At First Hate, page 9
He ground his teeth together and nodded. “Fine. Look, let’s bet on it.”
I laughed. “Bet on what?”
“This. Us. When UNC beats Duke in basketball this weekend, you’ll stop ruining my relationships.”
“And when Duke wins, you’ll what? Stop ruining mine? As far as I’m concerned, you’ve done a lot worse in all of this.”
“I was actually into Olivia, you know?”
“No, I didn’t know. You acted the way you do with everyone else.”
“And how is that?” he demanded.
“Expendable,” I spat. “You’re not even really mad that it ended. You’re only mad that I had something to do with it.”
“That’s not true.”
“If you were actually upset, you would be following her home to beg her to reconsider, but you’re not.”
He stilled at that comment. As if he’d never had anyone dissect him before. I didn’t know when I’d become the expert on Derek, but I’d had enough time to think about all the girls he had gone through in high school and the way he treated everyone, including me. I’d been determined to be the one girl who didn’t fall for his stupid tricks after that kiss. And he’d treated Olivia the same as all the rest.
“Fine. If Duke wins, then I won’t get back at you for what happened with Olivia,” he told me and held out his hand.
“Fine.” Then, I put my hand in his and shook. “Good luck next week, Derek. You’re going to need it.”
11
Savannah
Present
The doorbell rang at Gran’s. Maddox had a key, and there was no one else I wanted to see. We were thankfully past the point of strangers showing up, claiming to be friends with Gran and handing me dinner or dessert. They all wanted to talk about how much they loved her. I didn’t have the bandwidth for one more sorry for your loss.
I peered through the peephole and gasped, wrenching the door open. “Lila, what are you doing here?”
My best friend rushed inside and wrapped her arms tight around me. “Surprise!”
“I mean, I love the surprise, but it’s football season.”
Lila worked as a physical therapist and trainer for the Falcons. Every fall was a complete shitshow. I usually saw her on her bye week and then not again until Christmas or even after New Year’s. The fact that she was here on my front step in the middle of September was baffling.
“Maddox called,” she offered sheepishly.
“What? Why?”
“He said that you’re a wreck and need some girl time. I took two days off to come down. I have to be back for the game this weekend, but I wanted to be here for you. I love you.”
“I’m glad you’re here, but I’m fine.”
“Uh-huh,” Lila said. “He said you’ve seen Derek.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That little snitch.”
“Hey, I’m not opposed, but I know how he hurt you in the past.”
“Plus, he’s Ash’s best friend?”
She grimaced and fiddled with her nails. “How’s he doing?”
“How would you be doing?”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Right. Well, my fault. I guess I don’t have a right to wonder how he’s doing.”
“You loved him forever. It’s not surprising, Lila.”
“Anyway,” she said with a sigh, “I’m not here about me or Ash. I’m here for you.”
“How’s Cole doing with you down here alone?”
“He’s fine,” she said with a wave of her hand. “We’re happy. But you’re not. Now, get in my car. We’re going to get Leopold’s.”
I could never say no to Leopold’s. So, I grabbed my purse and followed her outside. We drove downtown, getting a coveted parking spot on Broughton, directly across from the ice cream parlor. Unsurprisingly, there was already a huge line, even in the middle of the week during school. It was outrageous but worth it. We chatted about unimportant things, like how Miss Alicia was finally talking about retiring. She’d had the studio since she was in her twenties, and we were all surprised she still ran it, let alone still teaching.
When I had my mint chocolate chip cone and Lila had one with strawberry and cookie dough, we headed up Abercorn toward Reynolds Square. We stood in front of Pink House and licked the ice cream in the shade.
“You know I’ve never eaten there,” I said.
Lila laughed. “How have you never been to Pink House? It’s iconic.”
“I never moved back like you did. It just never happened. I feel like it’s too hyped for me now.”
“You would think that. It’s delicious. Maybe Derek can take you,” she said with a wink.
I snorted. “Don’t even, Delilah Grace.”
“How are you really doing with everything? Gran?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed heavily. “Sad. I miss her. She was my go-to person. I have you and Josie—when she’s not busy—but it’s not the same. I used to call her and tell her everything that happened to me. She’d always have the best, most unorthodox advice. You know, she once told me that the most important lesson to learn was to get back at someone who thought they could take advantage of you.”
