by Carly White
“Trust me Phil. She wants nothing to do with any jocks.”
“Because of what happened before?”
She nodded. “Among other things.”
“Is that why she dyes her hair black now?”
Charlie agreed. “Yes and most of the time, it works. Men see her short, black hair and don’t even realize who she is. Lou almost left college over it, but I begged her not to. We have been friends for a long time.”
“I like her.”
“Why?”
“Because she told me off, no one ever does that. I don’t know what it is, but there is something about her that draws me in.”
“I think that is just the challenge talking. But I warn you Phil, you hurt her and you will never get any more herb from me.”
Phil smiled back at her. “You drive a hard bargain Charlie. You know that I have to have your herbs to sleep. I sometimes think that it is the whole reason I am going off to the NFL now. Remember when we first met, how stressed out I was?”
“You were worried about too many things. Lou is my best friend though, so if you are just trying to chase her because of the challenge, don’t. She will see right through you and she doesn’t deserve it. Dante did enough to her and I won’t see her be so unhappy again.”
He was surprised at how strongly she talked about Lou. There had never been anything that he had said to her before that had upset her so. Charlie was the type to never get upset about anything, but after the woman had left the party, he had played that tape over and over again. It made him want Lou more, the look of devilish need in her eyes was what did it for him. He knew that.
Charlie lit a joint and handed it to him. Lou didn’t realize that half of the herbs in the apartment were smokeable. She had never partaken, but it was where Charlie got most of her money, guys like Phil that just needed something to relax.
“Why have I never met her before?”
“Because you usually don’t come here and she is always out studying or in class. I had to drag her to that party last night.”
“Yes, I saw her there. She was quite a picture.”
“I bet.”
“So you won’t put a good word in for me?”
She shook her head that she wouldn’t as she took a hit. “Nope. If you want a chance, you have to convince her yourself. I am not getting into it.”
Phil wanted to say more, ask more questions, but Charlie was making it clear that she wasn’t going to answer them. “Charlie, you are one strange woman.”
“Why? Because you can never talk me into bed?” Her smile was big and her eyes glanced down to the package on her mind.
“No, you have just always been different.”
***
Lou sat twitching a little, playing with her hair as they waited for the last person in the meeting. The editor, Gregory, was always late, but no one ever said anything. “So what are the assignments for this week?”
Miriana went through the different proposed stories and wondered to herself which one she would get stuck with. There weren’t many that sounded too good, but they were still waiting for Greg to get there and give out assignments. When he finally showed up twenty minutes later, he told everyone what their duties were and left before anything else could be said. She was to cover the football game that evening because their normal sports writer was out. Lou had tried to get out of it, change with someone else, but no one else wanted it, so she was forced to take it.
The last thing she wanted was to deal with the jocks. Her mind went to Phil for a moment and her cheeks were a little red when she got home.
“So, how did it go Lou?”
She sighed and sat down on the couch. The smell was in the air and she closed her eyes for a minute. “Not too good. I have to cover the game tonight. There are supposed to be a bunch of recruiters there and of course, everyone is talking about the golden boy Phil. The school wants to promote him because they are sure that he is going to be famous and make them so as well.”
“Well it could be worse. There was that mathlete thing going on this weekend.”
“I would rather cover the nerds than the jocks, you know that.”
Charlie didn’t know why Lou was still so worried about them. No one else was and she was hardly a memory. “They aren’t so bad once you get to know them.”
“They all know me well enough.”
“Phil was asking about you.”
Lou tried not to look like she cared, but she did. “What did you tell him?”
“Not much. He is a pretty good guy though. I know that you don’t like the footballers, but they are not all so bad.”
“I will just take your word for it. I am supposed to interview him tonight. Is there anything that I should know about him?”
Charlie wanted to say something more, but she stopped herself. “No, not really. Just what everyone already knows about him. Phil is going to be drafted soon and he has more offers than he can deal with. It’s a lot of pressure and he is worried about the game tonight.”
Lou couldn’t imagine such a sure man worried about anything at all. All that knew him, treated him like he was the King of the school and surely some of that had gotten into his head. “I will take your word for it. He seems like all of the rest of them.”
“Well I do know that he has his eye on you Lou.”
“I bet.”
“No really, he was asking about you. I don’t know what you said to him at the party last night, but you certainly got his attention.”
“Yes, I am sure. He probably recognized me. You know there has been a bet since that video went around campus. I became like a prize to them. There is no way that I will ever fall for a jock again. Not in this school.”
Charlie just sighed. Her friend was too hard-headed for her own good. Charlie tried to think of how she would feel if it had happened to her and she knew that she would have been just as upset, but what is done, is done and there was nothing that Lou could do to stop it, so the best thing for her to do, would be to forget about it. Though she knew she couldn’t tell her friend that.
“I know how you feel Lou. All I am saying is Phil is different. At least give him a chance.”
