The Line Below

by Ali Dean

  Anyway, we’re not going to a club even if we’re dressed for it. Not everyone on the team has IDs to get into one, and so we’re headed to what Ashley and Tori tell us is a semi-formal bash hosted by two sororities and two frats and everyone on campus who is awesome will be there. I rolled my eyes about that, but when Jett and I spoke on the phone an hour ago, he said that’s where his teammates are all headed, so this will make it nice and easy to merge my worlds. There will be so many people, so I’m told, that maybe Jett and I together won’t cause too much of a stir. Or maybe it will. Who cares? I’m feeling sexy and I want to see Jett and kiss him.

  “What are you smiling about over there, little Shay?” Coco asks with amusement. In a little black dress of her own with fire engine red heels, she looks more like twenty-five than thirty-five. She can totally pull off going to a college party, especially because Cal U has lots of grad students; she could pass for one.

  And since it’s Coco and I’m a bit tipsy, I tell her the truth. “Kissing Jett.”

  Her face lights up. “Is he a good kisser?”

  “Oh yes. A very good kisser. And other things,” I add, a grin forming as I remember the night before. Was it only last night? I chuckle to myself.

  “This is good,” she says with a firm nod. “Kissing is important.”

  Beatrice’s loud whistle cuts through the noisy condo. “People!” She’s standing on the edge of our sofa. “We’ve been talking about leaving for an hour. It’s time to mobilize. If we don’t leave soon, the party will be over by the time we get there. The hot guys will have been taken. And we won’t get to watch our Shay make out with Jett Decker.”

  She did not just say that! Everyone whoops and cheers. She totally did.

  “Onward and upward!” She jumps down from the couch, races to the front door and starts motioning her arms for all of us to leave. Onward and upward? That seemed out of context. And now she looks like one of those people who stand on the tarmac directing planes, only in a dress and high heels.

  I don’t know who decided we should walk, but I’m not exactly one of those women who are as comfortable in heels as in hiking boots. Not sure such women exist, but I’m definitely not one of them. I’m told it’s only a few blocks away, but by the time we get to the party – which, as far as I can tell, spans at least a block – it feels like I’ve been walking for miles.

  We attract lots of attention when we arrive, as we should because there are nearly twenty of us dressed just for that purpose. We had fun making ourselves look hot tonight, and we deserve it after the session we had in the pool earlier. While the girls meld into the crowd, finding drinks and taking stock of the hot guy selection, I’m on a mission. A mission to find Jett Decker.

  The mission is impeded when Julian intercepts me. Seriously? Was he always everywhere like this before? Maybe he was and I didn’t mind. Or didn’t care. Well, I care now. But he’s never been rude or mean to me before, and we had a mutual understanding, if unspoken, about our hook-up arrangement, so I can’t just blow past him. That would be bitchy and uncalled for.

  “Wow, Shay.” Julian’s eyes take a slow sweep up and down my body and I squirm, but not in a turned-on way. Julian registers the squirm and smirks, assuming I like his eyes assessing me. “You look great. Really great. After seeing you in your underwear this morning, I’ve been wanting you all day.” Even for Julian, that’s a horrible line.

  Cringing, I remind him, “Julian, you see me in a bathing suit practically every day.”

  “Yeah,” he says with a sloppy grin, and I know he’s drunk. “I’m lucky.”

  “Right, well…” I start to make my exit but Julian steps closer and slides an arm around my waist.

  He speaks in a low voice in my ear, and I don’t like that he thinks he has a right to do this. Did I give him that right? Well, I need to take it away if I did. Just like Jett advised, I should tell Julian it’s over. Julian, apparently, is thinking along a completely different track. “I know we haven’t been monogamous, Shay, but I want that to change. I think it’s time to stop fucking around and get serious.”

  Not sure if it’s the alcohol in my system or suppressed feelings I haven’t had a chance to express, but rage boils up in me. “Fuck around? You’re the one who’s been fucking around, Julian, not me. And it’s awfully convenient you choose now, when I’ve found someone else, to change your tune. I don’t think so, buddy.”

  I push a finger to his chest and sense a presence by my side. Julian’s eyes dart that way too.

