Wild Crush

by Simone Elkeles

  "That's a waste of time, Monika," he says, cutting me off. "Besides, I don't need the nurse or random people knowing my business." He almost looks pissed that I've given him the suggestion.

  My stomach does these little flips. "Okay."

  "The late bell is about to ring. I'll see you later," he says hurriedly.

  I get a sinking feeling that something's not right with Trey. I tell myself it's first-day-of-school nerves because he wants to succeed and be the best in school and football.

  But what if it's something else?

  Chapter Five

  VICTOR

  Football practices with Coach Dieter are brutal, especially in the summer when it's hot as hell outside. The official start of football season is on Friday, so Dieter is working us hard.

  After school, we're required to be in the workout room for an hour. I'm about to join my teammates when I see Heather Graves standing next to the entrance. She's wearing sunglasses and looks nervous.

  "Hi Vic," she says. "Can I talk to you?"

  "Sure," I say. "What's up?"

  She takes off her sunglasses, revealing a nasty bruise under her eye. Not surprising considering the way her boyfriend clocked her. "I, um, just wanted to talk to you about last night. Joe gets riled up easily but I swear that was the first time he was rough with me. Anyways, I came here to thank you."

  She says it like I'm some superhero, but I don't go around looking for people to rescue. I did what anyone would do if they saw a girl get hit. "No guy should hit a girl," I tell her. "Ever."

  She looks at the ground. "I know. I just... he just gets like that when he drinks. He's got a dad who treats him like crap."

  "My old man treats me like crap, and I never hit a girl," I tell her.

  She sighs. Then nods.

  "We broke up." She swipes a tear away, then straightens. "I gotta go. Sorry I bothered you."

  She lunges forward to envelop me in a hug, then runs off.

  When I turn around, Jet is leaning against the opposite wall. He's obviously been watching the entire interaction.

  "It was cool what you did for her," he says. "Did you know her boyfriend was a badass in martial arts before you tried to kick his ass, or after?"

  "During," I tell him, earning a laugh.

  "Yo, Vic," Trey calls out when I enter the workout room and jump on a treadmill. "You'll have to ramp up your speed if you aspire to be half as fast as me."

  Trey and I always have competitions. I watch as he sets his speed faster than mine.

  "I've been runnin' all summer, bro," I say, keeping up my pace. "You're not gonna be the fastest on the team for long." I set my speed to match his.

  His answer is a hearty laugh as he ups his speed once again.

  "Showoffs," Ashtyn calls out from across the room as she bench-presses with her boyfriend and our quarterback, Derek, spotting her. She's the kicker so she doesn't need to have crazy developed arm strength, but she likes to push herself to the limit like me. That's probably why we're friends. We get each other... well, except for her relationship with Derek Fitzpatrick, aka "The Fitz." I don't get them at all. They argue all the time, and listening to them bicker like an old married couple drives me nuts.

  "Rumor has it Cassidy wants you to ask her to homecoming," Ashtyn tells me after she finishes her set and wipes her sweaty brow with a girly pink towel.

  "Not happenin'."

  "You have to ask someone. You can't just not go to homecoming our senior year, Vic."

  "Umm... yeah I can."

  She sighs. "Listen, Salazar, you're going to homecoming whether you want to or not."

  "You weigh a buck twenty, tops," I tell her. "You think you can force me to do anythin'?"

  "Yes." She pats me on the back. "And I want you to be happy."

  Happy? That's a joke. I step off the treadmill and go to the water station.

  She follows.

  In a moment of weakness last year, I told Ashtyn I was in love with Monika. At first she laughed and thought I was kidding. But then she looked at the deadly serious expression on my face and knew it was true.

  She's the only one who knows besides my cousin Isabel, and both swore they wouldn't tell anyone.

  Ashtyn takes a gulp of water, then looks at me with pity written all over her face. "Ask someone to homecoming. Don't you like anyone else even a little?"

  Besides the one girl I can't have?

  "Nope."

  "All right, everyone," Coach Dieter calls out in a booming voice. "Meet me on the field in full gear in exactly fifteen minutes. Whoever's late is getting the pleasure of running extra laps. It's almost ninety degrees out there, guys, so unless you want an abundance of sweat in your jock straps, you better be out there on time."

