Doubletalk (The Busy Bean)

by Teralyn Mitchell

  Sometimes he did things to make me remember why I liked him. Mallory glanced at me before responding to Malik.

  “I’m sure Stace will be fine with that,” she said almost grudgingly.

  “Tell me, Rory, what did Zeke do to make you hate his guts?”

  And then he did things that made me want to punch him. A sparkle lit in his dark eyes as I narrowed my own at him.

  “He hasn’t told you?” she asked.

  “He’s pretty close-lipped on topics involving you. I just found out you were the same Rory he used to spend so much time with when we were kids.”

  “No use in rehashing the past,” Mallory said. “So, tell me about that woman you took out last month.”

  “How do you even know about that?”

  “Well, Janice told Stacey about the date that you had her put on your calendar, and then she told me.”

  “It’s my fault for making that stupid mistake,” Malik muttered. “Nothing came of that. She’s not the one.”

  Mallory scoffed. “Are you even looking for the one? I would have assumed you were a fuckboy like your cousin here.”

  She amused me with the shit that came out of her mouth. I knew that was a dig at me more than it was at Malik. When she cut her eyes to me, it confirmed she was trying to get a reaction out of me.

  “Ooh, are we having a party in here without me?” Stacey inquired, walking into the office.

  “If that’s what you call Mallory giving my cousin a tough time, then yep, we’re having a damn good time,” Malik said.

  “Why can’t you ever be on my side?” I asked.

  “It sounds like your side is the douchebag side, so I’m good,” he quipped.

  Mallory stifled a laugh as a smile bloomed on Stacey’s lips. I studied my cousin. Malik was sneaking glances at Stacey when her attention wasn’t on him. He liked her. That was interesting. Malik wasn’t the settling-down type. He had no desire to get married or have kids ever. Stacey seemed like the type of woman who’d want all that. Maybe she’d be able to change his stance.

  “Can we go get something to eat? I’m starving, and I need to get back to not writing,” Mallory said.

  “Still dealing with writer’s block, babe?” Stacey asked.

  “Yeah. I’m thinking of switching projects. I’ll have to talk to Val, though.”

  “I’m sure she’ll understand, Ror. She only wants what’s best for you.”

  Mallory’s full lips pursed as she stood up. Malik and I stood as well.

  “We can take my truck,” Malik offered. “No use in us all driving.”

  Stacey and I agreed, which left Mallory, who reluctantly agreed too. We left Malik’s small office to go to the parking lot. Mallory and I ended up in the back while Stacey claimed the passenger seat. The scent of Mallory’s perfume filled my nostrils and made my dick twitch. She immediately pulled out her phone, and I saw that she was opening the dating app. I pulled out my phone to make sure it was on silent. If she sent a message and my phone chimed, it may raise some questions. I didn’t want her to find out now while I was still trying to get her to talk to me in person. It was on silent, so I stuffed it back into my pocket.

  “Are you always going to ignore me when we hang out with other people? And when we’re alone?”

  “I see no reason to change something that’s not broken,” she replied, not looking up from her phone.

  “Ror,” I pleaded.

  That seemed to get her attention, and she turned her mahogany-colored eyes to meet mine. I had the sudden urge to lean forward and capture her delectable mouth.

  “What exactly do you want, Zeke?”

  I shook my head, shaking off any thoughts of kissing her. “Why can’t we start over?”

  “There’s too much history between us to do that,” she said. “I’ll be cordial today for Stacey and Malik’s sake, but I don’t want to be friends with you again, Zeke. I made that clear when you missed my thirteenth birthday party.”

  She turned her attention back to her phone, and I knew that was all I was going to get out of her. I wished I could figure out how to get her to see that I’d changed. I wasn’t the same as I was when we were kids, but Mallory wasn’t even willing to give me a chance. I didn’t know if my relationship with her online was going to be enough to get her to give me a second chance. But I wasn’t giving up. I always got what I wanted, and I wanted Mallory Barrett almost as much as I wanted to make it back to the pros.

