Chapter 25
25
Anais
I slam my book shut and rub my eyes. The words are starting to blur and I can’t take one more minute of studying.
It’s a Saturday and an away game for Nix, so I’m trying to catch up on some school work that I fell behind in attending the first two games. Bishop said he has some home chores to do, so I thought it was a good time to get some quiet studying.
Keyara sits across the room from at her desk, doing the same. We haven’t really spent much time together since I started seeing Bishop, and I feel guilty for ditching her.
“Hey Key,” I say, interrupting her focus. “Wanna do something? I need a break.”
She shuts her book and puts down her highlighter, then turns in her chair to face me. “You mean you don’t already have plans with Bishop? That’s a shock.”
I sit up and spin so that my legs hang off of my bed. “I know. I’m sorry. You know we can’t really spend time out in the open, so staying at his house has really been the only option for us. ”
Keyara watches me with a discerning eye and I wonder what’s rolling through her mind.
“And you’re not going to ditch me the minute he calls?” she asks.
“No ditching,” I assure her.
She pushes up from her chair and tucks back under her desk. “Fine. Mindy and Alyx wanted to grab some pizza this afternoon. I told them I would join, but I’m sure they’d be happy if you came along.”
Keyara is the only friend who knows about Bishop and me, so I’m sure they’re wondering where I’ve disappeared to.
I hop off the bed and search for my white Nikes. “Are they ready now?”
Keyara looks at the clock on her desk and it reads one-ten. “I’ll text them to meet us at The Brick House in fifteen.”
I smile and take a quick look in the mirror. Baggy sweats and a crop t-shirt with the Wranglers logo. Eh, it’ll do. I’m not going to impress anyone, and the stretchy waistband will prove helpful when gorging on pizza and salad.
I grab my keys and phone and decide to send Bishop a text to let him know I’m thinking of him.
Me: Miss You - Cashmere Cat, Major Lazer, Tory Lanez
I slide my phone into my pocket and follow Keyara out of our room and down to the parking lot where my car sits. As we get closer, I feel my phone buzz and take a quick look.
??: It’s one day, baby girl. Tomorrow. I Belong To You - Lenny Kravitz
The smile on my face is hard to miss and Keyara asks, “Uh oh. Am I losing you already?”
I unlock the doors and we get in. “Nope. Just a text.”
I start up my car and click on the link then quickly add it to our playlist. The song count is climbing higher and higher as Bishop loves sending me songs when he hears something that reminds him of me, or if it’s something h e wants to say but a song conveys it better than his words can.
We laugh and talk all the way to The Brick House and pull up to see a hoard of cars in the parking lot.
“Woah. Guess everyone had the same idea,” I tell Keyara.
“I think it’s the weather. Everyone is taking advantage of the sunshine before the cold weather hits.”
“And by cold weather you mean the high sixties that won’t hit until January?” She makes a face and points at me as if to say facts.
We walk in and find Mindy and Alyx standing in line.
“Hey. How’d y’all beat us here?” Key asks.
They spin around and lunge towards us. With big hugs, Mindy answers, “We were already at Fondren Library and it closes at noon, so we were just hanging around.”
“Where have you been stranger?” Alyx asks.
I shrug and tell her, “Just busy and spending a little time with my family.”
She nods her head but doesn’t seem like she totally buys my story. It doesn’t really matter because, though I’ve left out a few details, it’s the truth.
We get in line behind them and place our orders one at a time when we reach the counter. We grab our cups and numbers, and head off to fill our drinks and grab a table. We immediately begin catching up when we sit and are quickly interrupted by a boisterous voice.
“Hello ladies. Mind if we bring this table over to join you?”
I look up to find a few guys from the baseball team standing by our table, and recognize one of them as the guy in my class. He’s a flirt but nice, so we invite them to sit.
“Hey Ana. How have you been?” He asks me, and damn if I can’t remember his name.
“Good,” I tell him, his name finally coming to me. “Just been busy, Blake.”
“It sure seems like it. You’re always rushing off the minute class is over. I’ve been wanting to talk to you, but you’re always gone by the time I make it out of th e classroom.” He leans closer towards me, resting his arm on my chair, and I move back slowly.
