“Well, that answers the question. First, you need to talk to Grayson.”
Right.
First, I needed to talk to Grayson.
19
Grayson
“Dude, focus. What is your problem today?” Noah was inches from my face and just as close to getting himself knocked out.
“Back off, Noah.” I was not in the mood for his crap. Practice was brutal. We were nearing the end of the season. Sectionals were just around the corner. We were still undefeated and Coach wanted to keep it that way all the way to the end.
We were scrimmaging. Noah and I were on opposite teams. He was all over me and I’d about had it. On top of everything else, I couldn’t take anymore from him.
Mateo bounced the ball in my direction. Didn’t he see Noah all up in my space? Side-stepping around my best friend, I caught the ball almost in a crouch. Noah used my vulnerable position to his advantage, nudging my side with his hip and knocking me off balance, then reaching for the ball.
“Haha, sucker! Gotta do better than that if we’re gonna win State,” he gloated as he dribbled down the court.
I didn’t move. Coach didn’t allow a lot of scuffling on the court. No way he’d let me get away with blackening Noah’s eye. I needed to cool down. Rising from the smooth wood floor, I stayed where I was, watching the action under the other basket with my hands on my hips. Noah, currently unguarded, shot an uncontested three-pointer.
Jerk.
Tweeeeeeet!
Coach’s whistle blared from the sideline where he stood, his eyes pinned on me. “That’s it, guys. Haul it in.”
Everyone stopped before shifting momentum toward Coach. I waited until I was the last one to join the circle.
“We only have three weeks before Sectionals guys. That’s the first step toward State. Let’s not lose focus.”
I might have been imagining things, but I was certain his gaze landed on me a few seconds longer than anyone else when he said that.
He gave us a few more instructions before we all put our hands in the middle of the circle. “Team on three!”
Noah called out the count. “One. Two. Three. Team!”
Our huddle broke and guys headed for the locker room.
“Gray!”Coach called out keeping me from joining them. “See me in my office before you go.”
I nodded, not at all feeling it. What now? I wondered. We’d just talked the day before at the park. I’d been off my game during practice, but everyone had an off day every now and then, right?
Dang!
I wanted to take my time showering and getting dressed, avoid the inevitable, but it was no use. If I didn’t hurry, Coach would come looking for me. I didn’t need my dirty laundry aired in front of all the guys.
As it was, I was still one of the last ones out of the locker room. My black looks at Noah and my other friends had kept any of them from razzing me. They’d all left without a word.
Coach’s office was almost directly across the hall from the entrance to the locker room. He stood outside his door with his arms folded, Mia beside him looking at the ground.
Awesome.
Coach put his hand on her shoulder, speaking up before I could. Not that I’d planned to. “Mia needs a ride home.”
Before I could stop them, my eyes darted to the dark haired girl at his side. She’d been avoiding me all day. Just like I’d been avoiding her. But her horrified eyes snapped up to meet mine. I knew we’d have to talk at some point, but, jeez, Coach. Talk about subtle.
“Dad-” she sputtered.
“You two need to talk or Grayson here’s going to be riding the bench.” He gave me a significant look that said he’d been well aware of why I’d been so on edge during practice. I knew better than to let a girl become a distraction, but these were not normal circumstances.
Setting my lips in a firm line, I nodded. I understood what he was saying. Fix this or we’d have issues. Alright, then.
Swinging my keys around my finger, I turned to Mia. “Ready to go?”
She ignored me. “Dad, please.”
Coach wasn’t even fazed. “See you at home, kiddo. Drive safely, Grayson.” And with that, he sauntered down the hall, whistling the school fight song.
“I hate you,” Mia spat as soon as he was out of earshot.
I tsked, shaking my head. “Back to that again? I thought for sure we were past lying to each other.”
Mia’s eyes narrowed. She really was beautiful and I knew a moment of deep regret. I should never have suggested we pretend to date. I should have manned up and told her how I feel, that I wanted to be with her for real.
She seemed to shake off her irritation, her expression becoming all business.
“Actually, maybe this is a good thing. I needed to talk to you anyway,” she said.
I felt as though we were back to being strangers. That she’d completely forgotten about the moments we’d shared that were anything but fake to me. “Okay. Let’s talk.” And I’d try to be like her. I’d forget all about how funny she could be, how when I was with her I finally felt like someone else understood me. I’d forget all about the way she fit snug against my side and how her hand fit perfectly in mine. And most of all, I’d forget those kisses.
That would be the most difficult of all.
Mia shook her head. “Not here. Let’s drive somewhere else.”
“Fine.”
I didn’t like walking beside her and not touching her, but there was no way I’d reach for her hand now, even though I wanted to.
My car was in the lot behind the gymnasium. Coach had disappeared and I thought about what he’d said to me over the weekend when he came to the neighborhood court. He trusted me. I wasn’t sure I deserved that trust, but I’d do my best to make sure I held onto it.
“Let me take your bag.” I slid her bag off her shoulder and put both hers and mine in the back. She’d let herself into the passenger side before I could open it for her. Whatever. This wasn’t a date. Still, I was irritated as I slid behind the wheel, just on principle.
