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I’d always been attracted to Derek. It was just his mouth that got in the way. Here with an entire stadium cheering him on, everything felt inexplicably different. His charm was next level. The smiles to the camera and crowd undeniably alluring. He cast a spell on the stands that day, and I was captured with the rest of them.
Even as I watched and cheered for Duke to take him down. I had a bet on the line. I couldn’t lose focus. Not even to Derek. Especially Derek.
“He’s amazing tonight,” Olivia said longingly.
And she was right. Derek had been subbed in with ten minutes left in the second half, and he was playing like his life was on the line. Which made me chuckle to think about. Was he playing like this to beat me? Could he see our bet in the faces of all of the Duke players?
“He is,” I agreed.
Olivia and I hadn’t talked about her breaking it off with Derek. I could see that she wasn’t over him. I hardly blamed her either. It hadn’t ended because she wasn’t interested. It had ended because she had made a stupid decision and she was smart enough to recognize it before it blew up in her face.
I’d thought that she’d be weird with me after it all, but she was the same bouncy, joyful Olivia as always. She could have hated me for being the one to point out that dating a student wasn’t just irresponsible but also potentially life-altering. They hadn’t even been that careful if they wanted it to be a secret. The entire school knew who he was. He was currently doing the thing they all loved him for.
But then something shifted. Derek was pulled out of the game at the two-minute warning. He argued with the coach, but he wasn’t having any of it and sent Derek to the bench. He flopped down, clearly boiling over with anger. Then, the game went to shit.
It hadn’t really been in UNC’s favor, but it had been close. And when the buzzer rang, Duke was up by ten. I screamed my head off as angry UNC students filed out around me. My friends hid their faces in disappointment and pretended like they didn’t know me. That was fine. We’d won. I’d won.
I filed out of the Dean Dome with my friends, reading over the texts from Brinley and Lora. Duke was partying all night to celebrate defeating our rival. I sent them a picture of me walking out of the stadium in my Duke outfit. A riot of laughter followed in our messages.
“I’ll see y’all next week in class,” I called to my friends.
Sarah sighed. “Could you be a little less excited?”
“Would you be if you were in my place?”
Carly playfully nudged Sarah. “Of course not. But that doesn’t make it easier.”
“It was a good game. It wasn’t even a blowout.” Though beating UNC by ten was a bit of a blowout in our long rivalry.
“They shouldn’t have taken Derek out,” Olivia groused. “He was on fire.”
“Ah, pobrecita. Let’s get you home,” she said with a laugh. “Good night, Marley!”
I waved them off as I headed to Derek’s house. He lived off of campus in a house that his dad had purchased for him. It was kind of ridiculous, but he’d let me park in one of the extra spots, so I didn’t have to pay for parking. For that, I was grateful.
I followed the mass exodus from the game and out past Franklin to Derek’s house. I shot him a text when I was almost there.
Guess that settles that.
Are you close to my place?
Yeah.
I’ll be there in a few minutes. My roommate should already be back. Wait for me.
I rolled my eyes. We’d bet. He’d lost. He wasn’t going to be able to weasel his way out of this one. But when I got to his house, I had no other option but to go inside. Someone had blocked me into Derek’s driveway. I wouldn’t be leaving until that person came back or we towed them.
So, I knocked on the door, and a lanky Black guy in full UNC garb answered.
“Wrong house,” he said and then nearly shut the door in my face.
I laughed and put my hand out. “Wait, I’m Derek’s friend. He told me to come inside and wait for him. My car is blocked in.” I pointed to my tiny little Civic.
“Well, that explains the extra car. Derek didn’t mention it.” His eyes narrowed at my attire, but he opened the door and let me inside. “How the hell does he know a Duke fan?”
“We went to high school together. Well, sort of.”
“You’re a St. Catherine’s girl?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.
“That would be a no. I went to public school. We crossed paths a few times. I’m Marley.”