Lila burst into laughter. “Oh, Gran. That sounds just like her. I miss her laugh. She had that big, hearty laugh when she found something really funny.”
“Me too. Or all the silly nicknames she gave us.”
“Chickadee,” Lila said. “That was my favorite.”
“Yes.”
“She was a great woman with a long, beautiful life.”
“She left a lasting impression.”
Lila arched an eyebrow. “When were you going to tell me about the will?”
I groaned. “Did Maddox tell you?”
“That your mom and aunt are contesting it? Yes. How horrible!”
“Yeah, it’s bullshit. I spoke with an attorney and the executor of the will. We have to get evidence to disprove whatever BS my mom comes up with for her reasoning. Then, go to court and wish for the best.”
“And Derek is their attorney?”
I nodded. “His dad made him do it.”
“Huh.”
“He’s going for partner, I guess.”
“Does his dad know that you two…”
“He met me once, but it was in college. I don’t know how much he remembers. You didn’t even know.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’ll never live that down either.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. I’m the worst. But a lot of it is just a waiting game.”
“Have you asked Derek about the will?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it with him.”
“He can’t give you the scoop?”
“No way. You know how he is.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” She put an arm around me as we continued toward Bay Street. “Well, I’m sure you’re going to win. Gran wanted you to have the house. That’s all that matters.”
“I hope you’re right.”
We walked out onto Bay when I jerked to a stop. Stepping out of an open doorway was none other than Derek Ballentine. He froze as the door to Ballentine Law closed shut behind him. I’d completely forgotten that this was where the practice was. I’d only ever been here once before.
“Marley,” he said evenly. His gaze shifted to Lila, and he narrowed his eyes. “Delilah.”
“Hey, Derek,” she said with a smile.
“What are you doing here?”
“Checking on Marley.”
He looked around as if Ash Talmadge might jump out at any second. “Just Marley?”
“Yes,” she said flatly.
“It’s fine,” I said, jumping in. “She’s here for me.”
He nodded. “All right.” Then, his gaze swept to mine, and something shifted there. “Can I talk to you a minute?” He looked to Lila and back. “In private?”
“Uh…”
“It’s fine,” Lila said easily. “I’ll wait here.”
“Sorry,” I said to her and then stepped aside with Derek. “What?”
“What is she doing here?”
“I told you already.”
“She’s not going to see Ash?”
“No!” I ground out. “Jesus, she’s not stupid. If you just want to talk about that, then I’m going to go back to my friend.”
He reached out for my arm. I looked down at it in surprise. “That’s not why. Look, were you serious about helping with Ash?”
I blinked at the change of subject. “Yeah.”
“His birthday is next week, and I wanted to get him out of the house but not something like… the yacht. Want to come with us?”
I met his gaze head-on, trying to find the Derek-sized play in all of this. But he seemed genuinely concerned for his friend. And I was equally concerned about Ash.
So, I finally nodded. “Sure. I’ll come out.”
He grinned, and my body melted at that look. “Great. I’ll text you the info.”
I stepped back quickly. “Sounds good. See you around.”
Then, I hastened back to Lila.
She arched an eyebrow at me. “What was that about? The case?”
“Ash’s birthday.”
Lila bit her lip. “Oh. Right. That’s next weekend.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we’re not here about my worries. Let’s wander around and talk about Gran. River Street?”
“Definitely,” I agreed.
I followed my friend down the steep steps and reminisced. So many people had wanted to talk about missing her. It was another thing entirely to remember her. That made it worse and also somehow better. It was just what I needed.
12
UNC
February 10, 2010
Sarah looked at me in exasperation. “Girl, what are you wearing?”
Olivia and Carly looked equally uncomfortable.
“Seriously?” Olivia asked.
I looked down at my outfit—a Blue Devils T-shirt, Dancing Devil shorts, and a blue Duke D logo on my cheek. “What?”
“When you said that you wanted us to get you a ticket to the Duke-UNC game, we knew that you were going to cheer for Duke,” Sarah said. “We didn’t think you’d dress like the enemy in the student section.”
“You’re going to get so much shit,” Olivia said.
I shrugged. “Who cares? Technically, I am a UNC student as well. Sort of. Unofficially.”
Carly rolled her eyes. “You’d better hope we win, or I don’t know if we’ll be able to get you out of the Dean Dome alive.”
