Too Philophobic To Love || Ezekiel Elliott

Chapter Two

The sound of an alarm blaring through Leahs ears interrupted one of the best of dreams she's ever had. She groaned as she rolled on her stomach and reached for her phone that was on the dresser next to her. She opened her eyes and squinted a little at the bright screen as she turned off her alarm. She let it fall out of her hand then pressed her face I her pillow and silently yelled into it then sighed. She sat up as she stretched.
She grabbed her phone again checking the time. 6:03 a.m. She then unlocked her phone and began to check her notifications. She saw the same thing over and over again, likes, tags, comments, subscribers, but then she saw she had a message.

Zekie🥰💙: Good morning, beautiful! If you're even up at 5 in the morning. I just wanted to say that I'm really excited about tonight!😆

Leah felt her heart skip a beat as she read the message. Beautiful. He called her beautiful. She couldn't contain the big smile that was plastered on her face.

Leah😆❤️: Good morning, Zekie! And I wake up at 6, not at 5 like you, you monster.😝

Leah pressed send then began her day. She changed out of her pajamas into a pair of dark blue jeans and a white flowy shirt. She grabbed her phone and walked into her kitchen. She began to take out the things she'll need for tea, then she heard her phone ding. She grabbed it off the counter and smiled seeing who had text her.

Zekie🥰💙: 5 is not monstrous. I thought you would probably sleep till 9 or 10.

Leah😆❤️: Well you thought wrong.

Zekie🥰💙: Anyways🙄 What are you doing right now?

Leah😆❤️: I am going to make tea.

Zekie 🥰💙: Don't bother, I'm coming to pick you up.

Leah😆❤️: Why?😂

Zekie🥰💙: Because why not? I want to take you to one of my favorite cafes.

Leah😆❤️: What can I expect when we go there? Something big and extravagant?😂

Zekie🥰💙: No. It's small and cute like you.🥰

Leah😆❤️: I am VERY offended by that.😑

Zekie🥰💙: Better have your shoes or sandals on and you're hair done or something, buttercup. Because I'm walking to your front door at the moment.😆

