Page 16 of Sweet Little Lies
Cade nods his head. “Yeah, I think they have a long road trip coming up and then it’s playoff season. Doesn’t look like he’s getting too much playing time, but he’s still walking away with points on the board each game. He and Logan are doing great. Edwards says he may even pop the question soon.”
I shake my head. What is the deal with my friends getting hitched so soon? Fuck if I know. Of course, I didn’t grow up with the best family dynamic and my parents had a shitty marriage before my mom died, so it’s no wonder I have a tainted view on the whole thing.
“I haven’t seen Van around much either. How’s things with him and Ky?”
Cade grabs a seat, throwing back some Gatorade and sighs. “Fuck, it’s weird seeing Ky getting all lovey-dovey with Van. I still have the urge to punch him whenever he puts his hands on her.”
We both laugh at this because for one, Cade would never hit our good friend Van, regardless if he is dating Kylah, Cade’s younger sister. They hooked up last winter and have been going strong ever since. In fact, she moved in with him recently and he’s now working for some accounting or financial firm.
“Van’s the best guy there is for Kylah. He’ll take care of her. Just like you take care of Ainsley. You’re good dudes.” And I mean it. They are loyal and solid guys.
No response from Cade has me turning toward him to find him bent over at his waist, his elbows on his knees, head tilted toward me.
The conversation has come full-circle it seems when he returns the topic back to Mica. “Tell me the truth, bruh. What’s the deal with you and Micaela? I think Ainsley’s a little worried.”
My brows furrow – uncertain as to whether I should be offended or not. “Why would she be worried? About me or Mica?”
Cade snorts. “Hell if I know. But she’s protective of her friend. We all love Mica. She’s a sweetheart. But dude, you know she’s not your usual type and she’ll never be that girl. You can’t use her and kick her out. She’s one of us.”
Scoffing, I pick at the label on my bottle, clenching my jaw from the implications of what Cade’s just admitted.
Finally, I decide to give in and share it all with him.
“I’ve been asking Mica out since the first time I met her but she keeps turning me down. I mean, what the hell? Do I stink?”
I raise my arm and sniff at my pits. Okay, I do right now. But not usually.
The laughter from Cade is annoying enough for me to snap his shins with my wet towel. He shuts up for a second and then laughs again.
“Shut up, motherfucker. I seem to recall someone else being turned down originally from Ainsley.”
Cade looks thoughtful for a moment and then shrugs. “Yeah, but she gave in pretty quickly after that. But you? You’ve known Mica for how long now? A year and she’s been turning you down since then? That’s hilarious!”
I grumble. Rejection really sucks – especially when it happens every time.
The most recent let-down was just Thursday morning. We’d been sitting there studying and when I looked up, she was staring at me with this dreamy look on her face. She was so beautiful, her dark skin so petal soft, her lips berry ripe and her gorgeous molasses-colored eyes revealing what I thought was desire.
So, I did what any red-blooded guy would do when a hot girl is looking at him like he hung the stars. I asked her to go out with me. What’s the harm in just a date? Technically, in my eyes, we’d been on tons of dates if you counted the time spent making out at parties or studying together this summer quarter.
Her normally bright eyes went dim, as her chin dipped down and she shook her head.
“You know I can’t, Lance. Please don’t make this awkward between us.”
Maybe it was because I wasn’t having a good week, or I hadn’t been laid in over a month or that I was just overly tired, but this time I took it harder than normal. I’d normally laugh it off, tease her a little bit about what she’s missing out on, something like that.
But instead, I got angry. It felt like I was a boiling pot and I finally erupted over the edge and all the water spilled over – hot and scalding.
The terrified look on her face when I slammed the book shut and threw it down on the ground next to my backpack is something I never want to see again. I was instantly remorseful and regretted my reaction, but I didn’t say so right away.
No, like a dickhead, I just walked away, leaving her to call my name from behind me.
That night, I went to my old high school friend, Dodi’s place, and got shitfaced drunk. Ended up drinking half bottle of Jim Beam and taking some pills he gave me. I was so trashed I don’t even remember getting sick all over myself sometime in the middle of the night until I woke the next morning, lying in my own vomit and piss.
Not my finest moment.
But at least I’m not my father. When he drinks, he’s a mean drunk. Takes out all his anger and frustration about past mistakes on his family. By lashing out verbally on me.
Shaking those ugly thoughts away, I pick up the ball from the ground between us and dribble it around my feet and through my legs.
