There's a huge grin on everyone's face as Dante and I finally enter the locker room which is buzzing with energy. Sawyer flanks us immediately, equally excited about our win.
"Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful game tonight boys." Sawyer grins.
Riley comes into the locker room and gives us a little speech-not before warning us about not letting this win get to our heads and f*ck about (in other words don't party too hard tonight and use our day off tomorrow well). We still have a few more fights to win. Especially since we thought this would be an easy game.
After that, I head into the shower.
"Mind hitching a ride with Bradley and Sawyer?" I ask Dante as I step out of the shower with a towel wrapped around my waist "I've got to bring Lorraine with me."
"Lorraine's coming?" Ryan's frenzied voice calls from the showers at the other side of the locker room.
"Yes," I reply "what's it to you?"
"Nothing, just asking."
I shoot Dante a look. "Elle's coming too." I watch him closely but he gives nothing away-just a slight nod of his head before looking at me and muttering an ok.
I know something's up with Dante. I just can't tell what it is yet. He has been very secretive lately. Coming home at odd hours looking worn out as fuck. He's seeing someone and he's hiding it. I'm just not sure why-or who. I know he sort of has a thing for Elle but he's never spoken about going through with it so I can't say that it's her for sure. Whatever it is can't be serious. The guy is a freaking love advocate. If he's in a serious relationship with anyone, hiding it would be the last thing he'd do.
"Ok?" Sawyer appears, fully dressed. He's got a teasing smile on his face. "Are you finally gonna ask her out or what, you pussy."
"Shut up." Dante throws his lotion at Sawyer who dodges it smoothly letting the tub hit a locker. The content spills on the floor and Sawyer laughs while Dante glares jokingly "f*cking clean that sh*t up."
Sawyer ignores him and turns to me with the same f*cking smile. I expect a remark about Lorraine but he thinks better of whatever he's about to say with a shake of his head "Hurry the f*ck up ladies. The party waits for no one."
****
We all split off to our different rides after exiting the pavilion. There are still a few people hanging around the parking lot but I camouflage myself perfectly with my Yankees cap. I readjust my gym bag on my shoulder as I approach my BMW.
Lorraine is standing next to it, her eyes fixated on her phone. I realise her friends aren't with her which is a relief. Those girls do not like me-for good reasons. Besides, I wanted to be alone with Lorraine. I realise when I'm not around her, I miss her. Which is f*cking weird because until recently she couldn't stand me and half of the time we're bickering.
Maybe it's the bickering I miss. Watching her flush when I say something crude. Watching the silent hunger in her eyes.
Don't go there. Dangerous territory.
We're friends, I think. We can only be friends. I don't want to f*ck things up with her again. Not now. Not ever. Sex complicates sh*t and I have enough on my hands to keep things complicated.
"Hey, you ready?" I nudge her slightly with my gym bag to catch her attention. She looks away from her phone, blinks and takes a deep breath before nodding. "I know your friends hate me but what, they can't stand a 10 minutes drive with me?"
Lorraine frowns. "My friends don't hate you."
She doesn't sound too convinced either.
"Ok," I dump my gym bag in the trunk then go to stand next to her by the passenger's door. "Why aren't they here then?"
"Sam and Elle had to run to the library to do some last minute printing because they both have a paper due tomorrow. Shadé has a play on Tuesday and her ass of a partner called her in because he made some last minute changes to the script. They're coming yours as soon as they finish." I make a hnm sound not too convinced. "Seriously, they don't hate you. Maybe they don't like the things you've done in the past, but they don't hate you." She says softly, brown eyes peeking up to look at me. "Besides, I think you earned yourself some points with that Instagram comment."
"And what about with you. Did I earn some points?" I ask, unable to look away from those brown orbs. Without thinking, I close the gap between us. The smell of her drives me utterly mad. Her throat bobs at the proximity. The reasonable thing to do is apologise and take a step back but I'm looking into her eyes and it feels so right. To be with her like this, in my jersey, after a game. To kiss her. Fuck, I wanna taste her again. I want her in my f*cking mouth.
All of her.
"Charlie-" she sounds breathless. I imagine my name rolling off her tongue as I watch her come undone. The thought brings a burn to my lower abdomen.
Do the right thing. Take a step back.
"Come on," I reach out to pull the door behind her open instead of kissing her. "Ryan's gonna kill me if we're late." She smiles as she enters the car but it doesn't reach her eyes. I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart after shutting the door before jogging to the other side of the car and getting behind the wheels.
I'm f*cking loosing it.
****
We get to my off campus apartment in less than ten minutes because contrary to Sawyer's belief our apartment isn't that far without the morning rush traffic. As we walk up the porch that leads to the front door, I realise Lorraine is not coming with. Instead, she's standing by the by the stairs staring at her phone anxiously.
"Everything alright?" I ask worriedly, pulling my house keys from my back pocket.
