Page 58 of Forecheck
For the moment, at least, things were okay.Betterthan okay.
Things were perfect.
Lucky Me
Life in the wakeof going public with my relationship remained fairly normal for me, other than the ever-increasing message requests, the frequent story tags, and the daily screenshots Berkley sent me of nasty comments and DMs about her.
Unfortunately, the next week was a flurry of road trips and endless studying. If our brief conversations were any indication, Berkley was struggling to keep it all together, and my inability to be there for her caused a constant ache in my heart.
The Warriors were on the road in North Carolina, ending a three-game road trip that had started in Florida. I was in my hotel room, TV turned toCriminal Mindsreruns, when Berkley called.
Instantly, I knew something was wrong.
“Hey, babe,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“Brent,” she said, voice thick, as though she were on the verge of tears. “I wish you were here.”
“So do I,” I said, “but tell me what’s wrong.”
“A girl in one of my classes dumped coffee over my head.”
I sucked in a breath, rage spiking. “Why?” I asked through gritted teeth, though I already knew the answer.
I’d never hated my fame until this moment.
“She told me I wasn’t pretty enough for you,” Berkley said, sniffling. “And that you should be with someone like her.”
“Berkley, I don’t want anyone but you. You know that.”
“Well of course I do!” she snapped, then added quietly, “I’m starting to regret this whole thing.”
A chill raced down my spine. “This whole thing? As in…being with me?”
“Oh, God, no,” she said quickly. “I’m sorry. I meant going public. I can’t help but think that everything would be fine right now if we had just ignored that waitress and left people to wonder. Instead, I have to miss my next class so I can go home and clean up.”
I sighed, wishing there was something I could do to take the heat off her. Unfortunately for us both, this came with the territory. If I took to socials and asked the public to leave her alone, not only would it fan the flames, but Berkley would be furious. Her stubborn streak was a mile wide.
“I know, Blondie,” I said at last, trying to placate her. “But we can’t go back. The only thing we can do is move forward.”
She snorted. “Easy for you to say,” she said, an edge to her tone. “Your life hasn’t changed a bit, and you’re not the one wearing a caramel macchiato right now.”
“Look, I’m sorry,” I said. “But don’t get mad at me. I’m not the bad guy here. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but we agreed that, in order to be together, taking our relationship public was going to have to happen eventually.”
“I just didn’t expect it to be this bad,” she said quietly, the fight in her voice from moments before seeming to have left her. “I didn’t think people would be accosting me in broad daylight.”
“I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but we’re in this together.”
“I guess. Although, if that were the case, people should really be pouring drinks over your head.”
I laughed, relaxing. If she was joking around with me, I knew she was calming down. “I would welcome that if it would make you feel better,” I told her honestly. “But unfortunately, no one but my teammates ever gets close enough for that to happen.”
Berkley sighed. “I’ll do it for you when you get home.”
“Deal.”
“Well, thank you for talking me off a ledge. I was about to do something reckless.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” I said. “Leave the reckless behavior to me, please.”
