Something About You

by J. Nathan

  “I think you need to add a switch backside triple cork 1440,” Thayer said as I sat up and wiped my face with a towel.

  “Amos did one in his final run last year.” I stood up so Thayer could take my spot on the bench. “I don’t want anyone thinking I’m not original.”

  He lay back and grasped the barbell. “Oh, you’re definitely original.”

  I laughed as I spotted for him. “Did you know a person’s brain can actually explode?” I asked as he began bench-pressing.

  “Bullshit.”

  “I swear. Apparently, it happened to some chess player in Russia.”

  “Wow.”

  “Right?”

  “You better land your tricks in Aspen so you don’t need to worry about that happening to you.”

  “It only happens to super smart people.”

  He burst out laughing after he returned the barbell to the rack. “Well, then you have nothing to worry about.” He sat up and wiped his face with his towel.

  “Asshole.”

  “Kason?”

  Fuck.

  Cora stood there in booty shorts and a crop top, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. “I called you last night when you didn’t come over? I was worried. But, I can see you’re okay.”

  Thayer stood. “Thanks for the workout, bro. See you at home,” he said as he hightailed it out of there.

  Traitor.

  Cora took his spot on the weight bench. “What’s going on?”

  Here goes nothing. “Listen.”

  “I am,” she said, clearly annoyed with me for blowing her off last night.

  “Things are starting to get busy. I really need to focus on training.”

  “So, train. I’m not standing in your way.”

  I sighed. “You know I haven’t made you any promises.”

  She looked angry. “You sure about that? Because I’d say every time you were fucking me, you were making me promises.”

  A few guys nearby lifting weight turned to look our way.

  I lowered my voice so Cora would take the hint and follow suit. “We’re in college, Cora. We’re horny. We hook up. We have fun. We move on.”

  Her eyes widened and she got louder. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I don’t know what you’re looking for here.”

  “I’m looking for you to admit that I’m not the kind of girl you fuck and ditch.”

  Everyone in the weight room was now looking our way.

  Fan-fucking-tastic. “Will you lower your voice before people start recording this?”

  “Oh, and ruin the good name of Kason McCloud?” she said. “Why would I ever want to do that?”

  She was trying to cause a scene, and I wasn’t about to play into it. “If you can’t control whatever the hell you’ve got going on, I’m outta here.” I took off for the door.

  “This isn’t over, Kason!” she called as I walked away.

  Hopefully not. Because when Daddy caught wind that I was kicking his little girl to the curb, maybe he’d drop his sponsorship and I could go with Kincaid.

  Shay

  I made my way through the stacks to the back corner of the library. To my surprise, Kason sat at our usual table wearing headphones.

  I dropped my bag onto the table.

  Kason glanced up and smiled.

  I found it strange that the small gesture could appear so familiar. Yet, so torturous.

  “Hey.” He pulled off his headphones. “Guess what I’m listening to?”

  I shrugged. “No idea.”

  “Tesla.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I told you I liked their sound.”

  I sat down across from him and pulled out my laptop.

  “I’ve also been listening to Slaughter and Bad Company.”

  I flipped open my laptop and searched for the website I needed, wondering why he was trying so hard to take an interest in me.

  “Did you have a nice day?” he asked.

  My eyes lifted from my laptop screen. “What?”

  “Your day. Did you have a good one?”

  Now, he was asking me about my day. What alternate universe were we living in? I shrugged and spun my laptop to face him. “I made you a quiz using all the terms we covered so far in class.”

  “You made this for me?” he asked as he looked at my screen. “When?”

  “I did a little last night and then some this morning.”

  If I didn’t know any better, I could’ve sworn a look of regret passed over his features. “This is really cool. Thanks for doing this for me.”

  Thanks? Did he really thank me? Didn’t he realize I didn’t have a choice?

  “Why are you so good at physics?”

  “I’m interested in it,” I said.

  “Yeah, but why?”

  “I’m gonna be a biochemist.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I want to develop cures for diseases.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Any particular disease or just diseases in general?”

  I considered my words carefully, not wanting to open myself up to questions I wasn’t going to answer. “Addiction.”

  “What happened to ‘just say no’?”

  I shook my head, knowing it’s what we’d been taught in school for years. But it was wrong. “Addiction is a chronic disease. It changes brain function. Scientists thought pleasure alone was enough for people to seek an addictive substance or activity. But, research tells us it’s more complicated.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “Dopamine contributes to the experience of pleasure, but also plays a role in learning and memory—two elements in the transition from liking something to becoming addicted to it.”

  He stared at me with narrowed eyes, and I couldn’t tell if he was trying to understand or was completely lost the second I opened my mouth.

  But I couldn’t stop. I loved talking about science, especially when it came to how I was going to change the face of the science surrounding addiction one day. “The brain registers all pleasures the same way. Repeated exposure to an addictive substance or behavior causes nerve cells in the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex to communicate in a way that combines liking something with wanting it. That’s what causes us to go after it to seek out the source of pleasure. Hence, addiction. If I can just discover the link to addiction and the solution to stopping it, we’d have a lot less heartache in our world.”