  Nobody wants extra laps in this heat, so we all rush to the locker room to put on our gear. Ash disappears into the girls locker room.

  Trey's locker is next to mine. He sighs as he stands in front of it.

  "How should I ask Monika to homecoming?" he asks us. "I want to do something that'll shock her in a good way."

  Oh, man. More homecoming talk? I'd rather talk about sweaty jockstraps at this point. Or poking needles in my eyes.

  "Write HC on a cookie in frosting and call it a day," Jet says.

  "That's been done, like, a bazillion times before," Derek chimes in. "I'm gonna ask Ashtyn by writing it on one of the footballs tomorrow night. When she practices during the game, she'll find it."

  "What if she doesn't find it?" Jet says with a cocky grin. "What if our backup kicker, Jose Herrejon, finds it instead? You gonna go to homecoming with Jose?"

  "Don't worry. Leave the romantic shit to me. My plans never fail." Derek gestures to Jet. "So what poor girl are you askin', Jet?"

  Jet wags his brows. "I was thinking about asking Bree. At least I know she'll put out."

  I toss my cleat at him.

  Jet tosses my cleat back, then looks in the mirror at the only thing he cares about besides his car: his hair. "Who are you gonna ask, Salazar?" he asks as he studies himself in the mirror and makes sure his hair is perfectly spiked. I don't remind him that in two minutes he'll have a helmet on that'll squash all that hair.

  "Nobody," I say. "I'm not goin'."

  "We all have to go," Trey says. "It's tradition."

  "You can't break tradition," Jet agrees.

  Trey holds a hand up. "Don't worry, guys. I'll figure out how to get our resident bachelor to go to homecoming, but give me some ideas on how to ask Monika. I swear I have so much shit going on, I can't think straight."

  "Maybe you should stop taking all those AP classes and join the normal people in the regular classes, Trey," Jet tells him. "Didn't you get the memo that senior year is supposed to be a blowoff year?"

  "Not when you're trying to be valedictorian, dumbass," Trey says.

  "Jocks can't be valedictorians," Jet says. "You'll throw the balance of the universe way off if that happens. I'm a jock. I'm supposed to be a dumbass." He points to me. "And look at Salazar here... his brain doesn't even function at full capacity."

  I push him away. "Fuck you. I got brains. I just dumb it down when I'm with you so you'll understand what I'm sayin'."

  Jet laughs. "For sure, bro."

  "Jet, it's a scientific fact that nobody's brain functions at full capacity," Trey chimes in. "Just tell me what to do for Monika."

  Shit, if I were to ask a girl like Monika to homecoming I'd want to make sure she'd remember it forever. I nudge Trey's shoulder to get his attention. "What about doin' somethin' on the football field? Get the band to do some romantic song across the field and have a picnic dinner for her waitin' on the fifty-yard line."

  Jet fake gags. "That's a dorky idea, Vic. Dude, just take her to Wild Adventures amusement park and ask her when you're going down one of the roller coasters. She'll remember that!"

  "Roller coaster! I like it," Trey says, his face lighting up at the thought. "Thanks, Jet. That's brilliant."

  Roller coa
ster? "Doesn't Monika hate roller coasters?" I ask him, preferring my picnic on the field idea way better. It's more... Monika. She's beautiful and delicate and always talks about romantic movies.

  "I'll hold her hand and make it romantic." He winks. "I got this."

  "Two minutes left, guys!" yells Mr. Huntsinger, the assistant coach. "Get your butts on the field now or Coach Dieter will make your lives miserable!"

  Shit. With all the talk about homecoming, we're running late. All the other guys on the team have disappeared and are probably already doing calisthenics. I quickly pull on my gear and run outside with Jet, Trey, and Derek. Coach Dieter is standing on the field, completely focused on his watch.

  "You four are late by one minute and eleven seconds," he says, then glares at us. "I expect a lot more from you seniors. Go run four laps, stopping at the water table after each one to rehydrate."

  Damn. I drop my helmet and start running. The four of us are sweating our asses off as the sun beats down on us.