  “Shay, where’s your man? I want to meet him!” It’s Coco, and her words are perfect. Of course she knows who Julian is and she got the whole low-down about the awkward morning encounter with Julian and Jett. “Oh, hi Julian,” she says coolly. She’s seen Julian at meets, and I’ve introduced them before.

  “Hey Coco, good to see you.” Julian doesn’t shift away from me, though I managed to extricate myself from his hold during my tirade. “Last I knew, I would be the man you’re referring to.”

  My jaw drops. He knows damn well that is not true. For one, Coco wouldn’t be saying she needs to meet him. And for two, he’s never made that kind of declaration before. Jett made it very clear exactly what he was to me last night, before we even slept together, so Julian trying to slide into that role is just… slippery. And wrong. Very wrong.

  Coco steps in for me. “Oh no, sweetie,” she says with her false sweet voice, patting him on the arm. “That would be Jett Decker. You know? The Olympian.”

  Julian’s face hardens and I add, for good measure, “You saw him this morning in my condo.” In his underwear, too, I’m tempted to say, but I’m not that drunk. “I’m serious with him now, Julian. So I don’t think your ideas about us are going anywhere.” I do feel kind of bitchy now but really, he’s acting ridiculous.

  Before he can respond, Coco’s pulling me away, and then we’re sucked up by the crowd. “Where’s Jett?” she shouts over the noise.

  “Let’s find him!” I shout back. We go through a frat house and out the back door before we find him. And when I do, I’m not happy. Not happy at all. Actually, I’m tempted to turn right around, walk home, crawl into bed, and cry. I just told my entire team, Coco, and Julian, that Jett Decker was my new guy. I thought what had happened between us was special and magical and crazy and I was proud of myself for running with it, not questioning it. But he’s standing with a girl. A gorgeous black girl in a dress almost as sexy as mine and heels even higher, and his hand is resting low on her waist, just above the curve of her incredible ass. Yep. She’s got one of those butts that curves out all round, the kind that will never happen for white girls like me no matter how many squats I do.

  And worse, he’s looking down at her with concentration and she’s looking up at him like she wants to kiss him. I was the one who was supposed to kiss him tonight!

  Coco is charging ahead while I’m stopped in my tracks. She’s spotted him – she recognizes him since she spent plenty of time staring at pictures of him on the internet earlier – and she’s about to embarrass me big time. I can’t even care enough to try to stop her. I’m still trying to decide whether he deserves Coco’s reaming out or if I’m a total idiot who fell for all his lines and I should have known better.

  Before Coco reaches him he looks up, and, as if he senses me there, his eyes immediately find mine. Jett starts to smile, then registers my expression, whatever that might be, and frowns. It’s at that moment Coco reaches him. I can’t hear what she’s saying, but she must not be giving him a hard time, because his smile returns. The girl in his arms smiles too, and Jett moves away from her. Something tight and ugly releases in my chest when there’s a nice healthy gap between them.

  With it, I’m able to move my feet again, and I make my way over, curiosity overcoming any other emotion.

  “Oh, here she is! Shay, sorry, I got all excited when I saw Jett here and took off.” Coco’s covering for me, trying to smooth things over.

  I’m still uncer
tain what’s going on; that is, until Jett reaches right for me and pulls me up against his side, kissing the top of my head before I even have a chance to react. “Damn, baby, you’re smoking in that dress.” He’s murmuring but the girl that was in his arms a moment earlier must have heard because she doesn’t hide her scowl.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Coco turns to the scowling girl. “I didn’t get your name.”

  “I’m Tabitha.” She lets that settle before she drops the bomb. “Jett and I have been friends since we were kids.”

  Swallowing hard, I try to respect her role in Jett’s life, even as I’m reeling. “Do you do track?” She’s buff, and Jett’s life revolves around track, so it’s a fair question.

  “Yeah. Hurdles.”

  There’s an awkward silence for a beat with Tabitha staring me down before she tips up her chin and asks, “Who are you?”

  It’s more of an accusation than a question, but I answer patiently. “Shay.”

