A Crack in the Ice

Chapter 13: New Teammate

Parker

I'm lying on my stomach with my head propped up by my arms as I watch my favorite movie, Set It Up, for what must be the sixtieth time. It's another late night, and my stomach growls beneath me. There hasn't been food in our apartment for what feels like weeks. There also hasn't been Ashley in our apartment for what feels like even longer. It's been a few weeks since we've hung out, like actually hung out. She comes home late from hanging out with Chris, and she doesn't hang around with me on the weekends. And even though I'm happy for her, I'm also extremely lonely and more bored than ever.

It's great having a best friend to share your life with, until that best friend decides to embark upon a crazy solid relationship and leave you to your own devices. But hey, I can hang around with myself watching rom coms at night and rummaging through the fridge over and over in the hopes that food will magically appear. But for how long?

The good news is, Kayce texted me to tell me he and Milani are coming sometime this week, so at least that's something to look forward to.

About halfway through the movie, my phone buzzes under the covers somewhere, and when I finally find it, I see Val's contact covering my screen. I debate whether or not I should answer her call, then decide I have nothing better to do and press Accept.

"Hey Parky Parks." she drawls.

"Don't call me that."

She ignores the bite in my tone and continues. "So, I was thinking we could start having study dates at night. You know, midterms aren't that far away and I need your brains because, believe it or not, I suck at economics."

"No, you? Bad at economics? But I was so sure you and Wrenny's constant whispering during class would score you an immediate A." I jest.

"Oh, shut it, smartass. But seriously, I'm in need of some major damage control. You gotta help a girl out, Parky Parks."

"And you gotta stop calling me that. Seriously, I hate it."

"Alright, fine. So, let's start with expansionary supply and demand because, like, what the dick is that?"

I laugh and readjust myself to lean against my pillows. "What is it with you and dicks?"

"I started replacing the word fuck with dick everytime my mom used to get onto me for cussing. Now it's a habit, and plus, Tay Tay laughs every time I say it. Granted, he laughs at everything, but still."

I hear papers shuffling on the other end of the line and wonder if she actually wants me to help her study at twelve thirty-six at night, which is gonna be a hard no from me. "Am I allowed to ask about you two?"

"That depends, am I allowed to ask about you and Reece?"

I sigh and lean back further onto my pillows. "You can ask, but there's nothing to tell."

"Yeah, same here. Can't a guy and girl just be friends? I don't know why everyone acts like it's the biggest deal, like just because you can't keep it in your pants, doesn't mean I can't." she blusters.

She has a point, but from what I've heard, a guy and girl can never just be friends. Yeah, the girl can keep it in her pants, but the guys are always the ones who want a little extra something. But hey, maybe I'm wrong. I mean, I've heard Wrenny make some flirtatious comments to Val and be on the receiving end of hers as well, but other than that, they don't seem to be engaging in anything romantic, or sexual for that matter. I think I would've heard about it if so because of how open Val is about sex. I've only known the girl for a month and she's already told me about every sexual encounter she's ever had... in detail.

"So, you and Reecy are just friends, then?" she pries.

I hesitate as I think it over. "Acquaintances." I supply with uncertainty. I guess we've hung out enough by now that if he were anyone else, I'd be referring to him as my friend. But he isn't anyone else. He's a gorgeous hockey player who's been showing way too much interest in me, and I've been liking it. So yeah, I think it's safe to say that my walls have come down way too much.

"Yeah, right." Val snorts. "Are we no more than acquaintances, too, or is it just Reece that you're trying to avoid?"

"I'd consider us friends, but I also have a raging suspicion that you're not trying to bone me."

She laughs at that, and her laugh is so contagious that I start to laugh, too. When she finally manages to stop herself, she lets out an amused sigh. "Is little Parky Parks practicing abstinence or something?"

"Or something." I answer vaguely. "Can we please just talk about something else? Otherwise, I wanna get back to my movie."

"Oooh," her voice lifts with interest, "what movie?"

We spend the next hour discussing our favorite rom coms as it turns out Val is quite the movie enthusiast as well. I like talking to Val, it's nice to have someone who's so shamelessly open about everything. Ash has always been kind of a prude, always making me poke and prod just to get some personal information out of her. And even though I love her with all my heart, it feels good to switch it up with Val.

With her I can talk about all the stuff that Ashley deems "TMI", and it doesn't feel awkward, it's just normal. We talk about stuff I've never talked about with anyone, like what guys do best that turns girls on and silly stuff like that. But when we finally end the call, I can't shake the pang of guilt in my stomach, like I'm cheating on Ashley or something. Or maybe it's got nothing to do with Ash at all. Maybe I'm just upset with myself for letting someone in who could potentially hurt me. Either way, I decide I don't care, because life is too short to spend it all alone.