“I’ve been trying to squeeze in as much studying as possible because of my Uncle’s games. I like to be at as many as I can, and we usually do dinners the night before and hang out afterwards, so it takes up a lot of time.”
“That’s right,” he exclaims, sitting tall and giving me some room to breathe. “You and Coach are related to Phoenix West.”
“Well, technically only I am by blood. But he and Bishop have been best friends since college, so they consider the other family,” I explain, easing a little more into our conversation now that he seems harmless and maybe just a space invader.
We continue to talk about Bishop and Uncle Nix, then move into making fun of our professor who can’t seem to understand what a toothpick looks like because he walks in everyday with a piece of food stuck between his teeth. Half the time we’re watching that dangling morsel, trying to figure out what he had for breakfast that day, and end up missing half of the lecture as a result.
Our laughing draws a bit of attention despite the bustling restaurant as our table grows boisterous in the many conversations that seem to be going on at once. It feels good to just be a college student and not have to worry about hiding in the shadows for fear of someone seeing Bishop and me.
I want a relationship with Bishop more than anything, but I think I’ve forgotten who I am outside of it. Not that Bishop has asked that I sacrifice anything for him. He’s just not that type of man. It’s more so that I want so badly to be everything for him that I’ve neglected what I want.
I go back to focusing on my friends and I don’t notice how close we’ve all moved, trying to be heard over the chatter, until Blake’s arm is around my shoulders. His fingers are playing with the ends of my hair when I hear my name called over the loudspeaker.
“Anis your order is ready,” the woman calls, and of course she mispronounces it.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell the group and push up from my chair .
I turn around, a carefree smile on my face, and look up into the eyes of a man who looks like someone ran over his cat.
“Hey Coach. What’s up?” One of the players at our table calls out to him.
I approach him slowly, nerves building in my throat and practically choking me.
“Bishop. Wha-what are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d grab your favorite pizza and ask you to come by for a late lunch. Take a little study break.” His voice is low and a bit wounded.
“We were just taking a quick break and I–”
“What brings you here, Coach?” Blake walks up next to us and throws his arm around my shoulders, again, and I quickly move out of his space.
“Getting food. Isn’t that why people normally go to restaurants?” Bishop’s eyes never leave Blake’s arm from where it rested on my shoulder to where it now hangs limply at his side. “Anais, you should go get your order,” he tells me, the intensity of his eyes frightening.
I swallow and nod my head before walking to the pick up counter and then back to our table, setting the tray down.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell them and move quickly through the restaurant as I see Bishop walking through the doors. “Bishop,” I call out, chasing after him as he speed walks through the parking lot.
He doesn’t slow down or even acknowledge my presence behind him when I catch up with him.
“Hey. Stop for a minute.” I reach out and grab his hand and he quickly yanks it back.
“You should go back to your friends, Anais. Anyone could see us out here.” He unlocks his truck and pulls open the door. “It’s not a good idea for us to be seen together in public.”
“What you saw in there, t’s just a group of us hanging out. That’s all. We had no idea those guys would be here. Just coincidence. And Blake was only talking to me,” I explain.
“Yeah, and hanging his arms around you and playing with your hair like you’re his g irl.” My heart thumps against my chest, the pain palpable.
“But you know I’m not. Let me go grab my food to go, and I’ll follow you–”
“No, Anais. Stay. This is where you belong. With friends and guys your age. We’ll talk tomorrow.” He climbs into his truck and I try desperately to stop him from shutting the door on me.
“I don’t want to talk tomorrow, Bishop. I want to talk and see you now. I’m coming over and you can’t stop me.”
“I can if I’m not there. Bye, Anais.” The door slams shut and he cranks his engine.
I jump away from the door as he speeds off and I stand there, watching him get as far away from me and fast as he can. I watch the spot where his truck sat before walking back inside to a quiet table, everyone’s eyes on me as I approach.
“Is everything okay?” Blake asks.
I nod, choking back a sob. “Mhm. Just needed to talk to him about something. Let’s eat. I need to get back to studying.”
The table returns to their conversations, and I pretend that my heart isn’t crying out in pain.