Forever Red

by Carina Adams

  I felt my anger rising, pretty sure my mom had just called Lia a slut.

  Before I could come up with a rebuttal, she continued. “You’ve been different the last few weeks, creating this ‘Neil’ persona instead of being you. The way you dress, and now the way you’re acting pissed off at the world because you had a fight with a girl. Maybe talking with April could help you figure things out.”

  I loved my mom. I might not be a “momma’s boy,” but I respected her and was thankful that I had someone that loved me back enough to care. Usually, I listened to her perspective and tried to take her advice, knowing she’d support whatever decision I made.

  This was not one of those times. This was her, pushing me to do something that I not only didn’t want to do, but something that I’d never do on my own. It also felt like she was trying to say that April was better than Lia, and that pissed me off.

  “I’m not going to talk to April about Lia. In fact, I have nothing to say to her.”

  “Nate, April…”

  “Fucked my best friend, Ma.”

  “Language, Nathaniel!”

  I tipped back my hot chocolate, finishing it off. “What? She did. While I was staying with my dying grandfather. Or did you conveniently forget that when you were comparing her to Lia?”

  “I wasn’t comparing them!” She slapped her hand on the table, clearly as pissed off as I was.

  “You were. In your mind, April will always be perfect and no one else will ever be good enough. Maybe I am a different person now, but I never asked to leave my friends and family and start over! Lia was my first friend here. She’s my best friend. You can’t compare her to April because April and I? We were never friends. What I have with Lia I never had with your precious little Southern belle. Night, Mom.”

  “Nate!” she called, but I didn’t stop. Grabbing the cordless phone off the stand in the upstairs hallway, I dialed the familiar number and then locked my door.

  “Hey.” Lia sounded sleepy. “How was practice?”

  “Fine.”

  “What’s wrong?” Five seconds on the phone with her and she knew something was off.

  “Nothing. I just had this fucked up argument with my mom.”

  “Okay.” I heard her sit up in bed. “What should we talk about?”

  “I don’t care. Distract me, okay?”

  She chuckled on the other end and then started to talk. This was the biggest difference between her and my ex. Lia didn’t try to fix everything. There was no pressure to tell her exactly what happened. She just let me be me, supporting me any way she could. If I needed to vent, she’d listen. If I needed to have my mind taken off my problems, she’d talk about something so outrageous that I’d forget all about my own issues for a little while.

  Listening to her calming voice and contagious laugh, I instantly relaxed. I don’t know how long we talked, just that I woke up with the phone pressed to my ear, still connected with her. For minutes after I woke up, I lay there, just listening to her deep breaths as she slept on her end. As I watched the sun come up through my window, it dawned on me that my mom was right. There was more going on between Lia and me than we were willing to admit.

  *****

  I thought Auburn had taken homecoming seriously. Viking country was a whole other story. People up here were fanatic.

  It wasn’t just the students. No, people from the community came to the high school every night to help with the floats and get ready for the game. Local businesses allowed their employees to use the same spirit week schedule as the high school, so each day when I drove through Dunkin, the employees were dressed just like me – from Seventies Day to PJ Day to Red Carpet Day. The excitement around the game was intense.

  Only Lia seemed immune to the entire thing. She did play along and wore a themed outfit every day, which surprised me. And every time I caught a glimpse of her at the pep rally, she was cheering with her friends. She came with me to the bonfire willingly and never complained when we spent the entire time in the middle of the team. She even used the game ticket I gave her, sitting with my parents in the family section of the grandstand. But there was a level of enthusiasm from everyone else that she just didn’t have.

  We crushed the Tigers, twenty-eight to seven. The idiots seemed to run the same plays on repeat and constantly left their QB open during pass plays. I sacked him four times before he could even toss the ball – in the first half. Maybe I was showing off a little, knowing that Lia was watching me. I hadn’t been lying when I told her I was good at this game, and I wanted her to see it.