“How did you get an extra ticket anyway? We can never get them at Duke,” I said with a wink. “Someone offered me ten thousand dollars for my floor pass last year. Just some stranger on the street. It was crazy.”
“Whoa,” Carly whispered.
“I pulled some strings,” Sarah said. “My dad knows some of the coaches from when he went to UNC. He was able to weasel out one extra ticket. And then you blaspheme in Duke attire.”
I laughed and followed the girls through the line and into the Dean Dome. The stadium was much bigger than Cameron, nearly twenty-two thousand to Duke’s nine thousand. But I thought Cameron had more charm while the Dean Dome was much more modern and fancy. I got a seat in the bleachers, ignoring the incredulous stares from Tar Heels fans.
“Amiguita, you enjoy it,” Carly said with a head shake. “You’re twisted.”
I was a pot-stirrer to the core. No one could shake my love of Duke. Not after years of TIP and a full-ride scholarship to the university. UNC hadn’t offered me anything like that.
The crowd went wild as the UNC basketball team came out and made a lap on the court. Each starter was announced. I ignored them to find Derek in the lineup. He wasn’t a starter for UNC, but he was a constant sub for the defense. He was completely in the zone when I found him in his white-and-Carolina-blue home uniform. Ballentine was written in block letters across the back. I’d seen him in uniform before, but it was different on his home turf.
I’d always been attracted to Derek. It was just his mouth that got in the way. Here with an entire stadium cheering him on, everything felt inexplicably different. His charm was next level. The smiles to the camera and crowd undeniably alluring. He cast a spell on the stands that day, and I was captured with the rest of them.
Even as I watched and cheered for Duke to take him down. I had a bet on the line. I couldn’t lose focus. Not even to Derek. Especially Derek.
“He’s amazing tonight,” Olivia said longingly.
And she was right. Derek had been subbed in with ten minutes left in the second half, and he was playing like his life was on the line. Which made me chuckle to think about. Was he playing like this to beat me? Could he see our bet in the faces of all of the Duke players?
“He is,” I agreed.
Olivia and I hadn’t talked about her breaking it off with Derek. I could see that she wasn’t over him. I hardly blamed her either. It hadn’t ended because she wasn’t interested. It had ended because she had made a stupid decision and she was smart enough to recognize it before it blew up in her face.
I’d thought that she’d be weird with me after it all, but she was the same bouncy, joyful Olivia as always. She could have hated me for being the one to point out that dating a student wasn’t just irresponsible but also potentially life-altering. They hadn’t even been that careful if they wanted it to be a secret. The entire school knew who he was. He was currently doing the thing they all loved him for.
But then something shifted. Derek was pulled out of the game at the two-minute warning. He argued with the coach, but he wasn’t having any of it and sent Derek to the bench. He flopped down, clearly boiling over with anger. Then, the game went to shit.
It hadn’t really been in UNC’s favor, but it had been close. And when the buzzer rang, Duke was up by ten. I screamed my head off as angry UNC students filed out around me. My friends hid their faces in disappointment and pretended like they didn’t know me. That was fine. We’d won. I’d won.
I filed out of the Dean Dome with my friends, reading over the texts from Brinley and Lora. Duke was partying all night to celebrate defeating our rival. I sent them a picture of me walking out of the stadium in my Duke outfit. A riot of laughter followed in our messages.
“I’ll see y’all next week in class,” I called to my friends.
Sarah sighed. “Could you be a little less excited?”
“Would you be if you were in my place?”
Carly playfully nudged Sarah. “Of course not. But that doesn’t make it easier.”
“It was a good game. It wasn’t even a blowout.” Though beating UNC by ten was a bit of a blowout in our long rivalry.
“They shouldn’t have taken Derek out,” Olivia groused. “He was on fire.”
“Ah, pobrecita. Let’s get you home,” she said with a laugh. “Good night, Marley!”
I waved them off as I headed to Derek’s house. He lived off of campus in a house that his dad had purchased for him. It was kind of ridiculous, but he’d let me park in one of the extra spots, so I didn’t have to pay for parking. For that, I was grateful.
I followed the mass exodus from the game and out past Franklin to Derek’s house. I shot him a text when I was almost there.
Guess that settles that.
Are you close to my place?
Yeah.
I’ll be there in a few minutes. My roommate should already be back. Wait for me.
