Distraction

by McPherson, Angela

  "Give her a break," I said, turning away from the chunks of beer and food all over the wall.

  "Oh shit! Look who the freshman heaved all over." I followed Alyssa's gaze. My mouth fell open watching the crowd rush away from a fuming Ginger. Bret walked over, laughing hysterically, and handed her a towel. Ginger snatched the towel from him then stormed off.

  "I think I like that freshman after all." Alyssa finished with a laugh and a hiccup.

  Soon, the crowd in the kitchen dissolved and the music from earlier cranked back up. Tristan joined a group of people playing quarters. He played pretty well. His muscles tightened when he forced the quarter to ding with a hard bounce against the table. He smiled and pointed to a frat guy, forcing him to take a shot. He was good at everything he did and made it look effortless. A few girls surrounded Tristan like bees, ready for an opening. I did my best to keep my expression even.

  Hours later, Alyssa decided she'd had her fill, and I searched the dwindling crowd for Tristan. I found him talking to Jarred, discussing football. I hadn't seen him so passionate about the game in a while.

  "Hey, Elle. You realize how good your guy is in football? He and his team kicked our ass my senior year, but I got in a few good pass touchdowns while the scout was there."

  I laughed but realized Tristan's face wasn't as exuberant anymore. I wondered if he'd thought back to his offer to play here. He never went into detail why he turned down his football scholarship. He only said he needed to get away. I didn't push the subject.

  "I think Alyssa's ready to go, and I'm beat, too." Tristan and Jarred shoved at each other. A stupid show of male masculinity, and then we headed home. We didn't live far from Greek row and when we pulled up, we went straight inside.

  Alyssa threw her keys on the kitchen counter, then headed away. "I'll see you two tomorrow. Night, Shrimp." Alyssa's loud voice trailed down the hall, indifferent to Ginger sleeping. I turned to Tristan.

  "She hasn't changed much, has she?" Tristan yawned.

  "I guess not. Are you sure you're okay with the couch? There's a loose spring in the middle, and it can be a pain when you wake up."

  "I'm good." He hesitated, his facial expression now serious. His mouth opened in the form of an o, but at the last minute his lips closed instead. I padded down the hall to change. When I finished, I carried out an extra pillow and blanket. Tristan thanked me and I crept back down the hallway, ready for sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

  "Hey, Spud?" I heard Tristan's whisper, and made my way back to the couch.

  "Yeah?" In the dark, I could see Tristan's outline. He had his head propped up by his hand. He patted the empty space next to him with his free hand. When I climbed in, he wrapped us in a cocoon with my blanket. I held my breath, waiting, hoping. The feel of his strong arms around my waist sent a blaze through my body.

  "I missed you." Glad my back was against his chest, I slowly released my held breath.

  "I missed you too, Tristan. What's wrong?"

  "Do you think I made a mistake turning down the football deal here? I mean, I've knocked some of these guys off their asses, but ya know what I mean." I felt his chest rumble with quiet laughter, and relaxed further into him. "What do you think?"

  "I think you're the only person who can answer that question. Does this have to do with what you and Jarred were talking about at the party?" I knew it did.

  "I've been thinking about being here for a while now." His arms tightened around my middle, unknowingly pressing the ache for him closer to the surface.

  "It's not too late to change your mind. Maybe it's too late to get on the team this year, but you know if you talked with your dad, he could pull some strings. That is, if playing here is what you really want." He remained quiet for a minute.

  "Thanks for listening. I don't know what I'd do without you."

  "Anytime," I said, seeming the only comfort I could offer. Before I allowed myself to hope for something I knew didn't exist for him, I moved from his hold. "Goodnight, Tristan."

  "Night, Spud," he said, rolling to his back. I turned and headed down the hall.

  In the stilled darkness, I relaxed my head against my pillow, hoping the silent tears that had started to fall before I made my way back to my room would deliver the numbness of sleep soon. Being in love with someone was supposed to be a sweet and tender release. However, being in love with your best friend, who didn't interpret those feelings in the same way, became a violently brutal ache. I knew being around Tristan would be difficult. I just hadn't prepared myself for the full brunt...until tonight.

