Chapter 11.
My impromptu visit home, and running unexpectedly into Luke, served as a much needed distraction from the ongoing Dylan and Avery drama. After the visit, I followed Luke's suggestion to join the school's newspaper staff, and regretted it almost immediately after receiving my first official assignment: I needed to cover the upcoming football game on Saturday. Because somehow, no matter what I did, everything in my life seemed to be intrinsically connected to football. No matter what I did, I couldn't seem to escape the sport, or the guys who played it.
The Saturday morning of the game dawned bright and early, and I sprang out of bed ready to tackle the game from a completely neutral standpoint. I was not, under any circumstances, going to let my problems with Dylan compromise my ability to write a completely unbiased article for the paper. I realized that I would almost certainly see Dylan at the game, probably with Avery, but I was determined not to let that bother me. Dylan had been such a jerk to me, and I wanted to cut ties with him, at least for now. Maybe someday, if he came to his senses and did a lot of grovelling, we would make up, but I didn't foresee that happening anytime soon. Not while Avery still had her claws in him.
I had expected to run into Dylan at the game. What I had not expected was to bump into Luke at the football field two hours before the game was set to start.
"Luke?" I asked, genuinely baffled. "Are you stalking me or something?"
Luke laughed lightly, the corners of his lips pulling up into a charming smile. "No, of course not," he said. "Didn't you wonder why I was in Florida and not Ohio? My team is playing Dylan's."
I smacked my forehead, feeling a little dumb. "Right, duh, I suppose you have to travel for games, huh?" I said, grinning sheepishly.
Luke grinned. "It does make football season a little more entertaining when we play other schools, yes," he teased. "And since I'm going to be playing Dylan for the first time in a few years, this is a bit of grudge match for me," he said with a wink. "I still owe Dylan a loss for that time he lost me that bet I made with you."
"Really?" I asked, shoving him playfully. "Because the way I remember it, you losing that bet meant you had to bring me to that party. And that party was one of the first times I ever hung out with you one on one. So really, maybe you should thanking Dylan for helping us get together in high school."
Luke crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at me. "I was dating Madison at the time," he reminded me.
"That bet made you and Madison hate each other for half of the year, and fueled Kelsey's weird matchmaking schemes."
I shrugged, a grin lighting up my face. "Hey, Kelsey doesn't need any encouragement for her matchmaking schemes," I reminded him. "She comes up with them all on her own. The rest of us just tolerate her meddling as best we can, and try to remember that she has our best interests at heart."
Two figures walking on the opposite end of the football field, hands entwined, caught my attention, and my heart sank. Dylan and Avery. What were they doing here this early? The game didn't start for a while, and the football field was hardly the most romantic spot for them to be hanging out. I mean, sure, I had gotten to the field early, but that had mostly been in an effort to avoid running into Dylan and Avery. I hadn't expected them to show up here, of all places, at this time of day. Dylan looked up, and his eyes widened slightly, so I knew that he saw me.
Leaning towards Luke, I lowered my voice, whispering, "Please do me a favor and play along." Then, before I had the chance to lose my nerve, I leaned forward, pressing my lips softly against Luke's.
Luke tensed in surprise, and for a moment, I worried that he was going to pull away. But then, he kissed me back, his warm lips moving under mine, his arms wrapping around my waist and drawing me closer to him. I snaked my hand up and ran my fingers through his hair, and for a moment, it was just the way it had been in high school, him and me together, and everything felt so right. Then, I remembered what had prompted me to throw myself at Luke, and I opened my eyes to peek over Luke's shoulder at Dylan, who was standing about twenty feet away, slack jawed, an angry glint clouding his dark eyes.
After a minute, Luke pulled back from me, his arms still wrapped around my torso, and he searched my face, his eyes questioning. "Are you going to tell me what that was all about?" he murmured softly, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Not that I'm complaining."
I glanced over at Dylan and Avery again, and told Luke softly, "Dylan is over there with my roommate, Avery. She hates me, and is gloating because she's managed to turn Dylan against me. I just got dumped by my boyfriend, and the last thing I want is her thinking I'm moping around being pathetic."
Luke grinned. "So you're using me for my body, then."
"No," I protested, shoving him playfully. "I'm not using you, exactly. Don't pretend like you didn't just enjoy that."
Luke's eyes widened. "Wow, this is giving me major deja vu," he said suddenly, and he let out a roaring laugh. I eyed him warily, wondering if he had always been this crazy, or if he had been sacked a few too many times.
