Chapter 2
Dawson
“Ihope you realize I’m still salty about you abandoning me for the rest of the summer,” Aly griped from my bed, twirling my plush football pillow in her hands. “Who am I supposed to hang out with now? Fin works most days and my other friends all went home in May.”
“It’s just a few weeks. You’re also welcome to come hang out anytime you want, Al. My parent’s house isn’t that far.”
“Oh gee, you know I’d love to, but some of us work for a living, Hayes,” she sassed. She stuck her tongue out and threw the pillow at my head, missing by several inches.
“Very classy. Temper tantrums are a good look on you,” I teased. Aly gasped loudly, her hand flying to her chest.
“That was the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me,” she said dramatically. “Now see? Where am I going to get that kind of devoted affection until school starts again?”
“Tinder,” I deadpanned, earning me both her middle fingers even as she smirked, kissing the tip of one and blowing it at me.
I grabbed and stuck it in my pocket before I headed into the bathroom to gather my toiletries as Aly went off about her summer work schedule and some problem with a bitchy coworker.
Aly and I had become close in the last five weeks after karaoke night. She didn’t mind that I wasn’t a big talker and would rather be at home than out partying, whereas she lived for the Austin nightlife and really only stopped talking to eat or sleep.
That night at the bar, I had figured she’d wanted to hook up and I’d been fully prepared for her to freak out or get angry at me for leading her on when I couldn’t go through with it.
I had thought about it the entire walk to my place, determined and desperate to feel anything other than the fierce ache that had started the moment I laid eyes on Theo and his date.
By the time we’d walked through my door, the thought of touching anyone but him made me sick to my stomach.
Surprisingly, Aly hadn’t been offended in the slightest. Instead, she threw herself on my couch, pulled up some cheesy action movie, and had me laughing most of the night with her insane commentary.
Somehow she picked up on exactly what I had needed.
She never pressed me for information on Theo past his name or what had happened to tank my mood before I rejoined the group.
I didn’t know if she sensed that I wasn’t emotionally able to talk about it or she just wasn’t the prying type, but I got to live happily in denial when she was around.
No pressure, no expectations, no questions asked.
“Well, it’s an open invitation if you get some time off. We’ve got a guest room with your name on it,” I told her as I sauntered back into my room and zipped up all my stuff.
“What about football practice?” She asked curiously. “Aren’t you muscly jock types supposed to be practicing twenty-four seven to keep your bodies from exploding with all that testosterone?”
My gut clenched uncomfortably at the question. It had become a bit of a sore subject for me lately.
“I went to the two required camps in June, but the rest of them are optional up until August. The sport steals most of my time during the fall as it is. I didn’t want it to steal my whole summer too, you know?”
In truth, I probably should have been staying on campus and going to practices and workouts with the team.
However, with certain decisions I’d recently made for myself, the sport just wasn’t as important as it used to be.
That was a conversation I needed to have with my dad sooner rather than later, but I hadn’t really worked up to that yet.
“Uuughh, but why are you going home? No one actually wants to spend their summer break with their parents, unless they’re being forced,” Aly sulked. “Wait. Is that it? Are you being coerced into this? Is this against your will? Blink twice if you’re under duress!”
“Of course it couldn’t possibly be because I actually like seeing my family?” I shot her an unimpressed look. She stared back, horrified by the notion.
“You mean there are actually people who enjoy their family? I thought that only happened in really cheesy sitcoms,” she shuddered.
“It’s been known to happen on occasion,” I responded dryly.
“Sounds like my personal nightmare, but what the fuck do I know? My mom gets boozy with the pool boy and my dad is an emotionally stunted, workaholic mess, hence why I chose a school hundreds of blessed miles away from them,” she snickered.
“What about a boozy mess?” Nate burst into my room and threw himself on the bed next to Aly, loudly crunching on an apple in his hand. “Sounds like a good time to me.”
Nathaniel had a habit of crashing into my room unexpectedly and I had long ago given up trying to break him of the habit. I’d have better luck potty training a squirrel. Rooming with your best friend definitely has its drawbacks at times.
“We were talking about how my parents are an unmitigated disaster compared to Dawson’s own Brady Bunch,” Aly explained with a deceptively sweet smile.
