Chapter 3
Chapter Three
RIVER
No way.
No fucking way someone ran into me when I was so clearly tying my shoe. Well, maybe that was my fault for stopping in the middle of the walkway, but still. I made sure I was out of the pathway to avoid a collision, yet someone still managed to run into me right as I was standing up.
And of course, that person had to be Alex.
It had only been five weeks since I’d been at this school, and I had seen him way too many times.
College was supposed to be large enough that it was rare to run into the same person more than once.
I guessed the exception to that rule was when you wanted nothing more than not to see said person.
Not only did we collide, but my elbow jabbed right at his throat. It sent me into a whirlwind of panic, my mind racing with the thought that I had broken his vocal cords or something. I never wanted to hurt Alex.
Then he had the nerve to say sorry to me when he was two seconds from decapitation. Not to mention his coffee had soaked onto his shirt and the ground, and if he was anything like the other coffee fiends on this campus, that ruined his entire day. Still, he was the one apologizing.
I caught myself staring at him. I knew better than that, so I had to fix my mistake. I needed to present not rude, but uncaring. Couldn’t have him thinking I knew who he was.
I wondered whether he believed that lie. Of course, I remembered Alex—trust me, I tried to forget. I really did.
I could forget the name of the girl who lived next door for three years, my cousin’s birthday, and how to ride a damn bike, but I could never forget Alex. Genuinely, it was impossible for me to erase him from my mind.
Just like it was impossible to erase that kiss from your mind.
Gosh, one peck on the lips at a mere thirteen years shouldn’t have lived in my mind the way it did. Did Alex even remember it? Did he even want to?
Whatever, it didn’t matter. I had to keep my distance from Alex whether I wanted to or not. It was much easier that way. Better for both of us.
But it was hard to do that when we’re in the same communications class.
I transferred to the school only a few weeks after the semester started. The normal deadline was a week before that, but my friend and I received special permission because of our athletic scholarships.
While I had been at the school for over a month now, I had only attended this class three times. Out of the five courses I was taking, communications was the least important. That was until I saw the email about a group project starting soon, so I had to start showing up.
On the first day I attended class, I spotted Alex sitting in the middle with perfect posture, next to two guys I didn’t recognize. He did not notice me because I sat behind him, staring at his back like a creep. I was seeing my best friend for the first time in years—of course, I was shell-shocked.
Today, however, Alex definitely took notice of me. By the time he made it into the room, I was already in my seat. He entered the double doors, and his eyes scanned the room for his friends, but instead of finding them, they landed on me.
Alex wasn’t the same short, sensitive kid I remembered from grade school.
He grew taller, his facial structure matured, and he finally grew the leg hair he had been begging for.
He even changed his hair from the kept-up modern quiff his parents insisted on to brown curtain bangs just long enough to fall over his eyes.
They really brought out the freckles painted all over his cheeks.
I stole glances at him throughout the lecture, praying the professor wouldn’t do something ridiculous like call on me because I had no clue what the guy was lecturing about.
How was it that, out of all the colleges, Lone Star State University was the one that Alex attended? It was an insane coincidence, or terrible luck. Maybe both.
Alex turned his head over his shoulder, and I froze.
He had already caught me staring, and I had missed my chance of normally looking away.
This was torture, but I couldn’t have him thinking I was actually watching.
I pressed my lips together and raised an eyebrow, silently asking, “What are you staring at?”
He blinked twice, slowly, almost like he was trying to figure me out. It didn’t take long before he was facing forward again, elbow propped on the desk and his head resting in his hand, once again engrossed in the lecture.
“Hey,” someone whispered. “Aren’t you River Moore?”
I looked to the girl speaking beside me, unsure of how she knew my name, but not unsure enough to ask. She had a wide smile plastered on her face as she twirled her auburn hair around her finger, and she wore a bright pink LSSU Cheer tank top.
“Yep,” is all I respond.
“I’m Lola,” she greeted. “You just joined the basketball team, yeah?”
“You’ve noticed?”
“Duh. Everyone’s talking about you, you know? Well, at least everyone on my team is. We always talk about the transfers, and we pay attention when we get to sit in on your practices. You and Carson are amazing.”
A proud smile graced my lips. “Thanks, Lola.”
“Of course.” She leaned closer to me and lowered her voice. “Some girls on my team and yours are having a small get-together later today. You and Carson should definitely come.”
“We have practice tonight,” I replied.
She nodded, already expecting me to say that. “We’re hanging out after.”
“Do you give all basketball players such a personal invite?”
“Just the cute ones.” She winked. “I like blondes with man buns.”
The blonde with a man bun would be my closest friend—basically my brother—Carson.
Did I want to spend the evening with people that I barely knew? Not entirely, but the alternative was another night of watching romance movies with Car like we were a couple. I had to pass on that—he enjoyed spooning and always made me the little spoon because he was a damn giant.
And I desperately needed a distraction from Alex.
When I asked Lola how many people were coming and where it was, she responded by putting my number in her phone and texting me the details.
The professor ended classes early, and students were walking out of the doors before he could wish us a good rest of our day, Alex included.
He didn’t look back at me once, like I expected him to, and it made my chest tighten.
