked me to my door and everything. It was weird.”

  “That is weird. I mean, he’s nice to me, but you’re new. Plus, you’re not as awesome as I am.”

  I shrugged. “He’s probably just feeding into my man-crush.” I cringed a little. “He probably laughs inside at me.”

  “That’s not his style. He’s really blunt.” Dane pulled into the school. “That’s why people call him an ass so much. He says what he’s thinking.”

  “Hmmm, that’s weird because he did this weird smirk thing and bit his lip like he was trying hard not to say something. I’m telling you, he wants to tease me, but he’s just not for some reason.”

  I shrugged when Dane parked. “It doesn’t matter. Just don’t throw me under the bus like that again.”

  He chuckled. “We’ll see. And what did you say before he smiled like that?”

  I got out of the truck and didn’t answer. I didn’t like thinking too much about this whole thing, and Dane was making me do just that.

  Dane got out and grabbed his bag. “Maybe he doesn’t want to scare you off.” He looked at the field. “Coach is here!” He said excitedly.

  “Awesome! And all I did was thank him for the ride when he did that,” I said as we walked toward the dugout.

  I smiled and waved when Coach looked at me.

  Dane burst out laughing. He put his hands on his knees as he continued to laugh.


  I stopped walking. “What the hell, dude?”

  He started to get some control. He wiped his eyes. “Think through what you said and try to think like a guy.”

  I felt my face and neck turn deep red. “Awww hell.”

  I saw Zach say something to Coach and looked at Dane. “Why did you have to point that out?” I face-palmed.

  “Sorry, babe, but it was funny. I can’t believe he didn’t make some kind of comment.”

  I shoved his shoulder. “Don’t ever call me babe again, babe,” I said, mocking him.

  We both laughed and walked to the field.

  “What’s so amusing?” Coach asked as we came over.

  I absentmindedly looked at Zach.

  “Dane called me babe, and it was weird.”

  I laughed a little and looked at Dane.

  “I was being sassy,” he said, once again making everyone laugh. Coach ruffled his hair.

  “Zach’s going to lead half of you guys in running while I work with the other half; then we’re going to switch up.” As the rest of the team showed up, he separated us into two groups. I couldn’t help but watch as Zach pulled off his shirt.

  Dane jokingly wiped my bottom lip.

  I laughed. “Stop!” I slapped his hand away. A few guys who noticed were laughing too.

  I looked at Coach. “What group am I in?”

  “You’re starting off in group two: running,” he said after looking at his clipboard.

  I took the ponytail holder off my wrist and pulled my hair up into a messy bun and headed out with the rest of the guys to run.

  Zach set the pace as we ran to the track that was nearby. Once we got to the track, he picked the pace up a bit. I heard a few whistles and saw some girls staring at Zach as he ran past them. He never once looked their way.

  I kept up the pace and tried to ignore the heat. I missed beach runs where I could take a dip when needed and keep running. I watched Zach turn around and run backward, watching us. His eyes landed on me for a second before turning back around. When he led us back to the field, we were all pouring sweat.

  “Time to switch off,” Zach said as he grabbed a bottle of water and tossed it to me.

  He tossed a few more to some of the other players before grabbing one for himself. Zach’s eyes landed on me, and he smiled that damn-hot smile for a second before telling the other group to follow him.

  “Hales, you’re up first to bat. Trevor, take the pitching mound,” Coach Elliot called out.

  I made my way to home plate and got ready.

  I COULD HARDLY contain my excitement when we pulled up to the cabin. On the way there, Dane had explained this was Zach’s parents and they left it to him.

  “There better be sand!”

  I got out as soon as he parked.

  Dane smiled. “There is. It’s behind the cabin.” He led me around the cabin, then turned and watched me as my eyes landed on a beautiful stretch of a white-sanded beach. “He’s a fan of the beach too. This is his way of bringing it to him.”

  I kicked off my shoes and closed my eyes as my toes sunk into the hot sand.

  I heard another vehicle pull in as I enjoyed the sand.

  “That’s probably Zach. He said he had to come get a few things to take back to Coach’s house.”

  I opened my eyes and looked at Dane. “You gonna get in with me?”

  “Of course. I need to cool off after that practice. Did you bring a suit?”

  “Yeah. It’s in my backpack in your truck.”

  “Mine’s inside. Go grab your stuff. I’ll meet you inside the cabin.”

  After I got my stuff and went inside, Dane showed me to the bathroom.

  I found a towel in the closet and wrapped it around me after I got ready. I came out and looked at Zach as he came into the hall. “I borrowed a towel. I hope that’s okay.”

  His eyes roamed my body, then rested on my face. “You can borrow whatever you want,” he said with a smirk. “The backdoor is right there.” He pointed down the hall. “There’s a path that leads you to the best part of the beach.” He moved past me, heading to a room down the hall.

  Every inch of my skin that his eyes saw tingled with warmth.

  I held the towel tightly in my hands and jumped a little when Dane walked into the hall.

  “You okay?” he asked as he flung his towel over his shoulder. I expected to see him without his shirt on, but he had a plain white t-shirt on.

