by Kay Harris
“Mom.” Darius’ voice was stern. “I think me and Alice are going to go hang out with her folks tonight.”
Ina frowned. “But…wait? You have to go to your brother’s bachelor party tonight.”
Darius held his mother’s gaze. “I don’t think I’m gonna make it.”
Alice wasn’t sure where to go with this conversation. But she knew she didn’t want to have it in front of Darius’ mom. So she turned her attention back to Stephanie and changed the subject. “So tell me about the big day. Darius didn’t give me any details. Are you doing it at a church?”
The conversation turned to the wedding plans. Darius and Ina both grew quiet as Stephanie and Alice chatted. She gave Stephanie lots of positive feedback while Stephanie, bubbly and animated, regaled her with the tale of the wedding plans and their execution over the last six months.
All the things left unsaid remained so as Ina and Stephanie drifted to the kitchen to fix dinner, claiming they didn’t need any help.
“Maybe we should do this,” Alice declared once she and Darius were alone.
“Do what?” Darius asked.
“The parties. You should go to your brother’s party and I should go to Stephanie’s.”
Darius wrapped his arm around Alice. “I don’t want to be apart. Not here. Not now.”
“Stephanie isn’t going to harm me in any way, Darius. Besides, your mother is going to be at the party. I don’t think it’s going to be wild.”
“That’s not…I don’t want to be apart.”
Alice leaned toward him and pressed a kiss to his neck. “I am stronger than you think.”
“Oh, I know exactly how strong you are. It’s me I’m worried about. I hate the idea of not being there for any possible thing that could go wrong. My need to protect you, even though you don’t need it, it’s fierce, Honey.”
She chuckled and snuggled into his side. “I know. But it’s going to be okay. That is a very, very sweet woman in there.” She pointed toward the kitchen.
“It is.”
“They both are.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s you I’m worried about,” Alice admitted.
“Why? You think I’ll run off with a stripper?”
Alice snorted. “No way. I am sooooo hot.”
“You are.” Darius leaned down for a long, sweet kiss.
“What’s this?” A deep voice boomed.
****
It was as if the air was sucked right out of the room. A chill crawled up Darius’ neck. He pulled away from Alice and looked at the speaker. “Hi, Dad.”
Tall and broad, Ted Fleck was an older version of Derek. More salt than pepper these days, his hair was cut close to his head, like Derek’s. And his hazel eyes were like ice. “Darius. Nice to have you home.” He stopped in the center of the room and stared at Alice.
“Did Mom tell you I was bringing Alice? My girlfriend,” Darius asked.
Ted scratched his head. “Yeah. I guess she did. I didn’t realize it was the same Alice that Derek dated when they were kids.”
Darius didn’t know whose body had gone more rigid at those words, his or Alice’s. He waited for the next horrible thing to come out of his father’s mouth.
“Stephanie know?” his father asked.
Darius nodded. He looked to the side to check on Alice. She met Ted’s gaze with a stoic expression.
“Yeah. Why?” Darius asked, half afraid of the answer.
“No. That’s cool. I mean. I just thought…You know how girls are about their boyfriend’s exes.” Ted looked at the floor.
Darius tipped his head back. “Really, Dad?”
Ted shrugged, and for a moment Darius saw the man who’d thrown a ball around in the backyard with him as a kid, instead of the hardened critic he’d become after football entered their lives.
Ted took another step forward to stand right in front of Alice. “I always liked you,” he told her. Then he turned to look at Darius. “You did good, kid.” With that said, he walked out of the room and down the hall toward his study.
“That was interesting,” Alice said.
Darius ran a hand through his hair. “We’ll see what dinner brings.”
Dinner was always the time when things got weird in his family. It was where the fights all started and where the awkward confessions happened. And it was where the groundings and punishments were handed out when he and Derek were kids.