Lou agreed, but she knew in the back of her mind that he was like all the rest of them. “I will, though it makes me wonder why you are on his side.”
“I have known him since I moved here. Phil has always been straight forward with me and I appreciate that.”
Chapter 6
As Lou got ready for the game, she thought about what her friend had said and though she wanted to believe her, there was always her past holding her back. She didn’t want to be made a fool of again, though it would seem that the universe kept putting her in those kinds of positions. Lou didn’t want to think about it though, instead she told herself that it was just an article and that was it.
When she got down to the outdoor stadium, the place was already packed. She had been given a seat down by the front so that she could get a good look at the game. The problem was though, that Lou didn’t know anything about football in general. All she saw was a bunch of guys running around and jumping on each other. Lou would never get sports or the reason that the crowd behind her would cheer so loud.
Lou had a little bit of the fever when the game was coming to an end. It had been a good win for the school and it was Phil that had made it all possible. He was a sight to behold on the field and Lou was like the rest of them, chanting his name after the win. It was a good night for the small school and if there were recruits in the stands, Lou was sure that Phil’s performance had guaranteed him a good price at the draft.
After the game was over and the stands started to unload, Lou tried to make it to the field to get her interview with Phil, but he was surrounded by well-wishers and she was unable to. It was her job to get an interview, so after a time when there was less people Lou made her way to the locker room. She knocked and when no one answered, she pushed the door in slowly.
There w
ere men in all state of undress and she felt her cheeks turning red. It wasn’t the first time she had seen such a scene, but it was overwhelming to have all of those eyes on her. “Has anyone seen Phil?”
A tall blonde man stood up in a towel. “I will be Phil, if that is what you want to call me.’
Lou waved him off. “I am here for the paper, not that. Why don’t you cover yourself or I can take a picture for the newspaper if you like.”
She smiled as he scowled at her. She didn’t know who he was, but she was sure he was a dumb jock like all the rest. No one told her where Phil was, so she was forced to walk through the small locker room until she found him in the shower room. She said his name softly and he turned around suddenly. Charlie had been right, her painting was realistic. “Um, sorry Phil. I was just hoping for an interview when you were done. I was trying to catch you before you left for the evening.”
“Well here I am.”
He seemed unabashed by his own nakedness and as she couldn’t meet his eyes or anything else on his body, she turned her head. “I will wait for you until you are done if you don’t mind.”
Lou scurried out of the locker room, her heart pounding in her chest. It was an eternity until the man came out. Some of the others gave her a smile and leer as they exited the shower room. Lou was about to walk away when she heard him say her name. Why did she like the sound of it so much?
“Lou?”
“Yes, so I was hoping that you would want to give an interview for the paper. You are practically royalty to this school, so they want to know how it feels to win against Bishop?”
“Bishop has always been our rival and it is good that we won tonight.”
“So what are you planning to do after this season?”
“I plan to get drafted and make millions.”
“Yes, but do you know which team you are looking into?”
He shrugged and started to walk towards the parking lot. She was supposed to get more, so she followed him with her small tape recorder. “I don’t know what team yet. All depends on who gives me the best contract.”
“Are you trying to stay close to home?”
He shook his head that he wasn’t. “I don’t really have anything here to keep me. If that were to change, maybe I would stay close.”
Phil was looking at her in such a way that made her blush. Surely he didn’t mean her? How could he when he didn’t even know her. “I see. So you have no family here?”
“I have some family here, but it has never been a good enough reason to stay.”
Lou couldn’t shake his eyes and she finally looked down. “I am sure that wherever you go, you will do great Phil. I never much got sports, but without you tonight, I doubt we would have won.”
“Thank you. I was hoping to play well because of the scouts.”
“Well you did.” Lou stopped herself, not sure why she was being his cheerleader. He had been great though and through it all, she could admit that. Phil was way better than Dante had ever been. “You did. Since Dante left and you were put on first string, our team has won more than ever.”
She stopped when she realized that she had said her ex’s name out loud. Lou was sure that he didn’t know who she was and she wanted to keep it that way. Phil stopped and looked at her. “Thank you Lou. From you, I know that means a lot.”
Lou paused with him for a moment, looking up into his face. He seemed genuine and she wondered if Charlie was right about him. She usually was and it Lou wonder if she had been too harsh with the jocks. It had been years and that little tape had been done over and over again by other women. Cell phones were everywhere and drunken girls showing too much was not that uncommon.
“So what other questions do you have?”
She flipped through her small notepad and searched for something witty to ask. It was hard to talk to him, let alone think at the same time when he looked at her in such a way. Lou should have never seen that painting, because now it was impossible to look at him in the eyes. “I don’t know. Is there anything that you want added into the paper?”