  Jett adds, “Shay Spark. She’s my girl, Tabby, so be nice.” Tabby? I don’t like his use of a cute nickname. I do like him laying it out. Saying I’m his girl. I like that a lot.

  But Tabby ruins it when her hard stare shifts to Jett. “Really, Jett? Takes you years to have a girl and you pick this one?”

  Whoa. Really?

  “Tabby.” Jett’s voice is menacing. “Don’t say stupid shit.” That’s all he says. But it’s enough. She huffs and walks off.

  Coco watches her go and says, “I think I like her.”

  “Coco feeds on drama,” I explain to Jett.

  Coco turns back to us. “I do not! I like women who speak their minds. I like confidence with a little attitude.”

  “And drama,” I add.

  “Maybe. Just the fun kind.”

  “Right.” No drama is fun drama as far as I’m concerned. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t love team sports like field hockey or volleyball.

  “I didn’t know I’d get to meet Shay’s aunt tonight, Coco. Do you live around here?”

  “Santa Monica. I like to show up unannounced once in a while to check up on my girls.”

  “Oh, nice. That’s where Shay and I met.”

  “Right, I heard about that,” Coco says with a knowing smirk, making no attempt to hide that she heard everything, thanks to Kick’s blabbermouth. “Mirage for the twins’ twenty-first birthday. Nice work making an impression,” she compliments him, and I’m glad I’m slightly inebriated, otherwise I’d be humiliated.

  “Was that just a week ago? Feels like we’ve known each other longer than that, babe, doesn’t it?” Apparently, Coco’s reference to Mirage rolled right off Jett. He’s relaxed, his thumb moving gently back and forth along my hipbone.

  “Yeah,” I concede. I’m still kind of pissed and confused about what I saw when I spotted Jett with Tabitha. Was I overreacting or did they look way too cozy? Do I say something or ignore it? Like he said, we may have only just met, but it sure feels different. And besides, he got all up in my business about Julian. Was that different because he knew Julian and I have a past? Man. I don’t like being one of those girls who overanalyzes everything.

  “You seem tense,” Jett says quietly, and I can’t decide if I like that he notices and cares, or if it’s annoying he’s calling me out on it. “What’s up?”

  When I don’t answer right away, Coco does. “You and Tabitha there looked ready to start making out when I got here. What was that about? I heard you were all about telling Shay here you two are going to be serious. If that’s the case, you holding another woman isn’t setting a great standard for your relationship.”

  Wow. Go Coco. Way to save me from my internal dilemma and lay it out.

  I pull away enough to turn my head so I can look up at Jett and see his reaction. His eyes are sparkling with amusement and he’s smiling.

  “You’re right, Coco. Tabitha’s always been handsy with me and I allow it because we’ve known each other forever and it’s easier than telling her to back off. Never really had a reason to until now. Tonight, that changed. She knows I have Shay now and if she gets handsy with me again, I’ll make sure she knows that’s not cool anymore.”

  Oh man. This guy.

  “You do that,” Coco says with authority. “And what’s her problem with you picking Shay?”

  “Really hadn’t thought that through either. I guess some people think I should be with someone more like me. From my background.”

  “What’s that mean?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I get what he’s saying.

  “You come from money, Shay. It’s easy to see.”

  “And she’s white,” Coco helpfully adds.

  “Is that a problem?” I wonder, feeling stupid for not having thought about it before.

  “Not to me. My dad’s half black, and he has a white dad and a black mom. Mom’s Puerto Rican. One of my sisters is married to a white guy. Lots of different shades of skin.”

  I hadn’t thought about Jett’s skin color, besides that it’s bronzed and gorgeous, until now. But since Coco is making sure we address it up front like this, I lay it out for him. “My family is all white. Almost everyone on the swim team is white. Is that going to be a problem for you?”

  “Will any of them have a problem with me?”

  I hesitate for only an instant. “No. Not for your skin color. My mom’s an elitist. Even though you’re an Olympic athlete, she’ll probably be judgy that your ancestors didn’t come over on the Mayflower and you aren’t a member of a country club. We’re solid WASPS, through and through, and my mother lives in an upper-class bubble. So other than that, no.”

