Chapter 7
COSETTE
Tonight, Nero and the rest of the football team are playing an away game, and while I planned to meet Mrs. Combs there, Siege and Dex were hoping to take advantage of me being occupied to investigate potential leads regarding the location of ‘The Nest’.
When they told me they were going to do Azul business tonight, I let them stop at telling me that it wouldn’t be a dangerous situation. I didn’t want to know more. I’m afraid that if I ask too many questions, the details will leave me worried and I might find it hard to focus on the game.
We were all fitted with tracking devices by Dex, so the three of us could monitor each other, because they feared losing me just as I was terrified of losing them. I was hoping to avoid a repeat of the terrible experience I had when Siege was taken, not wanting a second part to that nightmare.
“You ready to go, C?”
I was able to hear Nero before I saw him, and when he appeared, he was dressed in varsity gear decorated with our school’s crest, causing me to smile. He looked every bit the football captain he was, and I internally cursed at my heart to stop beating so fast.
“Football captain and QB. Are you also wanting to take the title of being the mascot?” I teased, playfully flicking the front of his cap.
Nero scoffed, taking off his varsity jacket and putting it on me instead, tugging a strand of my hair in the process. “There. Now, you look like the mascot. Rep our team a little bit, won’t you?”
He finally unlocked the car, opening the passenger side door for me and helping me hoist myself up and get inside with a hand on my waist. It took me by surprise yet again, just like before when he accidentally did it the first time.
After I sat down, I just stared at him, wondering if he would apologize as he had done previously. But he didn’t.
“What?” He asked instead, and I shook my head, feeling like I’m just overreacting.
“Nothing. Are you sure you don’t want me to just drive your truck there and you can ride with everyone on the bus?”
“Nah, I’d much rather ride with you than those guys,” he said, leaning an arm on the jamb. “First of all, you’re quieter. And second, you smell good. You wouldn’t believe how smelly our locker is.”
I laughed, choosing not to acknowledge the compliment about my smelling good. I no longer wanted to over-analyze every word that comes out of Nero’s mouth.
“You know, I definitely would believe that,” I said instead, leaving the conversation at that.
Following a flash of his dimples, Nero closed my door and went around his truck to enter the driver’s side.
Everything was just so easy with him. Even though we were fighting days ago, we fell back into our friendship with zero to little awkwardness, and I was truly thankful to my guys for helping us fix things.
I’d say they did it out of pure kindness and their love for me, but I know for damn sure they were behind Nero bringing that beef brisket over with his verbal apology.
That has Siege written all over it.
As usual, I took control of the music as Nero drove to Saint Thomas High School.
Their football program is intense, and they’re one of our team’s greatest rivals.
Nero had actually been torn between the two high schools before when he and his mom were deciding where he should enroll, but he chose Fallen Oaks because we also excelled in academics.
“Are you nervous?” I asked, leaning my head sideways on the headrest of my seat, looking at him, and I wondered what kind of thoughts were swirling in his mind now.
“Not really. I just want to be able to beat them in an away game,” he said so casually, but I wasn’t buying it.
Nero doesn’t make football his whole personality.
He doesn’t prioritize it over everything like other student athletes may do.
Still, I know that it would mean a lot to him if he could lead his team to beat Saint Thomas in their home field.
“Mhmm, sure. I bet you’ll win tonight, though.”
He quickly glanced at me, his eyes lighting up at my confidence in him. “Really?”
I nodded. “No doubt.”
God, I really hope they win or it will look like I’m talking out of my ass.
I was screaming at the top of my lungs, waving the cap Nero put on me earlier into the air.
Fallen Oaks has finally won a game against Saint Thomas on their home turf.
As I watched Nero’s teammates jump on him, which resulted in two men wrapping their legs around him and them all falling down to the grass, the scene made me laugh, so I reached for my phone to record a video that I could then send to the others.
Me
WE WON !!!!
I waited for Dex or Siege to start typing since my messages were immediately on ‘read’ but, to my surprise, I got a new notification of Siege’s message outside of our group chat.
I clicked on the notification, and my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest when I saw he had formed a new group chat with the three of us plus Nero.
Siege
Congrats bro
We’ll definitely watch you in action at the homecoming game
Dex then started typing, and it was taking so long that I was just imagining him and Siege talking about what he should send before he finally settled on two quick texts.
