The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 71: Chapter 71 - In the Bathroom

Roxie’s eyes widened.

The handle rattled again.

”Hello?” a girl called from outside. ”Can someone open this?”

Another voice laughed. ”Just kick it.”

”Do not kick the bathroom door, psycho.”

Roxie grabbed Zac’s wrist.

His eyes snapped to hers.

For one panicked second, neither of them moved.

Then Roxie pointed at the nearest stall.

Zac mouthed, Seriously?

She shoved him.

Zac moved fast, pulling her with him. They slipped into the stall just as the main bathroom door opened.

Roxie nearly tripped over her own shoes. Zac caught her by the waist, and she slapped one hand over her mouth to stop the noise.

The stall door clicked shut.

Barely.

A group of girls spilled into the bathroom, voices loud and bright and senior-picture panicked.

”Wait, check my hair.”

”It’s fine.”

”No, look at this side. Does it look flat?”

”You always think your hair is flat.”

”Because it is. I have volume issues.”

Roxie stared at Zac.

Zac stared back.

Then both of them looked down.

His shoes were visible under the stall.

Roxie’s eyes went huge.

Zac looked at the floor like his shoes had betrayed the nation.

He whispered, ”Crap.”

Roxie mouthed, Up.

He frowned.

She pointed at the toilet.

His face changed.

No.

She nodded.

Yes.

Zac’s expression said he had survived linebackers, his father, and probably three near-concussions, but this was where dignity died.

Still, he stepped carefully onto the closed toilet lid and crouched.

The stall was not built for a quarterback.

His shoulders nearly hit both walls. One hand braced above Roxie’s head. One knee hovered awkwardly near her hip. He looked ridiculous.

Roxie would have enjoyed that more if she was not trapped underneath him with her pulse trying to escape her body.

She stood in front of the toilet, back pressed to the stall door.

Zac’s shoes disappeared from view.

Except now his face was too close.

Also his arm.

Also his whole entire body.

Roxie whispered, ”You look stupid.”

Zac whispered back, ”I am aware.”

”Your funeral.”

He gave her a look.

Outside the stall, someone turned on the faucet.

”Oh my God, Kendall looked so pretty in her picture.”

Roxie went still.

Zac’s eyes flicked to hers.

Another girl answered, ”Kendall always looks pretty. It’s annoying.”

”Bet she wins homecoming queen.”

”Probably. Her dress is going to be insane.”

Roxie looked down at the tiny space between Zac’s shoes and the toilet lid.

Then another voice said, ”I voted Roxie Jones.”

Roxie froze.

Zac looked at her again.

The girl at the sink continued, ”For queen?”

”Yeah. Did you see the last game? She was amazing.”

”The powderpuff one?”

”Yes. She played like she was mad at the entire school.”

Someone laughed. ”She always looks mad at the entire school.”

”I like that about her.”

Roxie’s throat tightened in the weirdest way.

She stood there with one damaged curl, red eyes, Zac Prescott crouched above her on a toilet, and some random girl outside saying she had voted for her.

For homecoming queen.

Zac’s expression softened.

Roxie shot him a warning look.

He looked away, but his mouth curved like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

One of the girls near the mirror gasped. ”Wait, did you see her hair earlier?”

Roxie’s stomach dropped.

Zac’s face hardened.

”Who?” someone asked.

”Roxie. Something happened in the cafeteria.”

”I didn’t see. What happened?”

”I don’t know. Angela and Karen dragged her out.”

Another girl lowered her voice. ”Probably drama.”

The word hit the stall like a slap.

Drama.

Always drama.

Roxie shifted without thinking, trying to step back.

There was nowhere to go.

Her elbow hit the toilet paper dispenser.

Clank.

The whole bathroom went silent.

Zac’s eyes widened.

Roxie stopped breathing.

A girl outside said, ”Wait.”

Another whispered, ”Is someone in there?”

Zac mouthed, Great.

Roxie glared at him like this was somehow his fault.

The girl stepped closer.

Roxie could see her shoes under the stall door.

White sneakers.

Tiny silver anklet.

Zac was still crouched on the toilet lid, his body angled above her like the world’s worst secret.

Roxie looked down.

Her shoes were visible.

But Zac’s breathing was too close to her ear, and if he moved even one inch, the entire stall might confess.

The girl knocked on the stall.

”Hello?”

Roxie’s brain blanked.

Zac’s eyebrows lifted.

Answer, his face said.

Roxie swallowed. ”Occupied.”

Her voice came out too sharp.

The girl stepped back. ”Sorry.”

Another girl laughed. ”Why did you knock like you were checking for a ghost?”

”I heard something.”

”It’s a bathroom. People make noises.”

Zac’s shoulders shook once.

Roxie pinched his side.

He bit down on his smile so fast his split lip probably regretted being born.

Outside, the girls went back to the mirror, but their voices had lowered.

Roxie exhaled slowly.

Zac leaned down a fraction.

”Violent,” he whispered.

”You laughed.”

”I did not.”

”You shoulder-laughed.”

”That’s not a thing.”

”It is now.”

His eyes dropped to her mouth.

The air changed again.

Roxie hated enclosed spaces.

Actually, no.

She hated this enclosed space.

Because it smelled like soap and paper towels and Zac’s shampoo, and his hand was still braced above her head, and his knee was near her hip, and the girls outside were talking about lip gloss while Roxie’s entire body forgot how to work.

”You okay?” he whispered.

”No.”

His face changed.

She rolled her eyes softly. ”I’m hiding in a bathroom stall with a quarterback on a toilet. Nobody is okay.”

His mouth twitched. ”Fair.”

”Also, your knee is attacking me.”

He shifted.

Bad idea.

His foot slipped half an inch on the toilet lid.