Fortunately, Derek was not going to be a part of what was already promising to be a clusterfuck of a meal. No one said a word about why. But they all knew. Derek would stay scarce to keep Darius’ girlfriend comfortable. It was a concession his brother had easily made, and Darius was eternally grateful to him for it.
Stephanie was amazing. His mom was acting a little strange, but kind and sweet, and constantly keeping the conversation flowing. But it was his father that ruined the meal. They were nearly done, everyone’s plates at least two-thirds empty, when the punch came.
“So now it’s candles, eh?” The criticism in Ted’s voice was clear as day.
“Yep. Candles. I have a hell of a contract with them,” Darius said.
“I work for the candle company, too,” Alice interjected.
Ted smiled at Alice, and for a moment Darius thought that would actually work. But it didn’t. “I just don’t know why you don’t get into coaching.”
“I don’t have any experience with that, Dad.”
“You were the best at what you did, Darius. Someone will hire you to be a quarterback coach. You just need to get out there and make connections.”
“I’m happy with what I’m doing.” Darius said it in the same stern inflection he always did. And like always, it didn’t matter.
“Star athlete to model. Come on, son. You can do better than that.”
Darius let out a long breath and sat back in his chair. He was tired of this conversation. He was tired of his father second-guessing his choices. And he was too exhausted to let Ted Fleck get to him anymore.
He was about to let it all go when Alice spoke. “Here’s the thing, Mr. Fleck. I’ve learned that life is full of blind corners. We’re going along and something unexpected hits us. And we have no idea what decision we make, in that moment, will be the right one. It was like that for me when I left Walker Springs. And it was like that for Darius when he hurt his knee. He’s made the choice that is best for him right now.” She turned to look at Darius and put her hand on his arm. “And he’s been successful. And I’m proud of him.”
A deep silence engulfed the table. Alice picked up her fork and continued to make a dent in the chicken noodle casserole in front of her as if she hadn’t just used her sweet, adorable way to defend Darius from his steamroller of a father.
“Huh.” That was all Ted Fleck had to say in the face of Alice Bando’s manifesto. He, too, turned back to the meal.
Stephanie decided at that moment to regale them with the story of one of her students and how he won’t stop using the word flatulence. Ina refilled everyone’s drinks. And under the table, Darius squeezed Alice’s knee.
****
Darius: How’s it going?
Alice shook her head and sent back a thumbs-up emoji.
“Is that Darius again? Tell him to take a chill pill. You’re in good hands.” Stephanie threw her arm around Alice.
The girl was not under-the-table drunk. But she wasn’t sober either. And she was getting more and more friendly as the night went on.
“He’s worried about me,” Alice confessed.
Stephanie frowned. Then she glanced at the dance floor. This was the third club of the night, and probably the last based on the states of all the women. They’d hired a car so no one had to drive, but Alice had stayed sober anyway, just in case. No one else had. Ina was in the center of a group of women grinding away to some terrible music Alice had never heard before. And sweet Stephanie had come over to the long wooden table, littered with empty drink glasses, to check on Alice.
“Okay.” Alice rested her chin on her hand and looked into Stephanie’s pretty green eyes.
“First.” Stephanie took of lock of Alice’s straight black hair and ran it through her fingers. “You are very, very beautiful. And I am trying my damnest not to feel inadequate next to you. Plus, my soon-to-be-in-laws clearly love you. There’s a lot to unpack there.”
“You’re beautiful, too, Stephanie. And they love you, too.”
Stephanie smiled. “Thanks. But I don’t look like you.”
“We’re not in a competition here.”
“No. We’re not. But you’re dating one brother. I’m dating the other. I just can’t help but compare us, you know? Plus, you are my husband’s ex.”
Alice pointed her finger at Stephanie. “Hey! You called him your husband! You can’t do that until Sunday!”
Stephanie laughed and pressed her forehead against Alice’s. “We’re going to be sisters, maybe, someday. And I really like you.”
“I really like you, too.”
“I don’t want you to hate Derek.”