  “Wow,” Kason said.

  “What?”

  “That’s pretty impressive.”

  I shrugged.

  “I didn’t understand half of what you said, but I know you’re going to do something really amazing one day.”

  Heat rushed to my cheeks. Compliments made me uncomfortable. “I may not be able to flip on a snowboard, but this is my rush.”

  He nodded, seemingly understanding. “I can teach you to flip.”

  I laughed. “I can’t even stand on a snowboard. No way I’d ever be able to flip.”

  “You never know unless you try.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “What are you doing this weekend?” he asked.

  “I’m not going snowboarding with you.”

  “Whoa. Retract the claws, Little Genius. I wasn’t asking you to go snowboarding since there’s no snow yet. I was just wondering if you were busy.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I need a date for a charity event.”

  I balked. “You need a date?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised.”

  “What about mean girl?” I asked, curious what happened to the power couple. They seemed so right for each other.

  “We’re taking a break.”

  “So, she kicked you to the curb?”

  He chuckled. “Not exactly.”

  “How about little-miss-sit-on-the-table-and-spread-her-legs?”

  He laughed. “Did you really just say that?”

  “Was she not sitting on the table with her legs
spread the other night?”

  “No. She closed them once you walked over.” His lips slipped into a cocky grin.

  “I rest my case.” I opened my notebook to a blank page so I could take notes while he took the quiz that he had yet to start. “What’s the charity?”

  “No idea. It’s not really about the charity.”

  “Why not?”

  “My sponsor throws it to raise money, though what they really want is to sell their product. Having me and all their other athletes there is the enticer for people with deep pockets to be there too.”

  “That’s shitty.”

  “Yup. The real word blows.”

  I held my tongue. He didn’t know the half.

  “So?”

  “So, what?” I asked.

  “You wanna go with me?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t like you.”

  He chuckled. “Tell me how you really feel.”

  “Well, you’re a complete douchebag who—”

  He waved his palms in front of me. “Whoa. I wasn’t serious.”

  “Then why’d you ask?”

  He shook his head, obviously confused by my candor. “I thought you’d want to help a guy in need.”

  I scoffed. “You’re a guy in need?”

  “Yes, in need of a date.”

  “Well, besides the fact that I don’t like you, you have a video of me and you’re blackmailing me with it. Need I say more?”

  “You make it sound so—”

  “Disgusting?”

  “I was going to say—”

  “Wrong?”

  He continued, “More like—”

  “An asshole thing to do?”

  He huffed, clearly not liking me calling him out on his scheme. “You win.”

  “Thank you. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble finding some willing female to go to a charity event with you. Aren’t you like Mr. Big Shot Snowboarder?”

  His lips twitched. “I like to think so.”

  I rolled my eyes, hating that even when I hated him, he could be amusing. “Well, it’s still a no from me.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Shay

  I lay on my bed as Kendall was getting ready for a fraternity social. I was mesmerized that she knew how to apply makeup like those Instagram models who looked perfect without filters. She knew what colors needed to blend on her eyes to give them that lift and shine. And, her blush brush swept across the apples of her cheeks giving her that flushed look.

  Because my mom died when I was six, I didn’t have a woman around to buy me makeup or teach me about things like skincare. Instead of learning on my own, I said to hell with it all. I didn’t need it. And, while I was a firm believer that beauty on the inside was what should matter, just once I would’ve liked someone to think I was pretty on the outside.

  There was a knock at our door. Kendall dropped the lip gloss she just swiped on and rushed to the door, pulling it open and stepping back when it wasn’t who she expected.

  “Is Little One here?”

  I gasped.

  “You mean Shay?”

  I stood from my bed and moved to the door. “What are you doing here?”

  His light blue button-down shirt rolled at the sleeves displayed his sleeve of tattoos and made his eyes bluer than normal. And, instead of jeans, he wore khaki cargo pants and sneakers. “I asked you to go to that charity event with me,” he explained.

  “And I said no.”

  “Go get dressed,” he insisted. “I need you.”

  “No.”

  Kendall’s eyes jumped between the two of us, clearly unaccustomed to our usual banter since it happened while we were alone in the corner of the library.

  “I came all the way here to get you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Those three miles must’ve been taxing.”

  “See? I was willing to endure the journey for you.”

  “I have no idea why you’d think I’d change my mind.”

  He crossed his arms. “Oh, I’d say there’s one big reason that you would change your mind.”

  “What’s that?” I dared him with my eyes to say it in front of Kendall.

  “Go with him, Shay,” Kendall interrupted.

  I turned toward her and scowled.

  “It could be fun,” she explained.

  “Whose side are you on?”

  She stifled a smile. “It’s for charity.”

