Fallen Fourth Down
Page 43
So he was staying. That meant he was going to be popular. He had the looks. He was friendly, nice, and it was only a matter of time before he started coming to Mark’s house.
I murmured, “I see.”
His eyes scanned over my face, and he laughed softly. “You’re not happy about the move?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You know,” I tensed, hearing his tone turn serious, “this doesn’t have to be awkward. I can see that you’ve got a whole new life. Jeff said you transferred last year and something about a new boyfriend.” He pointed to the field again. “Is it Logan Kade back there? I’ve heard of him, just didn’t know you were attached to him.”
I shook my head. “No. I'm dating Logan’s brother.”
“Ah. Gotcha. I’ve heard of him, you know.” His head moved up and down in a slow nod. “Mason Kade. He’s a big deal.”
“Yeah, he is.” My tone hardened. “He’s better than you.”
A short laugh came from him. “You’re more honest than you were before.” He grinned. “I approve. I always thought my cousin was an ass to you.”
“He was.”
“Yeah…” He glanced to the ground and bit his lip again.
I almost rolled my eyes. Jeff did the same thing when he was nervous. I guessed it was a family trait. “Look,” I cleared my throat. I was all business. “This doesn’t have to be awkward.”
“You’re right.”
“We had sex. It was one time.”
“You’re right.” He moved back a step. The nervous behavior stopped, and he raked a hand through his hair. “It’s good to see you. I think it was nice to catch up since we did run into each other. I’m not a big partier so we probably won’t run into each other at parties.”
“I live with Mark.”
“What?”
“Mark Decraw. I live with him. My dad is with his mom, and I’m living with my dad, so that means that I live with Mark. Just thought you should know, in case you come over to hang out with Mark sometime.”
“Oh.” Realization appeared in his gaze. “Yeah. Got it. Okay. Good to know, in case that ever comes up.”
“It will. His mom likes to be a mom to everybody, so I’m sure you’ll be invited to the house sometime.”
“Okay.” His head bobbed up and down. “And when I get that invitation, should I…” He paused, waiting for my answer. “Accept it…?”
“I don’t care.”
“…or don’t accept?” He nodded again. “Okay. That sounds like another plan. I’m glad that’s cleared up as well.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
We stood and stared at each other.
“Okay.” He jerked a thumb to the field. “I’ll be going back there.”
“Okay.” I would be staying right where I was.
Then we heard, “Screw you, Jax! What the hell is your problem with my girlfriend, and where the fuck did Sam go?!”
This was going to be a long night.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MASON
Nate and I hadn’t talked since Sam and Logan’s visit. I kept to myself and my teammates. Football. My team. School. That was my life besides my nightly phone calls with Sam and talking with Logan every few days. When I went to class, I never looked in Marissa’s direction. She was a non-factor. I meant what I had said. There was no friendship between us. The only awkwardness that happened was when we had been paired to be in a small group together. There were three others so our group presentation meetings were strictly business for me. We met in the library, and if the conversation steered towards hanging out, going for a beer, or hobbies, I brought them back to the assignment.
We were in the library again, and it was our last meeting. Matteo and Drew were coming to meet me. All three of us were going to find a study room on the third floor and lock ourselves in to study for our exam. And, as I thought of them, I glanced to the clock on the wall. They were supposed to be here by now. Irritation grew in me. This meeting was supposed to have been done thirty minutes ago, but they were still discussing who was going to present the bibliography.
I leaned over and grabbed the paper from the other guy. “I’ll do it.” They were quiet, and I leveled all of them with a hard look, gathering my books. “Are we done? Everything’s set to go?”
“Uh.” The guy’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. He tugged at his collar, stretching his trendy polo from his neck, and shrugged. “I guess. Yeah?” He looked to the others, but they weren’t saying anything. Marissa’s head was down, avoiding my gaze. The two other girls in the group looked dumbfounded. The redhead recovered first. She was interested in me. I had known the second our group was formed. Her shirt was lowered, her skirt was raised, and she kept flipping her damn hair over her shoulder. Some girls did that when they were uncomfortable, but not this one. This girl barely touched her books. Now, her finger went right to her lip, and she pulled on it.
I wasn’t an idiot, and I never engaged. Averting my eyes and not talking to her were the only tactics I used. Other times I would’ve been an asshole, telling her straight out that it wasn’t going to happen, but sometimes that backfired. The girl would come on to me harder. So again, like all the other times, I ignored her and glanced at the last girl. Unlike the redhead, this one seemed more like the old Marissa. Her brown hair was frizzy. She kept taking her glasses off and pinching the top of her nose. Her sweater was too baggy for her. When her elbows went to the table, her sleeves kept falling down and she would tug them back into place.
She sat right next to Marissa. Comparing her to the new Marissa, who was wearing a tight pink shirt and leggings that looked like jeans, almost made me miss the old Marissa.
The redhead asked, “Are you in a hurry to leave?”
I turned to her. She was rubbing her lips together. “Yeah. I need to study. Are we done here?”
Her eye twitched, and she stopped rubbing her lips together. “I don’t know.” She glanced to the guy beside me. “I was thinking of having everyone over for dinner? Are you guys interested? We can celebrate being done with our presentation?”
The guy’s leg jerked under the table, and he immediately grabbed for his crotch. He was too excited. Under her knowing gaze, he swallowed again. His hand moved to his leg and he flattened his palm out, stopping his leg from jumping so much. “That sounds cool.”