Lola’s voice broke my attention. “See you there.”
“I thought you had another class?”
I waltzed into the house and immediately kicked off my shoes before finding the pantry. Searching the cabinets like a madman, I mumbled, “Yeah, I skipped.”
“Do you want a repeat of last year?” He asked, repeating the same words my mother tended to. Carson loved to quote her.
He liked to make last year out to be worse than it was. My grades slipped, but they weren’t terrible, and it didn’t happen only because I skipped class. He knew that better than anyone because he went through it all with me.
But none of that mattered anymore because if I wanted to stay on this team, I had to keep the grades up. They did not have to be outstanding, but they did have to be passing. My sports management degree was a priority, even with basketball.
Car and I met our sophomore year of high school.
He quickly became my closest friend since Alex, and when some shit went down with his family, my parents took him in.
After graduation, we knew we had to stick together.
When I received the offer to transfer to Lone Star State University—LSSU—for basketball, I advocated for him to come too.
I found a bag of chips and tore it open. “I don’t see you in class right now.”
“Because it doesn’t start for another three hours,” he deadpanned. “You do not want to have to repeat classes, River. You know I’m talking from experience.”
Carson had to retake calculus twice, and he was currently taking it for the third time.
I had yet to fail a course, always somehow managing to pull out a passing grade by the skin of my teeth.
Part of me wished I could forget about school and only play basketball, but that would mean I’d have to go pro.
As great as it sounded, it was a dream far out of reach.
On top of that, it would have stopped me from using my degree, which I didn't want since I truly enjoyed what I studied.
The moment I learned to walk, my dad had shoved a basketball in my hands. Ever since then, he and Mom were constantly in my ear, coaching me to play like a pro and eventually to get a full ride to college. Lucky for them, I loved basketball just as much as my father did.
They were thrilled when I got my first scholarship. They had dreamed of the moment ever since I was a kid, and I pulled it off. Add to the fact that Carson also got a scholarship? They were over the moon—so excited that they threw us a party and invited the entire family.
I yanked my chips away from him. “Yes, I need to do well so that I can get my degree and work a nine-to-five until I die. So exciting. Absolutely cannot wait.”
“You can’t do that if you flunk all of your classes and get kicked off the team. You need to focus, man.” Then, his tone softened. “Professors aren’t going to go easy on you this year. I’m surprised they did last year, considering—”
I raised my hand. “I get what you mean.”
He half frowned, but didn’t say any more.
Crumpling up the chip bag, I turned to the trash, aimed, and tossed it in. A smirk full of pride pulled at my lips as the bag fell right into the trash. Car rolled his eyes, but his own smile told me he couldn’t deny how smooth that was.
Not acknowledging my skills, Carson said, “Salem asked if we wanted to go out to the courts later.”
I stared blankly. “Who is Salem?”
His eyes narrowed in disbelief. “We’ve been on the team for a month and have gone to courts with him. You know exactly who Salem is.”
All the faces of my teammates were like a mushy blend in my mind—undecipherable and unintelligible. I had yet to bond with them, just like I had yet to bond with any of my classmates. If a person didn’t pique my interest, then they quickly became an afterthought.
It was the reason I ever talked to Alex in the first place.
I found him interesting. I’d always noticed him around school, but he liked to play alone while my friends wanted to play in the field.
I found it odd; dozens of kids played together each day, yet Alex always swung on the swings by himself.
It took me a week before I got the courage to go up to him the day we met. He was so comfortable being by himself, and that intimidated me. As an only child, I was always alone, so I surrounded myself with friends at school.
Eventually, I realized Alex didn’t enjoy his loneliness as much as I assumed. When I saw him agreeing to let the bully of the school play with his game, I knew I had to step in. Wesley wasn’t going to like him for him, but I was.
Carson’s lips pressed together judgementally as he waited for it to click in my brain. Finally, the somewhat grumpy dude with the buzz cut popped into my thoughts. Huh, no wonder it took me so long to recognize that name. Lately, I only ever knew Salem as "Alex's roommate."
I shrugged. “Nah, we can’t.”
“We can’t?”
I slapped my hand onto his shoulder. “Nope. We, my friend, got invited to hang out with some teammates and cheerleaders. You wanna go?”
Carson ran a hand through his hair. “It’s the middle of the week, and there’s a party?”
He hated parties. He called them slimy breeding grounds for STDs and drunk driving, so every party I had gotten him to go to came from coercion. This, however, was not a party. Technically.
“It’s not a party. It’s a get-together.”
With his arms folded across his chest, Carson gave me a dull look. I shrugged in an innocent way that asked, ‘What?’ I wasn’t lying. Lola said it was around ten of our teammates and five of hers. They apparently got together often, and it was always a low-key thing.
“And the girl who invited me has a thing for you.” I grinned cheekily.
His brow raised. “Is she pretty?”
Ah, that got him. “Oh, you’ll love her.”
“I guess I’ll tell Salem we’ll play tomorrow, then.” Carson pulled his phone out of his pocket and navigated to his messages. “I’m surprised you want to go since you never enjoy meeting new people.”
I didn’t want to go because I wanted to make friends. I wanted to go because I needed to stop thinking about Alex goddamn Pierce.