  It was the first homecoming game the school had won in twenty-something years. The fans were so excited that they rushed the field, causing complete chaos. The commotion allowed me to sneak off the field, finding Lia almost instantly as far away from the crowd as possible.

  I yanked off my helmet, enjoying the cool air hitting my skin, and getting a better view of her in the practice jersey I’d given her, that she wore over a long sleeved shirt and my number painted on her cheek. She was a fucking vision, hotter than I’d ever seen her. And, at that moment, no one would doubt she was mine. Not even me. “So? What’d you think?”

  She shrugged with an unimpressed look on her face. “I think you know how to play the sport. Definitely better than half the team.” Then she laughed and lunged at me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Great game, Neil! You are amazing!” My helmet in one hand, pads restricting my movements, I hugged her as close as I could.

  She pulled away as Julie and Missy came around the corner. Both were wearing Viking sweatshirts, jeans, and had my jersey number painted on their cheeks in dark green paint, matching Lia. Seeing it on them, as if they came to the game just to cheer me on, bugged me. It felt like they were trying to take something that was only Red’s. But, for Lia, I smiled when they congratulated me on the win and didn’t visibly cringe when Missy leaned in to hug me.

  “You played so great!” she cooed, wrapping her arms around me tightly.

  I thanked her, barely keeping the disgust from my voice, and pried her arms from my neck. Looking toward my friend as I backed up, I smiled. “Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be out.”

  Lia shook her head, stepping toward me. “I’m gonna catch a ride with Jules. Have a great time tonight.” Giving me another quick hug, she whispered, “I’ll see you tomorrow, right? Maybe in the morning after you leave the party?”

  I cupped her face, tipping it up to mine. “You sure you don’t wanna come with me?” The question was out before I could think about it.

  Thankfully, she chuckled. “You just don’t give up, do you?” Shaking her head, she pulled away and glanced back at her friends. “No. I think we’re going to hang out and watch movies, eat junk food, talk about boys, and get fat. Call me later if you want.”

  I nodded, knowing I would definitely want.

  As the three of them walked away, Missy turned and winked, blowing me a kiss, and then shook her ass at me like it was something she thought I’d want to see. This time, I didn’t hide the repulsion. I had tried to understand how a girl like that and a girl like Lia were friends, but I just didn’t get it.

  *****

  Maybe if I’d been able to convince Lia to come with me, the dance wouldn’t have been so lame. Without her, though, it fucking sucked. The gym was hot, too crowded, and the flashing lights combined with the terrible music the awful DJ was playing were giving me a headache.

  After a quick walkthrough to see who we could find, Carson and I spent the rest of the first hour in the cafeteria where tables and chairs had been set up, talking to some of the seniors. The rest of the school was still floating on the high of today’s victory, but the team was already focused on the Waterville Panthers that we were playing the following week. A win against them was mandatory if we had any hopes of making it to playoffs.

  “Shit, man, the gruesome twosome is headed this way,” Baker, our starting running back, muttered. “And, they’re headed for you, superstar.”


  Mike smacked me in the arm and tilted his head back toward Baker before I realized they were talking to me. I turned around, confused. Missy and Julie were headed straight for me. The first thought that crossed my mind was that if they were there, Lia must be, too. She’d told me they were all going to hang out, but maybe that was just to surprise me. Lia was nowhere to be seen, though, and both girls were dressed to impress.

  That’s when it became extremely clear that they’d obviously been planning on coming to the dance for a while. I may not understand chicks and their grooming rituals, but I did grow up with a big sister and could remember how much time and effort Nikki gave in order to look just right. It was clear that both of them had spent some significant time getting ready. Their hair was perfectly done, makeup flawless, and each had on a dress that accentuated their individual assets.

  “Man, I’d hit that hard,” Jeremy, one of our tight ends, muttered from the corner of the table. Then he asked, “Wassup, hookers? Come to hang out with the big boys?”

  Jules seemed to hesitate, glancing at Missy, but Missy never took her eyes off me. “Hey, Neil.” She bit her bottom lip and batted her eyes. “We’re gonna go dance. You wanna come?”