"Elle's just texted me that the printers are out of use so they're gonna be here a little later." She sighs "looks like I'm going to be alone for a little while."
"Alone?" I frown. She tucks her phone into her bag as she climbs up to me.
"You didn't exactly stick around the last you invited me to a party. I don't want to be in your way or anything."
"Be in my way?" I repeat in the same ludicrous voice.
"It's your party. You're gonna be busy playing host. I get it."
"Firstly, it's not a party-it's a small gathering and Ryan's hosting. Secondly, I have no intention of leaving you all by yourself," her eyes widen a little. "You're stuck with me tonight sophomore."
She rolls her eyes but I see a small smile tug at her lips. I give her my hand which she reluctantly slips hers into as I push the front door open.
The music-not too loud-, muddled chatters and laughter is coming from the living room. I feel Lorraine's hands tighten around mine and I give her a reassuring squeeze as we enter the living room. I can only be thankful there's not a lot of people just as Ryan promised. Excluding the team, there are only about 7 people in here all of whom I recognise-including Alexis who's sitting next to her friend, Brandi, whom I seriously do not like either. Birds of the same feather. Ryan has been trying to get in this chick's pants for weeks now so I'm not surprised that she's here.
On the other hand, Alexis shouldn't be here. And I'm not the only one surprised because Lorraine tries to tug her hand free but I don't let go.
Brandi leans in to say something to Alexis-obviously informing her that I'm here since she's busy chatting with one of the dudes I recognised plays for the hockey team. She turns to look at me, my joined hands with Lorraine, then back to me with raised eyebrows and eyes blazing with pure anger.
Oh for f*cks sake.
Lorraine tugs harder and I look at her. The last time I saw her this terrified was when she was standing in front of the lecture, speaking to Byrne. The need to protect her overrides anything I'm feeling and I find myself pulling her closer reassuringly.
"It's okay," she looks up at me and nods. I spot Dante and Sawyer chatting with Vincent and Sajid. They're both D1 football players we met at a UCLA athletes convention two years back. Probably the funniest people I know. "Come on, there's some people I'd like you to meet."
"The wicked sisters are here." Sawyer jokes as we reach them. He eyes Lorraine and our joined hands. "And so is the journalist. Good luck son."
I turn to Dante who's standing between Sawyer and Vincent. He puts his hands up immediately in a I'm not involved way before pulling Lorraine in for a side hug.
"Charlie, I am glad you guys handed the Timberwolves asses to them. They deserved to have their 'perfect' season ruined." Vincent Barton is built like a beast. 6'4, 200 pounds, brown hair and blue eyes. Can look very intimidating until you find out he's a big fan of Cher. His cheery greeting brings a small grin to my face as we exchange a shake.
"Thanks." I chuckle.
"They're not bouncing back from that one any time soon." Sajid Anthony (the complete opposite of his best friend) stands at 5'11 with lean muscles, a five o'clock shadow, dark hair, dark eyes. He tips his beer bottle out ruefully, his dark eyes analysing the girl standing next to me. There's a subtle raise of bushy brows. "Are you going to introduce us to your new friend?"
"Lorraine, this is Vincent and Sajid. They play for the football team."
"Lorraine." Sajid sends her a single wave as Vincent says "You wrote the piece on Charlie?"
We both stiffen.
"Yes. I did." She answers, her voice steadier than usual. Primed for battle.
"Did you by any chance have an article published on the New York Times two years ago? The Truth about Afghanistan?"
"Yes. I wrote that piece for a contest in my senior year. I didn't think it was going to get published-"
"I knew your name was familiar when I read the Charlie article," Vincent's face breaks into a genuine smile. "My little brother read your article and fell in love with investigative journalism ever since. He just started his junior year in high school and has so many questions about picking his major but I know shit about journalism and haven't been of much help."
I feel her relax and I do so too. I turn to look at her and although I can tell she's trying to hide it, there's a hint of disbelief mixed with pride on her face.
"Listen, have you got any tips and tricks you used when you picked your major? I'm sure he could use some help."
"He still has a lot of time to specialise so he shouldn't worry about that just yet. Instead, he should focus on writing a killer college application and join the school paper-if he hasn't already."
"He's going to be so psyched to know I met you."
"Shit," Sawyer whistles "looks like we've got a local celebrity on our hands."
"What was this article about?" I ask curiously and she looks up to me like she's just realising that I'm there. It made me smile. "The Afghanistan one, it sounds interesting."
We all listen attentively as Lorraine explains the things she found out about the US government and the armies being sent over to serve in Afghanistan. She was reluctant at first but with every question we throw at her, she realises I'm not going to let her go and relaxes. It was very interesting to watch her speak passionately about something. Scratch that, it's sexy as f*ck and I can't stop staring at her.
I had no clue she wanted to specialise in war journalism but I can totally see why. She loves it. The passion in her voice is enough to tell me.
