Major: I know I fucked up. Please talk to me.
I just couldn’t bring myself to reply to him tonight. Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight. I put my phone on silent and set my alarm. We had an extra practice and I was already happy for the distraction. I turned my phone face down on the nightstand, not wanting to even see if I had any more notifications. I read a few chapters before finally settling into bed.
* * *
I was up before my alarm went off the next morning. I took my time preparing the fruit for our smoothies. The practice wasn’t until 9:00, but I was used to getting up early. Karma’s door was closed, so I assumed she had gotten home sometime after I fell asleep
When I was done with the prep, I decided to check my phone. There were two more texts from Major and a missed call. He was acting like we broke up or something. I read the texts.
Major: You’re right, I don’t know what I did. I’m sorry about that.
Major: Please tell me how to fix this. I still want to be friends.
Could I still be friends with Major? Probably. But I was still hurt and it irritated the shit out of me that he had no clue what he did was wrong. I didn’t care about him having sex with random women, or even taking pictures of them. But sharing my words with his friends had crossed the line.
Karma finally emerged from her room at 8:40. I finished making the smoothies then we were off to practice. I’m sure she could tell something was bothering me, but I didn’t want to talk about it just yet, and I was grateful she didn’t ask.
I turned my hurt and anger into the fuel for practice. I hit the water harder and faster than I had in a long time. Coach Cross was very happy. If I swam like that at the next competition, I should be able to win every event.
By the time practice was over, most of the anger had disappeared, but the hurt was still there. Karma and I showered and left the building. I was shocked to see Major waiting outside.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked me.
Karma noticed the tension between us and raised her eyebrows at me. I nodded and she started walking back to the dorm.
I moved away from the building so no one would overhear whatever it was that he had to say.
“Kayleigh, I’ve been racking my brain all night trying to figure out what I did to make you so mad. I get that it had something to do with the bet, but I don’t understand.”
I just stood there and listened.
“I still want to be friends. Are you ever going to talk to me again?” he asked.
“Major,” I finally said, “I’m more hurt than I am mad. You’re a smart guy, find a way to figure out what upset me and then we can talk. But for right now, I just can’t.” I walked away proud of myself for not calling him an idiotic douchenozzle.
As I suspected, Karma was waiting for me in our dorm.
“Okay, what was all that about?” she said, as soon as I walked in the door. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing because I’ll know you’re lying.”
“Major and I had a misunderstanding at dinner last night.”
“A misunderstanding? I’m going to need more than that. Did you sleep with him?”
“Oh my God no, Karma. How did you jump to that conclusion?”
“He’s hot. You two have been sending dirty messages to each other. The logical next step is sex.”
“Maybe in your mind, but that’s totally not what happened.”
“So tell me.”
“Apparently Major, Bodie, Zach, and Chad had a bet to see who could have sex with the most women by the end of September.”
“What a bunch of pigs,” Karma said in disgust.
“Anyway, Major and Bodie were tied for the most and to break the tie they had to have the hottest text from a woman.”
I could see Karma could tell where this was going. “He didn’t,” she said.
“He did. He won the bet because his text was ‘hotter’ than Bodie’s,” I said, making air quotes.
“I can’t believe he showed them your text,” she said in disbelief.
“He changed my name to Mermaid on his phone, so they wouldn’t know who it was.”
“He’s an idiot,” she said.
“And he had no idea why I was upset.”
“Guys are notoriously stupid when it comes to women, and he’s just another in a long list. I’m sorry, Kayleigh. What did he want outside the pool?”
“He told me he knows he did something wrong regarding the bet, but he didn’t know what. And he wanted to know if I would ever talk to him again and he still wanted to be friends.”
“So, do you still want to be friends?”
“I think so. I told him that until he figured out what he did wrong, I wasn’t going to talk to him.”
“Good for you and I know you’re stubborn enough to do it,” she said smiling.
“Yep.”
“Let’s go get something to eat, then a coffee and we can come back here and watch stupid movies,” Karma said.
“I’ll agree to the food and coffee, but I have a ton of work to do.”
“Fine, be all responsible,” she teased me. “Okay, let’s go get some food.”
I grabbed my purse and joined her at the door.
Chapter 34
Major
I watched Kayleigh walk away, still no closer to solving the problem. I didn’t understand why I was trying to fix it in the first place. She wasn’t my girlfriend, but when I saw her upset because of me, I wanted to make it right. This is when having a sister would have helped. I started walking back to my dorm when I had an idea. I called Bodie.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hey man, I need your sister’s number,” I told him.
“You are not going to fuck my sister,” he said seriously.
“Fuck off man, she’s your sister. I just need to talk to her.”
“Why?”
“I need to ask her something. I need a woman’s opinion.”
