“Thirteen hours.” Thirteen hours away from me. “Well this is my stop,” he says, unwrapping his arm from my shoulder. Reluctantly I do the same. “I’m glad you’re home, Tate. I missed you,” he says before giving me one last smile before disappearing into the room.
After he’s gone a wave of sadness washes over me and I realize that I have let him completely into my heart like we never stopped being best friends. And now… he’s leaving me again.
As the day carries on my high is on a steady decline. Reality has taken over and I now have too much crap to worry about and there is no time for abstraction. Even during my lunch break, apparently.
“With all the momentum you have with these articles, you can’t end it with the same old story that’s been run a million times: golden boy, Brandon Eastman, is not only a superstar quarterback but also the most perfect, honest, loyal, church-going football player that has ever lived,” Angel complains, riding my ass about the article I have yet to write.
“He’s also the captain and a great leader. Everyone respects him and looks up to him. Coach Mason gave me that one.”
“You know, you went a little soft with your boyfriend’s profile, but this is just irritating.”
Summer joins us so I shut my notebook full of lame, safe angles for my story. Angel says to her, “What’s the thing you hate most about Brandon?”
I kick him under the table and Summer says, “What?” through her laughter.
“What’s his worst trait… his most annoying habit… his darkest secret?”
“I hate to disappoint you, but none of those things apply to Brandon. He’s perfect.”
“Of course he is,” Angel grumbles before standing and stomping away.
“Having writers block?” she asks me with a smirk.
“You know, this morning I was happy to be back here, but between the work I have to make up and this stupid article, not to mention I have a five hour shift tonight, I’m ready to get back on a plane.”
“Oh, stop. You are not. You know Brandon better than just about anyone, Tatum. Just write from your heart. I’m sure it will be great even if it doesn’t cause a scandal.”
I look down at my notebook and consider that. I suppose she’s right. What do I care if Mr. Lawrence and Angel are disappointed in me? I could write a great story about Brandon, one that no one’s heard, one that only I know. I feel the smile creeping back onto my face. “You’re right. I can do that. That’s what I’m gonna do.”
“Great,” she says. “And if you want, I can hang out at the restaurant and help you with your homework in-between customers. Mondays are usually pretty dead, right?”
“Really? You’d do that for me?”
“Of course I would. I’ll come by after practice.”
“Thanks, Summer,” I tell her right before the spaces around us are filled up by football players.
“Damn, I’ve missed you this morning,” Nash whispers in my ear.
“I haven’t had time to miss you, but I’m glad you’re here.”
“Look at that, Mr. Cheerful is back,” Reggie says as he takes his seat by Brandon across from us. “I guess he just needed to get laid, huh Tatum.”
Brandon’s eyes turn angry as he looks at Reggie. He usually shakes his head or rolls his eyes at Reggie’s stupid comments, but he looks like he’s about to kick his ass.
“She’s my girlfriend now, asshole, you don’t get to talk about her like that,” Nash says, sounding just as angry as Brandon looks.
“Chill out, man. I didn’t get the memo. If I can’t talk shit to Tatum then who the hell am I gonna talk shit with? She’s usually the only one around here that can take it.”
“Carmella’s looking pretty unhappy lately,” I say about his girl of the month. “You must not be doing your job.”
Nash laughs, but Brandon still looks pissed off and now he’s looking at me. He seemed like himself this morning, but the few times I’ve seen him between classes, and here in the lunch room, he does seem like he’s in a crap mood. He didn’t say anything about his dad during our conversations while I was in L.A. but maybe something’s wrong. Maybe that’s what he meant when he told Coach Mason he would put his personal issues aside during the game.
“You okay, Eastman?” I ask him, since he’s still staring at me.
“Yeah, Austin, I’m great,” he tells me with an unconvincing smile.
“Okay,” I say, but I spend the rest of lunch watching him. He and Nash haven’t said a word to each other and he seems tense as hell.
As Nash and I walk out of the cafeteria I ask him, “Is everything okay between you and Brandon?”
“Yeah, I guess. Now that he’s back home I don’t see him much off the field. He’s back to being the obedient son which means if he’s not with his family he’s with Summer. Plus, he always gets a little intense when we’re close to playoffs.”
“So everything’s good with his family? With his dad?”
“Yep,” he says like he’s annoyed that I’m asking.
“Why weren’t the two of you talking at lunch?” I ask as we stop at my locker.
He takes his arm off me and says, “Jesus, Tatum. I don’t know. I was talking to you, I didn’t say a whole hell of a lot to anyone but you.”
“Calm the hell down, Nash.”
“I am calm, Tatum. I don’t know what’s up with him and everyone, including his girlfriend, thinks that I know something they don’t.” He wraps his arms around me and gives me a long, deep kiss. He’s trying to distract me.
I kiss him back but when I pull away I tell him, “Maybe you should know. He is your best friend.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“Talk to him.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to him tonight,” he says through a frustrated breath.
“Sounds good. You can give me the full report when you come over later.”
