“Don’t encourage him! This might just be the lamest ‘I love you’ speech I’ve ever heard…” She drops her voice to a low, manly drawl. “What, like ‘Amy, I need to be real with you—I love you more than basketball. Will you forgive me?’?”
“I don’tsoundlike that!” I protest.
“You’re making me look amazing,” Don whispers in my ear.
“Okay, guys.” I slap my hands on my knees. “Thanks for your help.”
“Oh, come on, Conley! You spent ages trolling us about having girlfriends—it feels good to see the tables turned.”
My friends lean in for a round of high fives, and I roll my eyes. I’ll get my revenge—just as soon as I get Amy back. And Iknowshe’ll be full of payback ideas.
“Let’s not forget you straight-up lied to my face when you slept with your mentee, too,” Don reminds me.
“I’m sorry, dude. It just kinda happened. But if it makes it any better, you should know that every time we did it, she was about to get her ass fired.”
“It’s fine.” He smiles. “This has definitely been worth it.”
Carrie is staring at the wall, lost in thought. “Okay, I think I’ve got something for you. It’s a little clichéd, but it works every time—so, listen up.” She clears her throat. “First, you need to wait until she gets back home. Make sure she’s on her turf. Second, you drop by unannounced. And then, you get down on your knees…”
“Not this again.” Don groans. “Trust me, buddy—I’ve been there, done that. And I’m telling you… The knee thing is a killer.”
“I’m not done!” She glares at him. “Third, you tell her that the moment you thought you’d lost her in that car crash…That’swhen you suddenly realized.” Carrie’s eyes mist over. “You say it was like an actual light bulb moment, and since then, you’ve been deeply, madly in love. You tell her you can’t live without her, you feel this desperate, gaping void open up inside you whenever she’s gone, you—”
“Whoa!” I hold up my hands.
I’m exhausted just listening to her.
All eyes are on Carrie as silence falls over the room.
Her cheeks flush. “Sorry, I maybe got a little carried away there… I forgot you’re just a beginner.”
I shoot Don a look—Amy’s like a walk in the park compared to this girl. I feel for the guy.
“I’ve got an idea,” Adam starts.
Praise the Lord!
“You’re my last hope, buddy. Better make it good.”
He thinks for a moment. “You need to show her that from this point on, you’ll always be there for her. No matter what. You need her to understand that whatever you’ve got going on with college and basketball, you care about her.”
“Exactly.” I nod. “That’s exactly it.”
“What does she need, right now?”
“A working right leg—think I should check the dark web?”
“Try again,” Carrie snaps.
Suddenly, it dawns on me.
“Drivers. She needs drivers. Her Pontiac is screwed; she needs help getting around campus and going to PT.”
“So, there’s your hook. We’ll take it in turns giving her VIP service,” Lane says. “We can make it work, I’m sure of it.”
“You think she’ll be okay with getting in a car with me?”
“Let the others do the heavy lifting—save the best for last.” Loiswinks. “You said her car’s out of action… Can you repair it? That’d be a pretty big way of making a statement.”
