Changing Forever (8 page)

“You looked a little uncomfortable,” Drake says, just loud enough that only I can hear it.

I nod. “Blind date.”

He laughs, cupping my elbow in his hand to guide me to his table. “I didn’t peg you as the type that would agree to that.”

“I’m not. They tricked me.”

He wiggles his eyebrows, a grin spreading across his face. “Well, anytime you need me to save you, I’ll be your Superman.”

Shaking myself free from his grasp, I say, “Trust me. I won’t be doing this again.”

“Yeah, I suppose if things get serious with Eric there, you won’t need to.”

“Shut up and teach me how to play.”

“Wow, Chambers, you got your hands full there.” I recognize the guy as the one who was playing football with Drake the first day I ran into him.

Drake’s eyes stay on me as he responds. “No, it looks like you have yours full, Gavin, because she’s on my team.”

Before I know it, I have a pool stick in my hand, and the front of Drake’s chest is pressed against my back as he tries to show me how to hit the white ball. The warmth of his body makes mine tingle in a way I’m not used to, and a part of me wants him to stay there. I hate even admitting it.

“See how we’re going to do this? We’re going to place the tip between your left fingers and hold the end of the stick with your right.” He stands behind me, his hands right behind mine. “We’re going to pull it back, and then hit the ball. Not too hard. Not too soft.”

We do just that, him guiding me the whole way through. The first shot he helps me with, I make with no problem, but as soon as he leaves me on my own, I miss the next couple shots.

“You can do it,” he says. “Just take your time, and do exactly what I showed you.” Not long after, I get the hang of it, knocking a few balls into the pockets. I’m even able to hit one in by holding the stick behind my back; I’d seen Gavin do it and was determined to show him up because he’s been teasing me incessantly tonight.

“You play before?” Gavin asks after Drake and I win our second game in a row.

“This is my first time.”

“Wow,” he mouths, setting up the balls again. “Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?”

“Leave her alone, man!”

“A
ll
right, I get it,” he says, laughing.

“Oh, no way—no, no, no, we aren’t together,” I stutter in an attempt to clear up the confusion. “There’s absolutely nothing going on between us.”

“Not yet,” Gavin says as he walks away with a smirk on his face.

Drake and I are about as likely as world peace. He’s starting to show me he’s a good guy, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not my type. Even if he was, I’m not interested in dating right now.

When I turn my attention back to Drake, he seems to be running Gavin’s comments in his head, too, because his eyebrows are pinched together as he looks back at me.

“Ignore him,” he mumbles, running his fingers through his hair. His head tilts to the side as he considers me carefully.

“I think you’ve told me that twice now when Gavin’s involved,” I say, biting on my lower lip. The way he looks at me has me shifting on my feet. Things didn’t feel so uncomfortable when Gavin was with us.

“Just making sure you understand.”

“Loud and clear,” I say, scanning the packed bar for any sign of Kate and Beau. I spot them playing two tables away with Eric. “I should probably go back over there.”

He nods, his lips turning up at one side. “Signal me if you need me to fly over and save you again.”

“I can handle it,” I say, walking back a couple steps.

“We’ll see.”

After a few more steps, I turn back around. “Does this take the place of a football lesson?”

One corner of his mouth quirks. “Not even close. We didn’t even touch on tackling.”

Smiling, I go back to join the others, dreading having to hang out with Eric. As I assumed it would, the awkwardness returns. Eric and I are definitely not going anywhere. I mean, just holding a conversation with him is harder than any calculus test I’ve ever taken.

At one point I consider going back over to help Drake, but change my mind when I notice the hands of a skinny blonde on his chest. An odd sensation fills my chest, but I don’t know why; she’s exactly the type of girl I pictured him with. I’m not that girl. He probably wouldn’t even give me the time of day if it weren’t for our project.

“Emery, are you awake?”

I rub my eyes, but when I try to open them, the room is too bright with morning sun peeking through the curtains. Why is she waking me up on a Saturday? “Kinda.”

“Well, hurry up. I’m dying to talk about last night.”

Rolling on my back, I throw my arm over my eyes to keep the harsh light out. Last night, after one brutally awkward game of pool with Eric, he offered to take me home. My initial reaction was to tell him no, but Kate and Beau weren’t ready to leave, and I couldn’t stomach another round of pool, or should I say, another hour with Eric. So I accepted, and endured exactly thirteen minutes in the car with him. I know because I watched every freaking minute tick by. It was painful, but still better than the alternative.

I even thwarted his attempt to kiss me by telling him I wasn’t feeling well. Now that I think about it, I owe Kate big time … and not in a good way.

“You know, I should have gotten up earlier and thrown a bucket of cold water on your head,” I say, peeking over at her from under my arm.

She laughs. “So, I didn’t make a love connection?”

“No! Not even close. What the heck were you thinking?” I prop myself up on my elbows, shooting daggers with my eyes. It doesn’t bother her at all, though. She’s having a good time with this.

“I’d never met him before, and Beau said he was really smart. It sounded like you guys would be a good match. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

“Are you?” I ask, rolling my eyes.

“Umm, no, I’m never going to feel bad about trying. It looked like you were having fun with Drake, though. How were those pool lessons?”

When I think back to what it felt like to have Drake’s body molded to my back and his hands curled around mine, it’s hard to keep from blushing. He gets under my skin a lot, but I can’t deny how good he looks and the way he can make me feel. He’s different than anyone I’ve ever met, in good ways and bad.

