Page 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The hiss of the coffee machine pouring out the steaming liquid is nearly drowned out by the cacophony of sound around me. With midterms just around the corner, the café on campus is packed with study groups cramming for their respective classes. Sitting at a table by myself, a few people turn and stare at me, raising their eyebrows curiously as they try to place what's off about me. They haven't seen me around campus before, and until our first game, they won't recognize me.

I'm not afraid to look back at them, narrowing my eyes to force them to look away. Just because I'm not from any of the posh neighborhoods they grew up in doesn't mean they get to stare at me like I'm an exhibit at the zoo. If I told them I was from Glendale, they would all be quick to judge. They would think I'm some kind of a monster, a brutal thug just waiting for the first opportunity to shove them to the ground and steal their wallet.

Maybe there was a time when that was me, when I was an angry teenager who couldn't understand why life had dealt him such a bad hand. Or how I could grow up with a father who was as unstable as mine. All the people around me in the café need to count their blessings they didn't have to deal with half the shit I did. They certainly couldn't take it.

Football was my way out of the streets. I wasn't even planning on trying out for the team at first. Adrian actually dragged me to the tryouts during our freshman year in high school. Afterward, we were going to drive around in his brother's car, and he wanted me to wait. While I was waiting on the sidelines, the coach looked me up and down and thought I might have what it takes, so he threw me in the tryouts. I was on the varsity team not long after.

That was my foot in the door to make a better life for myself. I didn't want to work in the steel factory like my father and his father before him. I didn't want to be angry anymore. So I focused on football as much as I could. Sure, there were times Adrian and the rest of the guys on the team would want to get up to something, and I was forced along. But I knew I could focus on football and it would take me away.

But now that I'm no longer just some kid from Glendale, now that I'm on the right side of town, I feel like an outsider.

The bell on the door chimes as it opens, and I turn to see Corinne walking in with a stack of books in her hands. My heart warms seeing the wind blow her hair slightly, letting her long blond locks fall in her face. Her eyes lock on mine, and I wave slightly, standing up to invite her to the table. She offers me a tentative smile and joins me, taking a seat across from me.

“Do you want anything to drink?” I ask, standing up and motioning toward the register.

“Just a tea is fine,” she says, noticeably a little jittery.

I walk away from the table and place an order at the register for her. I wait for a moment as the barista puts some boiling water in a paper cup and hands me a tea bag to put in it. Corinne watches me curiously as I sit across from her at the table.

“I should have known you'd be more of a tea drinker than a coffee drinker,” I say, teasing her as I watch her steep the bag in the water.

“Is that supposed to be an insult?” she asks, wrinkling her brows. A faint smile plays at the corner of her lips, and I wonder if she's trying to tease me like I am her.

“No, it's not. You're just so well put together, it makes sense that you would want tea in the afternoon,” I say, shrugging my shoulders before taking a sip of my own black coffee. “I can imagine you taking your cotillion and etiquette classes, practicing how to drink it is all.”

“Is that really what you think of me?” she asks with a faint laugh. I raise my eyebrows, inviting her to correct me. “That couldn't be further from the truth.”

“Enlighten me.”

She takes a deep breath and leans forward, noticeably resting her elbows on the table as if trying to prove a point.

“My family definitely couldn't afford etiquette classes. We're not some wealthy socialite family, if that's what you're thinking,” Corinne explains with an eye roll. “I know people from Glendale look at us and think we've had everything handed to us on a silver platter, but that doesn't apply to everyone. Both of my parents worked hard, and I had to bust my ass to make sure I could get into college.”

She wraps her hands nervously around the cup of tea and looks down at them as she talks. I study them for a moment, noticing how she shakes ever so slightly. Her cheeks are tinged pink, and she struggles to make eye contact with me. It's clear she's nervous, and something about that excites me. I want her to be comfortable, but knowing that she's nervous about this date means some feelings must be involved.

“You're really nervous,” I say, sitting up straight and leaning forward, close enough for me to whisper without anyone else hearing. She looks up, her face inches away from mine. “Is this your first date ever?”

She wrinkles her eyes slightly with a mischievous smile on her lips. “No.”

I stay exactly where I am, motionless as I stare into her light blue eyes. Corinne doesn't look away from me as I expect her to. But something in her eyes shifts when she sees exactly what I'm thinking. She knows my mind wanders back to the other day on the field when she was talking to the guy in the band. I can't help but wonder who else she's been on dates with. My grip tightens around my coffee, and I take a deep breath before speaking again.

“Why don't you give me a list of their names so I can visit them then,” I say just as I sit back and stare at her from a near painful distance.

The pink on her cheeks turns red, and she looks away, pushing up her oversized glasses with three fingers. She looks away bashfully, but when she meets my eyes again I can see a hint of amusement on her face. She might have been confused about my possessiveness at first, but she likes something about it.

My phone is face down on the table in front of me, and the sudden vibration almost makes me jump. Corinne's eyes fall to it as I attempt to ignore it for a moment. It doesn't stop vibrating, which means I must have a call coming through, so I turn it around to silence it.

It’s Adrian.

My chest tightens at the idea of him calling me right now. Of course, he doesn't know anything about this date, but when Adrian calls, it's not usually good news.

“Do you need to get that?” Corinne asks, and I shake my head, pressing the silence button twice to send the call to voicemail.

“It can wait,” I say before shoving my phone in my pocket. I try to focus on the conversation again, but I can feel vibrations against my thigh as text messages come through, then more calls. After a few moments, I stand and pull the phone out of my pocket. “I'm sorry, this might be an emergency. They keep calling.”

“Of course, take it. I can wait,” Corinne says, flashing me a courteous smile before I stand and leave the table. I walk outside to the empty patio and finally answer the phone.

“What the hell took you so long answering? You ignoring me now?” Adrian's voice cuts through the speaker, anger dripping from every syllable.

“I'm busy. What is it?” I ask, not making any effort to apologize.

“Blake got in a fight with some punks, and he's really hurt. We need you to help us. We're going to find those fuckers and show them who they're messing with,” Adrian explains, practically yelling over the phone.

The word yes is on my tongue, and I'm almost ready to drop everything I'm doing to go with him and jump whoever hurt Blake. But I freeze. I turn around and stare at Corinne through the glass window as she sits in the café, nervously tucking her blond hair behind her ear. In the past, I wouldn't have thought twice about saying yes to Adrian. I would have jumped at the opportunity to roll up to someone's place and show them we're not to be messed with.

But the risk is too great now. Corinne already doesn't trust me entirely, and I want to change that. I can't do something to jeopardize my place here on the football team, and the potential relationship I have with her.

“I can't,” I say, bracing myself for Adrian's response.

There's a pregnant pause between the two of us, and I almost wonder if the call dropped. Before I can pull it away from my ear to see if it's still on, I hear a sharp inhale as I clearly envision Adrian running his fingers through his hair and clenching his fists tight.

“You think you're better than us now?” Adrian asks, and before I can answer, I hear a loud crashing sound on the other side. “I guess I need to remind some people where the fuck they come from.”

I open my mouth to reply, and the distinct sound of the call hanging up is all I hear.