  “Yup.” I raised a brow. “Are you? We’re going swimming. Shouldn’t you be shirtless right now?”

  He shrugged. “I prefer to leave it on. So, I can’t wait to get in the water. Ready?”

  I wanted to poke for more answers, but I left it alone. I followed Dane out and set the towel on a chair that sat in the sand near the water. The lake was huge and other cabins lined it but were far enough that there was still privacy here. It was beautiful.

  I squealed and burst into laughter when Dane scooped me up and threw me into the water. It felt glorious. After a day of sweating our asses off and working hard, the cool water felt so good.

  Dane jumped in, and when he came up, he was smiling. “I love it here. This is my favorite place to come.”

  I stood on the muddy bottom, the water up to my shoulders and smiled at Dane. “Thanks so much for bringing me here. I love the ocean, but I like not fearing sharks or jellyfish, and the water doesn’t sting my eyes.”

  “Zach lets me come here whenever I want. I’m sure he’d say the same for you. Just don’t bring anyone else. He’s very... standoffish. He usually lives here, but since Elliot, I mean Coach, has gotten worse he’s been staying at Coach’s house.”

  “This place is great.” I looked toward the house and saw Zach looking at me through the window. Or I thought he was looking at me anyway. He was probably just looking at the view of the lake. If I lived here, I’d stare at it too.

  I looked at Dane. “I’m pretty nervous for school to start. I know we still have a few weeks, but I’m not good at making friends. I’m a social-introvert, and I only add the social part because I have to, since I’m on a team and all.”

  He chuckled. “Well, you have me and the team. We’ll be there for ya.” He splashed water at me.

  I splashed water back and laughed. “What about Gabe’s cousin, Sadie? Trevor seems to think good of her. I need to make friends here.”

  “She’s cool for the most part. Trevor and her are dating,” he said with an odd look on his face that I didn’t know if I should question or not. “She’s like one of us. You actually remind me of her a lot.”

  “Trevor said the same thing, but he didn’t mention that they were dating.”

  “Yeah, he probably just assumed you already knew that.” He looked at the cabin. “Anyway, Zach keeps putting off working on this place. He works on things out here a lot, but for some reason he doesn’t work on the inside. The furniture is falling apart.”

  Dane changing the subject so quickly confused me, but I went with it anyway.

  “Didn’t you say his parents left it to him? Maybe he wants to keep it the same as when they had it, ya know?” I dipped my hair back into the water and smiled at Dane. “You’re a hot ginger, Dane.” I laughed when he blushed a little.

  “I don’t know what to say to that. Thanks?” He laughed. “And that’s probably true about this place.” He splashed me again.

  “So, how’s your dating life? Got anyone you’re crushin’ on?”

  “Not really. There are some girls that I think are cool, but I haven’t dated in a while.” The same doleful look he had on his face when he changed the subject about Sadie reappeared. He rubbed his forehead, drifting into his own thoughts before talking again. “All my free time is usually spent at Coach’s house. I may start dating once school starts. What about you? Anyone you’re crushing on?” His smile grew as he wiggled his eyebrows and glanced toward the cabin. “Someone that might be... a little older?”

  “Maybe it’s you,” I teased, stickin
g my tongue out at him. “And just because I think someone is hot, doesn’t mean that I’m crushin’ and want to date said person. That,” I said motioning my eyes toward the cabin, “will never happen.”

  We went up to the bank and sat in the sand. I grabbed my towel and laid back on it. I looked over at Dane. “Thanks again for bringing me here. This is really great and probably my favorite place in Stockbridge so far.”

  Maybe, just maybe, I was going to like it here after all.

  Quinn’s was packed as usual. I hit up the salad bar while the guys went for the pizza. I smiled when I saw Sadie next to me, fixing a salad too.

  “Dane and Trevor told me that you are banned from calories, so I thought I’d suffer with you.” She smiled kindly and held her hand out to me. Her fingers were covered in stackable rings. “Sadie Solis.”

  I set the spoon for the dressing back in its container and shook her hand. “Hailey Grayson. And thanks, but you really don’t have to suffer with me. Enjoy some pizza.”

  She made a face. “Don’t tell Zach, but I really don’t care for the pizza here. Actually, tell no one. I’m just glad I can use you as an excuse to eat a salad without everyone thinking I’ve lost my damn mind.”

  We both laughed.

  “Sit with me?” she asked as we walked toward the table with everyone.

  I nodded and sat next to her. Trevor sat on the other side of her, and Dane moved from the other end of the table to come sit by me.

  “So, Dane, is this a thing?” Sadie asked with a huge smile, looking at Dane and me.

  “Nah. We’re just friends.” He smiled and took a bite of his pizza.

  Sadie raised a brow and looked at me for confirmation. I laughed. “Seriously, just friends. If he keeps on being so awesome, he may just reach best friend status.”

  He stuck his tongue out at Sadie. “Told ya.”

  Trevor laughed and put his arm around Sadie’s shoulders. She smiled at him and fed him a bite of her salad. I looked at Dane.

  “Damn, they’re good at this whole dating thing,” I whispered.