  To be honest, three of us are dripping with sweat. Trey isn't breaking a sweat or even breathing hard.

  Trey is like a machine, always ready to run, to challenge every one of us to prove that he's faster. It's like a game to him--he knows he'll always win. One day I'll beat him though. It's an ego thing.

  "Remind me never to be late again," Jet says. "Dieter wasn't kidding. My balls are so sweaty they're stickin' to my jockstrap."

  "I have an idea," Derek pipes in.

  "About our sweaty balls?" Jet asks, grabbing himself and shifting his package without a care that a bunch of girls are watching from the bleachers.

  "No. Well, maybe," Derek says. "It's about homecoming. We should all stay at my grandmother's place for the after-party."

  Jet holds his hands up. "Your grandmother is a complete hardass, Derek. Hell, she'd probably scare the crap out of Coach Dieter if he met her."

  "You guys are forgetting one thing," Trey says, the only one of us not winded and tired in this crazy heat. He's a freak of nature.

  We all look at him as Dieter blows the whistle for us to stop.

  My best friend pats me on the back, his hand connecting with a thump on my pads. "We need to find a date for Vic, because I'm not going if he's not going."

  I don't answer.

  The only girl I want is the only girl I can't have. His girl.

  It's a good thing he's clueless about who I have a crush on.

  The rest of practice is one big blur. On the way home, Trey talks about colleges and applications. I haven't even thought about applying.

  Trey pulls up my driveway. When I step out of the car, a sign saying FREMONT FOOTBALL #56 VICTOR SALAZAR is on my front lawn and the door to my house has inspirational and corny quotes written on it, like YOU CAN DO IT! and WE HEART VIC! and BEST LINEBACKER IN ILLINOIS!

  Gotta love the cheerleaders, who decorate our lockers at school and the doors of our houses. Every cheerleader writes a personal note and tapes it on our front doors. My eyes scan the one from Monika.

  To my friend Vic,

  Please help Trey win his first game so he can get into Harvard.

  No pressure lol.

  Your friend, Monika

  Damn. Ashtyn's right. I need to move on.

  The problem is, I don't know how.

  Chapter Six

  MONIKA

  The best part about having a boyfriend who your parents like is that they don't mind when he comes over. The worst part about having a boyfriend who your parents like is that they treat him like he's their BFF.

  Two times since Trey came over after practice, my dad interrupted us. The first time, he came in the kitchen when I was making popcorn before we were going to watch a movie. He asked Trey about how football practice was going and if he thought Fremont had a shot at winning the state championship.

  The second time, Dad came up to us right when we were about to turn on the movie. He asked Trey his opinion about whether or not he should buy an electric screwdriver with torque or not. I don't even know what torque is, so I sat there and played a game on my phone until they were done talking.

  Trey takes my hand in his as we cuddle on the couch. "Love ya."

  I look up at his beautiful dark, chiseled face, then sink into the warmth of his chest. "I love you too."

  I want to bring up that I've felt distant from him. Even now, as he has his arm around me, I feel like there's a wall between us.

  He used to be the perfect guy. Now it seems like whenever he gets a chance to leave me, he's gone without a backward glance.

  My dad suddenly appears in the room once again. "Trey, can I bother you for a few minutes?" he asks. "I'm trying to replace a sprinkler head, and I'm having a helluva time."

  "Sure, Dr. Fox," Trey says without hesitation.

  "Dad, we were just about to put in a movie," I say, my voice sounding whiny. "Can't he help you later?"

  Trey pats my knee, then practically jumps up. "Don't be contemptuous. I'll be right back."

  Contemptuous?

  I used to think the way Trey sprinkled what my second-grade teacher would call "five-dollar words" into his sentences was cute. It made Trey unique and reminded me of how smart he was. But today I just find it condescending.

  Trey exits the room with my dad, leaving me alone to fast-forward the beginning credits and pause it right where the movie starts.

  I know that helping my dad won't take a few minutes. I check my phone as the time clicks by. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes.

  Trey's phone buzzes. It must've fallen out of his pocket when he was sitting on the couch. I figure it's one of our friends, but it's not.