I murmured, “I see.”
His eyes scanned over my face, and he laughed softly. “You’re not happy about the move?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You know,” I tensed, hearing his tone turn serious, “this doesn’t have to be awkward. I can see that you’ve got a whole new life. Jeff said you transferred last year and something about a new boyfriend.” He pointed to the field again. “Is it Logan Kade back there? I’ve heard of him, just didn’t know you were attached to him.”
I shook my head. “No. I'm dating Logan’s brother.”
“Ah. Gotcha. I’ve heard of him, you know.” His head moved up and down in a slow nod. “Mason Kade. He’s a big deal.”
“Yeah, he is.” My tone hardened. “He’s better than you.”
A short laugh came from him. “You’re more honest than you were before.” He grinned. “I approve. I always thought my cousin was an ass to you.”
“He was.”
“Yeah…” He glanced to the ground and bit his lip again.
I almost rolled my eyes. Jeff did the same thing when he was nervous. I guessed it was a family trait. “Look,” I cleared my throat. I was all business. “This doesn’t have to be awkward.”
“You’re right.”
“We had sex. It was one time.”
“You’re right.” He moved back a step. The nervous behavior stopped, and he raked a hand through his hair. “It’s good to see you. I think it was nice to catch up since we did run into each other. I’m not a big partier so we probably won’t run into each other at parties.”
“I live with Mark.”
“What?”
“Mark Decraw. I live with him. My dad is with his mom, and I’m living with my dad, so that means that I live with Mark. Just thought you should know, in case you come over to hang out with Mark sometime.”
“Oh.” Realization appeared in his gaze. “Yeah. Got it. Okay. Good to know, in case that ever comes up.”
“It will. His mom likes to be a mom to everybody, so I’m sure you’ll be invited to the house sometime.”
“Okay.” His head bobbed up and down. “And when I get that invitation, should I…” He paused, waiting for my answer. “Accept it…?”
“I don’t care.”
“…or don’t accept?” He nodded again. “Okay. That sounds like another plan. I’m glad that’s cleared up as well.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
We stood and stared at each other.
“Okay.” He jerked a thumb to the field. “I’ll be going back there.”
“Okay.” I would be staying right where I was.
Then we heard, “Screw you, Jax! What the hell is your problem with my girlfriend, and where the fuck did Sam go?!”
This was going to be a long night.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MASON
Nate and I hadn’t talked since Sam and Logan’s visit. I kept to myself and my teammates. Football. My team. School. That was my life besides my nightly phone calls with Sam and talking with Logan every few days. When I went to class, I never looked in Marissa’s direction. She was a non-factor. I meant what I had said. There was no friendship between us. The only awkwardness that happened was when we had been paired to be in a small group together. There were three others so our group presentation meetings were strictly business for me. We met in the library, and if the conversation steered towards hanging out, going for a beer, or hobbies, I brought them back to the assignment.
We were in the library again, and it was our last meeting. Matteo and Drew were coming to meet me. All three of us were going to find a study room on the third floor and lock ourselves in to study for our exam. And, as I thought of them, I glanced to the clock on the wall. They were supposed to be here by now. Irritation grew in me. This meeting was supposed to have been done thirty minutes ago, but they were still discussing who was going to present the bibliography.
I leaned over and grabbed the paper from the other guy. “I’ll do it.” They were quiet, and I leveled all of them with a hard look, gathering my books. “Are we done? Everything’s set to go?”
“Uh.” The guy’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. He tugged at his collar, stretching his trendy polo from his neck, and shrugged. “I guess. Yeah?” He looked to the others, but they weren’t saying anything. Marissa’s head was down, avoiding my gaze. The two other girls in the group looked dumbfounded. The redhead recovered first. She was interested in me. I had known the second our group was formed. Her shirt was lowered, her skirt was raised, and she kept flipping her damn hair over her shoulder. Some girls did that when they were uncomfortable, but not this one. This girl barely touched her books. Now, her finger went right to her lip, and she pulled on it.
I wasn’t an idiot, and I never engaged. Averting my eyes and not talking to her were the only tactics I used. Other times I would’ve been an asshole, telling her straight out that it wasn’t going to happen, but sometimes that backfired. The girl would come on to me harder. So again, like all the other times, I ignored her and glanced at the last girl. Unlike the redhead, this one seemed more like the old Marissa. Her brown hair was frizzy. She kept taking her glasses off and pinching the top of her nose. Her sweater was too baggy for her. When her elbows went to the table, her sleeves kept falling down and she would tug them back into place.
She sat right next to Marissa. Comparing her to the new Marissa, who was wearing a tight pink shirt and leggings that looked like jeans, almost made me miss the old Marissa.
The redhead asked, “Are you in a hurry to leave?”
I turned to her. She was rubbing her lips together. “Yeah. I need to study. Are we done here?”
Her eye twitched, and she stopped rubbing her lips together. “I don’t know.” She glanced to the guy beside me. “I was thinking of having everyone over for dinner? Are you guys interested? We can celebrate being done with our presentation?”
The guy’s leg jerked under the table, and he immediately grabbed for his crotch. He was too excited. Under her knowing gaze, he swallowed again. His hand moved to his leg and he flattened his palm out, stopping his leg from jumping so much. “That sounds cool.”
