“But I didn’t, Daddy. I’m so sorry that things didn’t work out, but I’m not going to stay with someone just because they have the right political views.”
“I had it all figured out.”
“But it’s my life. Not yours,” I dared to say.
“Oh darling, after everything that I have done for you. This is like a slap in the face.”
I felt tears streaming down my face. This was not at all how I expected the conversation to go. I hated nothing more than disappointing my father, but I wasn’t going to ask Derek back into my life just to please him. I had to start thinking of myself. We said our goodbyes, but I could hear the anger and dissatisfaction in every word he spoke. I asked if I should come for dinner that night, but he said that he was too busy. I thought of calling my mom, but I was scared she would have the same reaction.
I wiped away my tears and saw that it was almost time to meet up with Dominic in the library. The thought made me feel better. He was the only person I really wanted to be around. I washed my face and put a little bit of makeup on to hide my puffy eyes, then I made my way to find him.
“What’s wrong?” he said the moment he saw me.
I sighed. “Damn, I thought I put enough makeup on to hide that I was crying,” I said.
His eyes widened. “You’ve been crying? What happened? Was it Derek?”
I shook my head and told him all about the conversation I had just had with my father.
“I didn’t tell him about us, though. I figured he’d find out soon enough. Anyway, I just wanted to get off the phone. It was making me too angry.”
“Candice, I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this. You should be able to do whatever you want to do in life. Surely they should be happy if you’re happy?”
Someone glared at us, and I sighed. “Okay, let’s do our project. I don’t really want everyone listening in on us. Anyway, I need to keep my mind off it all.”
We worked on the project for the next hour. We were already so far ahead compared to everyone else, and when the hour was up, I was pleased to see that we were done. I’d sat close to Dominic throughout the whole hour, and every now and again his hand had brushed over mine, and he’d looked at me and smiled. I felt better knowing that he was on my side.
“Got some spare time?” he said.
I nodded. “Yeah. Why? Did you have something in mind?”
“Bike ride?”
I grinned. “Yes please.”
We made our way to the bike, and as I hopped on, I wrapped my arms around him. It was nice to think that I knew what it felt like to run my hands over his naked body. I liked that I could now hold onto him without feeling guilty. We rode through the town, and I had no idea where we were going. I assumed we were just going back to the park, so I was surprised when we pulled up in front of a small café. I hadn’t seen this place before, probably because it was so tucked away, hidden down a small side street.
“Cute place,” I said. “It looks like a secret haven.”
“Yeah, I found it by accident once,” he said. “I have been meaning to come back. They make the most amazing cappuccinos in the world. And the owners are wonderful.”
I smiled as he took my hand and led me inside. A small plump woman came up to us and welcomed us in. She gestured to her husband behind the counter and told us that he was going to make us coffee. As we sat down, I saw her walk up to him, and watched as her husband stooped down to kiss her. I looked at Dominic and grinned.
“They’re amazing.”
“Yeah,” he said. “They're the kind of people that make you realize that love really can exist in this world. They’re just so nice to each other. So respectful of one another. I wish more people could be like that.”
“And it makes me even happier that I broke up with Derek. I would never have had a life like them if I stayed with him.”
“I’m glad you broke up with him too. He’s not a nice guy, Candice. You deserve more than that.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think so too.”
“But you don’t seem happy. Is it because of your father? You don’t think he’ll come around?”
“Yeah. I just hate him being so upset with me. I want to make him proud. But I’m not staying with Derek just because of my father.”
“He’s going to freak when he finds out that you’re seeing me,” he said.
“Yeah. I’m worried about,” I confessed. “If he was that mad at me for breaking up with Derek, can you imagine what he’s going to say if he finds out I’m back together with the guy he forbade me from seeing when I was younger?”
“Yeah, he won’t be happy. But, Candice, we’re adults now. We should be able to do whatever we want. I love my parents, but I’m also mad that they just moved away and took me away from you. I’m sad that they didn’t stand up and fight for what they believed in. It’s not fair that you and I never got a say in any of it when really it was us that was getting affected by their decisions. It’s not fair. But we’re adults now. We should have the right to choose our own lives.”
I nodded. Dominic was right. But he also had no idea what my dad was like. All those years ago my father had forced his parents to move away just to stop me from seeing him. And since then he had only grown more powerful in the political world, and his actions were more severe. There was a big chance that we were in for a world of trouble because of what we had done. I wondered if I should break it off, just for Dominic’s sake. But then, just as I was about to say something, the owners of the café walked towards us, each of them carrying a cup.
“Delicious coffee for the beautiful couple. I remember,” the woman said to Dominic. “You looked sad the last time you came here. I saw it in your eyes. But now, you are shinning bright, and I think I know why,” she said and then winked at me.
I smiled at them as they walked off, and smiled at Dominic. I picked up my cup and took a sip of the coffee. It was like magic in a cup. I closed my eyes as I savored the flavor. This is what I wanted in life. I wanted to feel this sort of joy all the time. I opened my eyes and looked at Dominic. He was grinning at me, and I knew that I never wanted to be away from him. I would have to stand up for what I believed in, no matter how difficult things were going to get.
