It was a quiet afternoon at the Tipton Hotel—well, as quiet as it ever got with Zack and Cody Martin living there.
Zack was sprawled out on his bed, tossing a baseball up and catching it lazily, while Cody was in the bathroom, finishing up his shower. The sound of running water had just stopped when a loud knock echoed through the room.
Zack barely reacted, his attention still on his baseball.
"Zack! Answer the door!" Cody's voice rang out from the bathroom.
"You do it!" Zack called back, not even bothering to sit up.
A groan of frustration came from Cody. A moment later, the bathroom door opened, and out stepped Cody, still damp from his shower, a white towel wrapped around his waist. His hair clung to his forehead in wet strands, and steam drifted from behind him as he walked to the door, muttering under his breath about lazy older brothers.
He turned the knob and swung the door open, expecting maybe Maddie, London, or even Arwin with some weird invention.
Instead, standing there in a perfectly fitted black suit and neatly combed hair, was their friend Mike.
Mike's mouth parted slightly as his eyes landed on Cody—on Cody standing there in nothing but a towel. His face instantly went red, his glasses fogging up slightly.
"Uh—I—hi—I mean, hey! I—um—was just—uh—" Mike stammered, gripping the strap of his bag as if it would ground him.
Cody blinked, tilting his head. "Mike? What's with the suit? You look—" He stopped himself from saying really good. "—fancy."
Mike opened his mouth, but the words didn't come out right. His thoughts were a scrambled mess. He had come here to ask Cody if he wanted to go see a movie with him—just the two of them—but now, with Cody standing there like this, his brain had completely short-circuited.
His heart pounded. His face was burning. He felt ridiculous.
"I—uh—" He shook his head, forcing himself to get it together. "Never mind! Forget it, I—uh—gotta go! I—I just remembered something important!"
Before Cody could even respond, Mike turned on his heel and rushed off, barely managing to shut the door behind him.
Zack, who had been watching from his bed with mild amusement, raised an eyebrow. "That was weird."
Cody frowned, staring at the closed door, confusion bubbling inside him.
Outside, Mike hurried down the hallway, his fists clenched at his sides. His eyes stung with unshed tears as he mumbled to himself under his breath, "Stupid, stupid, stupid…"
He had blown it. Again.