And right on que, there was ding of the doorbell. Leah rolled her eyes with a light chuckle as she walked to the front door. She opened it to see Zeke standing there with a big smile and a bouquet of various types of flowers, but they were mainly her favorite, lilacs.
"Awwww, Zekie. You shouldn't have." Leah smiled as she took the flowers he held out for her.
"What? They were beautiful flowers that I had to get for a beautiful girl." Zeke chuckled.
"Come in. I'm just going to put these in a vase."
"Cool," Zeke said as he walked in and shut the door then began to follow Leah to her kitchen. "Nice place."
"Thanks," Leah said as she took a vase out from her cupboard. "Okay, when I'm done putting these in a vase, I will do my hair real fast and put on chanclas."
Zeke looked at her confused. "Excuse me? Ch—Chanchlas."
Leah busted out laughing. "Chanchlas?!"
"Yeah, isn't that what you said?"
"Chanclas, Zekie."
"Potato, rosado."
"That's is not how the saying goes."
"That's how it does in my book."
Leah rolled her eyes as she put water in the vase and put the flowers in it. She then walked away to her room so she could do her hair.
Zeke, letting curiosity getting the best of him, began to wonder a little bit, looking around a little. He walked up to a shelf that had various pictures of it being mainly her and her siblings. He smiled at the pictures of Leah when she was younger, showing off her toothless grin with her sisters. He then saw the pictures from when she graduated high school and collage, he smirked.
"Ugh, don't even look at those, I still looked ugly." Leah said as she stood next to him, tightening the rubber band on her now braided hair.
   "What?! No, you dont!" Zeke gasped.
   "Stop lying, Zeke."
   "I'm not!"
   "Keep telling yourself that. But you owe me breakfast, so vamenos!" Leah said as she began to walk to the front door.
   "Calm down, Speedy! I need to get the doors for you!" Zeke said as he rushed to the front door to open it for her. Leah went to grab the door knob, but Zeke grabbed her, moving her out of the way. "You don't open the door! I do! That's my job!"
   Leah began to laugh.
   "You think that's funny?!"
   "No!"
   "It's not funny for being a gentleman!" 
    "You getting angry isn't very gentlemanly."
    "I'm not angry! But I am angry that you think you're ugly! That I am very upset about!"
   Leah raised her hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay, Zekie. I take it back. Let's just go out and eat, we don't want you late for practice."
   "I forgot about that." Zeke chuckled.
   "You're so bipolar." Leah said as she walked out of her home.
   "I need your keys to lock you home."
   Leah tossed him her keys. "It's the one with the Cowboys star on it."
   Zeke smiled as he shook his head with a light chuckle as he locked her home. He then rushed to his car and opened the passenger door for her.
   "This good cardio for me. I should be around you more often."
   "Wow, your just using me?" Leah said as she got in the car.
   "No, I'm not!"
   "Got pretty defensive there, Zekie."
   Zeke rolled his eyes as he closed the door and went to the drivers seat. They both put on their seat belts.
   "I'm not using you, I promise."
   "Right. Totally not."
   Zeke gave her an are-you-kidding-me? look. She began to laugh, for Zeke her laugh was contagious. He would either laugh with her, smile, chuckle, smirk, and much more. He began to laugh a little with her as he shook his head.
   He began to drive, the two of them taking it the last of the sun rise. The sky was a beautiful mix of blue and orange with just a little of yellow. Zeke drove with the windows down, the cool breeze hitting their faces. Leah shut her eyes, taking in the cool air and being able to do this with Zeke.
   Zeke looked over at her and smiled. His heart skipped a beat a little as he looked at her. The way her hair flowed through the breeze, the way her skin glowed from the sun, she looked even more perfect to him.
God, this woman is amazing. I know after 2017, I told myself I wouldn't fall. But she has one hell of a strong grip on me. I mean, just look at her, she's gorgeous! Maybe Dak is right, maybe I am starting to fall for her—no! That can't happen! I don't want to risk her getting hurt. Zeke thought to himself.
   Zeke couldn't help it, he saw her hand resting in between them, he grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Leah felt her heart skip a beat, her face flush, and tons upon tons of knots and butterflies in her stomach. Leah looked at Zeke who had his eyes focused on the road so they won't crash.
