Teaming Up

Chapter 4

CHICKEN

"You look a little rough around the edges," Wynter, one of the regular bartenders at the bar where Wyatt and Bonzo worked and the team and now the ZOMs hung out, said as she pushed a drink Zed's way. "Too much action?"

"Not nearly enough," he stated dryly, giving his beer a sip.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Did Wyatt put you up to this?"

She smiled. "Maybe… but maybe my motherly instincts are starting to kick in." Wynter patted her bulging belly.

"Tell you what," he said after taking a hefty gulp of his drink. "You tell me who the asshole was who knocked you up and skipped town, and I'll tell you what's on my mind."

Her face scrunched up. "No deal."

She was a hard nut to crack. They'd all been trying to find out who the jackass was that left Wynter high and dry, but she wasn't having any of it. Wyatt had instructed all of them to look out for her, not that they wouldn't anyway. That baby was going to be overwhelmed with the eight of them competing to be the number one uncle.

"So…" Wynter said putting a glass of water next to his whiskey, something that Addie had insisted they do if they were drinking. "Who are you taking to formal, and please tell me you've found a date for Wyatt. He keeps trying to get me to go."

"No and no." Normally, he'd have arm candy lined up by now, the biggest social event of the school year was taking place next weekend. But this year, he'd been dragging his feet to find a date. "Maybe I'll take Wyatt myself," he joked.

He was beginning to think there was something seriously wrong with his dick. He'd tried everything since they'd come back from Oregon. But every woman he'd taken on a date had been a dud. Uninteresting, too self-absorbed, wrong eye color, wrong hair, wrong laugh. And he couldn't even bring himself to do anything more than give them a peck on the cheek. Worsening the situation was the fact that Addie had started to call him after each one of his dates to ask how it went… which lead to them staying up way too late talking every single time. He sighed to himself and dropped a twenty on the bar for Wynter. She refused to let anyone help, so the team and several of his frat brothers had taken it upon themselves to start over-tipping when they could.

As soon as he stepped foot into the fraternity house, he speed-dialed Addison.

"Don't tell me you blew another date?"

"Nope, but I do have a proposition for you."

"Don't think you can get out of our wager that quickly."

He ignored the needling and charged ahead before he lost his nerve. "Would you like to be my date for formal next weekend?"

"Formal?"

"Yeah... It's just my fraternity's annual philanthropic fundraiser… it's not that big of a deal, really."

"Are you kidding me?" she cackled into the phone. "Bree obsesses over the ZOM formal every year. Everyone does. It is a big deal."

"Well, it doesn't have to be a big deal for us. It's really more of a work night for me this year anyway."

"So why do you need a date if you're going to be working all night? That doesn't sound fun."

"It could be, and we wouldn't have to stay all night. Unless you wanted. There's food, and alcohol, and dancing. I have to chat up a few of the alumni to secure donations and funding, and then we can go home."

"Home? As in your home?"

"Sure." he shrugged. "Why not?"

Addison made a throaty sound. "I'm not so sure…"

"Just as friends. I promise I won't even hold your hand… Besides, Bree and Bonzo will be there. Wyatt too."

"But I don't have a dress…"

"You have like ten days to find one."

She made another doubtful noise.

"C'mon, Adds. We can make it fun, and I promise, no talk about kissing or sex."

Her laugh crackled over the speaker. "Are you sure?"

"About the fun? Yes."

"What about… the other?"

"Scout's honor."

"Were you even a Scout?"

He shook his head and grinned. "Nope, never."

"I'm not quite sure I can take your promise seriously."

"How about I swear on the boat?"

"Are you kidding me? Don't you think that's a bit sacrilegious?"

"Not if it convinces you to be my date… I promise I will be the perfect gentleman."

She waited at least ten seconds before answering softly. "What if I don't want a perfect gentleman?"

The teasing, flirty sound in her voice had his cock immediately jumping to attention. "I can be as ungentlemanly as you like," he answered, his voice dropping an octave.

