“Do I have any chance of getting into an Ivy League college or one of the other top schools?”
“I have included some of them on the list. The acceptance rate is very low, generally under ten percent, but you can always send an application. It doesn’t hurt. You’re taking advanced classes and have solid SAT scores.” Ms. Carlson glanced through my file. “I see you’re on the volleyball team. Any other extracurricular activities?”
“I was in the drama club for two years, and I’ve volunteered at the animal shelter on weekends. I’m also applying for a lifeguard job over the summer.”
“That’s good. You should do that. That shows responsibility and leadership, not to mention maturity. I would stick with the plan.”
I glanced at my hands and smiled to myself. Right again, Devon.
“If you complete this year with a high GPA, you are in good shape, Erin.”
“Thank you, Ms. Carlson.”
I rounded the corner to look for Devon. Instead, I ran into Matt.
“Hey, brat. You lost?” Matt snorted.
“Have you seen Devon?” I did my best to sound nonchalant.
“Yeah, I saw him making out with some chick down the hall.” He nodded his head towards the hall with an evil grin.
“Oh, bullshit, Matt. You’re so full of it,” I jeered.
“It must be convenient for you now that he is not spending so much time on the field,” Matt scoffed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I shuffled my books to my chest, trying to read what Matt’s problem was with me.
“It means this certainly worked out for you, didn’t it?” Matt scoffed at me.
“That’s not fair. I didn’t ask him to do what he did.” I frowned.
“And yet here you are. You get to spend all this time with him while he should be out on the field with us. Don’t you think that’s fitting?” He shot me an accusatory glance.
“I would rather see him playing football, too, Matt. I am not enjoying this. It hurt his chances for a scholarship into a top college too.” I pinched my brows at him.
“Do you mean that?” Matt raised a brow.
I squeezed my eyes shut with impatience. “Of course I do. I didn’t want this to happen.”
“Then tell me, Erin, what happened to cause all of this?”
I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and glanced away, remembering what Devon told me. Can I trust you? You can’t tell anyone about this.
“Why don’t you ask Devon?”
“I did. He’s protecting someone. You wouldn’t happen to know who that is, would you?” Matt narrowed his eyes at me.
“I have to go.” I walked away without looking back.
“I know who it is, Erin, and he’s going to pay.” I felt his eyes wash over the back of my head before I heard the bang of his hand on a locker door.
~Erin~
I tossed my books down on the table in the library. Devon was already there waiting for me. He looked up at me and smiled. “Hey. Sit down. Rough day?”
“Oh, my God. All this college stuff and my counselor wants me to apply to all these colleges.” I sat next to him and handed the list to Devon.
Devon scanned the list. “That’s a good strategy. You’ll get into some.”
“But Devon…what if we don’t get into the same college? What happens next year?”
“I don’t know. I’ll think of something. I just really want for us to be together.”
I looked downcast at the list.
Devon picked my chin up. “Hey, we’ll figure this out. Don’t worry.”
“I’ve just been thinking about…you know, what you said, chasing all these dreams: college, a career, and skipping the things that matter along the way. I don’t want that to happen to us.” I frowned at him.
“They won’t. I already know what matters to me, Erin, and I’m not going to let that happen.” Devon’s eyes slipped over my face, and back to my eyes. “We can apply at the same colleges. Let’s see what happens. And if one of us is not accepted, we’ll apply to another one until we are so we can stay together. There’s always a way. Okay?”
“Okay.” I smiled up at him, hoping our relationship was only the beginning of what I had been feeling for him for so long.
“And we have all summer to spend together. We’ll be training in a few weeks, and lifeguarding this summer. This is going to look great on our college applications. You’ll see.”
“Even the counselor liked that idea.” I cast a smile at him before trailing off into a different subject. “I ran into Matt on the way over here.”
“Oh?” Devon glanced up at me.