I had no idea where to go. The park was out. A restaurant wouldn’t be private, but I was starving. It was almost six. Mom would be gone to work already. We could just go to my house. There were leftovers from dinner last night in the fridge. Decision made, I turned toward our apartment building. It wasn’t often I invited anyone over to our place, but Mia had already seen where I lived and given our current situation, it seemed ridiculous to try to pretend my life was anything different than it was.
Neither of us said a word as I drove.
I felt more than saw the glance Mia shot my direction as I pulled into the parking lot in front of our apartment. Whatever. I was hungry and broke. She didn’t want to talk at the school. Fine. We’d talk here.
Where there was food.
Mia didn’t wait for me to get out of the car before she opened her door. Gritting my teeth, I followed suit, pausing only to grab my backpack out of the backseat.
“Do you need yours?” I asked. It wasn’t like we were here to do homework or anything.
Mia shook her head. After slamming the door closed, I used my key to open the door to our apartment, holding it wide for Mia to go in before me.
Closing the door behind us, I stowed my backpack on a bench by the door, kicking my shoes off beside it. All while watching Mia as she took in the small space that had been my home as long as I could remember.
Not much had changed since I was a little boy. Slowly, Mom had replaced pieces of furniture she’d gotten hand-me-down from her parents when she moved out of their house. Nothing new, just upgrades from yard sales and Craigslist. The only things she’d ever gotten brand new were mattresses for the beds, insisting there was nothing nastier than a used mattress.
The living room was small, just big enough for a loveseat, recliner, and a forty-two inch television. There was one end table with a lamp and a quilt rack with blankets my grandma had made hanging from it. The living room bled rig
ht into a small dining area that held a table just big enough for the two of us and maybe a guest or two if we didn’t mind rubbing elbows. On the other side of the dining area was a galley kitchen. It was small but functional and had a nice window looking into the back porch area. I’ve always thought we were lucky to be on the ground floor. The apartments above us just had a balcony. I might not have had a big yard growing up, but at least there had been enough room for a kiddy pool and tricycle.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, not waiting for her to answer before heading into the kitchen and opening the fridge. Mom made sloppy Joes for dinner last night and my mouth watered just thinking about eating one.
“No. I’ll wait until I get home,” she replied hanging back in the dining room. That was okay. This was a one butt kitchen, anyway.
I shrugged. “Are you sure? It’s sloppy Joes and there’s plenty left.” Plus, it would be weird to eat in front of her.
“Well, maybe one would be good. Thanks.”
I nodded and got to work. I took out four hamburger buns and buttered them before placing them on a baking sheet to toast in the oven. Next, I dumped the meat into a sauce pan to warm up on the stove. I didn’t like using the microwave very much. While the meat warmed, I took out the remains of a tossed salad. It was easier than warming up a can of green beans. After the salad was ready, I reached on top of the fridge for a bag of potato chips and hurried to take the buns out of the oven before they burned.
“Wow, you’re good at this cooking stuff,” Mia said with a laugh.
I rolled my eyes. “Warming up food is not that same as cooking.” Although, I wasn’t a bad cook. My mom worked all the time. It was learn how to cook or eat boxed Mac and cheese or hot dogs for every meal. You can only take so much of that, even if you’re a teenage guy.
“Well, I feel bad now just watching you. Do you need any help?” she asked.
“Um, you could get some drinks out. I’ll have a sports drink. Red. Help yourself to whatever.”
While she dug in the fridge for drinks, I plated our food, three sandwiches for me and one for her as well as bowls of salad and a handful of chips.
Mia was already seated at the small table when I carried the plates out. “Here you go,” I said, setting both plates down. “Oh, crap. I forgot the dressing.” Dashing back into the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of ranch dressing from the refrigerator.
“I didn’t think you would go to all this trouble, Grayson. Thanks,” she said once I’d sat down across from her.
“It’s okay. I was going to do it whether you were here or not.”
And then it kind of sank in what we were doing. Suddenly, everything felt a little weird. We weren’t even dating and here we were sitting down to dinner like an old married couple.
I picked up one of my sandwiches to distract myself.
“Can you really eat all of that?” she asked, eyeing my plate.
I nodded. “And probably all of yours, too.”
Mia shook her head and giggled. “That is a lot of food.”
I just shrugged and took another bite before purposely talking with my mouth full. “I’m a growing boy.”
Mia laughed harder. “Gross!”
I pointed to her sloppy Joe. “You better eat that before I get finished with mine or I’m coming after it,” I threatened.
She hurried to pick up her sandwich. “No way. I wasn’t all that hungry, but this smells delicious.” I watched as she took a big bite. “Mmm. That is so good.”
“It’s my grandma’s recipe. No sauce from a can in this house.” At least, not when it came to sloppy Joe.
Mia wrinkled her nose. “You mean like Dad’s spaghetti sauce?”
That made me laugh, remember our dinner at Mia’s house. “Hey, I’m just impressed it wasn’t from the frozen food aisle.”
“Oh, my gosh. If I never eat frozen lasagna again in my life that will be just fine.”
