“So did they kick you off the team because of the DUI?”
She yanks her hand from mine and looks at me. “Why do you want to know so badly?”
“I just told you about my shoulder.” I raise an eyebrow. “You’re going to have to swear not to tell anyone.”
“Can we pinky promise?”
I chuckle, holding my pinky out. “Sure.”
“I pinky promise I won’t tell anyone your deepest, darkest secret.” She wraps hers around mine, then raises an eyebrow. “Your turn.”
“You need me to say it?”
“Yes.” She shoots me an exasperated look.
“I pinky promise I won’t tell anyone your deepest, darkest secret.” I roll my eyes and pull her hand to my chest instead of dropping it. “Tell me.”
“Lawrence was driving that night.” She bites her lip, pausing momentarily. “He was driving. We got into an accident and when the cops got there, I took the fall. After, when Coach found out, she . . . ” She looks away, tears in her eyes before she blinks rapidly and looks at me again. “She kicked me off the team. I’m not the kind of player they want on their team.”
“Why would you . . . ” I drop her hand and shake my head. “Why would you take the fall for him?”
“I just did.” She shrugs. “He was freaking out and kept going on and on about the NFL and I just did it and he didn’t outright ask me to do it, but I felt like he needed me to and I did. It was the right thing to do.”
“You lost your scholarship.”
“My parents have the money to pay for my classes,” she says. “Thankfully.”
“You . . . my God, Josephine.” I shake my head.
“I know. I’m fine though.”
“You’re fine?” I shoot her a look. “You are not fine.”
“What was I supposed to do? I would have done the same for you.”
I pull away. I know it’s not meant to be a diss, but I can’t help it, I take it as one, because putting me in the same box as Lawrence? I can’t. If it would have been me, I would have owned up to my mistake. If it would have been me, I never would have put myself in that situation to begin with. That is what ultimately makes me start brooding. The rest of the time we’re there, there’s no hand holding or joking around. I focus on my food, pay the bill, and ignore her. She’s pissed off too, I can tell, so it doesn’t bother me half as much when it’s time to leave and she slides out of the booth and doesn’t even wait for me to follow.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jagger
“I will never understand why girls are so soft on guys.” I take another swig of my beer. “I mean, we can all agree that Lawrence is a bitch, right? But for him to cheat on her, of all people and her just let him?” I shake my head, shrugging a shoulder. I leave out the part about the DUI and her taking the fall for him because as mad as I am about it, she made me pinky promise I wouldn’t say anything and I intend to keep my word. “I just don’t get it. He doesn’t even deserve to breathe the air she breathes.” When I finish talking, I look at both my brothers to find them staring at me with blank faces. “What?”
“You really like her,” Mitch says.
“Of course I like her.” I frown. “I mean, she’s cool and sexy as fuck.”
Mav starts laughing first. “You more than like her. Holy shit. Romeo’s in love!”
“I am not in love.” I point at him. “I never said that.
“You didn’t have to.” Mitch chuckles, setting down his beer. “Damn, I leave for a little while and my little brother falls in love.”
“Fuck you.” I look at him, then at Mav. “And you.”
“You know Mom invited them over for Thanksgiving,” Mav says. “I guess you can break the news to the family there. Wait, unless you want to take that time to propose?”
I shoot him a look. “I’m not proposing and I am not in love. Can we get back to the topic of women being weak?”
“But they’re not,” Mitch says.
“Of course you say that.” I roll my eyes. “Momma’s boy.”
“You’re a momma’s boy too,” Mitch shoots back, then looks at Mav. “So are you, so don’t even think about denying it.”
“I would never deny that,” Mav argues.
“If she was weak, she would never have broken it off with Lawrence,” Mitch says.
“Dude, he did a lot of shit before she broke up with him and I told her about some of the cheating when I saw her.”
“Who cares? She left right before he’s about to become a super millionaire,” Mav says. “A lot of women would have stayed and reaped the benefits of being with a star.”