I rolled my eyes. We’d bet. He’d lost. He wasn’t going to be able to weasel his way out of this one. But when I got to his house, I had no other option but to go inside. Someone had blocked me into Derek’s driveway. I wouldn’t be leaving until that person came back or we towed them.
So, I knocked on the door, and a lanky Black guy in full UNC garb answered.
“Wrong house,” he said and then nearly shut the door in my face.
I laughed and put my hand out. “Wait, I’m Derek’s friend. He told me to come inside and wait for him. My car is blocked in.” I pointed to my tiny little Civic.
“Well, that explains the extra car. Derek didn’t mention it.” His eyes narrowed at my attire, but he opened the door and let me inside. “How the hell does he know a Duke fan?”
“We went to high school together. Well, sort of.”
“You’re a St. Catherine’s girl?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.
“That would be a no. I went to public school. We crossed paths a few times. I’m Marley.”
I held my hand out, and he took it.
His mouth popped open. “Ohhh.”
I tilted my head. “What?”
“I’ve heard about you.”
My cheeks heated. “I don’t even want to know what Derek said. I’m sure it’s not true.”
He laughed. “I’m Kenny, by the way. And I bet some of it’s true. He’s never mentioned the same girl this much in exasperation. Whatever you’re doing to keep him on his toes, keep it up.” He headed toward the kitchen. “Beer?”
“Nah, I have to drive back.”
He guffawed. “Not anytime soon. Everyone will be out on Franklin, drowning their sorrows over the loss. You aren’t leaving until after midnight.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Then sure. Whatever you have is fine.”
“My kind of girl,” he said, reaching into the fridge and pulling out two beers.
He passed me one, and we sank into the couch to watch postseason coverage of the game. It was another hour before Derek finally showed up. Kenny and I had gone through a few beers each and started a game of Egyptian Ratscrew to pass the time. I currently had eighty percent of the deck of cards in my hands. Kenny was holding on to the game by a jack and queen.
He threw down the jack, confident that he’d win something valuable at least. Another jack came up out of my hand, and I dashed out, slapping the cards faster than he could even get his hand out.
“Noooo,” he cried dramatically. “Fuck, Mars. How are you so good at this game?”
I laughed. “Bet on what?”
“This. Us. When UNC beats Duke in basketball this weekend, you’ll stop ruining my relationships.”
“And when Duke wins, you’ll what? Stop ruining mine? As far as I’m concerned, you’ve done a lot worse in all of this.”
“I was actually into Olivia, you know?”
“No, I didn’t know. You acted the way you do with everyone else.”
“And how is that?” he demanded.
“Expendable,” I spat. “You’re not even really mad that it ended. You’re only mad that I had something to do with it.”
“That’s not true.”
“If you were actually upset, you would be following her home to beg her to reconsider, but you’re not.”
He stilled at that comment. As if he’d never had anyone dissect him before. I didn’t know when I’d become the expert on Derek, but I’d had enough time to think about all the girls he had gone through in high school and the way he treated everyone, including me. I’d been determined to be the one girl who didn’t fall for his stupid tricks after that kiss. And he’d treated Olivia the same as all the rest.
“Fine. If Duke wins, then I won’t get back at you for what happened with Olivia,” he told me and held out his hand.
“Fine.” Then, I put my hand in his and shook. “Good luck next week, Derek. You’re going to need it.”
11
Savannah
Present
The doorbell rang at Gran’s. Maddox had a key, and there was no one else I wanted to see. We were thankfully past the point of strangers showing up, claiming to be friends with Gran and handing me dinner or dessert. They all wanted to talk about how much they loved her. I didn’t have the bandwidth for one more sorry for your loss.
I peered through the peephole and gasped, wrenching the door open. “Lila, what are you doing here?”
My best friend rushed inside and wrapped her arms tight around me. “Surprise!”
“I mean, I love the surprise, but it’s football season.”
Lila worked as a physical therapist and trainer for the Falcons. Every fall was a complete shitshow. I usually saw her on her bye week and then not again until Christmas or even after New Year’s. The fact that she was here on my front step in the middle of September was baffling.
“Maddox called,” she offered sheepishly.
“What? Why?”
“He said that you’re a wreck and need some girl time. I took two days off to come down. I have to be back for the game this weekend, but I wanted to be here for you. I love you.”