“That’s a little bit of a stretch—”
“Nah, that’s not quite right. His parents give more Friday Night Lights. His dad always reminded me of Coach Taylor. Did you know he was in the NFL? Daddy Hayes was one of the best QB’s in his day. That dude’s arm was golden!” Nate relayed excitedly.
“Christ, please never call him Daddy Hayes again, I beg you,” I groaned. Nate just cackled and blew me a kiss.
“Oooh, Coach Taylor was hot. With how gorgeous Dawson is, I can see his dad being that way too. Is he a total silver fox?” Aly chirped gleefully.
“Well, he’s not so silver, but I’d say he’s a solid 8.5. Here, check it out!” Nate yanked out his phone, presumably to either Google my dad or stalk my Instagram for pictures of him.
“Great. Cool. So y’all freaks do that and I’m just gonna go vomit real fast and hit the road,” I grouched, grabbing my duffle up before trudging into our living room.
“Hot damn!” Aly shouted from my bedroom. “Dawson, on a scale of one to ten, how open is your dad to having a sugar baby? Please say ten!”
“If he does and your mom gets lonely, I’d be happy to step in and comfort her!” Nate yelled out. “Hey D, that means I’ll be your new daddy!”
“God, I need so much therapy,” I grumbled to myself as their laughter carried down the hall.
I grabbed my car keys and intended to hightail it out of there, but was intercepted before I made it to the door.
“Aw, were you seriously trying to leave without a goodbye? Not cool, bro,” Nate complained from the hallway. “I was just teasing you, D. I didn’t mean anything by it…”
Regret swamped me at seeing the worry on his face. “Don’t sweat it, man. We’re all good,” I reassured him. “I just promised my mom I’d be there before noon, is all.”
The little white lie didn’t make me feel great, but I couldn’t easily explain my desperate need for space when I was feeling overstimulated, and I didn’t want Nate to take it personally.
I loved my close knit group of friends, but their personalities were so different from mine that I often needed alone time to regroup after hanging out with them.
Even Bash, who was the closest to my temperament, was still subjected to me only being able to take him in small doses.
That was pretty much everyone. I didn’t people very well.
The only person who’d ever been an exception to that rule was—
Fuck. No. We’re not thinking about him. Erase the hard drive and move the hell on, like he told you to.
If only life worked that way. I was slowly becoming convinced nothing would completely erase Theo from my memory.
Or my heart.
I shut the door on that thought fast and hard.
I needed to get home, away from UT, away from where he was now.
This last month, I had managed to avoid him after our run-in at the bar, only going from my apartment to the athletic facility and back as much as I could.
I also avoided hanging out with Bash and Micah at their new place since we’d discovered Theo was evidently their neighbor now.
Knowing he was on the same campus as me after all these years was screwing with my head.
Thankfully it was summer and I hadn’t run into him around campus or, God forbid, one of my classes.
And then there was the kiss. One damn kiss that stole my sanity and haunted every hour of thought. It infuriated me as much as it consumed me. He kissed me, then in the same breath told me to forget him. What the hell was I supposed to do with that?
“Dawson? You alright?”
Aly’s voice snapped me out of it. I realized a beat too late that she had emerged from my room and been trying to get my attention.
“Yeah, sorry. What did you say?”
She bit her lip and cocked her head at me. I ignored the question I saw on her face. It was getting harder to keep everything I’d been struggling with bottled up and locked away from those closest to me. But I wasn’t ready to deal with it.
“She asked if you’re still throwing your big Fourth of July party. Your parents are out of town that weekend, yeah?” Nate supplied.
Truthfully, I had forgotten that I volunteered my parents’ place for the holiday a few months back. I couldn’t even tell you how Nate and Bash coerced me into it, but somehow those fuckers managed it.
“Yep. Dad gave us the green light as long as I promised him we wouldn’t trash the house and the pool.”
Nate whooped at the news and started brainstorming all the different types of fireworks he and our friends could buy for the occasion.
All the while, Aly pinned me with her inquisitive gaze, making it feel like she could see straight through me to all the anxiety and unease that plagued me.
About football, about Theo, about this unrelenting sense of dread that everything was about to change.
“Yeah, that sounds great,” I tried not to sigh. “I really need to get going. I’ll see you in a few days. Text me later, ok?”
I didn’t stick around to hear their response. I snatched my bag and fled out the door, wishing I could just as easily flee from my problems.