by Remi Rose
“Wow.” His eyes are wide, but his head drops as he laughs.
“What’s so funny?” I snap, immediately irritated.
“Nothing! Nothing’s funny about what you said.” He throws his hands up in defense. “That’s amazing actually.” I see the slight flush in his cheeks as he turns away from me. “I just didn’t expect that.”
My anger simmers and I shift my butt on the bench. “What about you?”
“University of South Carolina. They’ve been scouting me for a while now.”
Nodding, there’s an awkward silence between us until a loud screech causes us both to turn our heads.
“Sounds like someone’s having too much fun.” Wes laughs, showing off his perfectly straight teeth.
“Are you scared to go back home after what just happened?” I ask. He seemed too laid back and calm for someone who just punched their father.
“Nah, I doubt he’ll say anything anyway. He’s probably bottled deep in Jack Daniels as we speak.”
I found it hard to believe that Mr. Fitzgerald wouldn’t say anything, but who knows. Maybe he had a soft spot for his son because he hadn’t been a part of the beginning of his life.
“Do you think you’ll ever forgive him?”
The serious question catches him off guard and his eyebrows knit like he’s deep in thought. “There’s really nothing to forgive him for.” He shrugs. “He didn’t even know anything about me until my mom dropped me off that day. But every day, I take it out on him. For not being there when I needed a dad.”
It was a painful situation for the both of them, where Wes struggled with forgiving his dad, Jack struggled with forgiving himself.
His sad eyes peered down at the ground, and I felt the urge to comfort him. To grab his injured hand and squeeze it tight till all the pain he felt disappeared. But the urge went away as quick as it came, and I brought myself back to the reality of keeping my distance from him.
Both Fitzgerald’s.
“We should probably get going and find Josie.” I slowly rise from the bench, tugging down on the uncomfortably tight skirt around my waist. Wes catches the movement, and locks onto my legs.
“Yah.” He swallows, with a touch of disappointment in his tone. “Do you know where she is?” He stands up, towering over me as his fresh smell wafts through the night air.
“No.” I groan. “She’s with Nate.”
I couldn’t believe I was saying those words. My best friend, my very quiet, and unpopular best friend walked up to Nate Hawthorne like it was nothing and laid claim on him in front of everyone. And he liked it.
We start to head back towards the house, walking side by side. I catch a glimpse of who looks to be a very drunk Travis in between two girls who are in nothing but thongs. We sneakily try to avoid him, but his glazed over eyes land on us.
“QB!” He shouts loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Sauntering over to us with an open button up shirt and board shorts, he’s grinning like a cat. He stops in front of us, cutting us off. “Damn…” He blatantly drops his eyes down the length of me. “You should dress like that more often.”
Rolling my eyes, I glance over at Wes who looks seconds away from punching his second victim of the night. “We're tryna leave.” Wes announces in a ‘don’t fuck with me’ tone, but stupid Travis takes that as a challenge.
“The party’s just getting started!” He opens his arms wide and the two topless girls slide in on each side of him. “We were just about to start our friendly competition of who has the best tits.”
I avert my eyes from the naked breasts that are practically dangling in my face and feel my cheeks heat up like a teapot.
“Get the fuck out of the way, Haynes.” Wes snatches my hand, dragging me past them until a rough hand grabs my upper arm, pulling me back.
“Not so fast, O’Connor.” Travis rips my hand out of Wes’s and brushes his lips against my ear. “Take your shirt off. I wanna see just how perky your tits are.”
My face reads disgusted but as I’m about to push him away, Wes beats me to the punch and sends him flying backwards.
“Touch her again and see what happens.” Wes seethes through gritted teeth. Travis stumbles back over to us with fire in eyes.
“You with Fitzgerald now?” He centers on me.
“No, I’m not.” I take a step towards him. “But understand one thing, I will never, ever, even if you were the last man on earth, get with you.”
His nostrils flare, and I feel Wes pull me back by my shoulder.
