Chapter twenty-thirty
Dylan
Coach had us running drills for what felt like the fiftieth hour straight and everybody was tired, including me. I wiped sweat from my forehead and jogged back into position.
That was when I saw Ava and Shari sitting in the bleachers watching practice. A small smile pulled at my lips. Ava noticed me looking and waved. I gave her a head nod then immediately regretted it.
Because somebody else had just walked into the gym…Tyla.
My smile disappeared instantly.
“Aw hell,” Malik muttered beside me.
I already knew some shit was about to pop off as soon as I saw Tyla heading straight for the bleachers.
“Here we go,” Malik said.
I watched all three girls exchange words. I couldn’t hear them, but I didn’t want to because I definitely felt the energy.
“What you think they talking about?” Malik asked.
“No clue.”
The whistle suddenly blew. “Dylan!” Coach’s voice echoed through the gym.
My head snapped around in his direction. “Get your head in the game!”
“Yes sir.”
The entire team laughed.
I shook my head and got back into position. Malik leaned closer. “Tyla ain’t nothing but drama.”
I laughed and replied, “Don’t I know it.”
Practice finally ended an hour later. The second Coach dismissed us, everybody headed towards the locker room.
Malik nudged me. “Come on.”
We grabbed our bags and headed towards the bleachers. Ava smiled when she saw us approaching and Shari did too.
Tyla… not so much. Matter of fact, she looked irritated as fuck.
I frowned and asked, “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Ava said.
Which immediately told me something definitely happened. Before I could ask anything else, Tyla folded her arms.
“What’s the matter with you?” I asked.
“Are you and Ava together?” Tyla inquired.
I blinked and blinked again. The question caught me so off guard that I started laughing.
“What?” I asked as I looked at Malik who was trying to stifle a laugh.
“I’m serious.”
That only made me laugh harder.
“Tyla.” I was trying my hardest not to laugh at her, but the shit was difficult.
“What?” She looked genuinely annoyed. “I’m glad you think this is funny.”
I shook my head. “No, but...”
“Then answer the question, Dylan.”
I looked at Malik, who was still struggling not to laugh. Shari wasn’t doing much better hiding her giggles. And Ava just looked embarrassed.
Finally, I looked back at Tyla. “What is wrong with you?”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“What difference does it make if me and Ava are dating or not?”
The question hung in the air. Tyla opened her mouth and closed it. Then opened it again, but nothing came out.
I shrugged. “Exactly.”
For a second nobody spoke then Tyla huffed dramatically. “You know what? Forget it.”
She spun around and started walking away. The second she was out of earshot, Malik lost it.
The man bent over laughing. “Oh my God.”
Shari immediately joined him and so did Ava.
“Y’all wrong for that,” I said.
“Dylan,” Malik said between laughs.
“What?”
“You really asked that girl what difference it makes?”
I shrugged. “Because what difference does it make?” I asked.
That only made everybody laugh harder.
Ava shook her head. “You’re impossible.”
I grinned. “And yet you still came to watch me practice.”
She rolled her eyes, but she kept smiling. The rest of us immediately noticed.
“Ooooooh.”
Ava threw her water bottle at Malik. He barely dodged it and that made us laugh even harder. By the time I got home later that evening, my phone buzzed.
It was Devyn. I stared at the screen for a second before opening the message. A picture immediately appeared then another and another… flowers, a Chanel bag, aA butterfly necklace, a book she had talked about wanting to read and a journal with her initials monogrammed on the cover.
My eyebrows lifted.
Me: Damn. Somebody spoiled you today
A few seconds later the typing bubble appeared.
Dev ??: I know right… LOL!
Another picture came through.
This one showed her smiling and for a second, I just stared at it. She looked different but not in a bad way. The same way I was different. The same way both of us had changed having not seen each other in person for over a year.
Me: Happy Birthday again ??????
Dev ??: Thank you so much?? If I had to be honest, the only thing that would’ve made my birthday better was seeing you
Me: Damn! I wish I could’ve been with you too Dev
Dev ??: Talk to you soon
Me: Yeah. Aight
I smiled then looked down at the picture one more time. No matter how much life changed or how far apart we were, seeing her smile still made me happy.
And maybe that was enough… at least for right now.