Page 15 of The Fake
Thinking back to some of the outfits I wore to classes at Golden, I can’t argue that I’ve gone more casual, but it feels good, feels like me.
“Tell me about Valley. How are classes, how’s the team, how are the boys?” She emphasizes the last one with a smirk.
Nathan’s face flashes in my head and my face heats. “Classes are good, the team still hates me, and I don’t have time for boys.”
She rolls her eyes.
“I’m serious. No distractions. I’m going to prove I’m one of the top volleyball players if I have to eat, sleep, and dream volleyball.”
“You don’t have to prove anything. Your record last year speaks for itself, Chlo.”
“No one believes I earned any of that and you know it. Everything I accomplished at Golden is tainted.Thisis my chance to prove I can do it all on my own.” I shake my head before she can argue her point any more. “I don’t want to talk about me. Tell me about you. How’s the team shaping up?”
I listen to her go on and on about my former team, and I’m filled with such longing and sadness I forget to guard against the onslaught of emotions, namely anger, that comes when I remember why I’m not there finishing out my college volleyball career on the best team in the country. The niggling doubt that maybe I never really belonged there isn’t easy to push away either.
Maybe I earned my spot at Golden, maybe I didn’t. Even I’m not sure anymore. If my parents were willing to buy my way into the college, who’s to say they weren’t also making sure I was getting to play? I hate that I don’t know for sure if I ever truly belonged there in the first place.
“Tenley isn’t you, but she’s doing alright.” Tenley is the girl who took my place as Camila’s new partner.
“Thanks for saying so even if it’s not true. I hate the idea of someone else being paired with you.”
“That makes two of us.” I watch the background change as she walks through campus. Valley’s not so different, but it’s not home.
“What are your weekends going to be like? Any chance you can come visit in a few weeks?”
“I’m not sure,” I tell her honestly, but I leave out my misgivings about going back. Camila knows I didn’t have anything to do with the scandal that got me kicked out, but not everyone is as understanding as her. And the only people who dislike me more than my teammates at Valley are those people at Golden who blame me for my parents’ actions.
“I gotta go,” she says. “I just walked into class. Think about visiting. I miss you.”
“Miss you, too.”
She puckers her lips to the screen and then she’s gone.
I take what’s left of my sandwich and eat it on the way to my last class for the day. I find it without getting lost, and I’m so relieved to be in my seat before the professor starts talking that I slump into my chair and let out a sigh.
I feel eyes on me and look over to see Sydney and Emily a few seats down. I give them a small wave and notice Emily staring from me to a spot just behind me with a strange expression. I turn in my seat just a fraction and look over my shoulder and right into Nathan’s cocky grin.
Those lips say everything without forming a single sound. Starting withfancy seeing you hereand ending with a thousand impossibly dirty reminders of our night together.
It’s been five days, and I think he got hotter somehow. Memories of the other night play in my mind like a porn highlight reel and I can’t peel my eyes away from him. One-night stands are so not my thing. I don’t mean that in some judgy way either. Sometimes I think I would be better off if I could treat sex as a casual endeavor, but I’ve never been able to really enjoy sex unless I’m super into the guy. It’s a real travesty, I assure you.
Which is one of the million reasons I can’t wrap my head around the multiple orgasms. I don’t know if it was the Everclear or if my vagina just imprinted onto Nathan’s penis, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. Or what I remember.
Plus, since the scandal at Golden, I’ve started to view my actions like they might end up front-page news andTransfer Student Gets White Girl Wasted and Sleeps with First Guy She Meetsisn’t how I want to start out at Valley.
I try and smile naturally at him, not letting him or my roommates see how frazzled I am. I say hello, voice wavering. He returns my greeting, keeping that cocky smirk plastered on his face as he lifts two fingers from the desk in a casual wave. He’s totally pulling it off while I’m pretty sure I look like I walked into a surprise party completely naked.
A plain blue t-shirt the same color as his eyes, jeans, and that hair… messy hair shouldn’t be this attractive. He’s seated next to two other guys that I can now assume are basketball players. Now that I know that’s his sport, I can totally see it. Tall, muscular but not bulky, and long and lean fingers that make heat bloom in my face when I remember what he did with them.
Professor Sanchez directs our attention to the whiteboard, and I’m all too thankful to have a reason to look forward.
“Welcome to Business Communications. I am Professor Sanchez. Let’s get right to the important stuff, shall we? Attendance is not mandatory,butif you miss more than three of my classes, I will dock you a percent for every additional class missed.”
A collective groan sweeps over the class. Classes with an attendance policy are the worst.
Professor Sanchez continues, “Ten percent will come from weekly quizzes, fifteen percent from homework, and that leaves…”
Someone up front finally says, “Seventy-five percent.”