“We all know you want my dick, O’Connor.” He snatches the topless blonde and wraps an arm around her shoulder. She doesn’t object but her eyes seem to be glued on Wes.
“Fuck off, Travis.” Wes fumes. “No one wants near your dick.”
Travis grabs a handful of the blonde’s breast and kneads it like his own personal stress ball. “I got pussy lined up at my locker, eager to get their hands on my dick.”
Grimacing, I watch as he lowers his mouth down onto the curve of her neck. With his gaze locked onto me, he darts out his tongue, dragging it across her skin.
“You’re disgusting.” I spit before storming away. I feel Wes hot on my heels as I enter the house.
“Becca, slow down.” Wes seizes my wrist, halting me from walking any further. Frustrated and humiliated, I force my eyes down as a stray tear falls down my face. “Hey.” His voice turns soft as he tries capturing my attention, but the last thing I wanted was for him to see me crying.
“I’m fine.”
I was always fine.
I was fine when my mother left, fine when my dad went to prison and I was fine now.
“I think I found your friend.” He announces, causing my head to lift and follow his line of vision.
Leaning over a foldable table with a tiny ball in her hands, Nate is parked behind her, ogling her ass while she tosses the ball into a cup that has her jumping up and down in joy. Nate stares at her in wonderment before she flings herself in his embrace. Her movements were sloppy and uncoordinated, and by the tall drink beside her, I had an idea why.
Pushing my way to the table, I had the shitty task of convincing a drunk Josie it was time to leave. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Especially since Nate was finally noticing her.
When I pull up next to the table, she detangles herself from Nate and gives me a goofy side grin. As she opens her mouth, Wes slides in beside me, nodding his head at Nate.
“I see you’ve been busy.” She smiles suggestively, glancing back and forth between Wes and me.
“I think you’re the one that’s been busy.” I motion towards Nate who’s taking his turn at beer pong.
Her eyes soften at the mention of his name, and a blush forms across her cheeks. “I think he likes me.”
Guys like him only wanted one thing. And right now, Josie was the perfect target.
Sighing, I entwine my fingers with hers. “We should get going, it’s getting late.”
Apparently Nate has supersonic hearing because he comes up behind Josie and winds his arms around her waist, holding her hostage. “Woah, what’s this I hear about leaving?” He rests his chin on her shoulder, staring at both Wes and me.
“It’s late.” I snap. “Plus, I think Josie’s had enough to drink for the night.”
“What are you, her mother?” He scoffs.
Josie appears clueless to what’s going on, completely enamored by Nate and the way he’s holding her.
“No, but I’m not going to leave her with you.” I comment with a raised brow and fire in my tone.
“What if that’s what she wants?” He tugs on her earlobe with his teeth, sending her into a giggling fit. Her neck arches backwards asking for more and a devious grin appears on Nate’s lips. “The night’s just starting.”
“I don’t fucking care.” I shout. “She’s drunk and whatever you have planned for her, isn’t happening. So, find another girl to play with because Josie is going home.”
Josi
e tenses at the brashness of my voice, while Nate finds it amusing. Laughing, he directs his attention on Wes. “Fitzgerald, why don’t you take your girl upstairs and loosen her up a bit? Seems like she could use a good dicking.”
Within seconds, I’m charging him with clenched fists until Wes stops me with his hand on my shoulder.
“The fuck, Nate?” He snaps as I’m still hot with anger.
“What? The girl’s got a stick up her ass!” He says defensively. “So, as a friend, I suggest taking her upstairs and fucking her till she loosens up a bit. What’s wrong with that?”
Speechless, I don’t know whether to smack him or just walk away. Wes, on the other hand, looks ready to pounce. His hand on my shoulder tightens and his breathing turns heavy.
“Really, Nate?” Josie twists in his arms and starts smacking his chest till he releases her.
“What did I do?!” He stares down at her in disbelief as she continues to smack him.