"I'm sure you can," she says with another laugh.

"Please, Adds?"

She let out a deep sigh. "Okay, I'd love to be your date."

The tightness in his shoulders released with her acceptance. They may not be able to kiss each other, but he'd make sure she had a great time.

He was practically giddy as he asked, "Pick you up at 6pm Friday?"

"Don't worry, I'll take an Uber."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Girrrlll…." Bree said as Addison came out of her bedroom wearing a strapless, tea-length, light blue dress. "You look hot! You ready for the big night?"

"Not even a little," Addison grumbled.

"Why? What's wrong? You can always come with us if you don't want to Uber!"

Addison rolled her eyes. "The last thing I need is to be anywhere near you and Bonz and all your PDA tonight." She shook her head and blew out a deep breath. "No, what I need is a 2x4 to the head or some serious liquid courage."

"What's with the anxiety. You look stunning."

"I don't know. The last formal I went to…" she shrugged, unable to say anything else.

Bree stood up and walked over to her, wrapping her up in a tight hug. "Tripp is an asshole."

"But what if, Zed…"

Bree pulled away and smirked. "You really like him, don't you?"

"I'm trying not to. I swear… but… he makes me laugh… And he sent me flowers."

Bree's jaw dropped open. "Zed is the one that sent you those?" she asked as she pointed to the enormous bouquet on the kitchen table. "Jesus… I thought it was your parents or something… Christ… he must really like you."

Addison let out a very un-lady-like snort. "Zed doesn't like me. At least not in the way you're implying."

"I'm not so sure, Adds… Maybe you should test the waters."

"I thought you were worried about him breaking my heart?!"

Bree pointed to the floral arrangement on the table. "That was before it was obvious that he likes you. Maybe you should go for it."

"And ruin the dynamic in the boat? No thank you!" she said crossing her arms and shaking her head. "No crewmance. Not now, not ever. We both know this boat is my key to getting on the Olympic Team with Bucky… besides, you're the one who's been telling me to stay away."

"There's more to life than getting onto the Olympic boat," Bree said softly.

Addison rolled her eyes.

Bree held her hands up in surrender. "All I'm saying is that if Superman turns out to be more than the shallow man-whore his reputation has painted him to be, that you might want to give him a chance."

Addison shook her head. "Too risky."

"Give him a chance… This might be a good thing… for both of you."

Addison sighed in defeat. "I'll think about it."

"Good…" Bree pulled her back into another hug and smacked a loud kiss on her cheek. "I'll see you there!"

Zed checked his watch for the third time in ten minutes. She was late. It wasn't like Addie to be late. Ever. In the year-plus that he'd known her, she was always the first to arrive anywhere. A knot took hold in his chest. There was no way she would stand him up. Was there? His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he felt no relief when he saw that the text was from her.

Addie: I'm sooooo sorry. There's an emergency at work. I have to go in.

He blinked. He had no idea she worked anywhere. How did he not know this? How did she have the time? Once again, his guilty conscience stabbed at him. Because you never asked, dumb ass. He shot off a quick reply.

Zed: I can pick you up after? We can grab a late bite.

He could see the dots forming and reforming. As if she'd just erased her original reply.

Addie: That's super sweet of you, but I'll be here late. Raincheck?

His stomach sank. He didn't want a fucking raincheck. But he didn't want to be an asshole either. He checked his temper quickly and wrote back.

Zed: Sure. Another time.

He paused, and against his better judgment he added something else.

Zed: Holler if you need anything.

Addie: Thanks. And thanks for the flowers, they're lovely.