  I shook my head. “I’m good.”

  Jeremy kicked at one of the empty chairs. “Sit with us for a while.”

  Instead of taking the seat next to him, Missy pulled out the chair next to me, forcing Jules to sit across from us. As I watched the brunette ease down, the slit in her light blue dress gave me more of a view than I wanted and I quickly glanced up. The smirk she gave me – as if she thought I’d been checking her out – annoyed me.

  Carson leaned forward. “Where’s Lia?” God bless the QB. I’d already told him she was staying home, but that kid had a knack for innocently stirring the pot.

  Julie adjusted herself slightly as if she was going to answer, but Missy beat her to it. “She had plans tonight.”

  I peeled the label off my Coke, eyes locked on the bottle in front of me. “I thought all y’all had plans together.”

  Missy giggled obnoxiously. “All y’all? I love how you talk!” Her hand moved from the table to my thigh, making my head snap toward her.

  “Kelly, let’s go grab the girls some drinks. Jules, you want?” Mike pulled the back of my chair slightly, and then pulled my shoulder, rescuing me before I said something I’d regret.

  We were all the way across the cafeteria before he said anything else. “Did Lia ever tell you that she and I used to be best friends?”

  I shook my head.

  He nodded with a slight smile on his lips as he continued, “My grandmother lives in Two Lanes. A few lots down from Lia and her mom. My mom and dad were in college so I was with my gram most of the time. When we were like three, we started playing together and were inseparable for a long time. Her, Julie, and me.”

  He didn’t say anything else. “What happened?”

  “Junior high. When what you wear matters more than who you are. And then Missy moved here. She was with Missy and Jules all the time. But, mostly ‘cause I started dating Ally.”

  “Ally Jackson?” The disbelief oozed from my voice. Never in a million years would I have pictured the two of them – the goofy, nice kid and the rich bitch from hell – together.

  “Yeah.”

  The cheerleader and the football star. I got it. That had been me once, too. If Mike met April, I’m sure he’d have the same reaction.

  “Girlfriend didn’t like best friend, so best friend had to go.”

  “Okay?” I had no clue where this conversation was going.

  “Listen, you’re my friend. Lia’s my friend. But if two of the trifecta are here, you’re being played, man.”

  I narrowed my eyes, voice cold as ice. “What you talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?”

  He nodded back to the table. “The trinity has set its sights on you. This is what they do. They play this warped game. It’s like they have some competition to see who can fuck the most people or some shit.”

  I stared at him, waiting for him to finish.

  He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t know the details, man – none of us do. But when all three of them start paying attention to one person, it’s just a matter of time. No matter how much he resists, they wear him down until he gives in. Then, one of them always fucks him, literally and figuratively. Ask Boner; he’s still tore up over Julie. He thought he was gonna marry her.”

  “You’re talking in circles, QB. What in the hell are you tryin’ to say?”

  “I’m saying that they”—he pointed at the table—“are fucking trouble and that I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they’re here and Lia isn’t. Maybe Lia’s in on it. Maybe she’s not.” He shrugged.

  Mom’s words from the other night came back. “You don’t think they’re playing me. You think she is.”

  He at least had the sense to look uncomfortable. “She’s great. You and I know that. But seeing how her other two-thirds act, I gotta wonder how much of what we see is really her and how much is a performance. I wouldn’t put it past her because she’s done worse before. I just wanted you to know what they do so you don’t get screwed.”

  I was already screwed. Royally fucked. That girl was under my skin. I took a deep breath and glanced back to the table. They would never give me an honest answer. In reality, there was only one person I wanted to talk to about it. “I need to go,” I said and Mike just nodded. “Don’t tell ‘em, okay? I need a few hours with her without any interruptions.” I didn’t wait for an answer. I knew Mike would cover for me – as long as it took.