   She smiled a little, loving the feeling of their hands being interlocked together. It felt surreal. Was this actually happening to her? Or was she just in a long and deep dream? If so, never wake her up.
   Zeke stopped at a red light and looked at Leah with a worried expression.
    Leah looked at him confused. "What's wrong?"
   "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"
   "No, you're not. It's fine, Zeke."
   "Also, you only know about my ex's allegations, right?"
   "Is there something I should about that happened in 2017? Because that's the only thing I could think of."
   "Nope! That's it." he lied.
   "Zeke—"
   "We're here! Look, small and cute."
   Leah smiled at the cafe. It definitely was small and cute, various of flowers grown around, it looks super cozy to be at. Zeke parked the car, turned the engine off, then rushed to Leahs side, opening her door. Leah looked at Zeke concerned.
   "Are you okay?"
   "I'm fine."
   "Ezekiel—"
   "You used my first name."
   "What's going on? You know you can tell me."
   He opened his mouth but words couldn't find a way out.
   Leah sighed. "I'm not going to pressure you. But I suggest you tell someone."
   She then began to walk to the cafe and Zeke sighed. He knows he needs to tell her, but he doesn't want to be viewed differently because of his past. He noticed how close Leah was to the door and quickly rushed to opening the door for her. She thanked him as she walked in, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that she got after Zeke asked her that question.
   They were greeted by a beautiful waitress, who took the two to their table and handed them a menu. They both began to look through their menus on what to get.
   "You've been here before me, wouldn't you know what to get?" Leah asked.
   "Yeah, but sometimes I like to try something different. So, today is one of those days." Zeke shrugged.
   Leah nodded her head as she began to scan the menu again.
   "I'm getting this cheeseburger and fries, the picture makes it look good." Leah smirked as she nodded her head.
   Zeke laughed a little. "We're supposed to be getting breakfast not dinner."
   Leah shrugged. "Oh, well. A girls gotta eat. And she wants this burger and fries that keep on calling her name."
   Zeke shook his head with a laugh. "We'll get two of them. Because now it's starting to sound pretty good."
   Leah smirked a little. "Precisely, Zekie!"
   The waitress came back. "Okay, I'll take your guys drinks, what'll it be for today?"
   "I'll have a sweet tea, please." Leah smiled.
    The waitress nodded her head as she wrote it down. "And for you, sir?"
   "I'll have a Coke." Zeke said.
   "Okay. I'll get those for you two and just wondering, do you already know what you want?"
   "Yes. Two cheeseburgers, please."
   "Okay. I'll be right back with your drinks." she smiled then left.
   "What a nice lady." Zeke smiled.
   "Yeah. So, tell me, why DC?" Leah smiled.
   "Are you kidding me?"
   "What? I just want to know. Is it because of Suicide Squad?"
   "No. I've always been a fan."
   "Yeah . . . But then there's Marvel."
   "Leah."
   "What?! It is amazing!" Leah defended. "Okay, which movies or even the shows have you seen?"
   " . . . I've seen . . . "
   "Have you not seen a movie?!"
   "I'm pretty sure I have, but I just don't remember."
   "We're having a Marvel marathon."
   "No."
   "Yes."
   "Leah, no."
   "Leah, yes."
   "Leah—"
   "You're doing it, weather you like it or not!" Leah harrumphed.
   The waitress walked back with their drinks. "Okay, here's your drinks and your food will be done in just a few more minutes."
   "Okay, thank you so much." Leah smiled.
   "Of course." she smiled then walked away.
"Back onto what I was saying, I'm not doing that. Leah, do you not realize how many Marvel movies are out there?"
"Of course I do. I have binge watched all of them in three days."
"Leah." Zeke deadpanned.
"Zeke, come on, please! Do it! It'll be fun! We can spend more time together!" Leah smiled.
"I'll consider it."
   "Just do it! Make me the happiest girl in the world!"
   "Okay, how about after the game that's in two days, we'll start it?"
   "Pinky promise?" Leah said holding out her pinky.
   "Yes, my pinky promises." Zeke said wrapping his pinky around her.
   "Thank you!"
   Zeke laughed a little at her.
   "Hi, so I have your cheeseburgers and fries." the waitress said as she places their plates in front of them.
   "Thank you." Leah smiled.
   "You're welcome. If you two need anything, just wave me down."
   "Okay, thank you . . . " Zeke began to try and read her name tag. "Shirley."
