Page 37 of For Three Seconds

She fidgeted in the seat, and I gripped the steering wheel to stop myself from holding on to her leg and steadying her. Scarlett wasn’t reckless, but she felt too deep, and those big emotions caused her to react—and her reactions, they triggered me into jumping headfirst into her.

“I live with Audrey on—”

I cut off her. “I know where Audrey lives.”

The “oh” she gave me was barely audible.

When I pulled up to her driveway, we both let out relieved breaths. One more second in her presence, and I would snap. She reached for the door handle, and it was like I couldn’t control myself around her.

“There’s a party tonight,” I said.

She looked at me all wide-eyed, and I had to look away because I always saw her laid before me as she begged me to make her forget.

“I don’t want you there.”

No sooner were the words out of my mouth than she was slamming the door in my face.

As I said, our nervous system has a memory. And as much as it remembers the pain, it also remembers the pleasure—and Scarlett Davis had been my ultimate pleasure.

* * *

The days passed,and Scarlett stayed far away from me. In class, I would watch her, and she would never turn. She didn’t come to one party or speak to any of my friends. She was living her life, and I wondered why I couldn’t just live mine. My game had improved. There was a new aggression that wasn’t there before, and everyone loved it. Quincy was no longer giving me shit, but Ollie was.

“Okay, boys, the first game of the season is in a few days. We’ve worked hard for this, so let’s not get cocky, and just let your hard work shine. For some of you, this is your last year here, so make the most of it.”

Quincy gave me his fist so I could bump it. The nation was watching us. Hell, every major league in the game had eyes on us.

Once practice was dismissed, I walked up to Nick, who was at the drink station.

“Are you free Thursday?” I asked.

“Oh, no. I promised Scar I would cook her food and watch a movie with her,” he said.

“Oh,” I said. “Maybe next time. I wanted to watch the tapes with you to see if you had some pointers.”

Nick scratched behind his head, then he gave me a look. “You’re cool with Scarlett, right?”

“Yes.” The lie was instant.

He seemed to lose some of the weight on his shoulders.

“I know Gigi stopped talking to her, and with Mom and Dad gone, she took it pretty hard. She won’t say anything, but she hasn’t adjusted, and I was hoping you could be a friend to her. You know, how you were in high school.”

“Does she still have her nightmares?” I asked, ignoring his question.

The less I had to deal with anything Gigi-related the better. She was like an STD that wouldn’t go away.

“No, those are gone,” he said.

I let out a relieved breath.

“I’ll see if I can stop by,” I told him and patted his back.

I was making my way out of the stadium and into the locker rooms when a hand on my arm stopped me. I turned around to see Gigi.

“What do you want?” I said through gritted teeth.

If there was one person whom I hated most than anything in this world, it was my ex-girlfriend. She was a small little thing, with angelic features, soft hair, and flirty smiles, but she was a bitch. Most people thought Scarlett was the bitch out of the two, but that shows you that you should never make assumptions.

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