“Brandon’s the last thing I want to think about when I have you in bed,” he says, his smile back on his face.
“The last thing? Really? I would probably put hospital smells, seafood and Reggie above him.”
“Or like, really old ladies, feet and needles.”
“Old lady feet or old ladies comma feet?”
“Both, but I meant old ladies comma feet.”
“Oh my God, I didn’t even know that. You don’t like feet?’
“Of course I don’t like feet. Gross.”
“Gross? Wow. What else don’t I know about you, Nash Carter?”
He gives me a flirty smile but also rubs his ear lobe which means he’s nervous about something.
“Oh my God, Nash. What are you hiding from me?” I tease him.
“You know everything about me, all of the awesome things but unfortunately the small handful of bad things too.”
“Lucky for you, I love every part of you,” I say wishing it was yesterday when all I had to worry about was loving Nash.
22
“Seriously, I am so happy you’re back,” Presley tells me while we’re both in the back of the house prepping salads.
“Rough week?”
“All the other girls here, besides Corey, treat me like I’m some stupid kid. Like I don’t know what the hell I’m doing just because I don’t have a big head of blown out bleach blonde hair… no offense.”
“None taken. I can’t help the way I was born. And those girls are just pissed because, as ridiculous as it is, this is actually a coveted job in Carver. Until I talked Corey into hiring you, I was the first high school girl to waitress here. I’m sure they all have jobless friends who are dying to put their big boobs to work… no offense.”
“Ugh,” she mutters. “You know, until I took this job, I was doing a pretty good job of concealing them but now every guy from our school that walks in here and sees me dressed like this is suddenly up my ass all day at school.”
“I don’t think you can blame that on the uniform. You’re boobs were the first thing I noticed when I first met you. I me
an, it could have been because you had a picture of Nash attached to one of them, but I think it was just because they were big.”
“Oh my God, please do not remind me that I was a spirit girl for a morning of my life. I still feel dirty. How’s it going with Nash anyway? I saw you guys at lunch, it seemed like you were cool with everything.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, I mean I know he used to mess around with other girls when you weren’t around, but I guess I thought since you’re dating now that you were no longer cool with it.”
I stop what I’m doing so I can look at her. “What are you saying? Did Nash do something while I was gone?”
She drops her head and mutters the word, “Shit.”
My heart starts pounding and I can feel the blood pulsing under every inch of my skin. “What happened, Presley?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” she turns to me and her big brown eyes are painful to look at. “I don’t really know. I didn’t see anything. No one has said anything. I just heard Nash and Brandon talking at Jolee’s party and, I don’t know, I probably misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood what, what the hell did you hear?”
A hand slaps down on the counter then and Presley and I both look across it at Dave. “This isn’t gossip girls, ladies, get out to your tables. Now.”
Presley rushes off before I can get any more info out of her. I’m consumed by the dinner rush for the next hour, as is Presley.
When Dave goes out back to have a cigarette and Presley and I are both at the soda machine I tell her, “We’ve got five minutes. Tell me exactly what you heard Brandon and Nash talking about.”
She lets out a frustrated breath. “I just caught the end of their conversation. I was outside avoiding, well, everyone and I heard someone yelling. When I made my way to the front yard Nash was on the ground and Brandon was hovering over him. Brandon was telling him he fucked up and that he had to tell her which I just assumed was you. Nash was slurring and possibly crying so I couldn’t tell what he was saying but Brandon said something about Jolee then told Nash he hoped it was worth it.”
“Jo, fucking, lee?” I stammer, getting in Presley’s face.
She backs away and tells me, “I don’t know what they were talking about. I could have misunderstood. I don’t know.”
Dave comes back in so I have no choice but to walk away. When I head out to the floor Summer is there with a big smile that drops off her face when she gets a look at me. “Did Nash do something with another girl while I was gone?”
Her head retracts and she looks puzzled. “What? No. I mean, not that I know of.”
“Were you at Jolee’s party with Nash and Brandon?”
“Yeah. Nash was a mess that night, but Brandon and I were with him the entire time. I mean, Brandon got distracted for a little while on the phone with you, but as far as I know nothing happened other than the two of them getting in a fight and Nash taking off.”
“What were they fighting about?”
“What do they always fight about? Nash was being a drunk idiot. What did Presley say?”
“Presley said she head Brandon telling Nash he hoped Jolee was worth it. That he fucked up and he hoped she was worth it.”
Summer sucks in a breath. “No. He wouldn’t do that. Brandon would have told me about that. Presley must have misunderstood.”
Summer’s right, Brandon would have told her, but I can’t just disregard what Presley heard. “I’m sorry, I know you came here to help me, but I have to go. I have to go talk to Nash and figure out what the hell is going on.”
“Not that it matters, but I really don’t think he would do anything to hurt you, Tatum. It’s so obvious that you are everything to him.”
“If you knew Nash you would know that everything isn’t a good enough reason for him to keep his dick in his pants.”
I storm out of work without bothering to give Dave an excuse. As I tear down the road everything inside of me is telling me that Presley is right. That Nash did something with Jolee. By the time I crash through his front door I’m pissed as hell.