   "Yeah, it's quite the the name," Shirley chuckled. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere."
   "America's team."
   She snapped her fingers. "That's right! The Cowboys! Ezekiel Elliott, number twenty one!"
   Zeke smiles. "That's right, that's right, you go for us, right?"
   "Definitely! Though my favorite has to be Diggs."
"That crazy dude?! Man, you tripping! Though, I got my number one fan right here!" Zeke smiled then winked at Leah mailing her blush.
"I wouldn't say that, you're just coming up with some weird assumptions." Leah shrugged.
Zeke scoffed and threw a fry at Leah making her laugh.
"You two are such a cute couple." Shirley gushed.
Leah and Zeke blushed a deep red.
"O—Oh! W—We're not—"
"Oh! Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry! I just assumed!" Shirley gasped.
   "Oh, no, it's fine!" Leah laughed.
   "Yeah, my mom thought the same thing." Zeke laughed.
   "Your mom?"
   "Yeah, she called late at night and I told her how my day went then I went on the topic of you and she assumed we were dating."
   "She really assumed that?"
   "Yeah, now she wants to meet you. She's coming here later tomorrow with my sisters. I think her plane lands around eight pm. So, some time after practice, I would have to go straight to the airport."
   "Well, I hope she has a safe flight tomorrow."
   "Well, I'll let you two eat now, I'll leave. Enjoy." Shirley smiled then left.
   "She's really nice." Leah smiled.
   "Definitely. I'm going to leave her a nice tip."
   "And I'll cover the food," Leah took a bite as Zeke gave her a confused look. "What?"
   "I know damn well you did not just say that you were going to pay for the food. Did I hear you correctly?"
   "Yeah, I did just say that."
   "You did, but am I going to listen to you? No, I am not. I will be right back." Zeke said as he began to stand.
   "Where are you going?"
   "To the restroom. What, you gonna follow me? Cause I don't think you can go in."
   "No, most definitely not, I'll wait here."
   "Yeah, thought so. I'll be right back."
   And with that, Zeke walked away and Leah began to eat her food again. Zeke did use the restroom after being sneaky and paying for the food while Leah wasn't looking. He then came back to see that half of her burger was already gone and her fries.
   "Geez, took you long enough. I think I'm finally twenty four now."
   "Forgot your only twenty-two." Zeke chuckled as he sat down.
   "And you're . . . one hundred and six, right?"
   Zeke rolled his eyes. "One hundred and twenty-six, you were off a little."
   Leah grabbed one of Zekes fries and shoved it in her mouth and Zeke gasped, giving an offended look.
   "What was that for?!"
   "The attitude you gave me."
   "You have your own fries."
   "I was running low."
   "I haven't even got a bite of my burger."
   "Then eat, you big baby." Leah laughed.
   Zeke pouted like a big baby then shoved a few fries in his mouth. Leah covered her mouth trying not to bust out laughing, but Zeke made a funny face. Leah busted out laughing then snorted and immediately covered her mouth as she blushed furiously.
   "Awww, that was so cute."
   "No, it wasn't! I sounded like a pig!"
   "An adorable one."
   Leah stopped and gave him an are-you-kidding-me? look.
   "What?"
   "You just called me a pig."
   "No I didn't!" Zeke defended.
   "You basically said I was a pig!"
   "You're not a pig! I was saying you're cute!"
   "Uh, huh! Just eat your burger! I'm already almost done."
   "I wasn't trying to call you that." Zeke said as he took a bite of his burger.
   After a bit more time of talking, they finished their food.
   "Oh, we need to wait for our check."
   "No, we don't."
   "What?"
   "I already paid for it."
   "Let me guess, it was when you went to use the restroom, correct me if I'm wrong."
   "You are not wrong. I did pay for it because you were going to be super stubborn."
   Leah opened her mouth but she immediately shut it, knowing he was going to make a valid argument. Zeke smirked then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
   "Come on, I need to get you home then go to practice. I don't want coach to chew me out."
   Leah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Zekie."
   Zeke unlocked his car then opened the door for Leah, letting her in the car. He closed the door then went into the drivers seat and started the car. They then left, the sun shining brightly, it hitting their eyes. Zeke reached into his glove compartment and pulled out sunglasses and held them out for Leah.
   "Here."
   "Why are you giving them to me, you're the one driving."
