Dennis puts his hands up in surrender. “Fine, just pine after her from afar. That sounds like a much better idea.”
“No, I’m going to find someone else.”
I leave Dennis and Candace behind and start talking to random girls I see around. They’re all happy to talk to me, but I don’t feel anything for any of them. There are no sparks like with Trina.
After about an hour, I give up and decide it’s time to go home. It’s only almost ten, but I’m getting up at five to work out before the game. I don’t bother saying goodbye to anyone. My teammates are used to my Irish goodbyes.
As I’m walking to my apartment, I can’t stop thinking about Trina. It’s so bad that I think I see her walking towards me.
The woman’s face falls when she sees me and I realize she is walking towards me, and she’s with a guy.
He looks at her and notices her reaction. I’m close enough to hear him ask if she’s okay.
“Yeah, I’m fine. That’s just a football player I have to tutor.”
“Oh, shit. You didn’t tell me about that.”
“It sucks. We’re getting by, though. It’s only for the rest of the semester. I can handle it.”
The guy puts his arm over Trina’s shoulder. A few seconds later, another guy shows up and the conversation happens again. They don’t care that I’m within earshot. Trina has no qualms about letting me know she doesn’t like me.
To think I have a crush on this woman who despises me. I feel like such an idiot. Even if I wanted her to, Trina would never go for me.
I’m nothing but a football player to her.
Chapter 9
Trina
Being at home with my family usually makes me feel better, but ever since last weekend with my dad, I’m having trouble feeling comfortable here.
Last night, I convinced Charlie and Nick to drive up and visit me on campus. I took them to dinner at our favorite pizza place and then we walked around and did a little tour. I realized I’ve never shown the boys the entire campus before. I always go home to them. My family rarely comes to visit me at school.
Honestly, the visit was in part me trying to convince the boys to stay in Connecticut for college. I know they’re both set on going to California or some other crazy faraway place, but I wanted to show them they could have a great college experience and still be close to home.
I don’t think it worked. Sure, my college has an amazing campus, but it was cold and the boys were not having it.
Then we ran into Carter.
Well, I guess we didn’t run into Carter. He was a hundred feet away when I spotted him. It was a shock to see him for a lot of reasons. Today is the homecoming game for our football team. I assumed he’d be with everyone else at the massive football parties going on around campus. There was even one hosted by the football team themselves. Apparently, it wasn’t good enough for Carter. He was walking from that direction, presumably to find the next party to get trashed at.
I was with Charlie when I saw Carter. He noticed the change in my demeanor and I couldn’t lie to him when he asked. I told him Carter is just some football player I’m tutoring. I must’ve been going crazy because it looked like Carter’s face fell when he heard my words.
I knew Carter was close enough to hear me. Maybe that makes me a jerk, but I needed everyone to hear it. No matter what crazy feelings I’m having, Carter is just my student. We’re not friends. We’re definitely never going to date.
Of course, Nick returned from the bathroom and I had to explain the situation again. The rest of the night, Nick and Charlie were asking me about Carter. They’re both avid football fans, so of course, they kind of knew of Carter already. He’s apparently going to get drafted to the NFL. Even more reason to avoid him. I’m staying in New England for the rest of my life. I’m not cut out for the kind of person who can travel all over the country, or the world, without any qualms.
Carter was wearing a t-shirt and jeans when I saw him. He’s usually in a practice jersey at our sessions, so that was a shock, too. He looked even hotter than he does in tutoring. It was a lot for my system to handle.
Forgetting him is going to be hard when I have that image of him in my brain.
“Where are you, Trin?” Nick asks. I blink and find him and Charlie staring at me.
“Sorry, just thinking.”
Nick grins. “About your boyfriend?”
“Shut up, I don’t have a boyfriend. If I did, it wouldn’t be Carter.”
“I didn’t say anything about Carter.”
I roll my eyes. “You didn’t have to. You guys have been calling him my boyfriend since we saw him last night.”
“Maybe if you didn’t blush so hard…”
“It’s not blush, it’s anger. I told you, he’s a football player.”
Nick is the one who rolls his eyes this time. They both know about my thing against football guys, but they don’t understand it. Before he can make a comment about how stupid I am to hold a grudge, I say, “What about you guys? Are you dating anyone?”
“Charlie has a girlfriend!” Nick blurts out.
My eyes widen. I wasn’t expecting that. I hadn’t heard anything about a girlfriend.
“Really? How long have you been together?”
Charlie bites his lip. “Almost a year now.”
“Wait, what? Do Mom and Dad know?”
“Yeah, of course.”
I frown. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Charlie shrugs. “I don’t know. It never came up.”
My heart falls. Maybe my dad was right and I haven’t made an effort with my brothers. They’re seventeen and I’m twenty-one. The four-year age gap between us used to feel small because we’d do everything as a family. Now, I’m feeling that gap more than ever.
“Tell me about her.”
Charlie launches into a grin-filled description of his girlfriend. She’s a high school senior like they are and, according to both Charlie and Nick, she’s amazing.