"At least she liked the flowers," he mumbled to himself, thinking that maybe he overplayed his hand. He wanted her to know how much he was looking forward to this evening. He wanted her to feel… special. He shoved his phone back into his jacket pocket and scanned the room, already calculating the minimum number of minutes he needed to be there. He'd work the room, flirt with the ladies, and get the fuck out of there. Maybe go for a late-night run. He spied Wyatt across the room chatting up a very hot curly-haired woman wearing a skin-tight red dress. He was dateless too, which meant he could be his wingman until they buzzed out of here. By the time he was within earshot of Wyatt, it was clear there was something going on with Ms. Red. Zed had never seen him like this, hungry, on edge. Usually, he was cool as a cucumber. He clapped him on the shoulder. "You might want to put your tongue back in your mouth, dude," he said low enough so only Wyatt could hear. "I could see the sparks flying between you two from across the room."

Wyatt turned. "I thought you had a date?" His implication was clear. This girl was off-limits.

Zed scowled, half-pissed, half-embarrassed. "Ditched me."

Wyatt's mouth widened into an amused grin. "No fucking way. Seabrook Universities most eligible bachelor is flying solo at the social event of the year?"

"Not solo," he winked. "You're going to be my wingman."

Wyatt shook his head. "Oh, no. I told you I am never doing that again."

He was referring to the time last year when Zed dragged him to an off-campus house party that didn't end well.

"Aww, c'mon. That was totally different. How was I supposed to know she was dating the president of TKE?"

"Because these are the things you bother to find out before you push your friend into the arms of a strange woman whose friend you're trying to bang."

"Okay, I won't blow it this time. I won't push you into anyone's arms unless it's Red over there." he tilted his head in the direction of the woman he was chatting with moments ago.

"Sorry. No can do," he says. "I'm about to head out."

Zed shook his head in disappointment. "I see… abandon your friend in his hour of need."

"Dude…" Wyatt laughed. "You of all people will be fine."

"Where's Bonz?"

Wyatt covered his mouth with a laugh. "Already upstairs with Bree. They lasted about ten minutes."

"Damn…"

Wyatt patted his back and turned to the woman in the red dress. "I'll be right back." He grabbed Zed's arm and drug him to the closest bar, ordering two glasses of whiskey. "You look like you needed a drink."

Zed raised his glass with a rueful smile. "To snatching kisses and kissing snatch. May one of us have success tonight."

Wyatt narrowed his eyes. "Who is she?"

"No one," he answered too sharply. If Wyatt got wind of anything between him and Addie, the whole boat would know within the hour. Not to mention he'd be dead.

"Liar. Your eyebrow always twitches when you lie." He pointed to the corner of Zed's eye. "Whoever she is, she's got you tied up in knots."

Zed made a face. "The only tying up going on will be happening later tonight." If only he thought to himself. He had half a mind to march over to Addie's and wait on her front porch until she got home. Half a mind to kiss her silly and tell her all bets were off. And if tying up were part of the negotiations, he'd be game for just about anything with her. Until it occurred to him that he didn't even know if she had a front porch. His jaw tightened because he was damn sure if it came up in conversation, that one of the other guys on the boat, other than Bonzo, would know where Addie and Bree lived.

"But not with Eliza. Just so we're clear," Wyatt said with a look that clearly said Red was off-limits.

"Eliza, huh? That her name?" The corner of Zed's mouth curled up. He may not have known it yet, but Wyatt was a goner.

"Don't get any ideas. My love life's off-limits."

Zed spread his hands, the picture of innocence. "I just want to help."

"You want to help? Spread the word… discretely… about tonight's poker game."

Zed jammed his hands into his pocket. Maybe a poker game was just what he needed to blow off the steam building inside him. Wyatt's games were big. You either won big or lost big. And he wasn't in the mood to lose more tonight. "What's the buy-in?"

"Five." He meant hundred. "Limited to the first five. If we have ten, I'll do a second seating at one."

Zed nodded. A night of poker and booze would put Addison far from his mind. "See you at midnight."