  Chapter 4

  Tristan

  My sanity wavered when Elle crawled in next to me on the couch, carrying the floral scent of her shampoo with her. My arms had wrapped around her in a sudden need to breathe her in. I hadn't meant to. But holding her in my arms felt natural, right, and too fucking good. God. I wanted to feel the pressure of her pouty lips against mine, and when she left, the damn pillow she gave me left traces of her succulent scent to torture me. Natural like the shampoo she used, her beauty was as easy as breathing.

  My phone lit up, squashing the fantasies, and I opened the text.

  Miss and love you- xoxo Kellie.

  Miss you too. I hit send and chided myself for lying. I did miss Kellie, but around Elle, I didn't want any other woman.

  I texted back. What are you wearing?? I waited for Kellie's reply.

  Nothing…

  I sighed. My distraction. Kellie's ability to create new games inspired me at times.

  Touch yourself.

  Oh Tristan.

  I groaned.

  Reading Kellie's heavy words in the dark turned me on. Then she sent me a picture of her naked body draped over the bed in her hotel room. My mouth watered and the pressure in my boxers increased. I turned further into the pillow and caught the shampoo smell again. My distraction came to an abrupt end. I hurried to end the heated texting.

  Can't wait to see you.

  Me too. See ya soon Babe.

  I moved to my side, avoiding the damn spring, and forced my eyes shut. My ability to block out Elle's image wasn't as easily constrained. Sleep was overrated anyway, right?

  * * *

  I slept worth shit last night and as result, the muscles in my neck were stiff. If I had told Elle about me going to school here, I'd be sleeping in my own bed.

  With a groan, I shoved myself off the couch, straightening my sore muscles. My neck popped, followed by a crack radiating down my spine when I bent over to grab my shoes. After I laced them up, I opened the front door and headed out for a run.

  The warm air quickly evaporated the early morning dew. My shoes beat against the gravel. Loose pebbles hit the back of my calves a few times as I sprinted down the road. Sweat streaked down my face and my eyes stung from the salty drips falling from my hair, but I didn't mind. The stiffness in my neck and back slowly released the farther I ran.

  An hour later, my breaths came out in pants and my heart pounded in my chest. I returned to Elle's house feeling better than when I left.

  Quietly, I opened the front door. The bitter waft of freshly brewed coffee filled the room. I gently closed the door. With Elle's back turned to me, I greedily drank her in. The baggy T-shirt she wore flowed loosely when she walked to the cabinet. When she stepped on her tiptoes, searching for a mug, I grinned. The boxers she had on were a pair I'd given her back in high school. She'd stayed over one night when my parents were out of town, and we watched badass zombie movies until early in the morning.

  "Good run?" She turned around, smiling. Without asking, Elle poured a second cup of coffee for me. I cleared the knot in my throat before walking to the bar.

  "Not bad." I took the cup she offered and sat on a stool across from her. "So, what's on the agenda today?" Her face lit up, and this time her cheeks turned pink when she smiled. She'd pulled her hair up, but a few strands framed her face. She pursed her lips to blow the steam from her coffee before taking a sip. Lucky cup
. God, beautiful, hell even sexy didn't describe her adequately.

  "I thought we could tour the campus. You haven't been here since senior year back in high school, and then we can grab a bite to eat or something."

  I shifted on the bar stool, nervously. "Sounds good." I hoped we wouldn't run into anyone from the team while on campus. I finished my coffee and watched her pick at the bowl of cereal in front of her. "So hey, you mind if I hit the shower? Unless you prefer the manly post-run scent I've got going on."

  She rolled her eyes. "As appealing as that sounds, I'd go with the shower."

  “All right, if you insist." I grabbed a change of clothes and headed down the hall.

  In the shower, I dipped my head under the hot rushing water, relaxing my head against the wall. Within minutes, steam rolled around the room creating a fog. I opened a bottle of shampoo since I'd left mine back home. The smell matched Elle's and I hurried to wash the lather out before the instant fantasy of her naked body tortured me further.

