“I appreciate that—but we both know you had other reasons. It’s all the same. Where do you want to start? We have a couple angles here—your baseball career, your dad, or your relationship with Greta that gained a lot of popularity on campus.”
“They’re all connected.” I gripped my large glass of beer. “It began with my dad’s diagnosis. No, before then. Shit.” I sighed. “This is harder than I thought. Do you have questions for me?”
“I can ask some, but this interview is about you. A feature on our campus’ troubled playboy. What direction we go is your call. Now, what’s your goal from this?”
“To tell the truth. Plain and simple, no bullshit.”
“Then let’s cut to the chase. The pictures.”
“Christ, I guess that’s where it all kind of started.” I cracked my knuckles and a deep, inexplicable calm took over me.The truth will set you free.And that was what I wanted. “After those pictures came out, I needed to clean up my reputation.”
“And that’s where Greta came in?”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “She was my closest friend, best friend, since I came to school here. She didn’t give a shit I played baseball or treat me any different after I told her about my dad’s diagnosis.”
“Sounds awesome. You started dating shortly after the pictures? That created a lot of buzz.”
“Yeah. Simple, really. We hung out all the time, so we threw a label on it to keep attention onusrather than my wild excursions. We have followers online—it was easy enough. We agreed nothing would change.” The pang in my heart hadn’t left since the night after the charity event. I was almost used to a piece of me missing constantly, but talking about it hurt. “We promised to always stay friends.”
“What was in this for Greta? I’m curious. Our female readers will want to know.” She clicked the pen three times and I focused on the question.What was in it for her?
She’d told me it would prevent her from making bad decisions about guys. But that wasn’t solid enough. She’d just had a rough patch. So, why did she?
“I think… Greta has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen. She didn’t view it as getting something out of it—”
“You honestly don’t think she used you for fame? Cleat chasers are pretty well known. Some would say she was the ultimate chaser.” Her pen stopped and she arched one eyebrow almost to her hairline.
Anger flashed through me. “Greta isnothinglike a cleat chaser. She helped me out because she’s loyal as hell, one of the best people I know, and can make a selfish, fucked-up guy like me feel like a million bucks.”
That shut her up real good. Her fingers shook a little at my aggression, but she received the message. “Any more questions about Greta?”
“No. I have enough to write about.” She took a long sip of her drink and I felt a little bad. I backtracked.
“Look—I had no intentions of ever falling in love. If that’s what happened. I never made time for anyone besides her and my life isn’t the same without her. I got so used to seeing her every day with all her energy and compassion. At some point, it turned real, but I never told her. I behaved like a typical asshole and made sure to remind her constantly it was fake—but I think it was how I coped with it.” I rubbed both palms in my eyes, trying to erase the picture of Greta’s crestfallen face as she’d flown out of there.Give her space.
“Wow.” Ambar smiled. “You got it bad, man. This will be an awesome piece to write. Emotional and statistical.”
“Statistical?”
“Yeah. We need to talk baseball now. Your past, present and future goals. You’re rumored to be drafted, along with the rest of your testosterone-filled house. Is that okay?”
“Sure. I live for the sport. Tell me when to stop talking.” And I began from the very beginning, when I knew baseball was for me. It wasn’t until an hour later that we left the bar. She promised she would let me read the draft before she published it and I trusted her. It was something about her. I hoped I didn’t regret it.
I headed back to the house, my mood worsening each minute. The relief from the interview was short-lived. I couldn’t get Greta out of my mind. My chest tightened and I thought about her texts.
Why couldn’t I tell her I’d sent the gift the day before she ended it? Why couldn’t I have fought harder, told her how I felt?Because I’m a dumbass. I’m not a good bet.
Beer.I needed a beer and a diversion from my mental scolding. And it was the first thing I grabbed when I walked into the house.
“Dude, why you here tonight?” Jeff plopped onto the kitchen chair with a stupid grin. “I figured you’d be out going wild with your new freedom.”
“Nah.” I thought about how to answer. Tanner must not have told everyone.Damn.“Just wanted to hang here.”
“Good for you. You don’t look happy, though. I told you going to talk to Ambar Henderson was a bad idea. What’s up, man?” Jeff and his damn inquisition. He could always read a mood, but never had jack shit to help it. His use of her name would normally have piqued my interest. But not tonight.
“Greta and I… We didn’t end on the best terms.” There. That was sort of the truth. “You know how close we are.”
“That sucks ass, man. I’m sure it’ll get back to normal. It has to be hard faking a relationship for that long. Give her some time.” He smiled, like his suggestion was the best fucking advice in the world.My friends are idiots.
