Going Long (Waiting on the Sidelines #2)(11)

We dripped dry during the rest of our walk to the dorms. Sarah and Noles changed in our bathroom while Trig and I got ready in our room. I hung our wet clothes over the backs of our desk chairs as Trig answered the door to let Amy in. He grabbed his wallet, and then the two of them headed out. I promised to catch up with them later.

Sarah and Nolan finally left the bathroom after about 25 minutes. I couldn’t tell for sure, but something seemed off—more than once tonight I had noticed the two of them glaring at one another, almost as if Sarah was urging Nolan to do something. I was pretty sure Sarah knew about my draft decision, and I sort of figured Nolan would talk to her about it. But something told me this was more than just the draft.

I shook it from my mind when Nolan stepped out in a pair of strappy red heels, faded jeans and a tight red top—clearly an outfit of Sarah’s design, but one I was deeply thankful for.

“Uhhhh, dammnnnnn,” I said, reaching for her back pocket and pulling her close to claim her right away.

Her giggle was nervous. As I wrapped my arms around her and kissed at her neck, I felt her tense a little. It was almost…hesitation? Something was definitely off. But I needed to wait for Sarah to be out of the picture for that talk. So in the meantime, I’d just enjoy the damn sexy view.





Nolan


So, it turns out there really isn’t an easy segue into a conversation with your boyfriend about being knocked up. I spent the entire drive to Tucson listening to Sarah preach to me about what I needed to do. “You HAVE to tell him,” she said, a million times, in a million ways.

But why did I have to tell him now? I mean, I know. I have to tell him. But it didn’t have to be tonight. I just wanted to enjoy our blissful innocence for a little bit longer. And I didn’t want to yank everything out from under him yet, either. I wanted to wait, just to make sure. Wait for my appointment, perhaps. I’d spent the last 24 hours sick and bouncing between reality and my make-believe world where my problems went away. And now I was consumed with finding a way to hide the anxiety on my face. The last thing I needed was Sarah’s constant bringing-it-back-to-the-forefront.

Reed pulled me away from my thoughts as he grabbed my hand and led me out to the dance floor at Cooler’s. The place was really a dive bar, but it had such a huge following and was always packed. The dance floor was a giant stretch of polished concrete; the graffiti that decorated it had been sealed in place by the glaze on the floor. I wondered if you would actually reach anyone if you dialed the 1980s phone numbers that were barely legible but still there.

Sarah started dancing the moment we entered the bar, already snuggled up against some tall frat guy that Reed nodded an okay to—just to let Sarah know he was safe. Reed wasn’t much of a dancer, but he liked the slow songs. So did I. Slowly swaying in his arms, with my ear pressed against his heart, was the best place in the world. We stayed like that for two or three songs in a row before Reed kissed my head and led me back to a table so he could hit the restrooms.

I caught a glimpse of Sarah out on the dance floor with Amy. The two of them looked like professionals, twisting and grinding in sync. With their curves and exposed skin, it was no wonder that they drew the eyes of most of the males at the bar when they danced together. And it wasn’t a surprise when Trig had to step in, and, on occasion, throw a punch or two to get Amy back to himself. Sarah thrived under the attention, and I was constantly worried about her getting in over her head. She had a knack for going home with the wrong guy.

“So, you tell him yet?” Sarah said, a little too loudly, as she slid into the chair next to me and reached for her beer.

“Uh, no…and I won’t need to if you keep shouting shit out loud like that,” I scolded her.

“Pfft,” she took a big drink, set the bottle down hard and leaned in to me. “I’m sorry to be tough here, Nolan, but you can’t be a chicken about this. It’s a sucky situation. But it’s not just going to fix itself. And it’s not just about you.”

I knew everything she was saying. And I knew she was just dishing out her own brand of tough love. It was the only kind of love the Perez sisters knew how to serve. But add that to the fact that she was working on a pretty good buzz, and it was starting to get obnoxious.

“Yeah, I hear you,” I said forcefully, hoping she’d get the point and drop it.

She stood and pushed her empty bottle at me. I tensed a little as I saw Reed walking up behind her. “Sure you do, Nolan; you hear me,” she said, slamming her chair back into the table and taking off for the dance floor.

“What’s her deal?” Reed asked.

“Who knows; some guy’s not paying attention to her or something, whatever,” I was flippant and lying. It made my stomach hurt, because deep down I knew Sarah was right. But I kept up my fa?ade anyhow.

I didn’t feel much up for dancing after my tiff with Sarah, and I was pretty sure she was done with me for the night when she came up to the table to grab her purse and told us she’d just meet me back at home to drive back to campus Sunday. I watched her leave with Mr. Tall Frat Boy, admonishing her a little in my mind for giving it up so easily. “Hypocrite,” I thought to myself.

“Hey, where you at tonight?” Reed asked, pulling my hand to his lap and rubbing my palm with his thumbs.

“Sorry, I feel bad that I was grumpy with Sarah, that’s all,” I said, a half-truth.