“Yeah, he wants to know who did this.” I tapped his cast. “He’s still pissed off about the whole football thing. He thinks this was my fault. I told him I didn’t want this. I’m afraid he’s going to do something stupid.”
Devon shook his head. “That asshole.”
“Devon!” My brows knitted. “He’s still your friend.”
“Not if he screws this up. You’re more important to me than everything else, Erin. I have to talk to him again before he does something stupid.”
“You don’t have to do this for me, Devon. I can handle whatever they throw at me.”
“That’s just it, Erin. I can’t. I can’t see anything happen to you like that. I love you too much.”
“What was that?” I placed my hand to my ear and grinned.
“I said I can shove you to lunch. Ready?”
I hit his arm with my fist.
“Hey! Ow! You’re supposed to be my nurse, and look at you! That’s my injured arm.”
“Say it, Devon.”
“Let’s go to lunch.”
“Not until you say it.”
“I will punch you on a hunch.”
“Say it!” I bit my lip and punched him again.
“I have a hunch to munch.” Devon stifled a grin at my frustration with him.
“Stop it, Devon. I want to hear you say it!” My lips parted and my face went flush.
“You know I do, Erin. I love you. Don’t ever forget it.” Devon kissed my hand and looked at me. A playful grin played across his mouth as his eyes moved across my face. His lips caressed my cheek before moving to my lips.
Chapter Eight
~Devon~
Devon watched Matt score four touchdowns during scrimmage.
“You guys aren’t rushing and you sure as hell aren’t hitting. The teams we lose to have fullbacks just like me waiting to take full advantage of that. What the fuck?” Matt scowled at the defense, slammed his helmet to the ground and trudged to the sidelines.
The coach landed his fists on Matt’s shoulder pads. “Son, you’re going to have to use that energy to build this team up. One defensive hole is spreading to the entire team. This team is demoralized, Matt. We need you to build them up, not tear them down.” His eyes fixed on Matt for a moment to emphasize the point before he turned and walked towards the field.
“Defense, get over here!” The coach stood on the edge of the field as the team gathered around him. “Your job, individually, is not to take Matt down. Your job, as a team, is to hit him and then take him down. One good hit stops him, and another solid hit takes him down. Understand? You’re trying to take him down with one hit, and you’re bouncing off him like pinballs. Hit to stick, and let the next hit stop him or take him down. Got it?”
Some grumbles rumbled around the circle of players. “I said did you hear me!” the coach roared.
“Yes, Coach!” The team shouted in unison.
“Then execute. No one is the star today, boys. You work as a team, you win as a team, and you lose as a team. Got it?” The coach circled the team with his eyes.
“Yes, Coach.”
“Then do it!”
“We need bigger players, Coach,” the defensive coach whispered as the team scattered.
“I know it. We have no chance otherwise.” Coach Tyler placed his hand to his chin, and watching a
nother massacre of his defense.
“One player could intercept passes and score, and stop key offensive plays. It makes a hell of a difference,” the defensive coach barked, glancing at Devon.
“You’re telling me,” the coach snorted. “I told that kid he may not have the commitment level for me to give him a college recommendation.” The coach jutted a thumb backwards at Devon.
“No way,” the defense coach guffawed.
“Yeah. Any college would be lucky to have that kid on the defense. Hell, we’d be lucky to have him come back if his arm was better,” the coach sniffed.
“What a difference one strong player makes,” the defense coach said.
Matt stalked through the hallway after practice to grab a few books from his locker. Only the recessed lights scattered in the hall and over the emergency exits were on. Devon was down the far end of the hall gathering up his stuff from his locker. He was going to catch a ride home with Matt.
Matt got his things and closed the locker door. He reached for his keys from his jacket and waited for Devon. Two figures turned the corner and the sound of laughter echoed down the empty, dim hall.
“No way, dude. I would trade a star pitcher for solid fielders any day. What happens if the pitcher is injured, or has a bad day? You’re still stuck with a suck-ass team.”
