Page 22 of Kickoff

A pout formed on her lips. “But you never are anymore. What have I ever done to you that you won’t even try to kiss me?” Her whiny tone grated on my nerves.

Jesus, I was so done with all this bullshit. “Nothing.” I faked a smile and walked away. “It’s an it’s not you, it’s me kinda situation,” I said over my shoulder. I heard her complain from behind me, desperate and demanding, but I blocked out her words as I plodded toward the lake, following the narrow path between the trees. The musky aroma of the damp soil and spruces enveloped my senses. Sitting on a rock in the shadow of a tree, I watched the crowd swinging from the rope into the clear water under the moonlight. One of my teammates was running around, a girl scooped over his shoulder, holding on to her backside, a beer clutched in his other hand. They both giggled as he pretended to throw her into the lake, only to catch her at the last second.

The chatter of happy people was the background noise to my running thoughts. Closing my eyelids, my fingertips found my temples, massaging the tension away. I forced a deep breath in, and another one for good measure.

Some of the annoyance tightening my upper back melted away. Yet, I wasn’t ready to join my friends and fake that I was fine when I was clearly not.

Nathan Fucking Bellevue. What a waste. I was sure his name followed the definition of douchebag in the dictionary. Yeah, I bet the term had been invented with him in mind. He was nothing more than a jerk with a handsome face. He talked a good game, and girls fawned over him, but that was the extent of his talent. I couldn’t understand how Melinda Shepard could fall for his charades. She was smart. Smarter than most people I knew. How could she not see how much of a loser the guy was?

My breath hitched.

The aura of danger that followed him around always caused friction amongst our friends. Last year, he got punched in the face after he tried to coerce a girl to give him head in the janitor closet during gym class. She wasn’t a willing participant in his little game and kicked him in the junk. Hard. Nathan dismissed the fact she had a boyfriend—and two older brothers. He missed two full weeks of school after the three of them rearranged his face that night. The rumor mill said two of his teeth were fake now and that he had to have a nose job to correct the damage his face sustained.

I dragged one palm over my face, unable to quiet my troubled mind. Nathan Bellevue was bad news. A crippling feeling knotted my insides. I could tell this would end badly, but I had no clue how to warn Melinda without sounding like a lunatic. She and I weren’t even friends. And I knew the girl well enough to know she would tell me to mind my own business if I got involved. If anything, my meddling in her life would push her further into the devil’s arms. Unless I got to Paige first. Perhaps she would listen to me and warn her friend. And yet, would it make me look like a jealous asshole instead of someone who cared? Crap. I had no idea how to proceed.

A drink would taste amazing right now, and it would probably help settle my buzzing anger. But it would also mean I might get drunk and do or say things I would regret. Like, start a fight with Nathan Bellevue just because I was indeed a jealous bastard and I thought he was a piece of shit. Or take Mindy up on her offer because a distraction would help me cool my temper. My stomach curdled at the thought of her mouth on me.

Two things I didn’t need—or crave.

Instead of enjoying a night out with my friends, here I was, sulking on my own, not knowing how to react to Melinda’s actions and how to prevent her from getting hurt. I knew I was being a hypocrite because I often attended parties with a girl locked under my arm even when I was aware of Melinda’s eyes on me. More often than not, I played the part of the player like the role had been created for me—damn the consequences—putting more distance between us instead of trying to shatter the wall of ice that stood between us and fixing our relationship. And here I was, tonight, upset—and hurt—that she was flirting with another guy in my face when I had no right to be. I was being served a taste of my own medicine, and I hated every second of it. Yeah, jealousy didn’t suit me.

I sighed and hung my head low.

When did I turn into such a loser?

7

It looks better on you anyway

“I’m out of here,” I told my friends as I joined them in the kitchen a while later. I perused my surroundings. Craig was busy talking to Jackson about a pro football player who just had broken a record, and Chase was cheering on a game of beer-pong. Paige was sitting on the kitchen island, chatting with a bunch of girls, laughing and drinking from a red plastic cup.

Sheldon’s face snapped in my direction. “Already? It’s not even midnight yet.” He crooked his arm and rested it on my shoulder. I could smell the tequila on his breath. “What’s up, Captain? You can talk to me, youuuu know.” He lifted a finger. “I’m suuuuper good at keeping secrets. Like a super secret-keeper.”

“I’m just not in the mood, man.”

“Is it because Shepard left with Bellevue?”

“When?” Gosh, I hated sounding so desperate. I cleared my throat. “What do you mean by they left together?”

“Just that he invited her to go on a ‘walk.’” He used his fingers to draw air quotes around the word walk.

“And why would I care?” I cared a whole lot.

“Cap, I might not be the smartest guy on the team, but I have eyes, you knooow. I’ve seen how you always look at her like she’s reallllly special. Like she’s yourrr girl.”

Here was the proof I wasn’t as subtle as I thought. “Yeah, well… Do you know where he took her?” Angst awoke inside me. I hated the feeling of my heart banging too hard in my chest and my blood turning to ice. It usually happened when I was playing a game that mattered and we were losing and the pressure became unbearable because I had to find a way to get us out of the sinking hole.

“Nopppe, but I can assure you he didn’t take her upstairs.”

“Good.” Some of the knots in my stomach loosened at that piece of information. Still, Nate had been drinking earlier. I had a hard time believing Melinda would ride home with his sorry drunken ass. Unless he possessed some kind of charm girls found impossible to resist—even her. Dammit.

Sheldon nudged me. “Hey Cap, are you stillll leaving?”

I nodded. “I’ll see you on Monday at school. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Follow yourrr own advice.” He dropped his arm, and I sidestepped him. “Take care.” He lowered his voice. “If I see your girrrl, I’ll make sure she’s safe. Like super extra-safe.”

“Thanks, man.”