Roxie grabbed his shirt.

Zac grabbed the stall wall.

The movement pulled him lower.

Suddenly his face was inches from hers.

Both of them froze.

The bathroom outside kept going.

Water running.

Girls laughing.

A compact snapping shut.

Inside the stall, Roxie could hear Zac breathe.

His hand landed near her waist to steady himself, then stopped like he remembered rules existed.

Her fingers were still curled in his shirt.

She should have let go.

She did not.

Zac’s eyes moved over her face, slower now.

Her fixed curl.

Her bow.

Her mouth.

Roxie’s pulse went stupid.

He whispered, ”Your hair still looks good.”

”And I think you should keep your kink to yourself.”

Zac blinked.

His ears went red instantly.

Roxie’s eyes widened. ”Oh my God.”

”It’s not a kink,” he whispered.

”You need to tell your ears because they’re being hella honest.”

”Shut up.”

Roxie smiled. ”Sure, Playboy.”

His face got worse.

Then he looked at her, playful despite the blush, and grinned. ”It’s hardly a kink if I only bought it a few weeks ago. It reminded me of someone.”

Roxie froze.

Oh.

Her face went hot.

His eyes dropped to her hair, then back to her.

For once, he looked like he wanted to take the sentence back and keep it forever at the same time.

Roxie shoved his chest. ”Shut up.”

His eyes went wide. ”Rox—”

His foot slipped.

The stall shook with a loud thud as Zac hit the side wall and grabbed the toilet paper holder like it had betrayed him.

Outside, the bathroom went silent.

Roxie slapped both hands over her mouth.

A girl whispered, ”What is she doing?”

The bathroom door burst open.

”Everybody out,” Angela announced.

Every girl in the bathroom screamed.

Zac’s head snapped up and hit the stall divider.

Thud.

Roxie squeezed her eyes shut.

Perfect.

A girl near the sink clutched her chest. ”Angela, what the hell?”

”Emergency,” Angela said.

”What emergency?”

Karen appeared behind her, calm in a way that felt medically concerning. ”The kind where you leave.”

The girls looked at each other.

One of them pointed toward the stall. ”There’s someone in there.”

Angela did not even blink. ”Yes. A person using the bathroom. Stunning discovery.”

Karen stepped inside and held the door open wider. ”Out.”

That worked.

Karen did not yell. She did not need to. She just stood there with that face, the one that said she had already planned three ways to ruin your afternoon and none of them required witnesses.

The girls grabbed their bags and lip glosses, still whispering.

”I swear I heard a guy.”

Angela laughed too loud. ”In the girls’ bathroom? That would be insane.”

Roxie slowly turned her head toward Zac.

He stared back at her from his terrible crouch.

Insane.

Yes.

Very.

The last girl stepped out.

Karen shut the door behind them and locked it.

For one second, the bathroom was quiet.

Then Angela turned toward the stall. ”You can come out now.”

Roxie opened the stall door first.

She stepped out with her face burning so badly she could feel it in her ears.

Zac came out behind her, rubbing the back of his head and trying to look normal.

He failed.

Aggressively.

Angela looked at Roxie’s red face.

Then Zac’s red face.

Then Roxie’s hair.

Then Zac’s hand still hovering near his bruised head.

Her mouth opened.

Roxie pointed at her. ”No.”

Angela closed her mouth.

Then opened it again. ”I didn’t say anything.”

Karen walked closer and checked Roxie’s hair in the mirror before anyone could make the situation worse.

Karen tilted Roxie’s chin slightly, looked at the curl, then the bow Zac had tied lower near her cheek.

”It’s good,” Karen said.

Roxie blinked. ”Really?”

Angela softened instantly. ”Yeah. It actually looks cute.”

”Don’t say cute like you’re comforting a dog.”

”I’m saying cute like you’re about to take the best senior picture of your life after surviving gum terrorism.”

Zac cleared his throat. ”It looks good.”

Roxie looked at him through the mirror.

Bad idea.

His face was still red.

So was hers.

Karen snapped her fingers once. ”No. Whatever that is, save it for after graduation. Picture. Now.”

Angela grabbed Roxie’s bag and shoved it into her arms. ”We got you moved to the last spot.”

”You did?”

”Obviously,” Angela said. ”I cried.”

Karen sighed. ”She did not cry.”

”I weaponized my cuteness.”

Roxie looked at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes were still a little red, but the bow covered the worst part. The curl looked softer now, messy on purpose. Like she had meant it. Like nobody had almost ruined her.

Like Roxie Jones still knew how to walk into a room.

Zac stood behind her, quiet.

Their eyes met once more in the mirror.

His mouth curved just enough to be dangerous.

Roxie looked away first.

Angela caught it.

Of course she did.

”Oh, this is disgusting,” Angela whispered.

Roxie turned on her. ”Picture.”

”Yes.” Angela hooked her arm through Roxie’s. ”Picture. Before you two commit another plumbing incident.”

Zac groaned. ”Can we not call it that?”

Karen opened the door and checked the hallway. ”Clear.”

Zac slipped out first.

Before he disappeared, he glanced back at Roxie’s hair.

Then her face.

Then, annoyingly, her mouth.

Roxie’s cheeks heated again.

He smiled like he knew.

Then he was gone.

Angela stared after him, then slowly looked at Roxie.

Roxie lifted one finger. ”Do not.”

Angela grinned. ”I said nothing.”

”You’re smiling with your whole personality.”

Karen pushed the door open. ”Move.”

Roxie took one last breath.

Her hair was good.

Her face was mostly fixed.

Her pride was limping, but alive.

Angela squeezed her arm. ”Come on. Let’s go take your picture.”

Roxie lifted her chin and walked out with them.