Matt narrowed his eyes as he watched the two figures, one with a bat and a glove hooked on the end, and the other making hand motions. Steve Pelton walked toward Matt with Robbie Davis, the first baseman. Pelton stopped when he saw Matt. Steve slapped Robbie’s chest with the back of his hand, motioning him to stop.
“Hey, Matt.” Pelton jerked his chin at him.
“Steve Pelton. Getting ready for another losing season, are you?” Matt snorted while glaring at him.
Steve glanced away and brushed the ridge of his nose with his index finger. He shrugged. “We’ve been doing okay. We have our ups and downs just like your team. It’s a new season.”
“Hey, Matt. I’m Robbie.” Robbie swallowed and offered his hand to Matt. Matt stared at him for a couple of seconds before he returned his gaze to Steve.
“Funny thing about that, Steve. We were actually winning. We even had a chance at the playoffs.” Matt took a menacing, slow step towards him, as his eyes stormed downward on him. “Maybe even a championship,” he said with a deepening, angry tone.
Matt straightened up and walked towards Robbie. “The thing is, we started losing about three weeks ago, when a group of lowlifes broke our strong safety’s arm. I am pretty certain it was a group effort, since they were too cowardly to face him alone.” Matt glared at both of them.
“That sucks, dude,” Robbie said with a nervous grimace.
“Yeah, it does, Robbie. It actually more than sucks. It really pisses me off. More than you know. You see, I wouldn’t mind so much if he were injured at practice or playing a game like he told most of us. Because, you know, shit happens. But the thing is, the team knows he’s lying about the whole goddamn thing.”
“It’s not our problem. We have to get going.” Steve motioned his head at Robbie.
“I think you need to hear the rest of it, Steve. I know some lowlifes outnumbered him and came after him with baseball bats.” Matt circled Robbie. His eyes grew cold as he glanced at the bat and back to Robbie.
“Do you guys know anything about that?” Matt clenched his fists.
Steve swallowed and hit Robbie’s chest with his fist. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“See ya, dude. Good luck with the rest of the season.” As Robbie turned around, Matt reached for the bat resting on Robbie’s shoulder.
“Give me the fucking bat, dude. What the fuck!” Robbie’s eyes grew wide.
Matt easily tore the bat from Robbie’s hands and pushed him against the locker with a powerful thrust of his arm. Robbie’s body clamored against the locker doors.
Devon looked up from the other end of the hall. “Matt!”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Steve’s eyes widened with shock.
“Taking care of business. Isn’t this how you boys do it?” Matt said with a clenched jaw and wide eyes. Matt’s massive arms swung the bat towards Robbie’s groin, checking his swing as he spoke. “Practice,” he snarled.
“Give me the fucking bat.” Robbie approached him. Matt pushed him back to the locker with his massive arm, ramming Robbie backwards and jarring his head against the lockers. Matt picked up the bat and swung full force towards Robbie’s head. The bat flew towards Robbie and crushed the vents on top of the locker only inches from his head.
“Damn, I missed.” Matt’s wide, crazed grin betrayed his deadpan eyes. A vein throbbed visibly by his temple.
Devon was running towards Matt now. “Matt, stop it!”
“Dude, what the fuck!” Steve took a step backwards as Matt swung the bat again. The bat hurtled down towards Robbie, smashing into the locker and narrowly missing his head.
“Goddamnit, I need more practice.” Matt’s eyes were demented with rage as he turned his gaze to Steve. “Don’t you think?”
“Dude, we’re cool with Devon, man. Talk to him—you’ll see.” Steve pleaded as he extended his arm towards Devon running towards them. “This isn’t cool, man. You’re gonna fuck everything up,” Steve huffed.
Matt grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and threw him against the locker doors. Steve placed his hands in front of him in a defensive posture.
“You know, Steve, it seems you already fucked everything up.” Matt glared at Steve and gripped the bat. His eyes remained wild with rage. He swung the bat towards Steve’s head. The bat came down towards him and smashed in the steel hinge just inches above his head.