Alice took five steadying breaths. “What’s between me and Derek doesn’t have anything to do with you or Darius.”
“I wish that were true. But it’s not. And as much as I’d like us to be friends, it’s Darius who really has the problem.”
Alice tried to quell her anger. So her voice was flat when she spoke next. “I don’t understand why it’s all on me.”
Stephanie pulled back, her eyes wide and suddenly less muddled. “It’s not. That’s not what I meant.” She hit her head with the heel of her hand. “I’m sorry. This isn’t coming out right.”
“Say what you mean,” Alice encouraged.
“Derek was a dick. I know that. He was still kind of a dick when I met him. I shouldn’t have dated him. I don’t even know why I did at first. But I did. And he changed. He really, genuinely changed. He’s a good man now. I can prove it to you. This is his wedding weekend, and he will literally do anything to keep you here and happy. He’s doing that for Darius, yeah. Because he loves his brother. But also for you.”
“Out of guilt.”
“Maybe. Maybe also because he did care about you back then. Maybe because he just wants you both to be happy.” Stephanie looked down at the table. A tear fell to the wood surface. “Shit. None of this is coming out right. It just sounds like I’m making excuses for him and defending him. I don’t know what to say. There’s no making up for what he did, and I can’t ask you to forgive him without it seeming selfish and maybe it is all selfish. Shit.”
“Hey.” Alice put her hands on Stephanie’s shoulders and turned her so they were facing each other. “Let’s just take a deep breath, okay?”
Alice led Stephanie through a breathing exercise. Then she wiped the tears from her new friend’s face. “First of all, Derek and I were kids when we dated. He was a shitty boyfriend. And I wasn’t so great either, to be honest. I was way too passive. And that is not what that kid needed at that time.”
Alice smiled and Stephanie gave her a watery smile back. “He does need a firm hand.”
“Also, I had a crush on his big brother the whole time I was dating him.”
“Really?” Stephanie asked, eyes wide.
Alice nodded. “Anyway. We were kids. And, yeah, he spray-painted me one night. And yeah, it was fucking traumatic. But I am not the person I was then. I’ve grown. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some douchebags who bullied me when I was a kid define me and my life. And I am most certainly not going to let it define my relationships with the people in my life today.”
“That’s awesome,” Stephanie said.
But Alice wasn’t done. “I love Darius. And I’m not going to let the fact that I have a history with his brother affect our future.”
“You’re amazing.”
“Nah. I’m just in love.”
Chapter 16
Derek Fleck did an amazing job of staying scarce on his own wedding weekend. The first time Alice even caught a glimpse of him was when he was standing at the alter waiting for his bride.
Derek looked different. His once youthful face had fine lines that told of stresses well beyond his years. His football player’s physique had morphed into something with less shape and refinement. Laugh lines spoke of a happier man than she’d known, and the sparkle in his eyes when he looked at his wife was unmistakable.
A person who’d once starred in her nightmares seemed innocuous now, standing in a tux at the alter, happy and carefree. Beside him stood another man she’d once feared. Prematurely balding and thinner than he’d been when he was younger, Greg looked pretty dashing all dressed up.
But it was the man on the other side of Greg that really held her attention. Darius looked absolutely stunning in the black suit he wore. It fit his large, muscular frame in a way that accentuated every sculpted dip and curve. And his bright blue eyes were focused right on her.
Stephanie looked beautiful walking down the aisle with her father. All eyes were on her, especially Derek’s. When they reached the vows, a sniff from beside her claimed Alice’s attention for a moment. She turned to Ina, who gripped Alice’s hand in one of hers and wiped at her tears with the other.
As Derek gazed at his bride, the love he felt for her was apparent in every breath. And Alice realized she didn’t know the man in front of the alter. She didn’t know him at all. And she never had.
****
“Hi.”
