Page 20 of Charm on the Rocks

Chapter 9

Lunch with Bradywent better than she originally expected it to. She wasn't super awkward and managed to hold her own with conversation. They talked about Holden caufield and the criticisms A Catcher in the Rye faced. He paid for their lunch and walked her to her car, even going so far as to kiss her cheek and insist that she text him when she got home. She was floating on clouds by the time she reached her dorm, and by the time she texted him, she was too happy to care that he had yet to respond to her text.

He's probably just busy, she thought to herself.

The next thing on her agenda was making a call to Katella in order to inform her about her idea for the memorial. Katella loved it and said she would run this by Seraphina in order to get approval for it as soon as possible. Once that was taken care of, she took a shower in the community showers and then a nap before cracking open one of her new mysteries to read during commercials during the Gulls' game.

Just after eight in the evening, her phone chirped, indicating she had a text. Her heart skipped a beat, hoping the text was from Brady, hoping he would ask her out for a second date. If not that, maybe they could have one of those text conversations that last until one o'clock in the morning that everyone talked about but that she had yet to experience. He seemed like the type who would do that. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

Hey.

It was from Alec. She furrowed her brow. The game had ended an hour ago. Typically, the team would either travel to the next city that night or, if they were returning back to Newport Beach, stay the night and return in the morning. This was a quick trip to Arizona, so it didn't surprise her that Alec wasn't on a plane. What did surprise her was that he was texting her at night when she knew from the other Gulls' Girls that it was common for the players to go out knowing they had a day off the next day.

Was Alec out with his teammates? He seemed like the type who liked to go out. He was young, good looking, and had no reason to settle down. But if he was, why was he texting her? Unless he was drunk. But even so, why involve her and not some ex girlfriend - if he had ever had a serious relationship that came with exes?

She hesitated before responding.

Hey.

How are you?

She furrowed her brow. That was a quick response. If he was out, would he have responded that quickly?

'Why do you care, anyway?' she thought to herself. 'You had an amazing date with Brady who does not seem to be a player. Also, he's in college and seems to actually know what he's talking about when it comes to literature. He's not a hockey player where everything changes so fast...'

'Why are you even debating this?'

Good. You?

Good. Did you watch?

She rolled her eyes. Of course she watched. She arranged her entire date with Brady around this game. If, and when, she went out with him on a more consistent basis, she would continue to arrange dates and college classes and phone calls back home around Gulls' games. Not only was it her job but she found she was liking them more and more than the Detroit Mustangs. Of course, she would never tell her father that. It would be akin to walking around in a tube top and mini skirt. The Mustangs had been his favorite team since he was born, and his father's before that, and his father's before that, all the way back to 1889, when they first began. It was almost like some kind of legacy. Somehow, her father had three girls and no boys. Regardless, he still raised his daughters with the Mustang Passion, as it was deemed by the franchise and fans. Claire didn't particularly care about sports at all, but Madison did and it was one of the only things she and her father agreed on. Now, though, she knew if he found out about her preference, that fragile tether that connected father and daughter would snap.

Of course I watched. You were amazing. I wasn't expecting you to score at all, and you go on and score twice.

He sent a blushing smile emoji. She felt her heart skip a beat, as though she was pleased that she made him feel good about himself up until the point she remembered that this would just feed his ego, and while she liked Alec and wanted to be friends, she didn't want to be used because he needed a boost.

Why aren't you out celebrating with the guys?

Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to go out.

Madison held her breath as she saw the the grey ellipsis bubble indicating that he was typing something.

Then: I was thinking about you. I wanted to see how you were.

Madison bit her bottom lip, as though she was trying to contain a smile. For whatever reason, she felt a profile of guilt taint that smile, almost as though Brady's memory wanted to remind her that was still around and in her life. And that maybe she shouldn't be so happy that Alec was checking up on her.

Which was silly by itself since she and Brady had only gone out on one date. There was no reason to feel some sort of loyalty for her classmate. Even if he asked her out again, that didn't automatically mean that they were exclusive. Technically, she was allowed to play the field - if she wanted. The problem was, Madison was hopeless when it came to this stuff. She got in too deep too soon and things fizzled out after a few months. She didn't want that to happen with Alec.

BRADY.

She meant Brady.

Where had Alec come from?

Probably because she was texting Alec now.

Of course. That was it.