  The sound of another cart crashing into mine made me look up. A smiling Stacey was standing behind the other cart.

  “That’s one way to say hello,” I quipped.

  “I find it more interesting this way,” she said.

  I chuckled. Stacey had been fun when we were in high school. We only dated for a couple of weeks before she told me athletes weren’t her style. I’d been deep in my feelings for Mallory at the time, so I’d been happy to break up. We lost touch once we graduated, but I was glad we were back in each other’s lives.

  “It’s serendipity to run into you here. Mallory was supposed to do the grocery shopping this week,” Stacey added.

  “But being the best friend a girl could ask for, you volunteered?” I stated.

  “I hear the sarcasm in that comment, but I’m going to let it slide,” Stacey said. “No, she’s on babysitting duty for her cousin, so it was more of a necessity than volunteering. It was last minute when their normal sitter canceled an hour before they were supposed to leave.”

  “Which cousin?”

  “Adam,” Stacey answered, looking at the shelves. “Do you know them?”

  “Yeah. I grew up with them. I used to be friends with them as well.”

  “Adam has four boys, and Jocelyn doesn’t have kids yet. Rory loves those kids, so I’m sure she’s having more fun than I am.”

  “You didn’t want to go?”

  “Naw. Rory offered to make my favorite meal if I went to Burlington with her, but I didn’t feel up to dealing with little kids tonight. It was tempting because those boys are fun to hang out with.”

  We moved on to another aisle.

  “Today was nice,” she said. “Lunch, I mean.”

  “It was.”

  “So, are you going to invite me over to your place so we can have dinner?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because I just asked you to, Zeke.”

  She gave me a pointed look that had me saying, “Sure. You’re invited over. Do you want to decide the day too?”

  “No, I’ll leave that up to you. Just text me when the plans are finalized. I’ll bring Rory.”

  She knew that would motivate me to make this happen. Once she confirmed I was fully on board, Stacey left me to go check out.

  “Do you have plans on Saturday?” I asked Malik as we put away the groceries I’d bought.

  I didn’t think he would have any plans this Saturday, but you never knew.

  “You know I don’t.”

  “Are you cool with Stacey and Mallory coming over for dinner that night?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine with it if you are,” he said. “How did this even happen?”

  I gave him the recap of running into Stacey at the store and how she invited herself over. He found the story amusing.

  “I guess we’re entertaining this weekend. I need to figure out what I’m going to cook,” he stated, going to the pantry to see what we had.

  I texted Stacey to let her know that our plans were on and what time to come over. I was oddly excited about the dinner date. I knew this was about Stacey and Malik, but I was happy Mallory would be coming over too. I knew from a few encounters that she wasn’t as hostile when Stacey was around. Today at lunch, she’d tolerated me, even if she hadn’t spoken directly to me much. Getting her to give me another shot wasn’t going to be a fast process, and I was willing to wait it out. I was a very patient man.

  11

  Mallory

  “You’re lucky I kind of, sort of like your ass, S
tace,” I called from my room.

  “Whatever. You know you want to be able to stare at Zeke’s fine ass all night.”

  “Just know you owe me big time, bitch. And I get to decide how you pay up.”

  “Stop being dramatic. It’s not going to be that bad.”

  “For you,” I muttered.

  “What?” Stacey yelled.

  “Nothing.”

  I finished getting dressed, pulling on my wedged booties and lacing them up. I hadn’t bothered with makeup other than lip stain and some mascara. I slipped my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. After one more once-over of my outfit, I left my room.

  “Is that what you’re wearing?” Stacey asked as she joined me in the hall.

  I looked down at the throwback basketball jersey I had on with a pair of high-waisted jeans, a long-sleeved white shirt to go under the jersey since it was cold, and my wedges. The jersey was tucked into the front of my jeans.

  “What’s wrong with this?”

  “The jersey is oversized.”