The massive linebacker had never been shy. But he was practically a wilting flower as he stood in front of Alice. With Darius off decorating the newlyweds’ car, and Ina being a social butterfly, Alice had temporarily been left alone. And Greg had taken the opportunity to approach her.
Alice tapped the spot beside her. “Have a seat.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Sit.”
Greg fell roughly into the chair. “Thanks.”
“How are you, Greg?”
“I’m okay. I have a good job. I sell real estate. And I have a boyfriend. He’s over there.” Greg pointed to a short, lovely-looking man who was a good ten years older than them.
“That’s great.”
“How about you? You work at a candle company, yeah?”
She smiled. “I do.”
“And you and Big Fleck. You’re a thing?”
She laughed. She’d completely forgotten that the jocks at high school had called Darius and Derek Big Fleck and Little Fleck. “Yes. Darius and I are dating.”
“I think that’s awesome. I’m pretty sure that dude has had a crush on you since like forever.”
“I think you’re right.”
“Alice.” Greg chewed on the inside of his cheek. “I’m sorry. About everything that went down all those years ago.”
“I know.” Alice felt light as she said it. Because tonight, the weight of her past did not press down on her as she’d expected it would.
“Derek’s sorry, too.”
“I believe that.”
“He’s scared shitless that his crappy behavior when he was a dumbass punk is going to fuck it up for his brother.”
Alice looked across the room to where Derek stood by the bar talking to his dad. And she knew the time had come. No further delays could be tolerated.
Alice stood and brushed at her burnt orange dress. “I tell you what. Have him meet me out front.”
“Out front?”
“Yeah.” Alice scanned the room. “If we talk in here, all the people who know we used to date will stare like it’s a reality TV show.” That was true. What was also true was that Darius was out back in the parking lot. And she didn’t think he’d let this meeting go down if he knew about it. “I’ll meet you there.” She whirled around on her platform shoes and walked out.
The bright light on the front of the building shone strongly through the moths floating around it. Bathing in its pool of yellowish glow stood three women
vaping and laughing.
“Hey.” A tall blonde turned to look at Alice as she walked down the front steps. “You’re Darius’ girlfriend, right?”
Alice pushed off the last step and moved toward the circle of women. “I am.”
“That man is smoking hot, girl. You did well.” A short brunette held out her fist, and Alice bumped it.
“Yeah, he’s hot. But is he, like, a good boyfriend?” the blonde asked.
“He’s not perfect. His nose has been broken a few times so he snores like a freight train,” Alice said.
The circle of women burst into laughter. Alice was so caught up in it she didn’t hear the door shut as two men walked out into the night.
“Hey.” All four women pulled their attention to Greg, who stood beside a very pale Derek.
“What’s up, boys?” the blonde asked.
“Can we have a minute with Alice?” Greg asked.
The girls all looked at Alice who smiled and nodded. They shrugged and headed in the doors with a few backward glances.
Neither Derek nor Greg moved toward her. So they talked from their positions about ten feet apart. Alice shifted on her feet. “Hi, Derek.”
Derek lifted his face and met her gaze. “Alice.”
Alice took three deep breaths. Then she took two long steps, bringing her closer to the two men. “I’m in love with your brother.”
Derek nodded.
“So we have to figure this out, you and I. Because I’m not going anywhere, and obviously, neither are you.”
Derek’s voice cracked as he spoke, his gaze roaming all over the place. “I’m sorry, Alice. I’m so, so sorry.”
“I know. And, Derek, it was like a hundred years ago. You know what I’d like? I’d like to forget it ever happened and start over.” Alice took another step forward so she was within touching distance of the big man.
“That would be awesome.” Derek met her gaze. “Really fucking awesome.”
Alice grinned. The Derek she’d known as a teenager was still there in some small part. Alice held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Darius’ new girlfriend.”
Derek met her grin with his own. “I’m his dumbass little brother.”
Derek held their hands together for a moment. Alice was pretty sure he was leaning toward a hug, but neither of them moved.