He shrugged that there wasn’t. Phil had never liked all the publicity that came with the sport, but he knew he would have to get over it if he was going to play in the NFL. “I don’t know. Just don’t focus on me. There were a lot of other great plays and players out tonight and I don’t want them to be forgotten. We are a team and not one person can do it alone.”
She was surprised by his request. He was humble too.
“I will make sure to do that. Most guys want all the glory for themselves.”
Phil didn’t want it. He had enough attention and felt like he didn’t deserve it. There were more people that had better plays than he did. “There is no glory if there isn’t the others.”
“But the article is on you and your great success at the school. It’s a puff piece for the school more than anything. They are going to spew out your accolades for years to come. One of the great players came from their school, that sort of thing.”
Phil hadn’t thought of that, but it didn’t erase his uneasiness with the plan. He didn’t want to be pushed to the top. “I get that, but I am not the only one that will be drafted from this team. Carlos was looking great tonight and I have heard rumors that some of the recruiters were here to see him as well.”
Lou didn’t know what to say. She was figuring that she would have to stroke his ego a bit, but it seemed the last thing that he wanted. “Okay, well do you want me to interview him instead?”
“I was hoping that you would come to the after party and then you can interview them all.”
Lou shook her head. There was no way that she was going to another party. “No thank you. I think I have all that I need from you. You did well Phil. Have a good evening.”
She turned to walk away and he stopped her with a hand on her arm again. She looked down at the grip. “You seem to have trouble keeping your hands to yourself Phil.”
He moved his hand away. “Sorry about that, but what do I got to do to get your attention?”
“Why do you want it so badly?” Lou figured it was because she was the only one not willing to give it to him. Men always wanted what they couldn’t have.
“Because I can’t stop thinking about you Lou. Ever since the other night at the party, you have not given me the time of day.”
“You are just not my type.”
“I’m everyone’s type.”
She kind of giggled. “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that then.”
Lou walked away and Phil waited to see if she would look back. When she finally did, he knew that he had her. While she liked to pretend that she didn’t want him, he could see it in her eyes. But she was going to be harder to crack than he figured. Phil was a patient man, when it came to things that he really wanted and for one reason or another, he really wanted Lou.
Chapter 7
Lou wrote up the article that night at her apartment. Charlie was out with her boyfriend and though it was quiet like she liked it, she wondered for the first time if she should have gone out instead. Lou was getting to the conclusion that Charlie had been right. She had wasted so much of her college experience on studies and now that it was almost over, she wondered if she should have done more.
It was too late by the time she finished the article and emailed it to the editor. She went to bed that night thinking about Phil and men like him. Had she been that wrong about him?
The next morning Lou woke up and spent much of her day at her parent’s. She tried to make it home every other weekend for at least a day or so. Charlie was still over at her boyfriend’s house and though she usually went with, Lou was left to face her parents on her own. They were the drive that pushed her, reminding her that college wasn’t for fun, but for the education she needed to go on with her life.
After a couple of hours of their reminder, she felt a little better, but still wondered in the back of her mind, what it was that she was missing. The man in the painting and the humbl
e man from the night before kept creeping into her mind. He couldn’t be as great as he appeared.
Lou made her way back to the campus Sunday night and was relieved to see her friend back. Charlie may have liked to act like she didn’t care about her boyfriend, but Lou knew that she was in love and smitten. “So has James convinced you to stay there yet?”
Charlie had an almost guilty look on her face. “You know that I won’t leave you with the apartment. The rent is too high for you, so I will still pay my part, but I have been thinking about staying with him.”
She looked nervous and Lou tried to calm her. “It’s no worries Charlie. As much as you like to deny it, I know you are just as in love with him. That is a good thing Charlie. You two are perfect together.”
“I know. I just worry about you Lou.”
“I will be fine.”
They talked for a little while longer before going to bed. Lou knew that she was going to miss her desperately, but she didn’t want to be the one to hold her friend back. It wasn’t fair to her and once she realized that Lou was okay with it, Charlie had one of the happiest looks on her face. Lou though, was a little sad when she laid down that evening. College was coming to an end and it felt like she hadn’t even been there that long. All of her time studying was wasted in a way, and now she wished that she had done more while she was there. But the time for all of that was over.
She went to bed thinking of it all, but there was a moment when she thought of Phil again. He was the man that kept running around in her head and she still wasn’t so sure why. It wasn’t just his physical form that attracted her.
***
Monday morning the two girls went to separate classes in the morning, but Lou ditched her second class to go to art instead. She had all of her supplies and was introduced to the teacher. “You will like our class today. We will be doing nudes again.”
Lou was not expecting that, but her friend seemed to know what was going on. When Lou saw Phil walk in and start to un-robe, she closed her eyes and said a little prayer for strength. As it all came off, she swallowed hard and tried to look away. Charlie noticed her friend’s reaction and smiled to herself. They were perfect together, even if her friend didn’t know it yet.