I can feel Alexis watching us every now and then but I don't care. All I care about is making sure Lorraine's having a good time without her friends here. Which she is. All she needed was a comfortable atmosphere and a little push.
Soon the conversation changes into a debate about how the media portrays war and since I'm 100 percent satisfied with how she's settled in with the conversation, I lean in to whisper in her ears.
"I'm going to go get a drink. Do you want anything?"
"I'll have water, please."
I nod. "If I'm going to get a drink, you know you'd to have to let me go right?" Her eyes drop to our still joined hands and she blushes hard, releasing me. I grin. "I'll be back." Before I leave I signal Dante to keep an eye out for her and he gives me a discreet I've got her nod.
Not a second after I reach the kitchen, Alexis saunters in, hands folded under her chest like she does when she's about to be a brat. I ignore her and open the fridge. It has been a physically taxing day for me and the last thing I need or want is a confrontation with her.
I grab a bottle of water and a beer. When I shut the fridge, she's standing there. "What is she doing here?"
I know what 'she' she's talking about but I have no intentions of talking about Lorraine with Alexis. "What are you doing here?" I shoot back.
She scoffs. "To congratulate you. I might not be in your life anymore but I care about you Charlie."
"Didn't seem to stop you from hooking up with my friend."
"Here we go again with the 'you slept with my best friend' card. All you do is blame me for what happened because every horrible thing that happens to Charlie murtaugh always has to be someone else's fault." She shakes her head, blonde curls bouncing.
"What the f*ck are you talking about?" I pop open the lid of my beer.
"What I'm talking about is the fact that you always blame other people for the things that go wrong in your life. Your dad. Your mum. Robin-"
"Don't you dare Lexi."
We both glare at each other. She knows that's a f*cking line she can't cross. She drops her hands to her side as she takes a step forward, the kitchen light reflecting on her sequinned dress.
"Admit it-we were burning out. You didn't give a shit about me if we weren't f*cking-"
"And Bradley did?" I make a sound that sounds more like a scoff and a short laugh. "You're not that naive."
"Bradley might be an asshole but at least he was there for me when I had no one. I had no one-" her voice shakes, and her eyes pool with tears. In our time of being together, she never cried. And I don't think she's about to start now because she blinks them away. Alexis Sparrows is a stone cold bitch who doesn't shed a tear. "I needed you. How was it that I was going through one of the darkest times of my life and my boyfriend didn't even care enough to realise it?" Her words hit harder than I expect it to. She knows she struck a nerve because she takes another cautious step forward. "It was never my intentions to hurt-"
"It's a little too late for that." I sidestep her and escape into the corridor. I expect the anger to hit me but it doesn't. Instead I'm thinking back to our time together and our conversations to see if I missed anything.
It's hard to know if you missed something if you were never really paying attention in the first place.
When I get back, Lorraine's by the snack table by herself. A few people are playing drinking games but Dante is nowhere to be seen. "Where's Dante?"
"He went to receive a call after I told him I didn't need a babysitter." She throws me a pointed look.
"I didn't want you to be alone."
"I know." She says, eyes twinkling "but I'm not a baby Charlie. I can handle you being gone for 5 minutes."
"Just 5?" I tease and she rolls her eyes as I hand her the bottle of water Evian.
"Thank you," She opens the bottle and takes a sip of the water. "Not like you weren't gone for more than 5 minutes. I was starting to think you got lost."
"I bumped into Alexis." I say truthfully.
If Lorraine feels a type of way about it, she doesn't show it. She shrugs slightly, turning back to the snacks arranged on the table. "I figured that much when she marched right after you. Seems like she was waiting for you to be...alone."
"She didn't kiss me, if that's what you're implying," She glances at me but doesn't say anything. She hides whatever she's about to with a brownie in her mouth, letting out a hnm. I notice a brown smudge of chocolate frosting on her upper lip. Lorraine is clueless about this as she eats another brownie, shutting her eyes in pleasure.
"These brownies are so good. They taste a little weird but-" she dusts the crumbs off her fingers, eyeing me weirdly "there's something on my face isn't it?" I nod and her face tints red. "Shit, why didn't you say anything?"
"I was too busy watching you eat it." I say. And because I instinctively feel like licking it off but it doesn't seem like the type of shit you do with just friends. I hold her face gently in one hand-her skin is soft, warm-and wipe the top of her lips delicately with my thumb. She physically shivers at my touch, her eyes not leaving mine as I lick the frosting off my thumb. I'm too busy watching her eyes darken to fully register the taste in my mouth.
When I do, I grab the tray of brownies and bring them to my nose "How many of these have you had?"
"I wasn't counting. Maybe 5 or 6." She dips her hand into the tray and I smack it away. "Ow, I just want one more-"
"No." I drop the tray on the table, my eyes darting around to find Ryan.
"Why?" She frowns.
"Because these are weed brownies."