29. Gavin
GAVIN
“Good luck tonight,” I say to my mom when she calls Wednesday afternoon. Her team plays tonight, trying to capture an Elite Eight spot.
“Thanks. You guys leave tomorrow?”
Lying on my bed with my feet hanging off the edge, I toss the ball up into the air over and over again. “Yeah. Tomorrow afternoon. I can’t believe it’s almost here already. The week has flown by.”
She laughs into the phone. “I figured you were counting the seconds tick by until the game.”
“We’re practicing every day, reviewing film, fine-tuning things. The time hasn’t been wasted.”
And I’ve been spending every free second with Violet. If we keep winning, it’ll be more than a week until we’re back in Valley. A long freaking time not to see the girl I’m falling hard for all over again.
“I talked to your dad last night.”
I pause with the ball resting in both hands. “Oh yeah? Did he have anything useful to say?”
I can’t imagine why my mom still talks to him. At first, I understood that she was doing it to salvage some sort of relationship between us, but I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested in that and still she entertains his bullshit.
“He told me that you declined the TV interview.”
“You sound surprised? There’s no way I’m getting on national TV and pretending we’re tight for the sake of his image.”
“The interview wasn’t his idea. They reached out to him.”
“Whatever. Either way, not happening.”
“You might be angry with him, but you’re just as stubborn as he is.” The words hit me square in the chest and make it hard to breathe.
“I’m nothing like him.”
Silence hangs between us and then she sighs. “Do you know how I got my first college coaching job?”
“No,” I say as I try to think back on any prior conversations.
My mom worked in pharmaceutical sales until she got pregnant with me.
She stayed home for a few years and then started coaching high school.
I was eight or nine when she moved up to the college level.
Dad was still playing then, so I spent a lot of evenings and weekends on campus with her.
“I was at a fundraiser with your dad. He rarely asked me to go to those kinds of things. They were often in the middle of the week, and we’d have to travel. I didn’t like to leave you or to take off work for it, but he kept bringing it up, so I knew this one must have been important to him.”
“We showed up and it was this small event. I think they were raising money for local youth or something. Nothing like the events I’d been to with him in the past.”
My pulse thrums loudly in my ears.
“Anyway, your dad knew that the athletic director would be there and that they’d just lost their women’s basketball coach.”
“Okay. So he introduced you and you got the job. I’m sure it worked out in a way that made him look good somehow.”
“He didn’t want to go to that fundraiser. He did it because he knew it would be a great opportunity for me.”
I’m skeptical, but I keep my mouth shut.
“Your dad doesn’t do a good job of explaining his motives, but he wants the best for you.”
“What’s best for me is focusing on the games and not getting distracted talking to reporters about dad’s glory days.”
My door opens and Noah pauses when he sees I’m on the phone. I sit up and lift a finger to indicate I just need a minute.
“Okay, but if there’s even the tiniest chance you’re considering playing ball after college, then this could be a?—”
“I gotta go, Mom.”
She makes a sound that clearly shows her irritation, but she says, “All right. I need to get ready, too.”
“Good luck tonight,” I say, and stand. “And, Mom?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t owe him your success. Maybe he made an introduction, but the rest was all you. Someone would have swooped you up eventually.”
“I love you,” she says.
“Love you too. Bye.”
I toss the phone on the bed. “Ready?”
Noah doesn’t pry until we get onto the court. “Did something else happen with your dad?”
“No. Same old shit.”
He nods. “Listen, I wanted you to hear it from me. After you passed on the interview, the reporter, Bob or whatever his name is, asked to do a sit down with me.”
“That’s great.”
He stares back at me. “Really? You’re okay with it?”
“Of course, I am. Congrats, man. That’s going to be huge.”
“You don’t think I’m a sellout?”
“Definitely not.” Noah’s a great player.
He’s shorter than the average college or pro player, and he’s battled some injuries during his time at Valley.
Those things, combined with the team not making it past the second round in the tournament the past couple of years, have kept him from really getting the credit or recognition he deserves. This could be huge for him.
He lets out a breath that makes me realize how worried he was about telling me.
“Seriously, super stoked for you.”
“Thanks. I hope I don’t puke on camera. I’m already so nervous.”
“Well, now that would be entertaining.”
He flips me off, then we continue to shoot around for a few more minutes.
“Is Violet coming over tonight?”
“Yeah, I think so.” I hope so.
“That’s every night this week you two have hung out. Have you made things official and taken her off the market?”
“I never understood that phrase in regard to relationships.”
“You’re dodging.” He rebounds my ball.
“I’m not dodging. She’s mine.”
“She said that?”
“Not with words.” I smile as I think of the tiny heart she drew on my dick. The rest of the ink scrubbed off, but I left that one.
“I don’t know what that means.” He quirks a brow.
“We haven’t had the big talk about being exclusive, but I’m not worried.”
Except now that he’s brought it up, I kind of am.
“Why do you want to know so bad? Are you planning on making a move?” I narrow my gaze.
“No. Never.”
“Violet not good enough for you or something?”
His deep laughter echoes in the high ceiling of the fieldhouse. “You sound insane right now.”