We both took a bite of our dinner at the same time. I watched as she ate, a smile on her pretty face and wondered how everything had gotten so off track. Why couldn’t it be like this all the time?
Oh, yeah. Because it was all fake and she thought I was a player.
And because I owed her an apology.
“I’m sorry, Mia,” I blurted. I should have said it in the car. I should have sought her out before school started this morning instead of avoiding her. We had a lot to talk about and I was being a chicken.
Mia set down her sandwich before turning her sad eyes on me.
“I’m sorry for the other night. I should never have outed us like that to our parents. Especially, not with out talking to you first. I obviously wasn’t thinking straight.” I paused to run my hands over my face and back through my hair. I really did feel awful for that. For so many things. “I was angry. That’s no excuse, but I was and I reacted badly. I’m sorry for putting you in that position.” I had no idea if Coach told her he’d talked to me about everything. He hadn’t seemed angry at the time, but I wonder if she’d gotten in any trouble for our stunt. “Was your dad mad?”
Mia shook her head. “No. He was frustrated and confused a little, but we talked. I think he gets it.”
That made me laugh. “I’m glad he does, because I’m not sure I do.” I shook my head and took another bite of sloppy Joe.
Mia watched me, her head tilted to the side. “What don’t you get?”
Was she serious? There were so many things. How about I list them?
“Uh, I don’t know. Let me count the ways.” Propping my elbows on the table, I ticked off each item on my fingers. “I don’t know why I didn’t understand that my mom is lonely and unhappy. I don’t know how I missed the fact that my mom was falling in love with my basketball coach. I don’t know why my dad is such a huge jerk and how he could possibly think I would want to have anything to do with him. I have no earthly idea what possessed me to tell our parents we were dating when you so obviously hate my guts.”
Except I did kind of know the answer to that one. It had been on my mind that maybe I’d seen this whole thing as a chance to show Mia I was someone she might come to like and maybe even more than like. That whole plan backfired completely.
“And I don’t know why you hate my guts. Although, right this second I can’t blame you for it.”
Mia frowned. “I don’t hate your guts, Grayson.”
I gave her a look.
She shook her head. “I really don’t. I was just messing around earlier-” she stopped, her eyes fixing on a spot over my shoulder for a moment before meeting mine again. “Grayson, you didn’t let me explain myself the other night. I’m sorry what I said made you so angry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Oh, really? So you don’t think I’m a player?” The word left a bad taste in my mouth, the same taste I got whenever I thought about my dad.
“No, I don’t.”
20
Mia
Gosh, I’d really messed things up. I should have stopped him that night, made him listen to my explanation.
“I’m serious. I don’t think you’re a player. And I don’t hate you, either.”
Grayson shot me a look that said he didn’t believe me.
“Okay, at first, I totally hated you because I absolutely thought you were a player. But I don’t anymore. On either count.”
He still didn’t seem convinced. But that was okay. At least we were talking and not arguing. As long as he’d let me tell him my side of the story, he could do whatever he wanted with that information. But it would break my heart knowing he hadn’t heard me out before deciding wouldn’t couldn’t be friends. Or more.
Man, I really hoped for more.
“Can I tell you? Will you listen?” I asked.
Grayson held my eyes for several long heartbeats before nodding.
I let go of a relieved sigh. “Okay, but keep eating. You said you were hungry.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m good.”
Big, stubborn p
oop-head! But his arms like that did amazing things for his biceps. Yum. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at myself. Now was not the time to be ogling Grayson. Focus, Mia!
“Okay. Well, we talked about the move and leaving my friends. But what I didn’t tell you was that I had a boyfriend.” I watched for a reaction, but all I got was a slight furrowing of his forehead. “Yeah, his name is Jonathan. We’d been dating for months and I really liked him. I thought he was smart and funny and charming. Everyone likes him. Especially me, or I used to. I saw a lot of girls going out with guys that were big jerks. You know, the ones who think they’re God’s gift? I hate that. I never wanted to go out with anyone like that. And Jonathan wasn’t. He was nice, polite, had good manners. He always seemed like such a good guy, you know?”
Grayson nodded, his arms relaxing to rest on the table.
“He was charming,” I stressed that last word, because if there was a word to describe Grayson when he wasn’t sparring with me, it was charming. “I worked hard to get him to notice me. I wanted to go out with him so bad.” Grayson frowned at that and a part of me jumped up and down with glee hoping he was just a tad bit jealous. Not that I wanted him to be jealous, I just wanted evidence that he liked me. And jealously worked.
“Anyway, he finally asked me out and we started dating. It was amazing. We had a lot of fun together. But there were always these rumors. Quiet whispers about him and other girls. I ignored them. I knew he was outgoing. I knew he was charming. I just chalked it up to everyone else was just jealous because he was with me.” I barked out a laugh. “I was so stupid.”
Grayson reached for my hand, the contact so surprising I jumped. “You’re not stupid. You’re supposed to trust the people who say they love you. Even if he didn’t ever say that, you should be able to trust people you have relationships with. If he wasn’t trustworthy, that’s on him. Not you.”
Dating: For the Block Page 16