Chapter 15
A true love triangle (well, some sort of triangle)
Grey had a few more minutes before practice ended. I sat in the stands with other spectators who enjoyed watching the track team practice, especially Grey, who had the best shot on the team to make it to the Olympics. Watching him run always made me smile and reminisce about our youth because the first time I met him, when we were fourteen, I beat him in a relay in gym class. He was teased mercilessly because a girl beat him.
Almost every day after school, he challenged me to a rematch, and I would ignore him, which only made him more determined to beat me. I didn't even realize he lived in my neighborhood until my older sister and I sat in my father's pickup truck in the driveway, enjoying the fall air. My older sister, Danielle, always drew attention with a smile brightening her whole face. Her Coke-bottle shape might have contributed to her appeal to the fairer sex, too. I'd been used to people paying attention to my sister, but when Grey jogged by with his terrier, Lucky, he made a beeline for me. Barely acknowledging my sister, he challenged me for another run.
Danielle thought it was hilarious that this skinny boy wanted me to race him because he lost during gym. She knew I could run fast and had beaten our brother over the years. Needless to say, I won again, and my sister and I danced around in victory. To hiscredit, Grey accepted defeat, and he and Lucky joined us on the back of my dad's pickup. After that day, we became friends, and by our senior year in high school, he was my best friend and the fastest runner in the state.
I leaned back in the bleachers, smiling at how everything had changed in the last hour. I went from sad sack to weekend plans with my dream guy. Even if he dumped on it, I couldn't wait to tell Grey about my weekend plans. I'd remind him that he wouldn't be around for my milestone, so he'd better be happy for me. He'd already admitted feeling guilty about being out of town for a special practice meet in Austin on my big birthday weekend. Chelsea had a late class. Otherwise, I would be on the phone with her now, planning my serious makeover for the weekend. Then I needed her help picking a hotel, which was more up her alley since she did a travel vlog. Yep, my birthday was about to be better than I imagined. The best part is that Carter didn't know. He really wanted to spend a whole weekend with me.
"You’re waiting on Grey?” A petite redhead who stepped straight out of IG smiled. A smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Another fan or groupie. He didn’t have as many as Carter probably did, but he had a fair share of women trying to gain his attention. Anyone paying attention probably noticed that he and I arrived and left campus together most days.
“Yeah.”
“Do you know if he’s seeing anyone? Are you with him?” She asked.
“Why?” I stared at her, tired of the girls over the years approaching me about him.
My directness made her hesitate before she replied, “I’m trying to be respectful.”
“Why?”
“I’m asking for a friend who likes him.” She arched a tinted eyebrow high. Clearly, the information was for her and not some phantom friend. I’d noticed her and a couple of her friends in the stands since the semester began. Noticed her flirting with him whenever he rested on the bench.
“No need.”
“So, you’re not with him?” She smiled widely.
I already knew she didn’t have a chance. Grey still struggled with being biracial and seemed to gravitate toward black women despite being raised primarily by the white side of his family. It didn’t help that his relationship with his mother had been estranged once he decided to leave home for school rather than stay and work on the family’s ranch. She never supported his aspiration to be on an Olympic team because she couldn’t see a future. We both knew his mother didn’t like anything that pulled him away from her. It’d been the two of them for years, and she depended on him more than a mother should rely on her son.
I explained, “There’s no need to be respectful to me when you’re just trying to dig for information. I saw you all in his face the other day, and I know you’ve seen me here with him. Didn’t care then if he and I were together. If he wants you, you’ll know.”
She muttered, “Bitch.”
“I’ll let him know what you called me. I’m sure that will go over well,” I wryly replied.
The woman flounced away, her ponytail swinging behind her. I put my Beats in, hoping everyone else got the hint not to pump me for information. Not today when I’m feeling myself.
GREY TAPPED THE WHEELwhile we waited at the light. “What was that about with Maddie?”
“Oh, is that her name?”
“Yeah, the redhead. I saw you two talking, and then she left angry.”
“Called me a bitch, and I told her I would tell you.” I lamented, “I swear between you and Chelsea, I want to stick a large note on my chest that I’m not your messenger. Maddie wanted to know if you and I were together, and I told her if you wanted her, she would know.”
“Brutal.” He smiled slightly. “You are becoming more like me in your old age.”
I chuckled. “I could never be as grumpy as you. I thought running was supposed to lift your mood.”
“It does. That’s why I run. I do it for my peace of mind. The grump in me is the realities of life you prefer not to hear. You can’t help it. You’re the baby of the family and think life should go how you want it instead of accepting that sometimes it does and sometimes doesn’t.”
“And I don’t see anything wrong with believing you can get whatever you want in this life.”
“Spoken like a person who’s had everything...except a relationship...that she’s ever wanted.” He glanced at me. “And you haven’t had that one because you keep hoping for this perfect guy when ain’t none of us perfect, not even Carter.”
I slapped his arm and ignored his wince to announce my good news. “That reminds me...guess who’s spending her birthday weekend with Mr. St. Patrick?”