  I pointed at Kason. “He doesn’t even know what type of charity it’s for.”

  “Actually,” he began. “I do. It’s for UPRISE. It supports underprivileged kids in the Denver area.”

  Dammit. Charities like that had always been a savior for me when it came to the food and necessities I needed when my dad was on a bender, disappearing for days at a time.

  “That thing I need to get rid of…” he began.

  My eyes widened. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

  “It’s gone after tonight.”

  I inhaled sharply. If I went with him, would this all really be over? Would he erase the video? “I have nothing to wear.”

  His lips slipped into a small grin. “I’ve got it covered.”

  I stared across the space between us. Him in all his snowboarder dude glory. Why was he so desperate to go with me to this event? He could’ve asked any girl and, unlike me, they would’ve loved to go with him. There had to be more to it. But if I didn’t go, there was no chance of him erasing the video any time soon.

  “What do you say, Shay?” he said. “You in?”

  “You called me Shay,” I said.

  “It’s your name, isn’t it?”

  “You didn’t know that until Kendall said it.”

  “Not true.”

  “Very true,” I ascertained.

  “You two are hysterical,” Kendall said, still standing nearby witnessing the whole ridiculous scene between us.

  I shot daggers her way. “We are not. He’s a jerk.”

  “A jerk who you’re going to a charity event with,” he added.

  I growled deep in my throat, hating that he had the video hanging over me. But not for long. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

  Kason

  I glanced over at Shay in the passenger seat of my Jeep, still amazed it didn’t take more arm twisting to get her to go with me. She was so small and fragile-looking on the outside. But on the inside, she was fierce and fiery and could eat a guy like me for breakfast if I wasn’t careful.

  “Stop staring at me,” she said, though her eyes were focused out the passenger window.

  “I’m not staring.”

  Being in such close quarters was new for us. In the library, the space was so big, it never felt as if we were truly alone. But now, with nothing between us but a center console, I was very aware of our proximity—not to mention, the fact that I didn’t really know Shay. She was right. I only learned her name from her roommate. “Are you excited?” I asked, dumbly.

  “No.”

  My eyes jumped between Shay and the road. “Do you always say what you’re thinking?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s actually refreshing.”

  She looked at me. “Why’s that?”

  “I’m just used to people telling me how awesome I am.”

  She groaned.

  “I’m serious. It’s like I can do no wrong because I can land tricks on a snowboard. And, while I can pull off some sick tricks, it’s not who I am. It’s what I do. So, when they blow up my ego, it’s for something superficial. Does that make sense?”

  “Oddly. Yes.”

  A humorless laugh escaped me. “I’ve never said that out loud before.”

  “Why not?”

  “I guess I didn’t want anyone to think I was whining about my success.”

  “It’s not whining if it’s the truth. And, if you can’t be open with your friends, they’re probably not your real friends.”

  She was
right. I knew my boys were my boys because they were there when I wasn’t winning medals. It was my competitors who acted like they were my friends, but I knew they didn’t really have my back. Instead, they hoped I didn’t nail my corks, flips, and jumps because then they could take my place.

  Before long, I hit my blinker and turned into the small parking lot off the main strip in town. As I parked my Jeep and cut the engine, Shay looked around, likely worried I planned to do something sinister in the empty parking lot. We were clearly not at the ski resort where the event was being held, so I understood her confusion. “Come on,” I said, pushing open my door and stepping out. I waited until Shay stepped beside me before taking off for the small boutique. The bell on the front door jingled as we stepped inside.

  “Kason? Is that you?” My sister Giselle rushed out from the back room with a huge smile on her face. But it wasn’t directed at me. It was directed at Shay who looked completely out of her element in the prissy shop because she was wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, and combat boots. “You must be Shay?”

  Shay nodded, obviously unsure what to make of this stranger walking around her in a circle, sizing her up.

  “I’m Kason’s sister Giselle. I own the shop.”

  Realization swept across Shay’s face at our similarities. Giselle and I had the same dark hair and blue eyes. “It’s nice to meet you.” Shay took in all the dainty clothes in the boutique. “You have a beautiful shop.”

  “Thanks.” Giselle gave her one more once over. “I have the perfect dress for you.”

  You’d have thought Shay was a deer caught in headlights by the way her eyes widened. “I can’t wear a dress.”

  “Of course, you can,” Giselle assured her. “You’ve got a great body and I’ve picked out the perfect one for your skin tone.”

  “No, I mean…” Shay’s voice drifted off.

  My sister and I exchanged a glance, both realizing that Shay didn’t want to say whatever it was she was thinking in front of me.

  “I’m just gonna go wait outside,” I said, walking toward the door and leaving them alone inside. Though I was curious what they would talk about, I stepped onto the sidewalk. The night air carried a slight chill and I knew snowboarding season would be here soon. My phone pinged and I checked the screen. It was Jesse. She already asked where you were.