“Fine, but if you try anything with her, I’ll beat your fucking ass.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll text it to you,” he said and hung up.
A few seconds later, the number came through and I called her immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hey Lana, it’s Major, Bodie’s friend.” She was five-years-older than us and I hadn’t seen her in a while.
“Oh, hey, Major. Is Bodie okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s cool. I kind of need a favor. Are you busy this afternoon?”
“Not really.”
“Do you think you can meet me for coffee? My treat.”
“You’re freaking me out a little, Major. What’s this about?”
“I need female advice and I can’t really talk to my mother about this.”
“Major Davenport asking for help with a woman. Never thought I’d see the day,” she said laughing.
“Yeah, yeah, fine. Make fun of me if you want, but will you help me or not.”
“Sure. I can’t wait to hear this story. Meet me at Cana’s in an hour.”
She hung up before I could say anything.
I went straight for my truck. Cana’s was the coffee shop in our neighborhood. I put the radio to the rock station and turned up the volume.
I got there before Lana did, but according to Bodie, she was never on time for anything. I got myself a coffee and a croissant. It might not have been very manly, but I loved croissants. Twenty minutes later, I saw her and waved her over to me. I asked what she wanted and went back to the counter to get it. I also ordered myself another coffee. When I finally sat down with her, I was actually nervous about the conversation I was about to have.
“You’re looking good, Lana,” I told her.
“Thanks. You’re still hot I see,” she said smiling.
“Don’t tell your brother that or he’ll be after my ass.”
“I didn’t think he swung that way,” she said, and winked at me.
I shook my head. “I forgot how much of a
smartass you are.”
“I don’t think that’s ever going to change. Now, what’s her name?”
“Kayleigh.”
“How long have you two been dating?”
“We’re not dating, just friends.”
Lana raised her eyebrows at me. “Really? Start from the beginning,” she told me.
After swearing her to secrecy, I told her everything. From meeting at the beach, being in classes together and finally Kayleigh asking me for help building her sexual confidence.”
“And you haven’t slept with her?”
“No, but something did happen,” I told her about the bathroom incident and the resulting phone sex.
“So she’s upset with you about that?”
“No, there’s more.”
I went into detail about the bet we’d made and how I won.
“No wonder she’s mad at you Major. You’re an idiot.”
“I don’t get it. What did I do wrong?”
“You betrayed her trust.”
“How?”
“She trusted you with something that was hard for her to do, and you used that to win a stupid bet like it meant nothing. Like she meant nothing.”
I thought about that for a minute. “Fuck. How do I fix it?”
“Before I give you advice, I want to know why it’s so important to you.”
“She’s different. She treats me like a regular guy, not like the heir to a multi-million dollar company and I like that. She’s made me see things differently. Growing up, everyone I knew had money like we did. Private schools, country clubs, we never had to worry about anything. She’s at school on a full-ride athletic scholarship and is terrified to lose it or she won’t be able to stay in school. It’s just made me think about someone other than myself.”
“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day that Major Davenport stopped being a spoiled rich kid. Congratulations Major, you’re growing up.”
“She doesn’t know,” I said.
“Know what?”
That my last name is Davenport, who my family is, that I have a shit ton of money-- none of it.”
“Why haven’t you told her?”
“I wanted her to like me for who I am, not how much money I have.”
“Do you think she’s that kind of person?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t had good luck in that department.”
“You need to tell her the whole truth. Lying to her isn’t going to help anything. She’ll find out eventually, and it’ll make everything worse. You also need to show her you’re sorry for betraying her trust, and find a way to build that trust back up.”
“But how do I do that?”
“You’re going to have to figure that out on your own. You know her better than I do, but if you need help I’m just a call or a text away.”
“Thanks, Lana.”
“Try not to do anything stupid like that again. Okay?”
“I’ll try but I’m not making any promises,” I told her, and she laughed at me.
We finished our coffees and left Cana’s. I hadn’t been home in a month, and since I was so close, I decided to stop in. I punched in the code at the gate and drove up to the front door. I got out and was greeted by Miss Martha.
“Major,” she said, and pulled me into a hug. “What brings you here?”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and see if mom and dad were home.”
“I’m sorry to tell you they’re not. Your dad had a business trip to Paris and you know how much your mom likes Paris.”
I smiled at that. Other than here, it was mom’s favorite place.
“No problem. Do you mind if I hang around here for a while?”
“This is still your home Major, you can do as you please,” she said smiling.
I smiled back and wandered around for a while trying to figure out what I needed. I found myself in my room staring at a picture of me surfing when I was about ten. I remember at that age all I wanted to do was to become a professional surfer and travel from ocean to ocean. Honestly, sometimes I’d still like to do that.
