Loving You

57

"C'mon! There's plenty of teammates!" I yell as she waves her hands in a 'no' motion.

"Fuck to the no. I choose happiness after seeing what you-" she says pointing at me then to Lacey. "and you went through."

"Carter doesn't count because she is in a happy relationship now," Lacey says not looking in our direction. I sigh loudly standing up straighter.

"Whatever," I say tapping Julie with my phone. I motion with my head to the other room and Julie nods her head at me. "Alright let's go watch the boys."

The girls agree with me as we head into Tori and I's room. I grab the Panera from Rae's desk and walk into my room. Q is sprawled out on my bed scrolling through his phone. He glances away from it and I give him a wave. I set the food onto my desk now and head towards him.

"Holy shit, Miller. I haven't seen you in weeks!" he says sitting up in my bed. It's true. I have been so busy and I guess I just have been hanging out with Asher. I do need to go back to his frat and see everybody again. I miss them and even though they come to basketball parties when they don't have frat duties, I rarely see him. I hop up onto the bed next to him with a smile.

"I know and I'm sorry I suck," I tell him glancing at the TV. I am about to say something else but I see Asher's face pop up with his name across the screen. I clamp my mouth shut as I grab the remote turning up the volume. Tori steps in front of the television and I shove her out of the way.

"With Asher Fletcher playing this well, I think we will be hearing very soon whether or not he will take the invitation to the NBA draft," the announcer says showcasing Asher's good plays from the game. I clap my hands proudly. I could not be more proud of him and everything he has done recently. Especially with his mom. Since NCAA laws changed, he has been able to promote his name and earn money through promotions on Instagram. He is so close to being able to afford the best divorce lawyer he can get his hands on. I can't help the tears that spring to my eyes as I fan my face.

"Are you fucking crying, Miller? Wow, Fletcher really has changed you," Q whistles. I shove his shoulder but he is not entirely wrong. Asher has changed everything. I didn't think any of this shit would happen to me and I am pretty sure he didn't see any of this coming either.

"Shut the fuck up. Just wait Q," I tell him wiping under my eye with a chuckle. The game is back on and I lean my back against the wall. He laughs too shaking his head at me as he pulls me into a side hug.

"So, tell me everything I have missed, ladies," Q asks all of us. We exchange glances and I take a deep breath. I start off explaining everything that is going on between Asher and I minus the mom and dad part. Then, Julie goes on to explain about Trey. Q is just as excited as we were when we found out about it. Julie's brown eyes light up when she talks about it him and while she never has officially confirmed that she likes him, I'm thinking she does. Tori admits that her love life and drama is actually nonexistent to which Q suggested some frat boys.

"So, Lace you're up next," Q says turning to Lacey. She is picking away at her pale pink nail polish blonde hair covering half of her face as she clears her throat. I look away from her and back to the TV where Braden just sunk a three.

"Um you know about Braden, well that didn't really work out. I mean the whole fucking campus knew about it, let's be honest. So, yup that's it."

Her words are rushed and I know she doesn't want to talk about it. But, at some point we have to figure this shit out. Someone has to spill the tea on this shit.

"Yeah. I did hear about that. I'm sorry, Lace," Q says as I turn away from the TV. Q gives me a side glance and I just offer him a shrug. I wish I could give more information on the topic but I know just as much as he does.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I know we have all been dying to know. Lace, what happened with you and him?" Tori asks the question we all have been thinking. Julie winces indicating that she knows more than she is letting on. I mean they were best friends before any of so that makes the most sense but Lacey has been the one to always throw her under the bus.

"It's nothing Tori just drop it," Lacey snaps looking over at her. My own eyes widen at her harsh tone and Q sits up straighter.

"Look, I did not mean to-"

"No Q you're fine. Lacey don't you think Carter at least gets an explanation on why her and Asher almost did not make it," Tori snaps right back at Lacey. I look Julie who is slowly sliding off of Tori's bed. She hates confrontation and in all honesty, as much as I want to know, I did not need it to happen this way.

"Fine it was all a fucking bet!"

I don't think there is anything that can describe the audible gasps that were heard from around the room. I am speechless. A bet. Like After movie bet type shit. Although Lacey wasn't a virgin, a bet with sex is still a fucking horrific bet. I am going to murder Braden, I am going to actually put him six feet fucking under when I get my hands on him. Julie has made her way over to my bed and is jumping back on. She is watching the game ignoring the rest of us and honestly I now understand why no one was saying anything about this.

"Lacey. What. The. Fuck."

I can't help that it comes out of my mouth but it does. I love Braden, well actually not so much anymore. I watch Lacey sniffle as she wipes underneath her eye blinking away tears.

"Yeah between him and Michael. Although I never gave a fuck about Michael I just wanted to piss off Braden with him. Clearly, Braden did not give a fuck," Lacey says shaking her head. I open my mouth to say something else but I can't. She has been handling all of this real damn well. If I were her and Asher did some shit like that I would have chopped his balls off. Or broken his kneecaps.

"What a douchebag," Tori says placing a hand on Lacey's thigh. "I'm sorry I pushed you I didn't know or I wouldn't have."

"I know Tor, you did it because you're right. Carter, you did need to know and I am sorry for defending everyone but you in that situation. And to Julie," Lacey explains looking at the two of us.

"Lace, we understand," Julie says for me. I nod my head in agreement. God, if only I knew. Also, she must feel like shit for defending Braden and Michael only to see how they turned out.

"What happened at the bar after Carter slapped Michael and the night shit hit the fan, I was trying to tell Michael it was over to fuck off but he wouldn't take no for an answer. Braden saw the wrong fucking thing and I tried so hard to fix what I had fucked up in the beginning only for Braden to say it was all a bet."

Lacey sniffles again making me slide off of the bed. I make my way over to Lacey and bring her into a hug. I can feel her tears on my shoulder and my chest aches with anger and sadness. I really thought Braden cared about her but maybe Asher and I were off. Maybe shit was off. Oh my God, I even defended Braden. Fuck.

"I'm gonna be okay, Car," Lacey says pulling away from me. She still has tears in her eyes but she sniffles offering me a smile.

"I know you will be, Lace. But I also know Braden means a lot to you."

She laughs shaking her head at me as she wipes here eyes again, "Yeah but we both fucked that up now didn't we?"

I sigh loudly shaking my head at her. "You both collectively fucked up. And don't worry I might just kick Braden in the balls for you."

Lacey laughs at me loudly shaking her head. She tucks her blonde hair behind her ears pulling me in for another hug. While Lacey and I don't always get along she is one of my best friends. Maybe everyone should have looked at their situation differently. We mumble 'I love yous' before pulling away from each other. I make my way back over to my bed.

"Shit, I am so sorry I brought it up," Q laughs awkwardly. Tori and Julie are silent making me furrow my eyebrows. Before hopping back onto the bed I glance back at the game. I do a double take when I see we won. Oh fuck we won.

"Oh fuck."

"Oh my God. We're going to Miami."