Page 37 of His Bittersweet Regret

“What kind of advice could you possibly need from me? You were coach’s favorite out there, yet again.” He rolled his eyes, making it seem like he was just playing around, but for some reason it felt like everyone had a bone to pick with me that day.

“Opal asked if we could talk, earlier.”

“Why would she want us to talk? About what?” It was a little weird that he got excited about the prospect.

“She wants to talk to me about something. She stopped me before practice and said, “Can we talk?” Isn’t that the line that everyone in a relationship is supposed to fear?”

“Nah, man. That would be if she said, “We need to talk.”

“It’s the same fucking thing,” I argued.

“She gave you a choice. That means it can’t be as bad as you’re thinking, right?”

“I don’t know, man. I have this strange feeling.” I rubbed my hand against the center of my chest, trying to get the pressure there to ease. It didn’t.

“Well, if she’s dumping you, it’s probably about time,” he huffed at me as he stripped out of his practice gear and headed for the showers.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Dude, you just turned eighteen. The two of you have been dating for what? Three years? That’s unheard of in high school. Besides, you’re about to head to college. She’s staying here and going to a state school, right? Those lunatic, hippy parents of hers probably can’t afford anything better. You’ll be off to Breakers U, and will no doubt have all the hot pussy you can handle. I bet you can’t wait to sink into some strange, finally.”

I popped the bastard in the back of the head. “Watch your mouth. First of all, wherever Opal goes, I’m following. Second, I have exactly what makes me happy. There’s no need to chase any other women.”

Cramer chuckled. “Yeah, okay man. Look,” he glanced around. “She ain’t around to hear you admit to shit, man. You’re a guy with a swinging dick between his legs. You can’t tell me that you haven’t thought about other girls. What about Susan Barnes?” He said, naming the head cheerleader. I shook my head.

“Monica James is so into you she’s gagging for that dick. I heard her trying to convince the rest of the pep squad to help her break you and Opal up. She would jump right on your dick, and you can’t tell me you haven’t fantasized about those tits of hers.”

“Where do you even get this shit? I’m happy with Opal. I love her. She’s my girlfriend and nothing is ever going to change that. Well, at least not until I put a ring on her finger and make her my wife.”

“What the fuck, Marsh? You’re eighteen-fucking-years-old. Live a little first.”

~*~

I had forgotten about the locker room conversation I’d had with Cramer that day. It was overshadowed by what came next, but it also made me feel sick to my stomach to remember what he said about Monica. I should have remembered much sooner. Long before I ever agreed to a date with Monica James, because if Cramer was talking about her trying to break us up, that meant she had been giving Opal a bunch of shit back then to make it happen. Only, my girlfriend would have never laid that burden at my feet. She would have ignored it, dealt with it, and never let me know that something or someone was bothering her.

How in the hell had it come down to Monica? How had she become the only other woman I’d ever slept with, besides the love of my life? My mom might have been right. Opal couldn’t possibly forgive that, even if she could find it in her heart to look past everything else I’d put her through.

~*~

“Marsh,” Opal started out with a slight crack to her voice, later that day, “we need to talk about college.”

“Yeah, we do. Where are we going?”

My girl shook her head slightly, as if to tell me ‘no’ about part, or all, of my question. I wasn’t having it though.

“I think we should stay close to home, save some money by doing it, and then we’ll be able to afford a house of our own sooner,” I informed her.

“Marsh,” she called out to me again. “Be reasonable.”

“That is me being reasonable. Jimmy left college with so much debt that he had to join the military when he couldn’t find a job right away. The twins are racking up more debt than STDs, which is a miracle between the two of them.”

Opal winced at the mention of the STDs for some reason. My brothers were known to play it fast and loose with the women they encountered. One day, it would catch up to them and bite each of them in the ass, but until then, they were living it up and keeping good enough grades to continue going further into debt with student loans while they were at it. I didn’t want that for myself. Even if Opal wasn’t in the picture, it wouldn’t be the path I took, no matter that my dad thought we’d all follow in his footsteps and go to his alma mater.

“Marsh, I think we should break up.”

“Opal, do you love me?”

She swiped at a tear that had fallen down her pale cheek. “Of course, I love you. I think I’ve always loved you.”

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