“I’m really happy for you, Charlie. I want to meet her!”
“Maybe I’ll invite her to dinner tomorrow night.”
“That’d be great.”
“You’ll like her, Trin. She’s really cool.”
“What about you, Nick? Any guys on your radar?”
“Please. No guy at school is worth my time.”
“I get that. Maybe once you’re in college.”
“That’s why I want to go to San Francisco.”
“But Connecticut…”
“Is close to home, I know. That’s great for you, Trin, but it’s not what we want.”
I sigh. I don’t get how my brothers can just up and leave the only life we’ve ever known. I can’t imagine moving to California. Hell, I’m having a hard-enough time applying to grad schools in Massachusetts.
“I just wish you guys would stay close.”
Nick puts an arm around my shoulder. Both of my brothers are taller than me, which makes for some great sibling hugs.
“You’ll just have to visit us in California.”
My heart races. I don’t think I could even do that. I’ve never been on a plane before. I can’t imagine doing it by myself. I suppose my parents could come with me, but even then, I don’t know if I can do it.
“Yeah, that’d be great.”
Charlie laughs. “You liar. Don’t worry, we’ll come home plenty. You know we couldn’t live without family dinners every once in a while.”
Charlie pulls me in for a hug and Nick joins. I let myself enjoy the warmth of my brothers. I can’t believe I have less than a year before the two of them move to the west coast. It’s not even a matter of if they get into colleges. They’re both incredibly smart, so I know they’ll be accepted.
It’s only a matter of when they leave.
“Subject change. The art show is next weekend. Will you be able to come?”
“What art show?”
“The one I’m going to be in next weekend.”
“What? I didn’t know about that!”
I didn’t even know Nick was an artist. Do I know nothing about my younger brothers? How did we go from telling each other everything to knowing nothing about each other?
“Yeah, it’s no big deal. I did a portrait that’s going to be displayed.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Nick. Just give me the details.”
“I’ll text you the invitation.”
He immediately sends me a picture of the invite. It looks fancy, black with gold writing. This is a big deal. It’s just like Nick to play down his accomplishments.
My phone starts to ring before I can say anything more. The caller ID reads “Ben.” I answer it immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Trina! Sorry to interrupt you on the weekend. I was just wondering where your tutoring logs for this month are? I have a meeting this evening to show our hours, so I really need yours.”
“You have a meeting on a Saturday?”
“It happens.”
“The logs are in my top drawer on the left. They’re in a folder.”
I hear Ben rummaging around and then he cheers. “Got them, thanks Trina. What are you up to?”
“I’m at home hanging out with my brothers.”
“No surprise there. Are you having a good time?”
“Yeah. It’s been interesting so far.”
“Interesting? What do you mean?”
My brothers are within earshot, so I can’t say much more. I’d love to vent to Ben about how weird it is that the boys have these lives I’m not a part of, even though I see them nearly every weekend.
“I don’t know, just interesting. I’m learning a lot.”
“Well, maybe you can tell me about it on Monday.”
I blush. “I’d like that.”
“Great. I’ll let you go. See you Monday.”
“See you.”
We hang up and both boys are staring at me.
“Who was that? Carter?”
“No, it was Ben.”
“Who is Ben?”
“He’s the guy who runs the tutoring center.”
“Ah. So, he’s your boyfriend.”
I blush even deeper. “He’s not!”
“Trin’s got a crush!”
“Maybe I do. He’s really great. I think you guys would love him.”
“You should bring him to dinner next weekend.”
“Absolutely not. He’s my boss still. I’m hoping once the semester is over, we can go on a date and see what happens.”
Nick whistles. “Look at you making future plans. Does Ben know you’ll never leave Connecticut?”
I start to say yes, but I’m not exactly sure. Have we ever spoken about it? I’m sure I have. We spent all summer together.
“It doesn’t matter. I bet he’d be happy to stay, too. He loves it here.”
“I love it here, but that doesn’t mean I want to stay forever,” Charlie says.
I don’t want to have that argument again. We’ll never agree about the value of staying close to home. Instead, I change the subject.
“You know, on my way here I saw a billboard for that haunted graveyard we used to go to as kids. Would you guys want to go tonight?”
Both my brothers grin.
“You used to be terrified,” Charlie says.
“Yeah, but I always had fun.”
“I’d be down to go,” Nick says. “I love the fried Oreos, too.”
“The best part.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the backyard of our parents’ house until it starts to get too cool. Dinner is almost ready when we get inside. It’s not as fancy as our Sunday family dinners, but my mom’s cooking is always delicious. When we’re done eating, the boys and I hop in my car and head for the amusement park with the haunted graveyard.
It’s just as terrifying as I remember. The boys make fun of me the entire time. As we walk through the scary attraction, I can’t help but wish I had someone to hold my hand. It’s fun with my brothers, but would be even more fun with a boyfriend.
It scares me more than the graveyard when the person who comes to mind is Carter. I can easily picture his muscular arm around my shoulder and we walk. He’d laugh at me the entire time, but pull me close to comfort me.