  When I finished up and dressed, I stepped out of the bathroom and headed to the living room, smelling like a fucking flower shop. Alyssa looked up when I came in.

  "Ooh, Shrimp, you smell so pretty." Alyssa smirked. "I think it's totally you. Very feminine." Her obnoxious grin irritated the shit out of me.

  "Amazon, don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault you can't smell or look as good as I do." She glared. I couldn't help myself.

  "Whatever." Alyssa stormed out as Elle sauntered in.

  "Ready?" Elle smiled, and her deep green eyes sparkled.

  I nodded.

  We left the house, but only after she consented to taking my car, and no, I refused to allow her to drive.

  Elle

  Saturday reminded me of old times. Alyssa joined us for lunch without taking any crap shots at Tristan, well, almost. Later, Tristan and I toured the campus, but when we neared the football field, I noticed his body tensed. I steered us back to his car. We left and drove to the coffee shop I worked at. We ordered two iced lattés with extra cream before heading back to my house.

  Ginger, Tisha, and Alyssa had plans at the Kappa house, giving us more time to spend alone. We watched TV on and off for the rest of the day. I did my best not to sit too close, but when he patted the cushion next to him, I relented and slid over, fitting comfortably against his side. Tristan ran his fingers through my hair and I couldn't help but sigh.

  "I've really missed you," I said with a lazy grin and heavy eyelids.

  "Me, too." Tristan squeezed me tighter.

  I fell asleep sometime while Tristan combed through my hair and the movie played. A few hours later he woke me, insisting I get ready so we could go eat dinner. I laughed and headed to my room.

  I decided to wear something nice but casual tonight. Tristan said he was taking me to a well-known Mexican restaurant on Quaker, nothing fancy. I kept my hair down, draped over my bare shoulder. The hunter green shirt fell to one side exposing just a hint a skin. The color brought out the deep jade color of my eyes. Alyssa called them my strongest attribute and I agreed. The weather remained killer hot outside, so I opted to pair the cute shirt with my beige shorts and gladiator sandals.

  "You ready in there," Tristan yelled. "I'm hungry."

  "Yeah, I'll be out in just a sec," I yelled back. With a deep sigh, I picked up my handbag and left my room. I found Tristan in the kitchen scarfing down my leftovers from lunch.

  "You look great."

  "You do realize we're heading to dinner, right?"

  "I got hungry. Besides, this is just a snack." He finished the last of my grilled chicken before throwing the container in the trash. "Let's go, I'm starving."

  I shook my head. Knowing he could shove a full meal down his throat, and turn around and take out a meal afterward, still fascinated me. We took his car and drove the short distance, finding a parking spot semi-close to the front doors.

  Inside the restaurant, we were seated in a back corner booth surrounded by huge terracotta vases. A plump waitress with a bright blue paper flower in her hair walked over and handed us menus. I ordered an iced tea for myself and a Coke for Tristan. Our waitress scribbled our drink orders on her small note pad then trailed off. Tristan always ordered the same food. If I were betting, he'd order the beef fajita plate.

  "So, what looks good to you?" His eyes stayed fixed on the menu, concentrating.

  "I think I'll get the chicken tacos. They're to die for, and we have to order sopapillas for dessert." I could taste them now; crisp, flakey, deep fried tortillas with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar cooked into the dough. Mouthwatering. I glanced up, finding Tristan still scanning the menu when our waitress carried our drinks out.

  With a thick accent, she asked, "Are you ready to order?" Tristan set his menu down, and nodded for me to order first.

  "I'll have the shredded chicken taco plate, please." I smiled, and handed over my menu. She turned, waiting for Tristan's order.

  "I think I'll go with the beef fajita plate," he said, handing his menu to her as well. The waitress wrote our orders down and then walked away again. I knew I'd win my bet, and laughed.

  "What's so funny?" He sucked down a big drink.

  "I knew you were going to order the beef fajitas. I don't know why you even look at a menu when you know what you're going to order anyway."

  "Why order something you're not sure you'll like when you can always have a sure thing."