  Chapter Nine

  ~ Cecelia ~

  Leftover Chinese takeout, a Hershey’s Cookies and Cream bar, Clueless and My Best Friend’s Wedding were how I planned to spend my Saturday night. Missy and Jules canceled at the last minute, but I was surprisingly okay with that. My mom had gone God knows where with her friends but had told me she’d see me Monday. So it was just me, cuddled on the couch in my favorite fleece pajama pants and Neil’s jersey, laughing at movies that I would never admit to enjoying.

  When I heard the rev of an engine and the angry slam of a door, I assumed my neighbor was having one of his notorious parties. The pounding on my door seconds later scared the shit out of me, and I frantically looked around the living room for somewhere to hide. The shades were all down, lights off, so I could easily get on the floor and crawl to the back door and make it to a neighbor’s.

  “Lia. Open the damn door.”

  Hearing Neil’s voice, I jumped off the couch and yanked it open. He looked adorable in dress pants and shirt, his top two buttons undone, tie missing. I hardly ever saw him without a baseball hat, but tonight, he’d even gelled his hair.

  “Hi.” I smiled, opening the door wide to let him in. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the dance?”

  He just stared at me, looking from my pajama pants to his jersey, and up into my very bare face. I self-consciously ran a hand through the knots in my hair. If I’d known he was coming, I would have at least brushed it out and thrown on some foundation. The longer he looked at me, the angrier he seemed, and the more uncomfortable I became. Running my palms down my thighs, I leaned against the closed screen door. “Neil? What’s wrong?”

  Two small steps and he was right in front of me, so close I could feel his breath fan across my face through the mesh of the screen. “I was gonna come here and ask if you and your friends were really competing to see who could get me in bed first, but at this point, I don’t fucking care.”

  Panic hit at his words and I shook my head. “Who told you that?”

  He flung the door open and stepped into me. “Does it matter? Because I really don’t give a shit anymore.” His eyes dropped to my lips. “Kiss me.” And just like that, his lips were on mine, arms forcing their way between me and the door, pulling me closer to him.

  I tangled my hands in his hair, letting my body react to his. It was the perfect first kiss, a littl
e sweet, a little naughty, with a promise of more to come. He wasn’t rough, but he wasn’t gentle, a perfect mix of the two.

  When he started to pull away, I moved into him, moving my tongue along his lips. He groaned, opening his mouth a little, his tongue wrestling against mine. He shifted then, sucking the bottom of my ear into his mouth, biting it gently, and then trailing a line of kisses down my neck. My body was instantly on alert, heart racing, goose bumps covering my arms, nipples tightening, and wetness rushing into the space between my thighs. It had been a long few months since I’d had a satisfying make-out session and almost seven months since I’d had sex, and my body was definitely feeling deprived. I moaned loudly. When he stopped abruptly and pulled away, I felt like I could cry.

  A look of panicked shock covered his face as he continued to back away from me. “Christ, Lia. I am so fucking sorry.”

  Laughter bubbled up. “Why?” Moving my fingertips across my swollen lips and sliding my tongue over the rough metal of the braces on the outside of my teeth, I looked up at him, smiling. “I’m not.”

  “I just fucking mauled you.” He looked utterly disgusted with himself as he backed up to the couch and collapsed. “I don’t…” He shook his head.

  “Hey.” I moved next to him, sitting close but far enough away to look at him. “Talk to me. What is going on?”

  “Missy and Julie were at the dance.”

  “Oh.” Well, at least that explained why they’d bailed. I had thought it was because I’d been such a raging bitch after we left Neil at the game. I moved slightly, turning back toward the TV so I didn’t have to see his face when he told me whatever it was that he’d come here to say. One of them must have told him the truth.

  “You didn’t know they were going.” It wasn’t a question, but I shook my head anyway. He nudged my leg with his. “Do you have some sort of competition with them to sleep with me?”

  He sounded sad, like I had just betrayed him. I guess I had. “They do.” I thought about the kiss we’d just shared and then sighed. “Apparently, I’m in it, too. We all assumed I was out since you and I were just friends.”