Catching Tatum

Chapter 13

The irony of that summer was how the two of them invaded my life simultaneously and symbiotically. Both haunted by memories of girls who were lost to them, both looking to me as a source of consolation, and both wreaking sweet havoc on my game... and my heart.

That day was a perfect example of how life went with the two of them. After all the days of waiting on Parker and resisting Cole, everything had to happen at once. There wasn't time to pick one over the other; they both got to my heart at the exact same time, every time. Parker's message was short and sweet: he got my number from my dad, which I already knew; he wanted to see me. I knew that, too. I had almost given up hope, but then, when Cole's confession changed the game, he wanted to see me. What did it all mean? I didn't know but I texted him back later that night after I had a chance to recover as much as I ever would from Cole's news.

Wanna do something sometime? he texted back.

What does that mean?

I pick u up. I take u out.

We talk, hang out, have fun ...

He didn't put anything in there about sex. That's where a lot of guys failed because they started sexting right off the bat and I struck them out.

You want to go out with me?

Yep, yep :)

I have rules. You have to play

by them or I say no.

Your game I remember!

I'm down

Lol my game, you're the player

meh, not really much of one ...

too scrawny

Lol. You wanna call me?

Truth be told, Parker was a little on the skinny side, strong, fit and muscular, but thin. I learned later that he was self-conscious about it. He said his dad was the same way; when he talked about his dad his demeanor always changed. Something told me his dad wasn't good like mine was.

Two seconds after the text, he called. "I can't get you out of my head. You're stuck in there. I keep seeing you around the fire, dancing. You put a spell on me."

"Yeah, right!"

"Seriously, you did. So what's next? Your game remember? I passed level one."

"Oh, please. My game is sooooo not a video game. I hate video games."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they suck the life out of normally functioning human beings and turn them into zombies ... I hate the undead."

"You're awesome," he said, "Wanna know a secret?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think I'm going to say I hate them, too?"

"I don't know. Are you?" I asked.

"No, I love them. I'm playing one right now while we're talking. I'm addicted. I can't get enough!"

"You're joking."

"Yeah ... but I do play them. Does that disqualify me?"

"No ... unless you can't have a conversation without bringing them up. Don't even bore me with the titles," I yawned.

"So I still have a chance to level up then ...?"

"Nope, it's baseball, stud. You just stepped up to bat. My dad was the practice swing."