  “Wow,” Coco breathes. “I’m proud of you, Shay. You aren’t holding back.” She turns to Jett. “Their mom, Michelle, will find fault in any of the girls’ boyfriends. She finds fault in everyone and everything. So it’s not personal. But no, your skin color won’t be a thing for Shay’s family or friends.” She pauses and grins with mischief in her eyes. “Except that it’s hot. The entire girls’ swim team was ogling some of the shirtless photos of you on the web earlier over cocktails.”

  I groan. “Really, Coco?”

  “Really, babe?” Jett asks.

  “Really,” I admit. “Not my idea. It was out of my hands. But you do look good without a shirt on. Can’t really blame them.”

  He pulls me closer to him again. Well, guess that’s all sorted then.

  “So I take it you told them about us, huh?” He sounds pleased about this.

  “Not exactly. Kick told Coco, who yelled about it at the top of her lungs from the stadium after practice. So it was forced out of me.”

  His chest vibrates against my back with laughter. “I see. I think I like you, Coco.”

  Coco shrugs. “I didn’t have to see it with my own eyes after Kick said something and Shay didn’t contradict her. That was enough for me to know it was the real deal. But now seeing you two together…” Her voice drifts off as she takes us in and sighs dreamily. Her tone turns more solemn when she says, “Takes quite the guy to get Shay Spark tucked into you like she is.”

  I’m quick to shift the tone back to playful before Jett has to respond to Coco’s statement. “Yeah, yeah. So Jett, I know you don’t drink, but I have a nice little buzz going from the cocktails Coco’s been making all night that I’d love to keep going. Any idea where we can get a drink?”

  “No problem, ladies. I know where they keep the good stuff, even if I’m not drinking it myself.”

  He leads us back through one of the houses and upstairs to a balcony overlooking the crowd below.

  Three guys leaning on the railing turn our way. All of them are tall and fit, and take me and Coco in with wide smiles. One is as white as me, another has similar light brown skin like Jett, and the one who seems a bit younger has ebony skin. With their buzzed heads and casual clothes, they don’t look like the kind of guys I’d expect to find manning the good liquor at a frat house. Can’t say I’m disappointed with the absence of popped collar
s or loafers.

  Jett does the guy-shake and “What’s up” with each of them.

  “You gonna introduce us or what?” the white one asks.

  “Shay, Coco, these are my guys, Keenan, Anthony, and Daryl. Guys, my girl Shay and her aunt, Coco.”

  The shit-eating grins on the guys’ faces as they say hello to us remind me of Bea and Kick this morning. I take that as a sign they already knew about me.

  “You ladies want something to drink?” Keenan asks. “We’ve got the good stuff.”

  Keenan gestures to the bar and Coco makes her way over to it and examines the options. “I got it, sweetie,” she tells Keenan as she starts snagging bottles off the shelves.

  “So, are you guys in this frat?” I ask.

  “I am. There are a few track guys on it with me, but mostly basketball players,” Daryl tells me. “Couldn’t get these guys to join.” He nods to the other three.

  “Frats aren’t our style, D, and you know it,” Keenan says it like he’s said it a million times before. “And you know you only joined ‘cause of your brother.”

  “Daryl’s older brother’s a basketball player. He was president of the frat last year before he graduated.”

  “Oh yeah, Alpha Chi Beta, right? I’ve heard of you guys.”

  Daryl laughs. “Yeah? What’d you hear?”

  “You know, just that you’re a fraternity but not like other fraternities.”

  “That’s accurate,” Anthony says. “Don’t see the point myself. We all got loyal brothers on our teams. Fraternities are for dudes who don’t have that and gotta make their own brotherhood.”

  “Except Alpha Chi isn’t really like that,” I tell him what I’ve heard, then turn to Daryl. “It’s like you have the cool big house on campus and throw parties, but don’t do all the other frat stuff.”

  “Yeah, ‘cause we’re all athletes. We don’t have time for meetings and shit,” Daryl explains. “Other frats and sororities do all the planning, we chip in money for the booze, and they let us ride on the work they do for the parties ‘cause we’re the hottest dudes on campus and everyone wants to party with us.”