Page 13 of Away Game

The drive seemed way longer than three hours. Probably because Oz had to stop twice to go to the bathroom and buy more coffee. He’d been up almost all night with a teary Danica as they parted ways. She was going to school at UCLA along with her friend Lo, and it was the first time they’d been away from each other for longer than a week in their entire lives.

Tears were streaming down Danica’s face as we pulled away after helping her and Lo put all their stuff in Danica’s car for their drive. I even let her hug me goodbye. Secretly it felt nice to have someone show some real emotion over me leaving, even if it mostly was because she was separating from her twin.

As I waited for Oz to show up, I finally took in my surroundings. I couldn’t look at anything else but West when we first walked in. I think I was in shock. The place still had a fraternity vibe going on, but that was cool. The living room, kitchen, and dining room downstairs were large. Everything was worn, but that was to be expected when twenty to thirty guys lived in one space for any amount of time.

It made me think of the tiny shack of a place West was living in at Lake Arrowhead. What did he think of our house? And why did I care?

My ears perked up as I heard talking coming from deeper on the first floor. I moved closer to hear what was being said. I was a nosy son-of-a-bitch, and it usually paid off. I’d overheard so many juicy conversations in the past and used them to my advantage that I couldn’t help myself as I inched closer.

“Come on now, E.” West’s voice drifted through the kitchen. “I know. I miss you too.” The thing was, West did sound like he missed whoever this E was. His voice held a sad note in it. Maybe this E was his boyfriend?

My body started to heat and not in a good way as I fisted my hands at my sides. Who gave a shit if West had a boyfriend?

“Fin,” Oz called out from somewhere behind me. “Are you ready to go?”

Backing out of the kitchen, I tried to listen further to West’s conversation, but he must have heard Oz yell because it was deathly silent. I found Oz pacing by the front door with his phone in hand, typing away furiously.

Clasping him on the shoulder, I tried to look at his screen, but he moved out from under my hand. “What’s up?”

“Danica and Lo got a flat tire on the way and are waiting for someone to come and change it. Well, Lo doesn’t want to wait. She’s trying it on her own, but from what Danica is saying, Lo isn’t being successful,” he clipped out.

“Did they call triple-A?”

Two girls on the side of the highway when it was getting dark wasn’t a good combination. Make them beautiful in an expensive car, and it was a recipe for disaster. No wonder Oz was on edge. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything we could do.

“About twenty minutes ago. They said it would be forty minutes to an hour before they could get there. I told Dani to get back in the fucking car before they get murdered or hit by a car, but she won’t get inside until Lo does, and she’s being a stubborn ass.” He ran his hand through his light blond hair and fisted it at the ends. “It’s day one, Fin, and they are already in trouble. Why didn’t we insist they come to Willow Bay with us?”

“Because she got a soccer scholarship there, and you got on the Blackhawk’s football team here. Plus, they have the worst football team. You would have lost every game you played,” I reminded him.

“It’s not like she wouldn’t have made the team here or that we couldn’t afford her tuition,” Oz argued back.

I didn’t know Danica’s motive for wanting to be at another school and away from her brother, except that she loved playing soccer. Maybe she had some other motive, or maybe she realized it was probably healthy for them to be apart while off at college.

“She’s good and has a real shot at going to the Olympics with UCLA. You can’t deny her that because you’re worried about her. If she needs you, you can either drive or fly and be there in a few hours. You have nothing to worry about. Danica’s a badass and can take care of herself.” I cocked my head to the side and silently watched Oz as he typed something else out on his phone. “Or is it someone else you’re worried about because you know Dani will kick just about anyone’s ass who messes with her?”

Oz lifted his blue eyes to me, and they were filled with fire. His jaw ticked once before his phone buzzed, and he looked back down. “Don’t start with me unless you want me to ask questions about your life.”

Did Oz know? No, how could he?

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He opened the front door and leveled me with a look that said he knew more than he let on. “Let’s go find some food and a place to get drunk.”

“And maybe get you some new pussy.” I knew I was pushing it, but I wanted to see how desperate Oz was to forget about how far away Danica and Lo were.

Oz didn’t bother answering me. We both knew he’d have to be drunk out of his mind for him to hook up with someone. I didn’t understand why he didn’t tell Danica he liked Lo and ask her if it would be okay if they dated. It wasn’t like he slept with every girl who threw themselves at him, and there was a lot with him being good looking and a star football player in our town. He occasionally gave in to temptation and then felt guilty because of it. Oz and Lo were a mystery to me. As far as I knew, Danica had never said they couldn’t be together, but I also wasn’t sure if she knew how much they pined after each other. I’d only noticed this past year. Maybe it was because I was hiding something and had become more observant in my effort. Although I wasn’t sure how Danica wouldn’t know, with how close she was to the both of them.

Since our house was on the edge of campus, we headed down the dark street toward the school. All the frat houses we passed by were dark and quiet since only the football team had moved onto campus early. In a couple of weeks, I knew all the houses would be packed with people and parties.

We reached an area that held a grill and bar and decided to try our luck. Since we were sixteen, we’d had fake ID’s, so I didn’t think we’d have any problem getting served. I swung open the door to let Oz walk in before me when his phone buzzed. I watched as his shoulders visibly relaxed at whatever he saw on his screen.

“All good?” I clapped him on the back.

Oz headed toward a booth, and I followed. After sitting down, he placed his phone face down on the table before he looked up at me. “They’re back on the road. I told her to text me when they get to their dorm. Why the hell did they leave so late? I thought they left right after us.”

“Knowing Dani and Lo, they probably went shopping before they left for LA.”

Oz nodded like what I’d said made sense. He had a better idea about what they did than me, but I didn’t point it out. I hoped he wasn’t going to worry about them all the damn time. Otherwise, he was going to want to drive down to LA every weekend to keep an eye on them, which wouldn’t be possible with our football schedule.

A flirty waitress with short black hair and a ring through her nose smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at us. “Hi, I’m Tiffany. What can I get you, boys?” she purred.

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