Page 8 of Zone
Her frown returns, and she follows me through the living room. “What happened? Did you pick up a weirdo? Dammit! I’m going to have to pay Coco twenty dollars.”
“Are y’all betting on my safety?” I call from where I’m taking a bottle of tequila from the cabinet above the refrigerator.
“No!” Her voice goes high, and I know they absolutely are. Lindsey’s a terrible liar. “She just bet me twenty dollars I’d be sorry for encouraging you to take this job.”
“Well, you’ll be happy to know I’m fine.” I throw back the shot and squint through the burn as she walks back into the living room.
“Oh no, Annabelle!” Lindsey hops onto the couch.
On the screen, a couple is holding up an ancient doll, and the judge turns it side to side, inspecting its little sailor outfit.
“That’s not Annabelle. It’s Raggedy Andy.” I draw up mylegs as I sit beside her. “He’s more expensive because so few of them were made.”
Resting my chin on my knees, I think about how easy it would’ve been to join my mom in running her antiques store. She has so much knowledge and visibility and stock. But no. I wanted to work in sports. I wanted to be a podcaster.
Dad says I got it from him. He used to sleep with a football when he was a boy. My uncle JR said my dad could catch any ball thrown in his direction. It’s how he got the nickname “Velcro fingers.”
Even if it was a crotch shot thrown by a three-year-old, he’d catch it. I know, because I was the three-year-old doing the throwing. Then he gave it all up for Hollywood. Then for us.
“What happened tonight?” Lindsey pats my arm, and I rest my head on her shoulder.
“That bitch Siri let me down,” I groan. “I knew I couldn’t trust AI to help me. Aren’t there documented cases of her sending people into lakes?”
“If you follow a computerized voice into a lake, I’d say that one’s on you,” Lindsey grouses before breaking into a giggle. “Who does that? Do they think Jesusactuallytook the wheel? Or the lake is magically going to turn into solid ice?”
“You’re asking me to explain what people think. You know that’s impossible.”
Her smile twists into an amused frown. “What happened?”
My shoulders drop, and I exhale deeply. “Knox Bradford got into my rideshare.”
Her body stiffens, and she sits up quickly. “TheKnox Bradford? New Orleans Saints quarterback Knox Bradford? Number 6?”
“The very same,” I say quietly, embarrassed.
“What the hell was he doing taking an Uber? Don’t those rich athletes all have cars to drive them around? Isn’t he worried about the paparazzi?"
“That’s what I wanted to know.” I give a rueful laugh. “Right before he yelled at me and accused me of being a plant and sabotaging him and trying to make him miss his flight.”
Her eyes widen even more. “Noo… Siri didn’t take you to the airport?”
“She did not. She got stage fright and completely froze up on me. When I realized what was happening, it was too late. I tried to double back, but oh God.” I shiver. “He was so awful and angry and just…mean.”
“What did he say?”
“He yelled at me to go left!”
The room falls silent, and my bestie studies me a beat. “And?”
Shaking my head, I feel my shot kicking in. “It wasn’twhathe said. It was thewayhe said it. GO LEFT!” I shout the words as loudly as possible.
“Jeez, Melody.” Lindsey puts a hand over her ear. “Warn a person.”
“Then he kept shouting directions at me the whole rest of the drive. Even after I knew where I was going.” I mimic his voice in the most unflattering, nasally way possible. “You’ve got one job…”
My arms are crossed, and I’m considering a second shot of tequila when everything stops.
“One job,” I whisper as my brain begins to formulate a plan. “He’s got a lotta nerve saying that to me. He’s the starting quarterback for the Saints, and he makes more mistakes than I can shake a stick at. Everybody’s pissed…”