  I just stared at her. I didn’t get her point. Tonight was about her and Malik. This wasn’t a double date, so I wasn’t going to dress up as if it were one. Plus, the jersey served as a reminder to Stacey that we needed to leave by eight. I wanted to make it home by then so I could at least catch the three-point shooting and the slam-dunk contests that topped off All-Star Saturday night. This weekend was All-Star weekend, which included a Friday night celebrity game and the rookie and sophomore game. Saturday nights were always the most exciting aside from the actual game on Sunday. Saturday nights consisted of a skills challenge, a three-point contest, and a slam dunk contest. Depending on who was competing, all three events could be a lot of fun to watch. Sunday night was when the actual All-Star game was played. Seeing the stars of the league competing to win funds for a charity of their choice topped off the entire weekend.

  Stacey and I watched everything for the weekend every year. This tradition started our first year in college, and we never missed a chance to watch it together.

  “You can be so damn infuriating sometimes,” Stacey finally huffed.

  “Right back at you, sister.”

  She rolled her eyes with a sigh. We turned off the lights in our small house. Well, all except the one by the front door. Stacey was driving and she had no choice since this was all her idea. She hated driving at night and when it was snowing. There were flurries that wouldn’t stick, so she’d be okay.

  “I’m choosing the music,” I announced as we climbed into her SUV.

  “You’re really milking this, Mallory.”

  “And you sound surprised, which baffles me.”

  You’d think she hadn’t known me for ten years. She knew how I could be when she dragged me to do something I didn’t want to do. Add in the fact that it was a huge favor to her, and I could be pretty bitchy about it. I wouldn’t ruin tonight for her, but she was going to pay for forcing me to spend two hours with Zeke.

  I connected my phone to her Bluetooth system as we waited for the car to warm up. I glanced at Stacey who seemed more keyed up than normal. I decided to take pity on her as the first verse of “Gone Too Soon” by Andrew Jannakos filled the car.

  “I’ll drive,” I told Stacey.

  “No. I’m fine. I’m the one dragging you out tonight when we should be cozy in our PJs and getting ready to watch basketball,” she said. “I’ll admit that I forgot what today was. I mean, I remembered, but in the moment I forgot.”

  I squeezed her arm. “It’s fine, babe. I know how much you like Malik, and you saw a chance to hang out with him outside of work. You still owe me big time, but I’m not going to make you drive at night. I know how much you hate it, and the snow looks like it’s picking up a little.”

  “I knew there was a reason I loved you. Thank you, Ror.”

  We switched places with her now in the passenger seat and me behind the wheel. I adjusted the seat, since Stacey was so freaking short, and put on my seatbelt. Stacey turned up the radio when “My Person” by Spencer Crandell started playing. It was one of our favorites. I backed out of the driveway and onto the road once I saw that it was clear. I turned left at the end of our street. Malik and Zeke lived on a road parallel to the town green and only a few minutes’ drive from our house.

  Stacey and I walked to the front door of Malik’s ranch-style house that was much bigger than our rental. Stacey rang the doorbell, stepping back to wait beside me. The door swung open. I sucked in a sharp breath as my heart started hammering at the sight in front of me, which only annoyed me. Zeke stood in the open doorway, wearing a black t-shirt that wasn’t fitted but it wasn’t baggy either. It showed off his muscular torso. The shirt had short sleeves so we could see the tattoos that covered both of his well-defined arms. The dark ink only made him look hotter. He had on dark blue jeans that seemed tailored for him and were clearly designer. He wore some black boots. My stomach shouldn’t be full of flutters, and nothing should be going on below that. Sadly, all that was happening.

  “Hey,” Zeke said, gracing us with a big smile. “Come in.”

  We stepped inside. Stacey and I shrugged out of our jackets, which Zeke took to hang in a closet that was to our right. A short wall was on the other side with a key hook and shoes lined up along the wall under the hook.

  “I like your jersey, Ace,” Zeke said.

  Stacey’s hand gripped my wrist and she squeezed gently. I glanced at her and her dark eyes were pleading with me to be nice. She knew me too well.