“I’m glad you’re here, but I’m fine.”
“Uh-huh,” Lila said. “He said you’ve seen Derek.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That little snitch.”
“Hey, I’m not opposed, but I know how he hurt you in the past.”
“Plus, he’s Ash’s best friend?”
She grimaced and fiddled with her nails. “How’s he doing?”
“How would you be doing?”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Right. Well, my fault. I guess I don’t have a right to wonder how he’s doing.”
“You loved him forever. It’s not surprising, Lila.”
“Anyway,” she said with a sigh, “I’m not here about me or Ash. I’m here for you.”
“How’s Cole doing with you down here alone?”
“He’s fine,” she said with a wave of her hand. “We’re happy. But you’re not. Now, get in my car. We’re going to get Leopold’s.”
I could never say no to Leopold’s. So, I grabbed my purse and followed her outside. We drove downtown, getting a coveted parking spot on Broughton, directly across from the ice cream parlor. Unsurprisingly, there was already a huge line, even in the middle of the week during school. It was outrageous but worth it. We chatted about unimportant things, like how Miss Alicia was finally talking about retiring. She’d had the studio since she was in her twenties, and we were all surprised she still ran it, let alone still teaching.
When I had my mint chocolate chip cone and Lila had one with strawberry and cookie dough, we headed up Abercorn toward Reynolds Square. We stood in front of Pink House and licked the ice cream in the shade.
“You know I’ve never eaten there,” I said.
Lila laughed. “How have you never been to Pink House? It’s iconic.”
“I never moved back like you did. It just never happened. I feel like it’s too hyped for me now.”
“You would think that. It’s delicious. Maybe Derek can take you,” she said with a wink.
I snorted. “Don’t even, Delilah Grace.”
“How are you really doing with everything? Gran?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed heavily. “Sad. I miss her. She was my go-to person. I have you and Josie—when she’s not busy—but it’s not the same. I used to call her and tell her everything that happened to me. She’d always have the best, most unorthodox advice. You know, she once told me that the most important lesson to learn was to get back at someone who thought they could take advantage of you.”
Lila burst into laughter. “Oh, Gran. That sounds just like her. I miss her laugh. She had that big, hearty laugh when she found something really funny.”
“Me too. Or all the silly nicknames she gave us.”
“Chickadee,” Lila said. “That was my favorite.”
“Yes.”
“She was a great woman with a long, beautiful life.”
“She left a lasting impression.”
Lila arched an eyebrow. “When were you going to tell me about the will?”
I groaned. “Did Maddox tell you?”
“That your mom and aunt are contesting it? Yes. How horrible!”
“Yeah, it’s bullshit. I spoke with an attorney and the executor of the will. We have to get evidence to disprove whatever BS my mom comes up with for her reasoning. Then, go to court and wish for the best.”
“And Derek is their attorney?”
I nodded. “His dad made him do it.”
“Huh.”
“He’s going for partner, I guess.”
“Does his dad know that you two…”
“He met me once, but it was in college. I don’t know how much he remembers. You didn’t even know.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’ll never live that down either.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. I’m the worst. But a lot of it is just a waiting game.”
“Have you asked Derek about the will?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it with him.”
“He can’t give you the scoop?”
“No way. You know how he is.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” She put an arm around me as we continued toward Bay Street. “Well, I’m sure you’re going to win. Gran wanted you to have the house. That’s all that matters.”
“I hope you’re right.”
We walked out onto Bay when I jerked to a stop. Stepping out of an open doorway was none other than Derek Ballentine. He froze as the door to Ballentine Law closed shut behind him. I’d completely forgotten that this was where the practice was. I’d only ever been here once before.
“Marley,” he said evenly. His gaze shifted to Lila, and he narrowed his eyes. “Delilah.”
“Hey, Derek,” she said with a smile.
“What are you doing here?”
“Checking on Marley.”
He looked around as if Ash Talmadge might jump out at any second. “Just Marley?”
“Yes,” she said flatly.
“It’s fine,” I said, jumping in. “She’s here for me.”
He nodded. “All right.” Then, his gaze swept to mine, and something shifted there. “Can I talk to you a minute?” He looked to Lila and back. “In private?”
“Uh…”
“It’s fine,” Lila said easily. “I’ll wait here.”