“Drake’s a good teacher. I mean, Eric and I beat you and Beau, didn’t we?”

Kate’s head falls back onto her bed. “Don’t remind me. I suck.”

I laugh. “You’re not that bad.”

“Emery, I hit a ball off the table. Who does that?” she asks, losing herself in her own fit of giggles. It was funny when she did it, but for whatever reason, it’s even funnier now as we relive it.

“You just need a lesson or two. You better talk to Beau.”

“Don’t worry. He mentioned it on the way home last night.” She sits back up on her elbow. “So, what’s up with you and Drake? And don’t tell me nothing because I can see it.”

“I don’t know. We’ve been spending a lot of time together working on the speech, and he’s starting to grow on me.” I honestly don’t know what to say. I couldn’t stand him the first couple times we talked, but that’s not necessarily true now. Sometimes I even look forward to it. “Besides, he was with a girl last night.”

Kate scoffs. “He always has girls hanging on him. It doesn’t mean anything.”

I shrug, folding my pillow under my head. “Maybe. Hey, I’m going to run to the mall today. Do you want come with?”

“I can’t. I already promised Beau I would watch football with him.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure you’ll approve of whatever I get anyway since our closets are almost identical,” I say, throwing the covers off and stretching my arms above my head. I’m looking forward to a relaxing day. Throw in a little bit of shopping, a good book, and it’s my idea of perfect.

T
HE
FIRST
THING
I
NOTICE
when I step outside is the wet sidewalks and the smell of fresh rain. The condensed moisture used to be one of my favorite things, but that’s not the case anymore. It’s the nine-year anniversary of one the worst days of my life, and without a football game today, running is my only release.

I plan to stay out here until my body aches so much that my heart no longer hurts—not that it’s even fucking possible. I always thought it would get easier over time, but it doesn’t. Maybe it would if I dealt with it the way I should, but that’s hard to do with all the responsibility I carry. I’m supposed to be the strong one, taking care of everyone else in my family, but it hasn’t left any time for me. I barely know who I am anymore, because I’m too busy making sure that everyone else is doing okay and following a football dream that may not even be mine.

Campus is quiet, but I wouldn’t expect anything less on a Saturday morning like this. My old tennis shoes hit the wet pavement, crunching against rain-soaked leaves. It brings me back to that morning because it was just like this … exactly like this in so many ways.

Making it even more eerie, I pass a car that looks exactly like his. Usually, I keep my eyes forward when I
run, but the similarities have me doing a double take, and that’s when I see her. Familiar dark hair, exotic brown eyes. As I approach the old white Ford, I watch her pound her forehead against the steering wheel over and over again.

“Damnit!” I hear her yell. I lower my head, watching as she beats her palms against the dash. I lightly tap my knuckles against the glass, trying to get her attention without scaring her.

The rain starts falling fast again, soaking through my white t-shirt. When I look through the window, she’s just staring at me, mouth hanging open slightly. Anxious to get out of the rain, I knock against the window again, and this time her fingers find the lock and let me in.

She squints her eyes as she watches me climb into the passenger seat. The way her eyes roam my soaked clothes says everything … she thinks I’m an idiot, or I’m stalking her. It feels like I’m everywhere she is, or maybe she’s everywhere I am.

“Couldn’t multi-task again?” I ask, running my fingers through my wet hair.

“What makes you say that?”

“You can’t stare at me and unlock the door at the same time,” I remark, focusing in on her white knuckles. “And you know, you probably don’t have to hold on to that so tightly when the car isn’t even moving.”

She rolls her eyes, obviously not in the mood to play any games today. “Why are you here, Drake?”

I shrug, looking straight ahead at the deserted, grassy area. “Because you let me in.”

“Don’t you have a game today?”

“No, it’s a bye week, which means we have today off. I thought I’d go for a run to keep myself loose, but then this happened,” I say, waving toward outside. The rain is falling harder now, making it more difficult to see out the windows. It also makes the weight on my chest heavier. I hate this weather. Absolutely fucking hate it, and everything it reminds me of.

We both remain quiet for what feels like forever. I can’t stand it, honestly. Without anything else to talk about, my mind always goes to him, and it’s exhausting. There’s a chill in the air today, but the inside of her car is overwhelmingly warm. When my eyes finally wander back in her direction, she stares outside.

“Are you always up this early when you don’t have a game?” she asks, breaking through the silence, but keeping her eyes fixed on the rain-soaked window.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I say, rubbing my palm across my chest. Her eyes search for mine, and when they find them, they stay locked there. She looks lost. Sad. I wonder if this is the real her, who she hides under the stubborn, focused girl I usually see.

Looking at her is like facing myself in a mirror. I want to know what’s going on inside that head of hers, but I’m not in the sharing mood today, and I’m not one to ask for something I can’t give.

“So how was your date?”

When I saw her come in with Kate last night in her short shorts and boots, I was excited. All sorts of ideas were running through my mind, but then I saw him. I couldn’t stand to watch her with him, so I kicked someone off our table and invited Emery over.
Never in my life have I gotten jealous over a girl, but when I saw her with that guy … I wanted to take her away from him; so I did. I told myself it had more to do with saving her from a situation that was obviously making her uncomfortable, but deep down, I knew the true motivator.