I was walking home. From that party at, God knows what hour, it was definitely past midnight, I was walking home. This is when New York isn't the best, it doesn't feel safe at all times, rich neighborhood or not. But the only reason I was walking home was because I knew Carter's car was driving right behind me.

He offered me a ride home but of course, the stubborn person I am, I said no and started walking. Moments later, his car pulled up beside me and he tried asking me for a while but then gave up and just continued driving silently.

"I said I'm sorry," he whined, rolling his window down.

I stopped at a bench and sat down for a minute. This wasn't a good idea, especially since I'm wearing heels. I knocked them off and sat there for a moment. He watched from the window of his car before stepping out and sitting beside me.

"You know I can walk home by myself. Right?" I asked, without turning to face him.

"You know this is New York, right? It's not all that safe," he replied, "And your feet probably hurt by now. Just let me drive you. That doesn't mean my apology has been accepted. You'll be tired by the time you get home," he said.

I thought about it before sighing in defeat and standing up, taking my heels in my hand. He held the door open for me while I got in before getting in the driver's seat and taking me home. It was a very awkward silence and that's exactly what I was expecting.

I was in a car with a guy I barely know who took part in my humiliation tonight. It just doesn't get better.

"You can dance like that?" he asked again, laughing lightly.

I shook my head, biting back a laugh. "What is with you and dancing? Is it like a fetish?" I scoffed.

"Jesus, relax. Just a question because last I checked," he cleared his throat, "'I don't know how to dance,'" he said, raising his voice to a higher pitch mockingly.

I rolled my eyes, hoping my house would come sooner. "And last I checked, you weren't such a dick," I retorted.

He sighed while entering our neighborhood. "I'm not a dick," he said.

"You weren't last night but you were tonight. That only leaves me confused," I said while he slowed down as my house came into view.

"Well, I'm sorry if what I said hurt your feelings. Or anything that the others said did too. I didn't mean what I said. But to be fair, a stranger's opinion shouldn't matter. Either way, I'm sorry," he said while stopping in front of my house.

I sighed while grabbing my phone and heels in one hand before opening the door and stepping out. I leaned forward, still holding the door open. "Goodnight and goodbye," I huffed before closing his door with a little more force than necessary and heading inside.

I changed into my pajamas, took my makeup off, let my hair down before crawling into bed and falling asleep right away.

◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆

I woke up the next morning before my dad because he normally sleeps in on his day off. I was in the living room trying to find something to watch when he came out. "Morning honey," he smiled.

"Morning," I replied.

"What are you up to?" he asked while sitting beside me.

"Nothing, I'm just bored," I answered.

"Let's go biking later. We haven't been in a while," he suggested.

"Sure," I agreed.

"All right, have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I had some french toast, saved you some," I said while he made his way to the kitchen.

At about five pm, after I wasted the whole day doing nothing but watching movies and shows, we were going biking. It used to be tradition back in California, we would go every weekend, but he doesn't have that much time anymore so we go whenever we can. Because even his Sundays end up with taking calls from clients.

"So, what's been going on with you? How's Hannah?" he asked while we began riding around the neighborhood.

"Everything's fine, she's good. She might come over next weekend to stay for a night. We haven't done that in a while," I replied.

"That's good. Maybe you two could go bowling. I know you wanted to go last weekend. I'm sorry I couldn't take you, hun," he said.

"Yeah, maybe I'll go with her."

If she doesn't bring Jake.

"She would invite her boyfriend, huh?" he asked with a soft chuckle.

"He's not her boyfriend," I laughed, "But yeah, she would."

"Then why don't you take somebody as well? Make it a little group date or whatever you kids call it. Double-date is it?" he questioned.

"Who am I gonna take?" I chuckled, shaking my head at the idea.

"How about uh..." he struggled with names, "Carter!" he exclaimed.

"Carter?" I asked, slightly confused.

"He seems like a nice kid, he's good at keeping you company," he joked.

"Yeah, maybe," I chuckled.

No. No Carter.

His phone began ringing so we stopped and he answered it quickly. "Yes, Mr. Willington?" he asked. He sighed in frustration before saying, "Okay, I'll call you back in ten minutes." He hung up and turned to me.

"It's fine, I'll ride around for a bit, I'll be back in a while. Go," I chuckled. So he went back home and I continued riding around. I was passing a few houses when the front door to one of them opened and out came Carter.

Right. That is his house.

He was wearing black Nike shorts and that was about it. He had running shoes on and earphones plugged into his ears with a water bottle in his hand. I sped up, hoping he wouldn't notice me but I'm not that lucky. "Hey," he said while jogging over to me and keeping up with me.

"Hi," I said stiffly, trying to go faster.

"You bike around here?" he asked.

"Most Sundays," I answered while beginning to turn.

"Where are you going?" he asked, turning with me.

"Home. I should head back," I lied.

"Then I'll run with you there," he smirked.

"You're just going to follow me there?" I asked, halting.

"Yeah," he shrugged.

"Stalker much?" I mumbled while turning back around to keep going. There's no getting rid of him. I heard him chuckle while he ran at my pace. "You don't run every Sunday," I pointed out. I would have seen him around.

"You're right, I don't. But I tell the team to do it, I should too then," he shrugged.

"How is it fair that you call all the shots? Is the coach involved at all?" I asked. Coach isn't even there for their practice, the only times he shows up is for the games.

"Not really. But it's not like I didn't earn the spot. It's fair play," he replied, "I had to work my ass off to become captain, anyone could have done it."

"Why did you want to do it? Everyone knew you were trying for captain, and some guys didn't try just because you were trying," I scoffed.

"Well, when you play a sport and you're actually into it, of course, you wanna be the best at it," he said in between light pants, "So did I. And I did it. Successfully," he smirked. "As for why others didn't try. Not my problem," he said cockily.

"It's not good being so cocky. It's not even confidence. It's overconfidence," I said.

"It's not overconfidence. It's being sure about yourself. I know what I'm doing when I do it," he argued.

Now I should really start heading home, the sun is setting.

I turned around and he still kept up with me. "Has my apology been accepted yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," I answered.

I could use him to go bowling. I would avoid third-wheeling.

"But it can be. If you do me a favor," I said.

"In that case, I'm at your service. What can I do?" he asked.

We reached my house and I stopped and hopped off, turning to him slightly out of breath, both of us sweaty. "Next weekend, I need you to come bowling with me," I huffed.

He raised his eyebrows at me, amusement and surprise dancing in his eyes.

"It's not a date. There are other people there, but I need someone to come with me. Yes or no?" I asked impatiently.

"Sure thing. What time?" he asked.

"I don't know, I'll tell you later," I waved my hand dismissively.

"How?" he smirked.

I sighed before handing him my phone.

He typed his number and saved it, sending himself a text so he had my number in exchange. "I need a favor too, will you help?" he asked hesitantly.

How bad could it be? He's doing me a favor, I could too.

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously.

"On Friday, there's another event. It's a family thing but I need a date. Will you come?"

Huh?

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