  ZARA: Hey, baby! I miss u, Einstein! Call when you're alone. xoxoxo

  The text has a bunch of hearts after it.

  My breathing slows as the reality of it all sinks in. My boyfriend is cheating on me. Even though I'm not shocked, I feel sick and numb.

  Don't come to conclusions, I tell myself.

  I read the text ten more times and contemptuous doesn't even begin to describe my mood.

  Not wanting to freak myself out further, I walk outside and find my dad proudly showing Trey the new lawn mower he got a few weeks ago. Trey is kneeling down, examining the machine as my dad excitedly explains the features. I watch them work together to figure out some problem. They're bonding like father and son.

  Trey finally notices me watching them.

  "Trey, you got a text," I say, holding out his cell. "You left your phone on the couch."

  He takes the phone from me and shoves it in his pocket. "Thanks."

  "Aren't you gonna read it?" I ask, gauging his reaction.

  He makes no eye contact with me. "Later."

  "Go inside with Monika," Dad says to Trey. "I don't want to interrupt your date."

  "It's fine, Dr. Fox. Right, Monika?" my boyfriend says before winking at me and flashing me a smile that's uniquely him.

  I remember the first time Trey smiled at me. It was right after cheerleading practice the summer before freshman year. The football team was passing us as they went into the locker room. Trey and Vic were walking together as they passed me. Vic just nodded to me while Trey smiled. He has a smile that screams confidence and sincerity at the same time. While I was interested in getting to know Vic better, he didn't pay me any attention and Trey did. The next day Trey found me by my locker and asked me out--and smiled again. We've been dating ever since.

  "Trey," I tell him. "We need to talk."

  "Sounds serious," Dad says. "You want an old man's piece of advice, Trey? When a woman says they need to talk, brace yourself," he jokes as the wrinkles around his eyes bunch up in amusement.

  Trey chuckles. "Thanks for the warning, Dr. Fox," he says as he follows me into the den. "What's up, baby?"

  I swallow, hard. "Who's Zara?"

  A look of confusion crosses Trey's face. "Zara?" he asks as if he's never heard that name before.

  "Yeah. You know who she is because she's a c
ontact in your phone."

  "You were looking at my contacts?"

  "No, I didn't look at your contacts," I say defensively. "A text came up on the screen from a girl named Zara. Read it."

  He pulls his phone out. After reading the text, he shoves it back in his pocket. "It was obviously meant for someone else." He raises a brow. "You don't think for one second that text was meant for me, do you?"

  Now I'm confused.

  My mind is a blur.

  "I don't know what to think, Trey. It's kinda shady."

  "Seriously, that's ludicrous. It's kinda dumb for you to think it's shady." He shakes his head in frustration. "Don't you believe me?"

  I used to hang onto every word Trey said. He was always so smart and I looked to him for guidance and friendship. Today, though, the words coming out of his mouth seem forced and hollow.

  "I don't know," I say. "She called you Einstein, Trey. That's so you." I want to believe him, but I'm having a hard time.

  "I don't feel like watching the movie now," he says. "I'm gonna go. I mean, if you can't believe your boyfriend of over three years, just forget it."

  "Forget what?" I ask. "Don't you want to talk about it? I mean, you haven't even told me who this girl is. She's programmed in your phone, so you know her."

  "Excuse me if I don't want to be around my girlfriend who refuses to trust me." He starts walking out of the room. "I guess I'll call you later."

  My heart is beating fast, and I don't know what to say to fix this. "Trey..."

  He turns around.

  "I want to trust you," I tell him.

  "But you don't."

  "I don't know. With the pills and now this..."

  "Now you're bringing that up, too? I can't deal with this right now," he says. "I've got too much on my plate already, Monika. Thanks for stressing me out."

  His words make my body tense. "You say it like I just sit at home and do nothing all day. I have college apps too, Trey. I have school. I have cheerleading. I'm stressed."

  "You don't have a job or have to worry about how you're going to pay for college." He gestures to the artwork and surround-sound system in our den. "You have parents who can afford to pay for your college and those manicures you get all the time. I don't. You wouldn't even know what it'd be like to have a job and go to school at the same time."