The Perfect Spiral

“Hi, Mom,” I said into the phone. Wes’s arm tensed around me at the sound of my voice. I glanced over at him, finding one eye open and a nervous expression on his face.

“Hi, suga’! How’s my baby doing this morning?”

“I’m good, Mom. What’s up? Why are you calling me this early?” I replied, stifling a yawn.

“Oh, honey, it’s ten o’clock. That’s late in the day! I was actually wondering what time your flight arrives on Wednesday night? So I can send Eric to pick you two up from the airport.”

What?... Shit! I slapped my hand on my forehead, groaning loudly and muttering a curse.

“I heard that, missy! That’s not ladylike!”

I’d completely forgotten that Drew and I had booked flights to Georgia for Thanksgiving. Crap, crap, crap!

“Well, Mom... Uhm... Well, you see...?”

“What is it, Alex? Why are you fumblin’ your words, child?” My mom’s southern accent, a remnant of her Savannah, Georgia upbringing, became more pronounced when she was worried or angry. Right now, she wasn’t angry.

“Well, Mom, you see... How can I put this?”

“Out with it, child!” Okay, so now she was pissed...

“Well, I broke up with Drew... Please don’t tell the boys!” Wes’s arm tightened around me once more, and I looked over at him. He was staring at me intently, hanging on my every word.

“What? Why on earth did you end it with him, Alex? I won’t tell them, but you better explain to me what happened or I will tell them!”

“He... um... he cheated on me, Mom,” I said quietly, covering my face with my hand to hide my reaction to my own words.

“HE WHAT? How did you find out, darlin’?” Her voice was filled with empathy. I could tell from her tone that she wished she was here with me, comforting me.

I took a deep breath to keep the tears at bay. “I c-caught h-him with another g-girl.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Wes propped himself up on his elbow and wrapped his arm around me, kissing the hand that was currently shielding my face.

“Oh, hunny, I’m sorry you had to witness that again, first your father and now your boyfriend. Honey, I’m sorry I’m not there to hug you tight and let you cry on me. When you come to Georgia, we can have a girl’s night in and eat junk food and watch any chick flicks you want!”

I laughed at her attempt to cheer me up. My mom was such a mother hen, always doting and loving when any one of her own was hurt.

“Thanks, Mom, but Wes has been looking after me through all of this.”

She laughed through the phone. “I knew I could count on him to take care of you when you’re in college. I’ll be sure to tell Stella that he’s doing a great job.”

Wes heard this over the phone and let out a quiet chuckle through his nose.

“Is he there with you? Put him on, sweetie. Did you not just wake—ohhhh, never mind.” She chuckled, and I realized I’d been caught. But it’s not like we did anything other than kiss. I handed him the phone, saying, “Here, my mom wants to talk to you.” He took the phone, shaking his head and laughing.

“Hey, Annie! How are you this morning?”

“I have been taking care of her, yes. Since the boys aren’t here to protect her, I guess I’ll have to do.” He laughed, and I joined in, smirking at him. He locked eyes with me while listening to my mom continue on.

“I did stay the night with her.”

“No, nothing happened.” A blush crept up my cheeks. Jesus, Mom, this is so embarrassing!

“Yes, just like when we were in Savannah all those years before Drew.”

“Knox?!? When did Knox stay with her?” My eyes widened at this statement. Shit, I’d forgotten he used to sneak into my room to comfort me too when we were in Savannah, and also when we were in New York. But he would deny it if you asked him. I used to pretend to be asleep when he’d come in. Don’t judge me—who doesn’t like a bit of male company, even if it was Knox stupid Carter.

“Yes, yes, I’ll tell her that. She is lucky, but so am I, Annie.” I blushed once more at what he told her and averted my gaze to the window where the sun was gleaming through.

It was a beautiful day outside. I might go for a run this afternoon to clear my thoughts.

“Thanks, Annie. I would’ve loved to come to Savannah, but I can’t, unfortunately. I have to head back to New York for Thanksgiving. But will you make sure she’s alright when she gets there? And get her to call me when she’s there because we both know she won’t remember to.” He nudged my sides, drawing my attention back to him as he grinned down at me.

“Alright, Annie! It was good talking to you. I’ll hand you back to Alex now. Bye.” I took the phone back from him.

“Well, honey, I hope you two behaved yourselves last night!” I rolled my eyes at her. “Yes, Mom, everything was PG. We only slept together like we used to.” She laughed through the phone at me.

“Alright, darling. Why don’t you invite Andy to join us for Thanksgiving, if she’s free? I’d love to finally meet her in person,” my mother suggested.

I nodded, forgetting she couldn’t see me through the phone. “Sure, Mom. I’ll check if she’s available for the days I’ve booked off,” I replied.

“Great, honey. I better start preparing for the feast! Text me your flight details when you can. And tell Andy I’d love to meet her. Also, thank Wes for taking care of you. Bye now!”

“Will do, Mom. Bye! Love you,” I called back.

“Love you too, Alex,” she sang back before I ended the call. I placed my phone back on the table and turned to face Wes, who was grinning at me.

“What?” I asked, slightly annoyed.

“I think your mom loves me,” he said, his grin widening.

I laughed out loud at his comment, rolling my eyes and pulling the covers up to my chin. “What? I’m lovable, right?”

I stayed silent for a moment, just to tease him.

“Right, Alex?” he asked again, his voice deepening in a playful warning. I felt his hands rest on my ribs. Oh no, he’s not going to—

I opened my eyes to see him smirking down at me. He started tickling me, and I burst into laughter, barely able to breathe.