“You.” Smack. “Just.” Smack. “Had to.” Smack. “Ruin.” Smack. “A perfect.” Smack. “Night.” Smack.
“How did I ruin it!?” His eyes are the size of dinner plates as Josie takes a step back away from him.
Ignoring him altogether, she slides up beside me and frowns. “I’m ready to go.”
Nate’s arms drop in defeat. “Come on…. I was just joking!”
Flipping him off, she heads for the door and I follow behind her. Her walk turns into a jog and I try to catch up.
“Josie!” I shout as she jogs across the street without looking to see if there was a car, but luckily there wasn’t.
“Just drive me home. I’ve had too much to drink to be behind the wheel.” She rips open the backseat door and throws herself inside.
Wes and I make it to the car, and peer at each other in confusion.
“She okay?” He nods toward the back of the car.
“Who knows?” I sigh, running a hand through my hair feeling exhausted.
“Are… you okay?” His gaze is heavy on me, making it hard to concentrate on anything else.
“Of course.” I say to appease him, when in fact I wasn’t. I was more pissed off than anything. Pissed at myself for thinking I could have fun, pissed at Josie for fawning over Nate all night, and most of all, pissed at Wes, for burying himself deep into my head and distracting me.
“Ughh… I don’t feel so good.” I hear Josie groan from the back.
Moving around Wes, I open the back door and pull the keys out of Josie’s hand.
“I can drive.” Wes offers but I answer by plopping down into the front seat.
“You’ve been drinking.” I shake my head. “We don’t need Westwoods’s QB going to jail tonight.”
Nodding, he circles around the front of the car and takes a seat on the passenger side. After buckling in, I glance in the back and notice Josie is already passed out with her arm over her head.
After starting the car, Wes rattles off his address and it takes about twenty minutes until we're pulling up to a house not too far away from the school. It’s a single-story brick house that didn't have much curb appeal from what I saw. All lights were off, including the ones inside so it was hard to make a clear judgment.
“Thanks for dropping me off.” He grins with his hand on the door handle.
“Yeah, no problem.” I say like it’s no big deal. I keep my attention focused through the windshield, staring at the army green garage doors.
“I hope your friend feels better.” He motions toward her passed out figure in the back.
“Try not to punch any more people.” I find myself joking.
Once he’s out of the car, he leans against the door frame and peers over at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
My head immediately whips in his direction. “Tomorrow?” I ask confused.
Chuckling, his head drops. “You know, work. Tomorrow’s my first day.”
Fuck.
How could I forget about that?
“Right.” I shake my head clearly unhappy. Wes senses the change in my mood and frowns. Maybe he was hoping after our personal conversations tonight, I’d be more friendly, and more welcoming to the idea of us working together.
But in actuality, I was dreading it. I didn’t want to see him more than I already did at school, even if we did have some intimate conversations.
It didn’t change anything. If anything, it made me more cautious.
“Shit.” I groan under my breath. I forgot my car was still at school and there was no way Josie was sober enough to drop me off.
“What’s wrong?” Wes asks, still leaning over the car.
“My car is still at the school.” I rub a finger just above my eyebrow, trying to come up with a plan of how I can go get it.
“I can pick you up in the morning before work and take you to it.” He offers.
Warning signals immediately go off in my head telling me that's a terrible idea. Accepting a car ride from him was like saying I wanted to be his friend outside of work.
“Don’t overthink it, O’Connor.” He says with a straight face. “I’ll pick you up and drop you off. No biggie.”
No is on the tip of my tongue, but something inside me stopped the word from escaping. My gaze connected with his aqua eyes, and I swear all the oxygen escaped from my body. Giving me the same confused look when we first met, I was rendered speechless once again. His eyes almost appeared translucent as the light from the car bounced off his unique irises, creating a pool of different shades of blue. It was mesmerizing, like I could stare at them for hours until I drowned in their depths and not once try to resurface.