Dex
Woo sports
Congrats team
I laughed out loud at how he sounded so awkward, but I appreciated their efforts, nonetheless. I reacted to their messages with hearts and then tucked my phone back into my pocket to focus on the celebration happening.
Nero waved at me and Mrs. Combs, pointing to where the locker room must’ve been to signal that he was going to get changed.
We nodded, giving him a thumbs up, and for a while, my eyes followed him.
A player from Saint Thomas stopped him—Gio, I believe his name was from the cheers he was getting earlier.
Nero offered his hand for a friendly shake, but the guy must’ve said something off that one of Nero’s teammates separated them before Nero could come and square him up.
Men.
“Let’s go, hun.” My observation was interrupted by Mrs. Combs, who looped her arm through mine as we made our way down the bleachers, exiting the field, and heading towards the parking area where Nero’s car and Mrs. Combs’ car were parked.
I was itching to ask her if Nero’s decided on a college already, but she beat me to it, talking about the match tonight.
Was it bad that I wished we could attend the same university? I had believed that finding boyfriends before we graduated would ease the pain of separating from Nero, but it felt as though there was a sense of finality if we ended up going to different colleges.
Not just for our friendship, because then we wouldn’t even have anything to talk about anymore, but also, it would mean I was letting go of my remaining feelings for him.
It was something I’d already started doing. Having a crush on somebody else feels strange considering I am currently involved in a relationship with two different men. Even so, I believe the reason I’m struggling so much is simply because he was my first love.
“I’m so glad you two have made up, Cosette,” Mrs. Combs said as we finally reached her car.
“I, uh, wasn’t aware you knew that we even fought,” I said truthfully, a bit cautious with just how much she knows.
“Of course, I knew! He didn’t talk to me about it, you know, because I’m his mom. But I could just tell because every time I would ask where you were and why you weren’t coming over, he would go full grump on me, and just groan. Such a drama queen.”
My shoulders shook as I tried my absolute best to contain my laughter, and I didn’t even have to reply before she continued.
“And don’t get me started on Andy coming over all the time without you.
It got me so worried that they’re going to start dating again.
I even sat him down and reminded him she was unfaithful to him, and people like that?
They never change. You know, I caught her going through your stuff last year during one of your study nights—”
“Really, mom? I thought I was hearing one of my schoolmates gossip,” Nero cut her off, and I was full-on laughing now because Mrs. Combs has always been such an energetic woman.
She has so many things to say that my dad would sometimes side-eye me to save him whenever they have one of those adult conversations during our visits to each other’s family.
I thought for sure that she and Andy would bond through some chats, even imagining her treating Andy like the daughter she clearly wants to have, but I guess she smelled something fishy early on.
Like they say, mothers know best.
Mrs. Combs didn’t waste a second trying to mask that Nero caught her talking badly about his ex as she immediately came up to him and squished his cheeks together with her palms. “Oh, my boy, I’m so proud of you! You’re really heaven-sent for this football team, you know that?”
He looked like a giant baby at that time, getting coddled by his mom, that I was just wearing a huge grin on my face which he saw as his eyes traveled to me.
“It was a team effort, mom.” He was grumbling, gently pulling his mom’s hands away from his cheeks, as he went to me and teasingly ruffled my hair to further hide my eyes behind the mess, as if to avoid my teasing stare.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I raised a humble man.”
Mrs. Combs went to her car that was parked beside Nero’s truck, opening her door as she said, “You can go and join your team to celebrate. Cosette can ride with me.”
I nodded, already moving my feet to round the front of the car, but a hand wrapped around my wrist before I could take two steps, and I looked back to see Nero’s grip on me. Gentle yet firm.
“No,” he said. “It’s okay. I want to go home. Cosette can ride with me.”
I just about yanked my hand away from his hold, but alas, I managed to do it subtly, not liking the way the touch felt like I was hovering my skin over an open flame.
Looking at Mrs. Combs, I could tell she was enjoying the way I probably looked dumbfounded at what her son said, replicating a scene that she must have seen in the hundreds of romance movies and dramas she’s watched.
Contrary to what I thought earlier, maybe mothers don’t always know everything, because she couldn’t be more wrong.
Nero has proved it to me multiple times, over and over again, that he only saw me as a friend and nothing more.