I decided that surfing might help clear my head, so I found a pair of swim trunks and headed to the beach at the back of the house. I grabbed a board on my way and hit the waves.
An hour later, I was showered and feeling somewhat better. I found Miss Martha in the kitchen. She was older and had more life experience than I did, so I decided to ask for her advice.
“Miss Martha, can I ask you something?”
“Of course, Major. What can I help you with?”
“Has anyone ever broken your trust?”
“Yes, several times.”
“Was it something that was able to be fixed?”
“I think it depends on how badly the trust had been broken. If a spouse cheats, that often can’t be repaired, but if you lie to a friend that might have a better chance at working out. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I kind of told my friends something that another friend trusted me with, and now she won’t talk to me.” I did notice the tiny smile she gave me when I mentioned it was a woman.
“Is it something that would hurt or embarrass her?”
“Embarrass her I think. I was helping her with something that was difficult for her, and I know she’d be really embarrassed if anyone said anything about it.”
“Are your friends likely to say something about it?”
“No, they don’t know it’s her specifically. I was trying to win a bet. I changed her name in my phone to show them something in order to win.”
She gave me a disapproving look.
“I know. Now I realize it was stupid but at the time I was just thinking about winning.”
“Do you think she wants to forgive you?”
“I think so. She told me that if I figured it out we could talk about it.”
“That’s a good start. Can you think of anything that means a lot to her?”
“She’s a competitive swimmer and loves it.”
“I mean something personal to her.”
“What are you getting at, Miss Martha?”
“Is there something you could do for her that would mean something to her? Something that she would know meant you put some thought into it? Something that said you were sorry? Maybe do something good with the money you won.”
“I’ll have to think about it. This really isn’t my strong suit.”
She smiled at me. “You’re a smart boy, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
She left me sitting in the kitchen with more questions than I had before I got here. Being friends with a girl was turning out to be much more complicated than I realized.
Chapter 35
Kayleigh
Monday morning I wasn’t sure what to expect in English. Would Major sit with us or ignore me like he did before? Karma and I got to class and saw him sitting in our usual seats.
“Are we sitting with him?” Karma asked.
“I guess so,” I told her.
We went and took our seat and Major smiled when I sat next to him.
“I’m sorry Kayleigh. Sorry for betraying your trust. I see now how it would upset you to have someone else read that. It was personal and I was an idiot and didn’t think.”
“Thank you,” I told him.
“I’ve also done something with the money I won. You should get a text with the information later today. Kayleigh, there’s more I need to tell you. Can you meet me after Computer Science?”
“Um. Yeah, sure I guess.”
“Great.”
He looked a little nervous when he asked me to meet him. I hoped it wasn’t something to do with the bet. The professor started class and I was trying to pay attention, but my mind thought of a hundred different scenarios. What could he possibly have to tell me?
While I was having lunch with Wes, I got a text from a number I didn’t know, but it was a local number back home. I almost choked on my salad when I read it.
&n
bsp; Thank you for your very generous donation of $4000 to the Tulsa YMCA. It will help many underprivileged children attend swimming lessons.
“Are you okay?” Wes asked, as I recovered from the text.
“Uh, yeah. Karma just sent me something that I wasn’t expecting. She does that sometimes,” I lied.
What the hell? Four thousand dollars. They must have the amount wrong. There had to be an extra zero or two on that figure.
I went from lunch to computers with my head spinning. I was dying to ask Major about the text, but the professor kept us busy enough that we didn’t have time to talk. When class was over Major asked me to join him at the coffee shop we sometimes went to. We ordered our coffee and found a table.
“Major, I got a text today from the Tulsa YMCA. But I think they made a mistake. They said I made a donation for four thousand dollars. That can’t be right.”
“It’s right. We each bet a thousand, so the total pot was four grand. That’s part of what I had to tell you.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out his driver’s license and handed it to me. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for until I read his name, Leonard Major Evan Davenport.
“I lied to you about my last name,” he told me.
“Why? What’s wrong with Davenport. I don’t understand,” I told him.
“So when I say Davenport nothing comes to mind?”
It seemed important, so I really thought about it for a minute. “No, I can’t think of anything.”
“Have you heard of Davenport Media?”
“Yeah, who hasn’t.” Then I finally got what he was saying to me. “Your family is Davenport Media?”
“Yes,” he said quietly.
“No wonder you’re bored in computers,” I said with a smile. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
“It’s been my experience that when people find out who I am they change. I was enjoying being just Major to you, not Major Davenport, heir to Davenport Media.”
“Why can’t you still be just Major?” I asked him.
“I guess that’s up to you,” he said seriously. “Can you handle who my family is?”
“Are they mass murderers?”
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