Devon approached Matt. “Matt! Matt! What the fuck are you doing? Put the bat down. Goddammit, Matt!”
Matt turned briefly towards Devon before turning his attention back to Steve, who was now stumbling backwards towards the double exit doors with his eyes wide and fixed on Matt. Matt gripped the bat with one hand and threw it at him. The bat hurtled down the hall towards Steve, just missing his legs by a few feet. The bat clamored down the hall as it revolved and banged off the floor and walls into the distance. Matt stared at Robbie and then Steve as they froze. “Stay away from our team, motherfuckers. Next time I won’t miss.”
Robbie picked up his glove by the locker and scurried down the hall with Steve. They burst through the double exit doors, one on each side, and ran into the parking lot, not looking back.
Matt leaned against the locker and looked down at the floor.
“Holy shit, dude, what the fuck?” Devon ran his fingers over the dent in the lockers.
“Those fuckers deserved to get pummeled with a bat.” Matt looked up at Devon. “I just wanted to scare the shit out of them. But if they gave me a reason, fuck yeah, I would do it,” he snarled through clenched teeth. “I would fucking do it,” he repeated, regaining his composure.
“You certainly succeeded in scaring the shit out of them,” Devon gasped. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I had to get that out of my system. I’m glad I ran into them,” he sneered.
“Holy shit, dude. Let’s go grab something to eat. It’ll make you feel better.” Devon hit Matt on the shoulder, bringing him back from his tantrum.
“Yeah, right,” Matt said, as if awakening from a trance.
Chapter Nine
~Erin~
Devon sent a text to me.
Devon: Can you come over?
Erin: Now? It’s a school night, are you crazy?
Devon: Yes, and yes. I have a surprise.
Erin: Give me an hour to finish my homework.
Devon: Forty-five minutes.
Erin: We’ll see.
I plopped onto my bed stomach first with my legs crossed behind me, staring at my chemistry homework. I found it hard to focus on chemical bonding after Devon’s text. What did he have up his sleeve?
I crunched through my homework before browsing my
closet for something to wear. I put on a green shaker sweater and skinny jeans, threw on my fleece jacket and strolled into the cool fall evening. I walked the familiar block to Devon’s house and knocked on the door.
Devon opened it. “Hey, thanks for coming.”
“Sure.” I grinned. “So what’s the surprise?” I took off my jacket.
“Let me get that.” An amused expression played across his face. He grabbed my jacket with one arm, his other arm still in a sling.
Devon slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. “I wanted you to be the first to know.”
“What?” I said with a curious smile.
“Close your eyes.”
I heard a slight shuffling around before Devon spoke again. “Okay, you can open your eyes now.”
Devon was standing slightly closer to me.
“What, I don’t seeee!—” I shrieked the last word out as Devon lifted me up with both arms. “Devon, your arm! Where’s your cast?”
“The doctor took it off today. The X-ray showed that it was perfectly healed. He said to take it easy for a few weeks, and I should be good to go.” He beamed.
“You call this taking it easy?” I chirped as he moved me effortlessly through the foyer.
“Um…you’re not exactly heavy, Erin.”
“Still, should you be doing this with your cast just off?” I wrapped my arm around his shoulders.
“Don’t worry, I feel fine.” Devon carried me towards the living area. “I may even ask the coach to play the last two games and salvage the season.”
“Now I know that’s not okay. There is no way that qualifies as ‘taking it easy,’” I protested.
“No, you’re probably right,” he murmured, planting a kiss on my earlobe as we sat down on the couch. Devon ran the tips of his fingers down my neck followed by a stream of hot kisses. His masculine scent filled me up and caused me to breathe him in deeply, filling me up with desire. “Lift your arms up,” he commanded, and he pulled my sweater off over my arms to reveal a tiny red camisole. Devon’s eyes widened with delight.
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