“I didn’t believe it when he told us, but holy shit, Miss Hollywood came back to this piece of shit town. I’m guessing it’s only temporary,” Nate says as soon as he sees me.
“Fuck off. I’m not in the mood for your shit. Where’s Nash?”
He looks away from me but points his finger toward the hall. I head down it and open Nash’s door so hard I have to catch it as it ricochets back to me. He’s on his bed and it looks like he’s actually doing homework. His eyes light up when he sees me. “Hey, babe. You get off early?”
“Did you fuck around with Jolee while I was gone?” I ask him, averting my eyes from his shirtless body and his messy hair.
He screws up his face and says, “Why the hell are you asking me that?”
“Answer the question,” I tell him, taking a step closer.
He shoves his books out of the way and reaches out for me, attempting to pull me down to his bed, I set my hands against his shoulders and push him off. “No,” he says, with hurt in his eyes. “Of course I didn’t. Why are you asking me that?”
“Presley said she heard you and Brandon talking the night of Jolee’s party. She heard Brandon telling you you fucked up and he hoped Jolee was worth it.”
“Jesus, Tatum, you really think I would touch that nasty skank when I belong to you? Was it the fight Brandon and I were having in the front yard?”
“Yeah, it was.”
“I was hammered, but as far as I remember, Brandon was riding my ass like he always does because I was drunk. Like, really drunk. He didn’t want me leaving my house but I made him bring us to that party. I was starting shit with Presley… I said some horrible shit to her like it was her fault that you left me. I can understand why she would try to create a problem between us. I made a complete ass out of myself before Brandon dragged me outside and gave me one of his infamous speeches about how I should have stayed home and I was fucking my life up and he hoped that going to the party at Jolee’s house was worth it.”
I stare at him and try to gauge whether he’s telling the truth or not. He’s not rubbing his earlobe. He’s not avoiding looking at my eyes. He doesn’t look anything but embarrassed and afraid. He reaches out for me again and this time I let him pull me into his arms. “I would never do that, Tatum. You are my entire world. I mean, look at my pathetic ass, I’m studying. I’m trying to make the right choices. I’m trying to be a better man, for you. A man that’s worth staying in Carver for. I would never do anything that would make you want to leave me. I will do anything to be the guy you deserve.”
I look up into his pleading green eyes as the last of my fear and anger dissipates. “You… exactly as you are right now… are enough to stick around for. But I promise you, Nash Carter, if you ever lay a hand on another girl I will be out of your life so fast it will make your head spin.”
“You don’t get it, Tatum. You’re it for me. You’re the only one I see. If I didn’t completely understand it before you left me, I do now. You are the only girl I will ever want.”
“That’s good Nash, because I’m the only one you’re ever gonna get.”
23
As Nash and I walk into school on Tuesday I’m greeted by Brandon scowling at me before turning away and ignoring me. I decide to veer around the football crowd and go straight to my locker. Presley is there waiting for me. “Hey, Tatum,” she says with a guilty look. “I’m sorry about last night. I talked to Jolee when I got home and she said nothing happened between her and Nash.”
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “I’m glad you let me know. I talked to Nash last night and I get it… how you misunderstood the conversation they were having.”
“I guess I did. I just always assume the worst with Nash. I get that he is good looking and has that whole laidback, cool, football player thing going for him but I still don’t get what you see in him. And honestly, I don’t kno
w why Jolee would deny sleeping with Nash, but my gut is still telling me something went down.”
“You’re right about Jolee – if she had messed around with Nash the whole school would know about it by now. They didn’t do anything. You just rub him the wrong way, Presley. He’s not used to having people opposed to the general idea of him. You get under his skin. The guy he is around you is not the guy he really is.”
“Well good, because that asshole pinned me against the wall at that party and told me that if I would be willing to show off my boobs I might get laid and then maybe I wouldn’t be a frigid, relationship-ruining, bitch. Seriously, Tatum, I don’t like him.”
“Jesus, it sounds like he was a complete shit show that night. He told me he said some horrible things to you, but that’s bad. I’m sorry, Presley. I’ll talk to him.”
“Don’t bother. All that’s gonna do is make him hate me more. But be careful, Tatum. I may have been wrong about him and Jolee but I still think you deserve better than him.”
“Thanks, Presley, but not many people understand what Nash and I have. They don’t understand what we’ve been through together. We’ve been friends since kindergarten. We’ve been doing this whole screwing around, in love with each other thing since we were twelve. I know you think you know a part of him that I’m too blind to see, but you don’t. I understand everything about Nash and I know that he’s not perfect, but when it counts, he always is. He’s always exactly what I need when I need something most.”
She blows out a breath. “If you say so. I mean, I guess from your point of view he sounds like he could possibly be a decent human being if interacting with the right person. Which obviously isn’t me.”
“He’s more than decent,” I tell her. “He’s the best guy I’ve ever known.”
A God in Carver (Carver High #1) Page 16