  "Hmm." I wondered what he meant, but decided not to ask. "So, how's school going?"

  He hesitated. "Uh, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Er, at least one of them." He hesitated, again. "I'm actually enrolled at Tech. I'm on the football team, too."

  I could only stare.

  Tristan continued. "Last night, Jarred, and I were going over some plays. When you walked up, he changed the subject. He knew I wanted to wait until tonight to tell you about going to school and stuff."

  Really not what I'd expected him to say, but wow, awesome, and my face easily showed my feelings.

  "I bet your dad's excited about you playing ball here." I grabbed a chip and loaded on a heap of salsa.

  "Yeah, I guess." He looked away, though not before I caught the hint of uncertainty in his eyes. He definitely had something on his mind, but whatever it may be, he'd come out with it soon enough. One thing I'd learned over the years, if he wasn't ready to talk, I wouldn't get anything out of him.

  "I can't believe you kept this a secret from me." I threw a chip at him and he caught it. Tristan's lip twitched at the corner. Shit, why did he have to be so damn attractive? "What was up last night, about you missing your opportunity to play football here?"

  "Sorry about that. Everything happened so fast. I didn't have time to think about it. I guess I just wanted to know if you thought me being here was a good idea." Tristan paused, loading the chip I threw at him with salsa, and then shoved the entire bite in his mouth. "By the way, Uncle Kevin set me up in one of his town homes. I still have unpacked boxes cluttered all over the place. I could use your help." I laughed at the visual. Tristan was famous for procrastinating.

  "I'll see what I can do."

  Our waitress carried out our food then. Tristan's fajitas sizzled on the cast iron plate in front of him, and he didn't waste any time. He forked the beef and shoved it in his mouth. The look on his face–priceless. You'd think he'd been starved or something.

  "Can I get you anything else?" The waitress placed a dish of homemade tortillas beside Tristan.

  "No, thank you. I think we're okay for now." She smiled kindly before walking away. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you like the food."

  "Yep," he said, mumbling around the food in his mouth.

  We ate and talked about our classes. When I asked what he'd been up to over the summer, he changed the subject. I thought the sudden switch seemed odd and would've asked him about it, but he kept throwing questions at me before I had the chance.

  "I'm so full right now
you could probably roll me out of here," I said with a much too full stomach. After dinner, we ordered half a dozen sopapillas, which we devoured equally in no time.

  "We should have ordered a side of ice cream, too." I laughed, wondering how his belly wasn't as round as a Buddha statue, and then felt sick from the aftershock of laughing. Tristan and I shared a passion for good food, but I really overdid eating tonight. When the waitress came by with our check, Tristan shooed my hand away. Usually we'd split the bill, but being too stuffed to argue, I let him pay.

  When we walked outside, the air still held on to the sting of heat from earlier in the day. The full moon shined down on us in the dark sky, and my mind drifted to us holding hands under the stars. I really needed to stop fantasizing about him. I glanced over at Tristan. Pieces of his dark hair blew across his brows near his eyes. I clenched my fists to keep from moving the pieces away.

  "So, are you going to tell me the rest of your big news, or was that an excuse to get me alone? You know, you don't have to make up excuses." I playfully bumped my shoulder against his arm, then blushed and looked away. I couldn't believe I let that slip out of my mouth. Tristan didn't comment, and when I looked back up at his face, I found him grinning. But something in his eyes didn't fit.

  "Enough with the suspense. What's going on?"

  We stopped walking. Both of us stood next to the passenger side door of his car. The warm breeze shifted direction, blowing strands of hair in my face. Tristan reached to move the loose strands behind my ear. The innocent gesture created a warm tingle to spread throughout my chest. My pulse raced as we stood next to each other. His warm brown eyes shined under the street lamp.

  "I'm in love," he began. My heart took off, now dancing frantically in my chest. I'd dreamed he'd utter those words to me for so long, and if my heart didn't slow, I'd go into cardiac arrest before he revealed anything more.

  I lifted my foot, ready to breech the small space separating us, only to stop short when he finished his sentence.