"I'm not following," I admitted.
"Remember that football game?" Luke reminded me. "The one where Dylan beat me, and I lost that bet to you?"
I nodded. "Yeah, you were literally just talking about it."
"Well, right before that game, Dylan kissed you, and seeing it really bothered me," Luke said. "It shouldn't have, since I was technically dating Madison at the time, but I was so distracted by it that I played like crap and it cost my team the game."
"And this is similar because?" I asked. "I promise, there is absolutely no way I'm going to kiss Dylan."
Luke grinned impishly. "No, this is so much better than that," he said. "You kissed me, and that's going to drive Dylan nuts. With any luck, it will distract him from the game later. Karmic justice at its best."
I rolled my eyes. "There's just one little problem with your logic," I told Luke. "Dylan doesn't care who I kiss. It's not like that with us. We're friends. That's it. He's with Avery."
Luke shrugged, winking at me. "We'll see," he said cryptically.
"Since you're feeling nostalgic, wanna go for the full experience and bet on it?" I asked.
Luke grinned. "What are the stakes?"
"If I win, you have to tell me why you were visiting my dad," I said.
"And if I win?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want?"
"If I win, you have to take me to a party," Luke said.
I laughed, confident that Dylan was going to win. Luke and Dylan were both great players, but Dylan's dad was an ex-NFL star, and Dylan had always had the best coaches money could buy. In a game between Dylan and Luke, Dylan was always going to have the upper hand. "Fine," I agreed, shaking Luke's hand firmly. "It's a deal."
________
I wasn't about to admit that Luke was right, but even I had to admit, Dylan was not playing his best at the game. I had watched both Dylan and Luke play countless games, and while Luke was in top form, Dylan kept making bad calls and throwing interceptions. It was like he couldn't focus. But, I refused to believe that that had anything to do with me. If anything, it was because Avery was sitting in the front row of the bleachers, flashing him glimpses of her cleavage every time he glanced her way. It was sort of sad, actually, the way Avery felt the need to scream for attention by dressing like a hooker. It made her seem desperate.
I used the camera I'd borrowed from the journalism department to take pictures of the game, and jotted down notes about the game for later—who played well, who didn't. If I had to write an article about football, I wanted it to be a good article.
"Come on, Dylan," I muttered, watching as Dylan threw another lousy pass that one of Luke's receivers intercepted. "Get your act together. I was betting on you to win. I don't have a party to bring Luke to."
Glancing at the scoreboard, I grimaced. Luke's team was currently winning, 21-7, with only ten minutes left in the game. Maybe it was time to start making contingency plans. Pulling out my phone, I texted Will.
Hey, are there any parties tonight? -Lilly
A minute later, my phone chimed, and I glanced down at a text from Will.
Yeah, I know of one. Why? You up for a party? -Will
I typed out a quick response.
Probably going to lose a bet, and I promised if I lost I would bring him to a party. -Lilly
There was no response, and for a minute, I worried that Will wasn't going to invite me now that he knew I was bringing a date. I was pretty sure that Will didn't think of me romantically, but I could be pretty dense about things like that sometimes. Finally, Will replied.
Wow, I didn't take you for the betting type. Party is at my frat house, same place as the last one we went to. Want me to come pick you guys up? -Will
No, I think we can find it. We'll stop by after the football game, unless a miracle happens and Dylan's team wins. -Lilly
I glanced up to see that while I was distracted by my text conversation with Will, Luke's team had managed to score another field goal. Dylan's team currently had possession, but it really wasn't looking good. I growled under my breath. I really hated it when Luke was right. And I really didn't like to lose bets. I was dying to know why Luke had been chatting with my father when I went home, and now it didn't seem like I was going to find out anytime soon.
It was no surprise when Luke's team won. After the game ended, I sat in the bleachers, waiting patiently while everyone filed out of the stands and all of the players headed to the locker rooms to change and freshen up. I might as well get comfortable, because after Luke changed, I had a party to bring him to. When I had kissed Luke earlier, I had only meant to make sure Avery knew that I wasn't moping around. Now, I had a date with my ex-boyfriend, who happened to be the cousin of my ex-best friend, who was dating my evil roommate. At least, I thought it might be a date, although I wasn't completely sure, because I didn't even know if Luke had a girlfriend or not.
I sighed, pressing my face into my hands, and wondered when my life had gotten to be so complicated. I wasn't sure, but one way or another, I suspected that this party was going to be interesting.