Page 8 of Flip the Field
“I know.” I nodded and nudged her along. We walked in silence for a minute, her shoulder brushing against mine. Curiosity finally got the better of me. “What happened between the two of you?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard?” She tilted her head toward me. I shook my head. “We went out for less than a minute two years ago. Slept together once and I ended it.”
“Was it that bad?”
“What?”
“The sex,” I cringed.
“Yeah, it was, but that’s not why I broke up with him,” She crossed her arms over her chest. “He only wanted me because I was different than the other girls here and because of who my dad is.” She turned and climbed the steps of a two-story house. She sat on the top step.
I stood in front of her. “Seems like a lot of girls are trying to get with him.”
“Right,” She motioned. “He can corrupt any coed on campus, so why does he keep coming back to me?”
“Are you kidding?” I chuckled.
“What?”
“You’re beautiful, smart, confident, have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen, and you don’t take shit from anyone,” I shook my head. “Guys hate that.” The smile returned. I sat down next to her. “So, your dad’s some big shot in DC, right?”
“He’s a congressman.”
I shrugged.
“In the United States Senate.”
“Okay.” I held my hands out.
She ran her hands up and down her legs. I resisted the urge to do the same. I wanted to touch her, take care of her, keep her warm.
“My father is no John Lewis, but he’s…” She turned to me. “You do know who John Lewis is, right?”
“I do watch the news every once in a while,” I turned back to the street. “But what do you mean he’s not like him?”
“Well, let’s just say social justice is a new buzz word in my father’s office. He won his first election and every one after that because he can talk to anyone about anything and because he had more money than the people he ran against.”
“Aren’t all politicians disingenuous?” I stood. “I thought it was a given.”
“Yeah, and that would be okay if he wasn’t my father, too,” She sighed. “He tries to dissuade me from being too socially aware. I thought he was going to have a coronary when photos of me showed up on social media protesting in DC last summer.”
“You stand up for what you believe in.”
“What?” She shivered and I liked to think it was from me, but the temperature had dropped. If I had a jacket, I would have offered it to her. Isn’t that what the kind of guys she’d be into would do?
“More reasons why Duncan or, you know, some other guy, might have a hard time leaving you alone.” I held my hand out to her. “It’s getting cold out here. You should go in.”
She frowned, but took it and stood up.
“I’m sorry, again, for pulling you into the mess with Duncan,” She brushed off the back of her dress.
“Naw, it’s all good,” With her on the step, we were the same height. “These last twenty minutes have been the most fun I’ve had on campus since I arrived.”
She laughed and I vowed to make her do it again soon and often. She opened her mouth to speak but I beat her to it.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” I asked.
“Uhm, studying probably.”