“Sorry,” I said to her and then stepped aside with Derek. “What?”
“What is she doing here?”
“I told you already.”
“She’s not going to see Ash?”
“No!” I ground out. “Jesus, she’s not stupid. If you just want to talk about that, then I’m going to go back to my friend.”
He reached out for my arm. I looked down at it in surprise. “That’s not why. Look, were you serious about helping with Ash?”
I blinked at the change of subject. “Yeah.”
“His birthday is next week, and I wanted to get him out of the house but not something like… the yacht. Want to come with us?”
I met his gaze head-on, trying to find the Derek-sized play in all of this. But he seemed genuinely concerned for his friend. And I was equally concerned about Ash.
So, I finally nodded. “Sure. I’ll come out.”
He grinned, and my body melted at that look. “Great. I’ll text you the info.”
I stepped back quickly. “Sounds good. See you around.”
Then, I hastened back to Lila.
She arched an eyebrow at me. “What was that about? The case?”
“Ash’s birthday.”
Lila bit her lip. “Oh. Right. That’s next weekend.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we’re not here about my worries. Let’s wander around and talk about Gran. River Street?”
“Definitely,” I agreed.
I followed my friend down the steep steps and reminisced. So many people had wanted to talk about missing her. It was another thing entirely to remember her. That made it worse and also somehow better. It was just what I needed.
12
UNC
February 10, 2010
Sarah looked at me in exasperation. “Girl, what are you wearing?”
Olivia and Carly looked equally uncomfortable.
“Seriously?” Olivia asked.
I looked down at my outfit—a Blue Devils T-shirt, Dancing Devil shorts, and a blue Duke D logo on my cheek. “What?”
“When you said that you wanted us to get you a ticket to the Duke-UNC game, we knew that you were going to cheer for Duke,” Sarah said. “We didn’t think you’d dress like the enemy in the student section.”
“You’re going to get so much shit,” Olivia said.
I shrugged. “Who cares? Technically, I am a UNC student as well. Sort of. Unofficially.”
Carly rolled her eyes. “You’d better hope we win, or I don’t know if we’ll be able to get you out of the Dean Dome alive.”
“How did you get an extra ticket anyway? We can never get them at Duke,” I said with a wink. “Someone offered me ten thousand dollars for my floor pass last year. Just some stranger on the street. It was crazy.”
“Whoa,” Carly whispered.
“I pulled some strings,” Sarah said. “My dad knows some of the coaches from when he went to UNC. He was able to weasel out one extra ticket. And then you blaspheme in Duke attire.”
I laughed and followed the girls through the line and into the Dean Dome. The stadium was much bigger than Cameron, nearly twenty-two thousand to Duke’s nine thousand. But I thought Cameron had more charm while the Dean Dome was much more modern and fancy. I got a seat in the bleachers, ignoring the incredulous stares from Tar Heels fans.
“Amiguita, you enjoy it,” Carly said with a head shake. “You’re twisted.”
I was a pot-stirrer to the core. No one could shake my love of Duke. Not after years of TIP and a full-ride scholarship to the university. UNC hadn’t offered me anything like that.
The crowd went wild as the UNC basketball team came out and made a lap on the court. Each starter was announced. I ignored them to find Derek in the lineup. He wasn’t a starter for UNC, but he was a constant sub for the defense. He was completely in the zone when I found him in his white-and-Carolina-blue home uniform. Ballentine was written in block letters across the back. I’d seen him in uniform before, but it was different on his home turf.
I’d always been attracted to Derek. It was just his mouth that got in the way. Here with an entire stadium cheering him on, everything felt inexplicably different. His charm was next level. The smiles to the camera and crowd undeniably alluring. He cast a spell on the stands that day, and I was captured with the rest of them.
Even as I watched and cheered for Duke to take him down. I had a bet on the line. I couldn’t lose focus. Not even to Derek. Especially Derek.
“He’s amazing tonight,” Olivia said longingly.
And she was right. Derek had been subbed in with ten minutes left in the second half, and he was playing like his life was on the line. Which made me chuckle to think about. Was he playing like this to beat me? Could he see our bet in the faces of all of the Duke players?
“He is,” I agreed.
Olivia and I hadn’t talked about her breaking it off with Derek. I could see that she wasn’t over him. I hardly blamed her either. It hadn’t ended because she wasn’t interested. It had ended because she had made a stupid decision and she was smart enough to recognize it before it blew up in her face.