“Amazing, huh?” he said as he took a sip of his own coffee.
“Perfect,” I said. Of course, in my mind, it wasn’t just the coffee I was talking about.
After the coffee, we rode around some more, and then Dominic took me back to my dorm. I hopped off the bike and kissed him goodbye, wishing he didn’t have to go. As I walked back to my room, I could swear I saw movement from across the quad. I looked out and thought I saw Derek, but when I looked again, there was nobody. I knew I could be imagining it, but the gnawing sensation in my stomach told me that I probably wasn’t. Trouble was on its way. I could feel it.
Chapter Fifteen
Dominic
“Are you ready?” I said to Candice as we made our way to Professor Jackson’s class.
“I’m ready! We’ve got this,” she said and smiled at me with self-assurance.
The project had come to an end and today marked the day that we were all set to present it to the class. I wasn’t nervous at all. Perhaps if I had still had Sam as my partner, I might be a little more worried. But it was different with Candice. We’d both been on the same page throughout, and the project had come together easily. Sam, on the other hand, had told me how worried he was about his grade. He was sure he was going to fail. And, judging from some of the snippets of conversation I’d heard around class, some of the other teams were just as nervous as he was. I was actually looking forward to presenting the project to everyone. I knew we were going to do well, and Candice did too.
We walked into class and waited for Professor Jackson to come in. When he did, he walked to the front of the room and looked out at us.
“As you all know, the presentations that you are going to give are going to count towards a big portion of your final grade.
We won’t have time to get through everyone’s today, so for those that don’t get called up, please be ready to come up tomorrow. Once you’re done with your talk, please hand in your papers. I’ll have everything reviewed and finalized in about a week. We’re going to start off with Dominic and Candice.”
“First up,” I whispered to Candice as we made our way to the front of the class.
I had never been that good with public speaking, and according to Candice neither had she. She’d been homeschooled for such a long time that the thought of standing up in front of people was nerve-wracking to her. But the two of us seemed to give each other confidence, and we went through our presentation without any hitches. I was surprised at how calm and collected we were throughout the whole thing. When we were done, the class burst into applause, and Professor Jackson smiled at us.
“I knew I did the right thing by putting the two of you together. Great team effort. It’s obvious you work well together, and I’m glad to see you put in a lot of research into the project. That's a great way to start off the day. Please hand in your notes. Now, let’s see, who’s next?” he said as he looked around the room. “Okay, let’s have Thomas and Wendy.”
Candice and I took our seats at the back of the classroom and smiled at one another. We’d done it, and we’d done well. It was clear that we were going to get good grades. It was nice that we had gotten ours over with first too. Now we could just sit back for the rest of the lesson and listen to everyone else. She reached over and took my hands, and that was how we remained for the rest of the lesson. It was the most enjoyable a lesson had ever been for me. I wished it was a double lesson, just so that I could continue sitting with her. I barely listened to the rest of the assignments. I just sat there enjoying the feeling of her soft hand in mine. It was like we were in our own little bubble and the rest of the world had disappeared. It was only when the bell rang that I realized where we were.
“Come back to my place?” she whispered as soon as the class was done.
I groaned. “Don’t tempt me. I wish I could. But I have practice now. It’s the last thing I feel like doing,” I said with surprise. Football was usually the only thing I felt like doing, but all of that had changed now that I had met her. “But why don’t I come around afterwards?”
“You better,” she said and grinned at me.
I walked away from her in a happy bliss. I felt like I was walking around in a soft bubble. I had never felt like this before. I thought back to Madeleine. I had been so sure that she was the one for me. But now that I had met Candice I wasn’t so sure. This felt more solid, more real. My feelings for Madeleine seemed like childish puppy love compared to what I was feeling now. In a way, it scared me a little. I wasn’t used to feeling this way, and I was aware of the fact that it was happening a little fast. I had always laughed at couples who went from liking each other to falling hopelessly in love in the space of weeks. I had never believed it. Even in a few months seemed quick to me. And yet I could easily imagine falling in love with Candice. There was even a slight chance that the process was already happening. And I had no idea how to slow it down. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to.
I still had my head in the clouds when I got to practice. Tim came up to me when we were on a break and asked me what was happening between myself and Candice.
“What do you mean?” I said with an exaggerated innocence that only made him laugh.
“I saw the two of you holding hands,” he said. “It’s not like you’re very discreet about the whole thing.”
I smiled. “I’ll be honest with you; I have no idea what’s going on. I mean, we haven’t really spoken about making it official or anything. We’re just enjoying our time together and seeing where it goes. But . . . oh man, she’s amazing.”
He laughed. “I thought you said you didn’t have time for a woman,” he said, sounding very much like Axel had the other day. I wished I hadn’t forced that belief on so much in the past. I had been so adamant that I was not interested in dating.
“Yeah, so did I,” I said. “I guess it’s different with her. I feel like making the time for her.”
