“I’d never seen them together before,” Maeve muses. “Aside from that one—aside from that one time. They make more sense.” She sighs. “Tonight was a total fucking disaster. I wanted everyone to see how things had changed…instead it just showed how much they haven’t. I’m so sick of it.”
“No one will care about the rivalry at Arlington.”
“You will. Matt will.”
“I want to win. So does Matt.”
I turn onto our street, immediately spotting the shiny SUV parked in front of the house.
“He’s here.”
Maeve sighs. “I know. I told him to come so we could talk.”
I pull into the driveway. “Okay.”
I turn off the sedan and step out of the car, giving Weston a slight nod as I head up the stairs and inside. Both of my parents are sitting in the living room. My mom is reading a book and my dad is poring over football plays. Both of them look over when I shut the front door.
“Hey, honey,” my mom greets. “Where’s Maeve?”
Before I can answer, Weston’s voice drifts in through the open screened window, answering his question. “…a lot of thought…transferring to Arlington.”
I wait, but there’s no sign of surprise on my dad’s face. “You knew?” I ask him, disbelievingly.
“We had conversations about college, Wes.” Maeve’s voice rises. “Lots and lots of them. We agreed on separate schools!”
“Well, now I’mdisagreeing!” Weston shouts.
“I thought you were happy at Lincoln. You had an amazing season!”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with Lincoln, Maeve, and you know it.”
“You said we were strong enough to make it.”
“Weare, Maeve. But—God, I want to go to parties with you. Have you at my games. I want to see you more than one weekend a month, if we’re lucky. Is that so hard for you to understand?”
“Of course not. I just…I used to be known as Liam Stevens’ sister. Then I was known as Weston Cole’s girlfriend. At Arlington, I’m just Maeve. That will change—if you transfer.”
“You’re my girlfriend no matter where I go to school.”
“You know what I mean. It’s different, and you know it.”
“So you don’t want me to transfer.”
“We’ve never talked about it! You never told me you were considering it. This is a conversation we should have had together. Instead, you told the one girl you know I’m insecure about?”
“There’s nothing going on between me and Natalie. She’s a friend. I told her after I met with coaches at Arlington.”
“You met with coaches at Arlington?”
“I wanted to know if it was an…option. Before I told you.”
“And?”
“I’m telling you, aren’t I?”
“Because I walked in on you talking about it with someone else!” Maeve exclaims. “What did they offer you?”
“Starting spot and a full ride.”