by Ivy Jordan
“I almost forgot.” He pulled a pile of wadded bills out of his pocket and handed them to Ava.
“Thanks.” She took them.
He stood in front of the desk for a second and stared at me, but we both ignored him, and he walked away. “Did that prick come on to you?”
“He’s the worst one.”
I moved in closer to whisper. “I’ll bet they all dream about taking you into one of these rooms.”
She looked behind her, frantic, like a girl being confronted by a monster.
“What do you say? Do you have time for a quick study session?”
She reached back to open the door and flicked off the lights. I was on her the second she walked in.
Chapter Eighteen
Ava
I was sitting in Hamburg’s class staring at the projector when I heard a loud crash. “Watch it,” a girl screamed behind me, and I looked back to see that she had a jock laying on top of her. He must’ve fallen over when he fell asleep.
He wriggled around and smiled at her. “Well, isn’t this nice?”
“Mr. Tucker, you have officially gone from an animal to a single-celled organism. Now get off that girl and get out of my class.”
He gave the teacher the finger before he shot up and walked out. That was how it happened. A student would do something outrageous in class. They’d get kicked out and never come back. Most of them weren’t even trying in the first place. They were just waiting for the right moment to show off. He was going to quit school altogether.
It was sad. They had an opportunity to make something of themselves, and they refused to take it seriously. They were averse to anything that would make their lives better, and indulging in everything that would destroy them. Didn’t they know what was at risk?
It just got me angry. The students that walked out would probably end up just like my mother, living in a ratty house with bugs and mold, trying to scrape up pennies for food. They didn’t know what they were walking out on, or what their life would be like without an education. All they cared about was how they felt at that moment.
It was arrogance, pride, and stupidity, all of the worst qualities of adolescence still dragging them behind. They’d probably never move forward. They’d regret leaving school the rest of their lives. I just couldn’t understand how they could take their futures for granted.
When class ended, Nicole was waiting for me out in the hall. She brought my favorite coffee and even had them add in a shot of espresso, which she knew I loved. Once I’d taken my coffee, we started walking down the hall. “How are you?” she asked in a sing-song voice.
“I’m doing well,” I said as we walked out into the courtyard.
“Did anything interesting happen?” We sat down at a table together.
“That’s my business. I feel like I’m on display.”
“I won’t bring it up, then.” Nicole took a sip of her coffee. I could sense that she was delaying the inevitable.
“It was spectacular,” I admitted.
“Was it?” She leaned in closer. “You really did it?”
“Yes, we did.”
“Oh my God,” she gasped. “I can’t believe you. I thought for certain you’d walk out or something.”
“No, it wasn’t like that,” I said. “I don’t think I could’ve walked away if I tried.”
“You like him.”
“I do. I really do. Oh, Nicole, he took me to this amazing restaurant, and we talked until the sun set. Then he took me back to my house, and we were together for hours.”
“I’m going to kill you. He didn’t walk out after?”
“No, he stayed and held me. Time just went by so fast. Then he was gone.”
“He left you wanting more.”
“Yes, but not just his body—dear God. He was hot, but the best part was after, when he held me.”
“Did he know it was your first time?”
“He must’ve known. I don’t know how, but he knew what he was doing, and he wasn’t rough.”
“Then he knew.”
“You know what he told me at the end? It still gets my stomach jumping.”
“What?” Nicole asked.
“He asked me if it was special.”
“That is really sweet. Are you going out again?”
“Oh, definitely. I wish he was here now. I couldn’t imagine this being a one-time thing, and he’s showing no sign of stopping either. He’s already texting me little things throughout the day.”
“Ava,” Nicole rested her hand on mine, “I want you to do me a favor.”
“What?”
“You’re young. He’s your first.”
“Wait, hold up.”
“No, listen. This is very, very important, the most important thing I will ever tell you—guys aren’t like us. They promise you the world, and give you all the right feelings, but more often than not, they just walk away.”
“I have a single mother that works as a bartender. I know what it’s like.”
“Not firsthand. You will have men testing every ounce of discipline in your body. You’ll be on top of them one moment, and ready to tear out their throats the next. Logic takes a backseat when it comes to love. You need to learn how to rein yourself in.”
“I can handle myself better than you think.”
“Not with men, and that’s not because you’re undisciplined. You’ve just never dated before. You have to learn how to maintain a healthy detachment and remember to have a healthy dose of skepticism. You just met this guy. He could be playing you, and I promise, he’s not going to stick around. You have to be ready for that.”
“I think I can walk away,” I said.
“Sure, now you can, but you’ve only been on two dates, and you’re already getting hazy. What happens if he leaves you in a couple months, or worse—a year. You’ll be heartbroken. You need to take a step back and prepare yourself for that.”
“It would feel wrong. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“If he gets hurt by that then he’s not emotionally ready to be in a relationship. Keep an eye on that. Your first time can be intense, and intensity can be bad. It changes into jealousy and rage. You need to avoid that at all costs.”
