“Train, did you or did you not get into a fight with a guy because you were jealous?”
“Montana is not Nina.” Although I’d wanted to cream Ferris when he touched my girl, but that was before we were dating. She wouldn’t cheat on me. I knew in my gut that Montana wasn’t that type of girl.
My dad rubbed his temples. “Watch your back. And if Nina is as jealous as you say, then watch Montana’s back. Jealousy wears many hats, and the worst is the one that threatens your safety. And I mean your safety and Montana’s.”
I glanced out at the whitecaps in the distance. My old man was talking out of both sides of his mouth. “I thought you were worried about my scholarship. Now it’s my safety?”
“Son, I know we’ve had a strained relationship. I know I ride your ass about football. But I don’t want anything happening to you, and not because of the scholarship. You’re my son. I love you.”
I was a little tongue-tied. That was the first time he’d put me before football.
I lowered my shoulders. “I’ll be careful. I should get back.”
On our way to my friends, I racked my brain, trying to figure out what the fuck Nina had been doing outside my house. It figured that she was ruining a perfectly good moment, and she wasn’t even there.
When we reached the patio, my dad swung his arm around my shoulders as though he was a proud father. “Everyone, you’re looking at the starting quarterback for USC.”
“Shut up.” Austin vaulted out of his chair and threw his arms around me. “Congrats, man.”
Then the line hugs and congrats followed, starting with Lou, Elvira, Reagan, and finally, my girl.
Montana jumped into my arms, peppering kisses all over my face. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I got to run,” my dad said. “I’ll talk to you later, son.” Then he was gone.
Montana slid down my body until she was standing. “You two looked like you were in a heated discussion. Like not happy talking, either. What’s going on?”
I didn’t want to go into every detail, but they should know about Nina. “When my dad drove up, he saw Nina and Drew getting into a white truck.”
Montana stiffened in my arms.
Austin dropped into a chair. “Maybe they were visiting someone else in the neighborhood.”
Reagan sat in Austin’s lap. “Jan has a house down the street, but she’s not friends with Nina.”
“They always say you have to watch out for the quiet ones,” Lou said.
“Nina’s not quiet,” Elvira added.
Montana sighed. “No, but her actions have been as of late. She’s made idle threats. But maybe she’s calculating her time or planning something big.”
“What could she possibly do?” Elvira asked. “I mean without physically hurting us?”
“The woman is evil,” Reagan said.
Lou chomped on a chip. “That might be true, but she’s not the type to physically harm anyone. Come on. With the exception of Montana, we’ve all known her for years.”
“Let’s just keep our eyes and ears open more,” I said.
While Lou was right, he was talking about the old Nina. The new Nina was not nice at all.
Montana planted a hand on my stomach. “She wants Train back, which means she wants me out of the picture.”
I squeezed Montana to me. “No one is breaking us up.” I would do whatever it took not to let that happen.
