Since Summers

thirty three : regret

FRAZIER

"Airhead. Blockhead. Bonehead. Pea brain. Cretin. Dimwit. Dumbbell. Dunce. Fool. Ignoramus. Imbecile. Jerk. Moron. Muttonhead. Nincompoop. Ninny. Nitwit. Oaf. Pinhead. Simpleton. Stupid. Tw--"

"Are you okay?" A voice interrupted my series of mentioning any word in my vocabulary that was a synonym for the word 'stupid'.

"You're late." I looked over my shoulder and saw Corbin walking in with a backpack slung over one shoulder. His hair was wet and I could tell that it was from the rain outside. "Where were you?" I walked to the lockers on one side of the wall and grabbed a clean towel then tossed it in his direction.

He caught the towel with one hand and muttered, "thanks", before wiping off his face and drying his hair. "I was at the library." He tossed the towel into the laundry basket in the corner of the room and yelled, "touchdown" when the towel plopped inside the basket.

I shook my head and smiled. "You're such a dork." A dork that I loved, that was, but there was no way I was going to say that to him.

"A dork that you love," answered Corbin, reading what had been in my head. He put his bag on the floor and went to get ready. It was Friday, and just like any other Thursday, we had a brotherly boxing match.

He wore protective gloves and fastened the straps around his wrists. "I don't have much time for this though, I have to head back to the lab in an hour or two."

"Doesn't matter," I replied, getting so fired up on this more than usual. "It won't take more than one hour to kick your arse."

Corbin rolled his eyes and got into the ring. "Tyler left early this afternoon," he continued as if I hadn't said anything. "His mum apparently will get married to his dad this Sunday and he's going to be the best man."

I frowned. "Tyler? Autumn's boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend," Corbin corrected. "They've broken up a few days ago." Just when I was about to lunge forward as I thought the chitchat was over, he tilted his head and added, "speaking of Autumn, your bitchy girlfriend confronted her this afternoon."

"What?" I paused. "Why didn't I hear of this?" Well, who was I kidding, I'd spent these last few days trying to stay under the radar. Her radar, to be precise. Since that awkward kiss that we'd shared a few days ago, I'd been feeling like a jerk. Why hadn't I kissed her back? Why, instead of enjoying the moment and the feeling of her lips, had I had to open my stupid mouth and take a step back? There was no one I could blame but myself.

When she kissed me, I was fully aware of her emotional state and thought that she might be thinking of Tyler and not me. Even a blind man could see how much she loved him and a part of me, at that moment, couldn't believe that she kissed me.

Sure, I was taller than Ty by three inches and we didn't look alike, but it didn't dismiss the thought that she might have him in her mind while she was kissing me.

"Maybe because you've been living under a rock?" replied Corbin as he fixed his boxing stance. His legs stood firmly shoulder-width apart with his knees slightly bent and his left foot turned to point toward me. "I really don't like that girlfriend of yours, Mar,gaux or what I'd like to call Mar-faux since she's bloody fake. I'm glad Autumn kicked her arse."

I made loose fists and hold my right hand by my chin while my left hwas and down in front of my face. I dug my chin down and kept my eyes up. "Ex-girlfriend." I launched my first punch using my right fist then followed by the left one. Corbin managed to duck and dodge the first punch but my second one hit him right on the side of his chin. He took it like a champ.

"When did you two break up?" asked him with a raised brow. "Grandma said she caught her in your place the other day."

When did sh?-oh!