“I think it’s a fair question. She’s beautiful, smart, and talented. You can seriously tell me you wouldn’t want to be with her?”
“I can seriously tell you that.”
“Why?”
“Because, dickhead, you’re in love with her and I’d never do that to a buddy.” He tosses me the ball a little harder than necessary. “And I’m pretty sure she’s in love with you too.”
“You think?”
“I do.”
“She’s pretty fucking great.”
“Maybe you oughta think about locking that down then.” He shakes his head and laughs. “With words.”
I’m still thinking about our conversation after practice. The house is packed. As instructed, the guys have stayed alcohol-free, but they’ve traded booze for boobs. There are so many girls in the pool, it looks like an episode of The Bachelor.
Tommy comes inside, pushing his shades to the top of his head. “Leonard, my man, are you coming out?”
“I don’t think so.”
“The only people drinking are the girls. Scout’s honor.”
“You were never a Scout.”
One side of his mouth lifts. “They want to see us off.”
I look past him, out the window, where tops are starting to come off.
“I’m good. Have fun, man.”
Violet is working late at the design lab to finish up her dress for Penelope Hart, so after a shower, I grab dinner and head to campus.
My phone rings as I’m pulling into the parking lot behind the art building. As soon as I see who it is, I hit ignore. I can’t deal with my dad right now.
I find the lab and poke my head in. Violet waves me over to a table in the back corner. She and Dahlia are set up on opposite sides. A bunch of other people, classmates, I assume, are at other tables. It’s quiet and the mood is thick with frantic energy.
“Hungry?” I ask as I walk toward her. “I brought you guys some food. Figured it might be a long night.”
“Thank you. You’re a real hero. We’ve been in here since noon.” She takes the food and sets it at an empty table, but not before stealing a fry from the open bag and groaning.
I nod my head toward the black dress on the bust. “I finally get to see the infamous design in person.”
“I don’t know about infamous, but that’s it, yeah.”
I step closer to get a better look at it. The pictures didn’t do it justice. I don’t know a lot about fashion, but it’s the kind of thing I’d expect to see on a red carpet or the cover of a magazine. “I can’t believe you made these. It blows me away every time I see something you’ve created.”
Vi blushes. “Thank you. This is Dahlia’s.”
Dahlia has moved over to the food, but Violet walks me to her friend’s design. It’s a blue jumper with big legs and a halter top. The two are so different, but both obviously well done, and I know a lot of time and effort went into them.
“You guys are incredible. This is great, Dahlia.”
“Thanks.” She covers her mouth with a hand to answer while chewing.
“What time do you think you’ll be done? Any chance you can come over later? Or I can take you out for second dinner.”
“I don’t know. We need to finalize the designs and then photograph them. Penelope’s rep will be here tomorrow to decide.” She blows out a breath. “I’m a wreck. Can I text you when we’re done?”
“Of course. I’ll get out of your hair so you can get back to it, but, uh, can I talk to you real quick first?”
“Sure.” She looks wary.
I take her hand and we walk out of the classroom to the hallway.
“Is everything okay?” she asks when I lean against the wall and wrap my arms around her waist.
“Yeah.” I tug her closer and kiss her. “I have a question for you.”
“All right.”
“Fuck it. I’m just gonna ask because I don’t know how else to do this.”
She looks terrified. I don’t blame her.
“Do you want to be exclusive? Like, not date other people. I’m not, for the record. Dating other people that is.” Heat creeps up my neck.
It takes a second for my words to hit before she smiles. Then it grows and she starts to laugh.
I should have rehearsed. I’ve never asked anyone to be my girlfriend.
In high school I went on a few dates, but nothing serious.
Then when I got to Valley… Well, I guess getting a girlfriend stopped being important when I realized people expected me to follow in my dad’s footsteps in all aspects.
Like father, like son. Was there ever a more confining expression?
The closest I ever got to wanting to be exclusive with someone was Violet, sophomore year, but we never put a label on it. I’m not sure if that made how things ended better or worse. It hurt like a bitch either way.
“I’m sorry. You just surprised me.” She keeps on giggling, burying her face in my chest.
“It’s okay. I should go.”
“Don’t you want my answer?”
“Was laughter not an answer? Because it felt like an answer.”
“I drew my name all over you last night, including your dick. Of course, I don’t want to date other people.”
I tighten my grip, pulling her even closer to me. “Really?”
“Really. I just wasn’t expecting you to ask like that. I’m not dating anyone else, and I have no plans to while we’re… whatever.”
“Dating, exclusively, not whatever.” I nip at her bottom lip. “Come over later, girlfriend. No matter how late it is. I’ll be up.”
“Okay. I think we’ll be done in a couple of hours. Let’s go out first though. I want to hold your hand in public, where everyone can see that you’re mine.”
A possessive flame burns through me. “Same, baby.”
We kiss again. An urgent tangling of tongues and clash of teeth. When a door shuts somewhere in the building, Vi pulls back. “I have to go. I’ll see you later.”
“Boyfriend.”
“What?” she asks, taking another step away.
“I’ll see you later, boyfriend,” I say.
She holds my hand until the distance pulls them apart. “I’ll see you later, boyfriend.”
Like father nothing.