   "Yeah, but I could just do this." Zeke said as he pulled down the cars sun visor.
   Leah rolled her eyes as she put them on. "I still prefer you wear them."
   "And I prefer to be a gentleman."
   Leah shook her head as they went onto a different topic and continued to chat as Zeke dropped her off home. He pulled into her driveway and quickly got out of his seat and opened Leahs door and walked her to the front of her door.
"Thank you for breakfast." Leah smiled.
"Of course. Even though our food really wasn't much of a breakfast more of a dinner." Zeke chuckled.
"So a brinner?"
"Yeah, a brinner."
"Well, I bet that your excited your mom and your sisters are coming tomorrow."
"That's right! They're coming tomorrow! I forgot!"
"Did our lovely drive make you forget?"
"No, it was your gorgeous face."
Leah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, hurry up and get to practice."
Zeke hugged her with a chuckle. "Alright, I'm going," he gave her head a hug. "Later, baby."
Leah blushed as she felt her heart skip a beat and Zekes eyes widened once he realized what he just said.
"I—I'm so sorry, I didn't mean—"
"It's fine, Zekie. It's fine. I mean, I do call you Zekie."
Zeke chuckled a little. "So I'm calling you baby now?"
Leah shrugged them said with a wink. "It'll be our own little inside joke."
Zeke smiled at her. "Okay, see ya, baby."
"Bye, Zekie." Leah smiled as she walked into her home then closed the door.
Zeke walked away yelling at himself in his head for accidentally calling her 'baby.' He threw his phone on the car's passenger seat, not noticing that he accidentally called someone as he got into his car. He then began to go drive. Once he was at a stop light, he face palmed himself.
"Baby. Why in the hell did you just call her baby?" Zeke thought out loud. "It's not like you two are together! It's not like you want to hold her hand! Or go to the park. Or watch her while she's brushing her hair . . . Or anything . . . It hasn't even been that long since you met her!
"You are so stupid, Ezekiel! What in the actual hell is wrong with you?! I know, I know she's not like Tiffany, she's nothing like Tiffany! Don't even try and compare her to her! Leah outnumbers her.
"But, I just can't help but wonder what if something were to happen? What if Leah finds out more about my past then she decides she wants me out of her life? I can't have that, I love having her around already.
"I love that she doesn't treat me as if I'm just the running back for the Cowboys. I love that she treats me just as Ezekiel Elliott, the guy from St. Louis, Missouri."
" . . . Are you okay, man?"
Zeke jumped and grabbed his phone seeing that he accidentally called Dak.
He cringed eternally. "Hey, bro."
"Were you just arguing with yourself?" Dak asked.
"Uhm, no, I wasn't."
"Uh, huh. Dude, just admit it, you're falling for her."
"No, I'm not. And you're falling for Zoey and I'm assuming you were talking to her for hours last night, huh?"
" . . . Were you stalking me or something?"
"Nah, I know you too well, Dak."
Dak chuckled. "Did you already eat?"
"Yeah, I had breakfast with Leah."
"Oh, I was gonna ask if you wanted anything. My chef was running late so I'm going to a drive thru."
"We can go and eat after practice, then I have to get home and get ready."
"Get ready? I thought your family was coming tomorrow?"
"No, I'm going to the movies with Leah."
"Oh, already on a first date?"
"No! It's not a date! We're going as friends."
"You sounded pretty defensive right there."
"I'm not defensive."
"Dude, you get pretty defensive."
"Do not."
"Also, why were you trying to compare Leah to Tiffany? You and I both know she's nothing like her."
"I know she's not. But I wasn't comparing them, I already know Leah out numbers her, on a scale of one to ten, she's a for sure twenty."
"But, why did Tiffany just randomly come into mind?"
"She doesn't know."
"Clarify that more."
"About my down year, in 2017. The only thing she knows is about the Tiffany thing and nothing else. Dak, I want to tell her but I don't want her to look at me like I'm just this horrible and terrible guy."
"She won't think that. But I'm pretty sure that you keeping this from her and once she finds out, she's going to get mad. You guys could be having the best day then somehow she finds out. And, God forbid, that, that were to happen."
Zeke sighed as he rubbed his face. "I know I need to tell her, but I'm just scared."
"She's understanding, Zeke. I'm sure she'll understand where you're coming from."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Can't exactly blame her for anything."
"I know. But my mind still can't help but wonder the worst."