“It is intense. Nicole, you’re starting to scare me. I don’t want to analyze this. I want to enjoy the moment. That doesn’t mean I’m going into this like a blind 16-year-old, but I'm not picking it apart either.”
“It was special, wasn’t it?” she asked.
“It was. Come on. Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.” I led Nicole to the diner across the street, and we took a booth.
“I guess this means you have to come to the game,” she said.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Nope, it’s requisite. All the football girlfriends go. The guys get them special seats.”
“I’m not spending six hours with a bunch of breast implant candidates while they talk about how much they hate their boyfriends.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like very much fun, but the after-parties are great. You can just go from one house to the next. The entire Greek district turns into one huge block party. There’s food and drinks, and of course, a lot of eye candy.”
“I’m stuck on one sucker,” I said. “I like him, Nicole, but I’m not going to be a part of that world, and he gets that. He hates being famous, and he knows I hate attention. It’s better to be private about these kinds of things.”
“I guess you’ve let loose. I’m satisfied for now.” The waitress walked up to take our order.
“How are you going to handle his celebrity status when things get serious?”
“He’s not a celebrity.”
“People across the country are all talking about the freshman that turned our team around. You know we haven’t won the finals for more than a decade. That’s big, Ava.”
“I can’t let it get to me. It’s going to take some getting used to, but I’ll get through it.”
The waitress came up with our food.
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. It can get really dangerous—having people.”
“She could make it mine,” I said.
“Don’t let it get to you. People are going to talk no matter what.”
“Yeah, they are.” I turned my attention back to my food. Nicole asked about everything, from his size to the way he kissed. I barely gave anything away.
“You know what?” I said when I finished my food.
“I should just flaunt it. Who cares what people think about us?”
“Exactly.” Nicole and I both got up to leave.
When I got home, my whole apartment smelled like vanilla and sex. I could practically feel Channing in the air. It made it hard to focus, so I decided to take my books to the library, hoping that the walk would wake me up a bit.
I took the back streets so that nobody would see me. There were rows of oak trees with their canopies stretching out over the road, creating a tunnel with streams of light piercing through the dusty air. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket, so I took it out. “Hello?”
“Hey, sweetie.” It was my mom.
“How are you? Did you get the money I sent you? I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to call.”
“No, it’s fine. Thank you so much for sending that to us. We have a full cupboard.”
“You do?”
“Yes, we do, and I’m making dinner right now.”
“What are you having?”
“Shrimp scampi. I’m just waiting for the noodles to boil.”
“That sounds amazing. How’s Chelsea?”
The line went quiet. “She’s doing okay?”
“Is everything alright? You kind of hesitated there for a moment.”
“Did I?”
I stopped at the end of the street corner. “Yes, you did. What’s wrong, Mom?”
She sighed, a long, drawn out gesture. It wasn’t good, whatever it was.
“Mom?”
“She’s sick. She started having problems a couple days ago, and she hasn’t been able to keep anything down since then. I set up a doctor’s appointment in a couple of days, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to pay for it. They cut back on our medical at the diner.”
“Well, what’s going on? Is she alright?”
“Yeah, she’s okay. She’s eating ice chips and crackers. I don’t think I have to take her to the hospital or anything, but something’s going on.”
“God, I’m so sorry. Listen, I’m going to transfer you a little bit now. That way, if you need to take her to the hospital, you can pay for it.”
“No, that’s a lot of money, Ava. I can’t have you doing that.”
“No, Mom.”
“See, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you what was going on. I knew you’d do this.”
“I know that you’re the adult, and you’ve always been the one to take control, but you’ve got to think of Chelsea. If she’s sick, and you can’t pay for her, I have to help out. That’s just the way it is.”
“I suppose you’re right, but I don’t like this, not one bit. We can take care of ourselves.”
“It’s not about survival, Mom. It’s about giving you and my sister a better life. That’s why I’m here.”
“Ava, you have to do this for yourself too. I don’t want to hold you down.”
“You’re not,” I told her, “and I mean that. This isn’t just for me.”
“Thank you,” she teared up, then caught herself. “I love you, sweetie.”
“You too.”
I found the nearest study room and transferred everything I could spare. They would put the money to good use. Not one cent would be spent frivolously, and they needed it a lot more than I did. I didn’t mind helping them.
Chapter Nineteen
Channing
The glare from the lights in the stadium burned into the back of my eyes and stuck when I walked back into the locker room, covered in sweat. I collapsed on a bench near the door and took off my helmet, hoping that it would help me breathe, but my lungs were pounding too fast.
The excitement of the battle was starting to wear off, leaving me tired and dreary. I barely noticed the guys congratulating me as they walked by, until Mike took a seat next to me. He was covered in beads of sweat, and he was breathing fast.
“You took a pounding. They tackled you like, what? Six times?”