“Wes! S-stop!” I managed to gasp out between fits of laughter.

“Not until you tell me I’m lovable,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Wes, please! I c-can’t—”

Ignoring my pleas, he continued, “Not until you say it, Alex!” I squirmed around the bed, trying to escape his relentless tickling.

“Fine! Fine!” I finally conceded, still laughing. “You’re lovable, Wes!”

“Was that so hard?” He leaned in, our noses touching, our lips barely apart. Damn his lips!

Just as we were about to kiss, a phone buzzed. Wes groaned out loud. I reached for my phone, but it was his that was buzzing in his jeans pocket on the floor.

He picked it up, glanced at the caller ID, sighed, and answered. “Hey man! What’s up?”

“Yeah, I watched your game the other night. That end pass was killer, dude. That spiral was almost perfect. No one could intercept that shit. It was like a fireball. You played a solid game, bro!”

Knox. It has to be Knox.

“Definitely, I’d love to catch a game. Call me next time you’re in town.”

“Yeah, I’m with her now. Hang on, dude.” He turned to me. “Knox wants to know if you’ll come watch one of his next games.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a look that clearly said, Are you kidding me? “Hell no! I don’t want to be around him, acting like he’s god so he can pick up sluts straight after the game! No thank you!”

Wes laughed into the phone. “Safe to say that’s a no from her, Knox.”

“We’re just hanging out.”

“Yeah, I stayed over last night.”

“Yeah, in her bed. Knox, chill, nothing happened.”

Why does he even care?

He sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I know, she just needed someone. Relax, dude!”

“Andy... was... busy. Seriously, Knox, you need to chill. It wasn’t like that.”

Why is he getting so defensive? It’s not like Knox even cares. He’s probably just fishing for information to tell my brothers.

“Hah, good luck with that, man! Talk to you later. Take it easy. Bye.” He ended the call and tossed his phone onto the bed.

“What did he want?” I asked, slightly irritated.

“You’ll see,” he chuckled. Right on cue, my phone vibrated.

Without taking my eyes off him, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and answered. “Hello?”

“Baby doll! Oh, how I’ve missed that sexy voice of yours!”

Ugh! Why didn’t I check the caller ID and ignore him? His stupid, cocky voice.

“Now, baby doll, where are your manners?”

Damn, I said that out loud. “What do you want, Knox?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Damn, I’ve missed you saying my name, baby doll! I was talking to Wes—tell him I said hi, by the way—and thought I’d call you myself to see if you want tickets to one of my games. I have one in California about three weeks from now.”

Why on earth would I want to go to one of his games? “Why would you want me to go, Knox? You just spoke to Wes, so no, I won’t tell him that.”

“I miss seeing my baby doll. Speaking of which, are you going to Savannah for Thanksgiving?”

“Ugh, you’re so infuriating. Quit calling me baby doll! And yes, I’ll be in Savannah for Thanksgiving. I’m guessing you won’t be there because you’ve got practice or some shit?” I crossed my fingers, hoping against hope that I was right.

Laughter erupted from the other end of the line, and I glanced at Wes, who was chuckling to himself as well.

“Oh, we both know you miss me terribly! You’re in luck, baby girl, I’ll be in Savannah this year. So, I’ll let you sit next to me at dinner.”

I could practically see his smug grin through the phone. “Ew, please. We both know I’ll never miss you, Knox! But why do you have to be there this year? Can’t you stay where you are and convince one of your one-night stands to cook you a Thanksgiving meal? I think that would be better for everyone, don’t you think?” His laughter only grew louder.

“It’s alright, you can admit you miss me, baby doll! You know how I hate liars. Why would I stay here when both our mothers cook the most delicious food for Thanksgiving? Hmm?”

“Because you’re a man-whore who humps and dumps, fucks and ducks, nails and bails—however you like to call it—and wouldn’t miss a chance to carry out the deed! You can manipulate them into cooking for you, it’s what you’re good at.” I smirked, knowing this would get under his skin.

“At least I don’t go after my brother’s friends, Alex. Crawling your way up the ladder, I see! Don’t you have a boyfriend?”

That little asshole! “You fucker! Knox, you always know how to ruin everything! You can shove your tickets up your stretched asshole because we all know you get fucked up there by your teammates and everyone else who watches football! So tell me, Knox, do they use lube or does Vaseline do the job too? Just in case I get a call from the magazines about what pleasures you, so they know what to bring to join in on your group orgy at your next photo shoot!”

With that, I hung up the phone, and a roar of laughter erupted from Wes. I tossed my phone onto my lap, and it immediately started vibrating again, Knox’s name flashing across the screen.

“Alex! That was epic!” Wes managed to gasp out between fits of laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes, he leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “I won’t ask what he said to you, but you’re something else, Alex.” He shook his head, chuckling, and settled back onto the bed.

“Remind me never to piss you off, sweetheart. Although you’re sexy when you’re angry, what you say kind of scares me.”

My phone was still vibrating with Knox’s attempts to call me. Soon, he’d start sending messages, but I can give as good as I get. Don’t you forget it!

I lay back down, staring up at the ceiling while my phone continued to vibrate on my leg. He’s always been persistent, that stupid Knox. We both closed our eyes again, cuddling up to each other.

Wes rested his chin on my head, and I buried my face in his chest. God, he smelled good! A faint trace of his cologne from last night filled my senses as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer. Cradling me.

We fell asleep like that, and didn’t wake until early afternoon.