He had a few hours to kill before heading to the bar for the game. He was all out of sorts, and still bugged that Addie stood him up. After the bare minimum of time he needed to spend at formal, he left and headed downtown. He had half a mind to head back to campus and hit up the gym for a few hours, but he was too restless. Not even the gym could take care of the excess energy built up in his body. If he hadn't been locked into a stupid bet that he was determined to win, he'd hit up the nearest nightclub and take some willing thing back to his place.

But he wasn't fucking doing that, goddammit.

Instead, he decided to go to one of the nearby hotels and check out the new bar everyone had been talking about. He could lurk in the corner and drink to his brooding heart's content. He walked through the front doors and across the plush carpet to the elevator that zipped him up to the top floor and a spectacular view of the Seabrook Skyline.

The hostess greeted him with an overly enthusiastic smile and lead him to a table in the corner. It was pretty empty at the moment, except for a piano player on the dais, a cocktail waitress who was currently helping a couple of older guys in suits, and… Addie behind the bar.

Zed did a double-take, not believing what he was seeing, but it was definitely her, wearing a black tee and black pants. "Some emergency," he muttered to himself as hurt stabbed at him. He couldn't believe she'd ditch him for this. He stood up and made his way to the bar, sliding into a seat right in the middle, where she couldn't possibly avoid him. "And here I thought you were off saving humanity or something."

Addison gasped and turned towards him with wide eyes. "What are you doing here?"

He raised his hands and spoke before she could. "I swear I'm not stalking you. Just a crazy coincidence. I didn't even know you worked anywhere until you ditched me."

She braced her hands on the vintage walnut bar, eyeing him carefully as if she were deciding how she wanted to play this. "Can I get you something?"

"Jameson, neat." She didn't deny she ditched him. He looked around the room. "Looks super busy…" he said, mouth twitching. "Yup, total emergency."

She tossed a rag into the sink. "A colleague needed help. And give it an hour. We'll be slammed and I'll be in the weeds."

Zed sniffed the air. "I smell Eau de chicken shit."

Her mouth twitched, and two pink spots striped her cheeks. "And I smell I can't take no for an answer."

"I took no just fine. It's the excuse I'm not buying." He leaned forward, "C'mon, admit it. You chickened out." She started drying glasses and putting them away. "Let me guess," he pondered out loud. "Someone needed a shift covered and you jumped at the opportunity." The color on her cheeks deepened. "Am I right? Because it was either that or stay home doing homework and you were too chicken to text me that you'd rather stay home reading on tide patterns than go on a date with me."

She raised her eyes to his. "Okay, you're half right. I chickened out."

"So you admit you would have rather stayed home?"

"No. I was dressed and ready to go."

Her admission was like a punch to the gut. His voice softened. "So what happened, Adds?"

She looked contrite, and the sudden tightness in his chest eased.

"I chickened out. Big fancy parties aren't my thing." She pulled the Jameson from the shelf and poured it into a glass.

"They're not mine either."

"But you had to be there… I don't exactly have the best history at parties like that… my ex… I found out he cheated on me… several times… at the last formal I went to." She pushed his drink across the counter towards him.

Zed dropped his hand on top of hers before she could pull it away. He understood what she was saying. It had never even occurred to him that she'd compare his frats formal to her ex-boyfriends. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

Addison lifted her eyes. They were soft and sincere, and they hit an entirely different part of his gut.

"I'm sorry I didn't level with you. You deserve better."

"I'm sorry I pushed too hard."

She snorted. "What is this, an apology-fest now?"

"I'm entirely certain I can outdo you with apologies."

"I'm damn sure you can't."

"We can thumb wrestle to decide the winner."

Her mouth twitched at the corner. "You're a dork."

"I'm pretty sure the dork prize belongs to you, Ms. I want a PhD in Oceanography," he teased.

She flashed him a smile. "Just remember, if you fall out the boat I'll know the best way to drown you." She made devil horns with her fingers. "Skillz."

He stared at her over her drink and couldn't help but wonder what other skillz she was keeping under wraps. He sure as hell was going to enjoy finding out.