  “Thanks,” I said, even though it didn’t sound like I meant it, even to me.

  Zeke chuckled and led us farther into the house. We were in the living room which had a direct view of the kitchen. The two rooms were separated by an island which was where the sink was sitting. It smelled amazing inside the house, and we could see Malik cooking. He turned once we were standing in the living room. His eyes went to Stacey immediately, taking in her petite frame that she’d covered with a gray sweater dress and black tights with her own wedge booties that were gray, while mine were chestnut brown. The look that flashed in his eyes confirmed that he liked Stacey too. He was so good at hiding it when I saw them together at the office.

  “Hi, ladies,” he said.

  “Hey,” Stacey said.

  “Hi,” I added. “I want to say that all of this needs to be over by eight. Whether we’re done eating or not, Stace and I are leaving.”

  “I was wondering when we’d be graced with your winning personality,” Zeke quipped.

  I flipped him off.

  “Is there a reason for the rush?” Malik asked me.

  “We have plans with some basketball players,” I answered and enjoyed how both men tensed up.

  Stacey waited for a beat to see if I was going to give them more information to clear up the obvious misunderstanding. She glared at me.

  “What Rory means is that we want to go home to watch All-Star Saturday. We like the three-point and dunk contests.”

  Malik and Zeke exchanged looks. I could see that Malik relaxed, but Zeke still seemed tense. I glanced at Stacey who shrugged. I’d meant what I’d said. We were leaving by eight.

  Another beat passed before Zeke said, “We’ll be watching too, so you two should stay and watch it with us.”

  Malik stared at his cousin, and I wondered about the confusion on his face. I was about to decline his invitation, but my best friend, who liked to make my life a living hell, spoke before I could.

  “We’d love to stay,” she said.

  I glared at her. “Are you sure it’s okay?” I asked Zeke. “I would think it’d be hard for you to watch with everything going on. I don’t know how it works with players who are on the verge of being out of the league.”

  I hoped that wasn’t insensitive. I groaned internally. I shouldn’t care. I didn’t want him to think I was okay with him, but I’d told myself I would be civil tonight. It was important to Stacey, and I didn’t want to make this uncomfortable for an
y of us. That was all I had to keep telling myself for the rest of the night.

  “I still like basketball, and it’s not like I don’t talk to some of my old teammates. I also still root for them to do well, regardless of my situation,” Zeke stated after a brief hesitation. It sounded stilted, but I only nodded, not pushing the issue.

  We stood there for a few awkward seconds before Malik put us both out of our misery by announcing that dinner was ready. Zeke and Malik insisted that Stacey and I sit while they brought the food and drinks to the table. Stacey sat on one side and I sat on the other. Each of the guys claimed a spot next to us with Zeke beside me—entirely too close, I may add—and Malik beside Stacey. We dug in, delaying conversation to eat for a moment. Everything was delicious, and Stacey was getting a man who could cook.

  “So, both of you like basketball?” Malik asked.

  “Yeah,” Stacey answered. “We bonded over it when we met again in college. She was putting up a poster of her favorite player at the time, which was the rival of mine.”

  “She has the worst taste,” I said.

  She glared at me, but there was no heat behind it. I smiled sweetly at her.

  “But the three of you went to high school together, right?” Malik pressed.

  “We did, and we hung out with different crowds,” I stated. “I gave the popular crowd a chance and they humiliated me. Not Stace, of course. We just didn’t ever get a chance to hang out in high school.”

  “If we had, I would have been her best friend back then. Probably her bestie after Adam, but before Joc surely.”

  I laughed. “Sure. I want to hear you say that to Joc.”

  “Like I wouldn’t. I’m definitely number one over Adam now, and Joc will always be last.”

  “Those are Rory’s cousins,” Zeke told Malik. “She’s an only child but grew up with them.”

  I crinkled my nose, feeling a little prickly how he knew so much about my childhood.

  “Fix your face, Rory,” Stacey said and shoveled some rice into her mouth.