I’d thought that she’d be weird with me after it all, but she was the same bouncy, joyful Olivia as always. She could have hated me for being the one to point out that dating a student wasn’t just irresponsible but also potentially life-altering. They hadn’t even been that careful if they wanted it to be a secret. The entire school knew who he was. He was currently doing the thing they all loved him for.
But then something shifted. Derek was pulled out of the game at the two-minute warning. He argued with the coach, but he wasn’t having any of it and sent Derek to the bench. He flopped down, clearly boiling over with anger. Then, the game went to shit.
It hadn’t really been in UNC’s favor, but it had been close. And when the buzzer rang, Duke was up by ten. I screamed my head off as angry UNC students filed out around me. My friends hid their faces in disappointment and pretended like they didn’t know me. That was fine. We’d won. I’d won.
I filed out of the Dean Dome with my friends, reading over the texts from Brinley and Lora. Duke was partying all night to celebrate defeating our rival. I sent them a picture of me walking out of the stadium in my Duke outfit. A riot of laughter followed in our messages.
“I’ll see y’all next week in class,” I called to my friends.
Sarah sighed. “Could you be a little less excited?”
“Would you be if you were in my place?”
Carly playfully nudged Sarah. “Of course not. But that doesn’t make it easier.”
“It was a good game. It wasn’t even a blowout.” Though beating UNC by ten was a bit of a blowout in our long rivalry.
“They shouldn’t have taken Derek out,” Olivia groused. “He was on fire.”
“Ah, pobrecita. Let’s get you home,” she said with a laugh. “Good night, Marley!”
I waved them off as I headed to Derek’s house. He lived off of campus in a house that his dad had purchased for him. It was kind of ridiculous, but he’d let me park in one of the extra spots, so I didn’t have to pay for parking. For that, I was grateful.
I followed the mass exodus from the game and out past Franklin to Derek’s house. I shot him a text when I was almost there.
Guess that settles that.
Are you close to my place?
Yeah.
I’ll be there in a few minutes. My roommate should already be back. Wait for me.
I rolled my eyes. We’d bet. He’d lost. He wasn’t going to be able to weasel his way out of this one. But when I got to his house, I had no other option but to go inside. Someone had blocked me into Derek’s driveway. I wouldn’t be leaving until that person came back or we towed them.
So, I knocked on the door, and a lanky Black guy in full UNC garb answered.
“Wrong house,” he said and then nearly shut the door in my face.
I laughed and put my hand out. “Wait, I’m Derek’s friend. He told me to come inside and wait for him. My car is blocked in.” I pointed to my tiny little Civic.
“Well, that explains the extra car. Derek didn’t mention it.” His eyes narrowed at my attire, but he opened the door and let me inside. “How the hell does he know a Duke fan?”
“We went to high school together. Well, sort of.”
“You’re a St. Catherine’s girl?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.
“That would be a no. I went to public school. We crossed paths a few times. I’m Marley.”
I held my hand out, and he took it.
His mouth popped open. “Ohhh.”
I tilted my head. “What?”
“I’ve heard about you.”
My cheeks heated. “I don’t even want to know what Derek said. I’m sure it’s not true.”
He laughed. “I’m Kenny, by the way. And I bet some of it’s true. He’s never mentioned the same girl this much in exasperation. Whatever you’re doing to keep him on his toes, keep it up.” He headed toward the kitchen. “Beer?”
“Nah, I have to drive back.”
He guffawed. “Not anytime soon. Everyone will be out on Franklin, drowning their sorrows over the loss. You aren’t leaving until after midnight.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Then sure. Whatever you have is fine.”
“My kind of girl,” he said, reaching into the fridge and pulling out two beers.
He passed me one, and we sank into the couch to watch postseason coverage of the game. It was another hour before Derek finally showed up. Kenny and I had gone through a few beers each and started a game of Egyptian Ratscrew to pass the time. I currently had eighty percent of the deck of cards in my hands. Kenny was holding on to the game by a jack and queen.
He threw down the jack, confident that he’d win something valuable at least. Another jack came up out of my hand, and I dashed out, slapping the cards faster than he could even get his hand out.
“Noooo,” he cried dramatically. “Fuck, Mars. How are you so good at this game?”