“Fine.” I find myself saying as the light inside the car flickered. My eyes quickly averted to the steering wheel and I saw out of the corner of my eye as Wes lifted his head. “I live on 4532 Hollow Hill Lane. Be there at nine.”
“Drive safe.” He smacks the hood of the car before stalking up his driveway.
Letting out a deep breath, I spin my head around to check on Josie and sure enough she’s still passed out. With tired eyes, I back us out of the devil’s lair and head home, ready for a hot shower and my bed.
CHAPTER NINE
Wes
“Where are you going?” My dad’s voice halts me from walking out the front door. I haven’t spoken to him since he tore out of the parking lot last night after my game. With my hand clenched around the door knob, the swelling on my hand flares, reminding me of last night's mistake.
“Work.” I slip and tell him the truth.
“Work?” He says in disbelief. “When did you get a job?”
Sighing, I twist my head in his direction, landing on the nasty bruise forming across his nose. “Does it really matter?”
He knows our routine down to the tee, he asks a question and I reply with bullshit answers. It’s how we worked and lived for the past six years. You’d think by now he’d try harder to talk to his son or get to know him, but every time was a disappointment. The further I pushed him away, the less he tried to prevent it.
“Well, have a good day.” He grunts before walking back into the kitchen.
Slipping out the front door, I climb up into the pickup and make my way to Becca’s house. I knew she wasn’t thrilled to be working with me. Anyone with two eyes could see that. But last night, there was this undeniable connection between us. I opened up and to my surprise, she did too. There was a moment when we were talking where I caught a rare smile appearing across her face. She may have thought she was hiding behind her curtain of hair, but I saw it. It gave me a small ounce of hope that she was finally letting her guard down with me.
As I turn into Becca’s driveway, I notice she’s already waiting for me. Dressed in her red plaid skirt and polo, she looks the furthest thing from elated. Her scowl deepens as she makes her way to the passenger side door.
“You look peachy this morning.” I tease as she pulls herself up into the truck. Her golden hair is tied back out of her face, but her seventies bangs were draped
on the sides of her head like a curtain.
“Don’t mess with me this morning, Fitzgerald.” She warns as she drops her horrendous ice cream cone hat in her lap.
“We seriously have to wear those hats?” I chuckle incredulously.
Annoyed, she turns her head to face me. “Got a problem with wearing a hat, pretty boy?”
Pretty boy, huh?
I knew she thought I was good looking.
“Nah.” I smile which only irritates her more. “I’ll rock the fuck out of that hat.”
“Sure.” She rolls her eyes. “We’ll wait and see what you think of it when all your friends show up and see you wearing it.”
Backing out of the driveway, I throw her a confused look. “Friends? What friends?” I laugh.
“A QB with no friends? Highly unlikely.” She deadpans.
“Sorry to disappoint.” I joke. “But the only friend I have here is you, and we’re technically not even friends, not yet until ten.”
I must have caught her off guard because I can feel her heavy stare on the side of my face. Instead of denying our friendship, she chuckles softly.
“That’s… sad.”
She was making fun of me, and I felt my heart gallop in my chest. I glanced her way and caught her innocently biting down onto her bottom lip. It appeared harmless, but I felt the overwhelming need to replace her teeth with mine, to taste and devour her mouth.
Everything about Becca was hard to ignore. The way she moved, talked, and carried herself was enchanting, and she had no fucking clue the effect she had on men.
She might think she’s invisible, but I guarantee you she’s not.
Sitting up straighter, I try to focus on anything other than her full lips, or her long lean legs.
“You good?” She asks, staring at my stiff body.
Relaxing my shoulders a bit, I drop a hand from the steering wheel and lean back. “Yeah.” I nod nonchalantly, like I wasn’t just admiring her seconds ago.
After dropping her off at her car, I follow behind her until we reach Cool Times. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous as I stepped out of my truck. I knew it couldn’t be rocket science working at an ice cream shop, but still, the nerves were getting the best of me.