I try to force myself to imagine Ben, instead. I don’t think he’d be caught dead at a place like this. He’s too much of a hipster. That makes me kind of sad. I love doing fall things like haunted graveyards and apple picking. I bet, even with football season, Carter would make time to go with me.
My stomach falls. How am I falling for a guy I don’t know? A guy I hate? It makes no sense. We’ve only spent three hours together. I don’t know him. He’s just a hot football player. That’s it.
I need to focus on Ben. I know him. So what if we don’t like all the same things? We can make it work. It’d get boring if we were always agreeing on everything.
Everything settles back into place and I can focus on the scares in the park. These are where my mind should be. I can’t let whatever feelings I have for Carter derail my carefully planned out future.
After the graveyard, the boys and I get our Oreos and head home. It’s a fun night and exactly what I needed. So what if we don’t know each other as well as we used to? My brothers and I are still close.
That’s all that matters.
Chapter 10
Carter
Today is a new day. I keep reminding myself of that as I walk towards the tutoring center.
I’m about twenty minutes early for my session. Like I planned on Friday, I wanted to be early so I can have a talk with Ben. He might be able to give me some pointers on how to win Trina over.
The front wall of the tutoring center is almost entirely made of glass. I’m not sure why, since it faces a hallway so it doesn’t bring in any extra natural light. It’s probably for aesthetic purposes. It also gives me the ability to see everything that’s going on inside, like Trina leaning against Ben’s desk.
I take a step back so I’m behind the non-glass part of the wall. The tutoring center door is open like it always is. I can make out just a little bit of Trina and Ben’s conversation.
“The coolest thing I can do is tie a cherry stem with my tongue,” Trina says with a laugh. “That’s nothing compared to your special skill.”
My stomach turns. What special skill does Ben have? It feels like I’m eavesdropping on a private, intimate moment. If that’s the case, they shouldn’t be having it in the tutoring center where anyone can hear them.
“I’m sure you can do something cooler than ride a scooter backwards. The cherry stem thing is impressive. I can’t do that.”
Oh, thank goodness. Ben can ride a scooter backwards? I’m not sure how that’s possible, but it is cool. I want to see him do it.
I take another glance into the tutoring center. Trina is sitting in a chair next to Ben’s desk, but her elbows are leaning on the desk. He’s lounging back in his chair, playing with a pencil. To the naked eye, it doesn’t look romantic. To me, though, I can tell Trina is trying to make a move. Ben isn’t exactly picking up on it.
I feel bad listening in on their conversation, but I want to learn more about Trina. This might be my only chance. She and Ben continue talking about their special skills. The conversation then turns to school and how Ben is finding grad school to be very fulfilling. Trina asks for some tips on how to make the best of her first year in grad school, and asks Ben to look at her applications. He agrees, of course.
There’s nothing I can offer Trina. Ben is the worldly older guy with experience in higher learning. I bet he’s traveled to Europe and maybe even Asia or South America. I’ve barely been out of New England. I grew up in Rhode Island and came to Connecticut for school. Look at me, a regular globetrotter.
It shouldn’t matter so much to me. I’m not in competition with Ben. Let’s face it, even if I was, he would win hands down.
This is a
bout becoming Trina’s friend. I don’t like when people dislike me, and I’m more determined than ever to win Trina over. The way she talked about me to those guys struck me pretty hard. I’m used to being called the nice guy or the smart guy. I love football, but being called a football player by Trina was the ultimate insult. I thought we’d moved at least a little passed her dislike of me. I was wrong.
Thinking about those guys, one of them had his arm around Trina at one point. Does Ben know about him? Does he know about Ben? I don’t think Trina would ever cheat on anyone, but if she is with that guy, she’s coming dangerously close.
“I’m sorry I interrupted your weekend,” Ben says. My ears perk up. Things might be getting a little more personal now.
“Oh, don’t worry about it.”
“You said it was interesting. What did you mean?”
“Well, I guess I’ve just realized I don’t know my brothers as well as I thought I did. They came to visit campus on Friday night and then we spent all of Saturday together. I learned a lot about them. One of them is in an art show next weekend and I didn’t even know he painted.”
I look in time to see Ben put a sympathetic hand over Trina’s. “People grow apart over time. That doesn’t mean you don’t have a strong relationship with your brothers.”
“We never got the chance to talk about your family last week.”
“Maybe another time. It’s almost time for your appointment with Carter.”
“I almost forgot.”
“How is that going?”
“Not as bad as I expected, but still not great. I’m excited for the semester to be over.”
Ben smiles. “So am I.”
This is gross. I step into the tutoring center before they can get any mushy with each other. At least now I know the guys Trina was with are her brothers.
That makes things harder for me. Her family is predisposed to dislike me.
Not that it matters since I’m not trying to date Trina. Her family doesn’t have to like me for us to be friends. The only one who matters is Trina.
Jock Blocked: An Enemies to Lovers Sports Romance Page 6