“I don’t blame you. She’s gorgeous. What’s the deal with that Derek guy though? Isn’t she going out with him?”
I shook my head. “Nah, not anymore. She said it was over a long time ago. But she only just dumped him now. I’m trying to tread carefully, though. I mean, I know she doesn’t have feelings for the guy anymore, but it’s pretty obvious that he’s cut up about it. I don’t think he likes the fact that she was the one that broke up with him.”
“I’ve never liked that guy. I have no idea why. He’s never done or said anything bad to me or anyone I know. But it’s just a feeling I get around him.”
“Yeah, I thought the same thing. He’s sneaky. Did you know he tried to punch me the other day?”
“What? Are you serious? Because of Candice?”
“Yeah, but the idiot was so drunk that he just missed and fell to the floor. Anyway, don’t say anything. I don’t really want to spread the word too much.”
“I won’t say anything. What an asshole. Listen, if I were you, I wouldn’t worry too much about all of this. He’ll move on and meet someone else, and the whole thing will be forgotten about. Don’t try to hide what you have with Candice because of him. Anyway, it’s pretty obvious that the two of you are smitten with each other. You can’t stop staring at one another.”
“She’s very hard to ignore,” I said.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that. How far have you gotten with her exactly?” he asked.
As much as I wanted to brag, I also didn’t really want to give him any details. It wasn’t fair to Candice. Thankfully, I was saved from answering by Coach Bane coming up to us and telling us to stop yacking and start playing. The two of us had been talking so much that we hadn’t even realized that the break was over and that the practice was back on.
“Sorry,” I mumbled to the coach and took my position.
I couldn’t wait for the session to be over. All I could think about was the fact that it was almost time for me to see Candice. And she wanted me to come to her room. I was so grateful that she didn’t share that room with anyone else. I was glad that we had the whole place to ourselves. I hadn’t been with a girl in a very long time, and I now felt like I had a lot of making up to do.
“Dominic! The ball!” Coach Bane shouted, and I quickly snapped out of my reverie and forced myself to concentrate on what I was doing.
After practice, I wanted to rush off to the showers so that I could go and see Candice, but the coach asked to speak to me privately. I pulled a face behind his back as I followed him to the side. Couldn’t he see that I was in a rush to be somewhere? We walked over to the sidelines where we could talk without anyone around. I wondered what he was going to say to me that he couldn’t say in front of the other guys.
“Dominic, what the hell is going on with you lately?” he asked. He was standing with his hands on his hips as if he were admonishing a small child. I had seen him do the same with some of the other guys, especially Sam, but he had never done that with me. It made me feel uneasy and I wondered if any of the other guys could see us. They couldn’t hear what we were saying, but they would certainly be able to tell that the coach was not happy with me. That was not the stance of a happy man.
“I’m sorry about that coach. Like I said, I’ve been tired. But I’ll be fine. I’m sorry about practice. I won’t be like that in the game, though. I think I just need to get a good night’s rest which is exactly what I’m going to do tonight.” I had no idea what else to say. I couldn’t tell him about all the things that were going on in my life. He didn’t care whether or not I had met someone.
He sighed. “Look, Dominic, I’m sad to say this, but you really need to step up your game. You’re slipping, and you’re not concentrating as much as you used to. I don’t know what is going on in your life, but whatever it is, I want you to ask yourself if it is more importan
t than football. If you want to be good enough to play in the NFL, then you’re going to have to prove it. No more slipping up. Anything out of football needs to take a back seat. This is a crucial time for you, and I really don’t want to see you messing things up. Out of everyone on this team, you were the one I had the biggest hope for. You have been the only one on the team that I believed had a future in this sport. But all that is going to change if you don’t get your head back in the game. Do you understand me?”
I nodded. I was sure he could see how surprised I was by the conversation. I had no idea that I was doing as badly as he thought I was. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry. I’ll do better next time. I promise.” There was no point arguing with him. He was the coach, and I was the student. I had to listen to him and assure him that my head was still in the game.
He sighed. “You know I like you, Dominic. I’m only saying all this because I care for you and because I believe in you. I wouldn’t say this to any of the other guys. Don’t let me see you slipping like this again. Whatever is going on, ignore it and concentrate on your football. Just like you have always done in the past. Can I count on you?”
“Of course you can,” I said.
I reassured him a bit more and then made my way back to the showers. I wasn’t too worried about his warnings. I had never slipped up before in the past, and I wasn’t about to ruin my chances of playing in the NFL. I was just a little stressed and tired with everything that was going on. But I knew how to zone in on the game when I needed to and forget about the rest of the world. I had done it before, and I could do it again. Anyway, the only thing I really wanted to do at that moment was to get off the field and get to Candice’s room.
“What was that about?” Harry asked when he saw me walking in.
I shrugged. “Ah, just game talk. Nothing serious,” I lied.
“Game talk? Only with you? You lucky bastard. You’re totally going to play in the NFL. You’re the only one in with a chance,” he said. I was glad that the guys hadn’t noticed that the coach was upset with me.
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