“Four, but it felt like nine. I’m aching. My whole body is sore. One of those guys slammed me with his elbow and drove my chin into the dirt.” I pointed at the mark they left.
“I’m still pumped.” Mike stood up and offered me a hand to lift me up. I took it. “You ready to party? Every house on the block went in on a keg.”
“I can barely stand. I’m too sore.”
“Come on. When was the last time you had a night out?”
Mike walked back to his locker, and I ducked down to open mine. “I have nights out every week. I’m tired, Mike. Not tonight.”
“Suit yourself.” He grabbed his towel and walked away to take a shower. I followed closely after him. I was hoping that the water would be enough to ease my muscles, but there wasn’t enough water pressure, and I was too tense, so I cut it short and decided to head back to the dorms.
The walk back from the stadium was several blocks. I wasn’t sure if I could make it at first, but once I got my feet moving, I felt a lot better. The air was cool, and there weren’t a lot of people walking around once I got onto the neighborhood streets.
I rounded the corner and saw Ava’s building at the end of the block. I could see her window lit up from behind a tree that grew on the side of her building. She was in there; I knew she was. I could probably go up and see her.
Would that be weird? Would she think I was some stalker, showing up at her house unannounced? Maybe it would be sexy. I couldn’t help myself. I hopped over the gate and walked right up to the elevator.
My skin was swimming when it opened up to her floor. I was being reckless. This might be seen as a fatal offense. I didn’t want to ruin things before they got started, but I was already up there, and she was so close. I couldn’t help myself. I knocked on her door and tried to remain calm. This was stupid.
She cracked the door and peeked out. When she saw me, she closed the door. I wasn’t sure whether to wait or leave. Maybe I interrupted her. I waited a moment, just in case she tried to open the door again, then turned around to walk away.
The door opened, and she ran out. “Wait.”
“I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind me showing up like this.” She was wearing an old T-shirt and a pair of cut-off shorts. It was sexy, raw. She could’ve been wearing a pillow case and it would’ve looked like a designer gown.
“No,” she beamed. “I’m just glad I caught you before you walked off.”
“Yeah?” I closed the space between us.
“Yeah,” she reached up and pecked me on the lips. I followed her back inside, where the TV was blaring in the living room. She shut it off, and walked back into the kitchen. “You want anything? Soda?”
“That’d be nice.” I sat down on the couch.
“You look like you’ve just been through a fight.” She handed me a drink and sat down next to me with one of her own.
“I feel like it.” I sat back, ignoring the ache in my shoulders. “I just got back from the game.”
“Did you win?” she asked.
“Barely. We pushed the team back as far as we could, and I shot a pass. The guys I was aiming for got tackled. I was lucky Mike caught it when he did. He took the ball straight to home.”
“Huh,” she took a sip of her drink.
“You don’t know anything about football, do you?”
“No,” she said, “not one thing, and I hope that doesn’t put you off.”
“God, no. All everyone talks about is football, all day, nonstop. It’s because I’m the quarterback.”
“Well, I promise that you’ll hear no
thing about it from me. I can be your escape.”
“That’s refreshing.” I took a drink. “You don’t have to come to any of the games, either. A lot of the other girls show up and cause a huge fuss. I wouldn’t want to subject you to that.”
“I wouldn’t go. My friend is always begging me to come with her, but I don’t see any point. I wouldn’t have any fun. Football is brutal. To me, it’s kind of like something a lesser species would do.”
“It’s not like that,” I said and took another drink.
“It’s dry. I don’t care about who can throw a ball better, or whether or not one guy can tackle another. They might as well just pull their dicks out and start measuring them. It would take less time, and at least then we’ll have a real show.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “I can see where you’re coming from, but you have it all wrong. You can’t just walk onto a field and throw a ball around. We’re testing our strength, our endurance and willpower, and we spend every second we can trying to better ourselves.”
“When you put it that way, I can see where you’re coming from.” She sipped her drink. “You do work hard.”
“Oh, I’m dying. I didn’t think I could make it back to the dorms. My back is killing me. I feel like somebody stuck a dagger between my shoulder blades, and all the guys wanted me to go out. They said there’d be drinks, and everyone will be wanting to see me.”
“Why didn’t you go?” she asked.
“Because I was tired,” I turned to her, “and it wouldn’t have felt right without you there. There’d be girls trying to talk to me, and everything, and I didn’t want that. I wanted to see you. I didn’t plan on coming here like this. It just happened.”
“It was a nice surprise,” she said and took a drink.
“I keep thinking about you,” I said. “All the time, in fact. It’s getting kind of hard to study.”
“You do?”
“Mm-hmm,” I leaned over her and grazed my lips across hers. “I can’t get you out of my mind.”
“Would you like me to help you with your back?” she asked. “I can give good massages.”
I raised my arms up and lifted my shirt off. Her eyes fell down my chest, over my abs, and rested on the bulge sticking up out of my jeans.