They reached the gymnasium quickly and Dorian was there. He was already playing but when he saw them both, he waved cheerfully. Eva immediately thought how he must either be innocent or the best liar in the world. She was hoping it was the first thing, though. They waved back at him, and Frey gestured that they needed to talk. Dorian nodded.
Frey took her up to the highest seats on the bleachers and a minute later, Dorian joined them.
“I only have a minute, guys, but we can meet later, I’m free after…”
He wasn’t allowed to finish what he was trying to say. Instead, Eva was doing the talking.
“I had a very unpleasant talk with Katrina today,” she started, deciding that she was going to be level-headed about this and, most importantly, dignified.
She could see that the mention of her name made both guys angry, especially Frey.
“She told me something,” she continued slowly, making every word count, “something that hurt me very much.”
“Just give me the heads up and I’ll make it so that she never even looks at you again, let alone hurts you…” Frey growled.
“I know,” she stopped him, pressing her hand against his gently, “and I am really grateful but this concerns Dorian, more than it concerns you.”
“Me?” Dorian was surprised. “I don’t know what she told you but I had nothing to do with her. We fooled around ages ago but that’s history. I keep telling her that, she just won’t leave me alone.”
“That’s not what she said, actually.”
“What did she say?” It was Dorian’s turn to growl now.
“She said that the only reason you slept with me…” she paused, gathering up the courage to say it out loud, “was because you made a bet with your teammates.”
She couldn’t look at either of them in the eyes, as she spoke these words. It hurt too much. The very possibility that this might be true, tore her heart into tiny little pieces.
“Dorian…” Frey looked at him.
“I swear, to both of you,” Dorian shook his head, “she is lying.”
Eva didn’t speak. The
re wasn’t really anything left to say. Now, it was their turn and she was willing to listen, though, she didn’t know if she was willing to trust.
“Can’t you guys see that the only reason she is saying all this crap is because I keep rejecting her?” Dorian continued.
“Then, how does she know I slept with you?”
“Did she tell you that?”
Eva tried to remember. It was all a blur now. Could it be that Katrina was only fishing and that, in reality, she knew nothing? Far fetched but possible.
“She sounded like she knew what she was talking about,” Eva replied, a little evasively.
“She sounds like that when she’s talking about many things and trust me, she knows shit sometimes.”
Dorian was furious. He kept burying his face in his hands, then raking his fingers through his luscious curls. Eva immediately remembered that night, how his fingers did that to her hair. But, now, she needed to focus and not get distracted by his good looks.
“I don’t wanna have to ask you this myself, Dorian,” Frey suddenly interfered.
Eva was grateful that he wanted to leave it to her to sort it out, but now, she was equally grateful to him for butting in, even though she’d asked him not to. She felt like he had her back and it made this horrible situation a little less horrible.
“Listen, I know that everyone thinks I’m a jerk just because I play sports. I guess, sometimes, I can be, I won’t deny that.”
Eva almost smiled at this.
“But, I’m not a psychopath. This,” he gestured at air, in an effort to focus his attention on something else, “this whole thing is just whack. If you think I’d enjoy causing pain to someone, especially someone I have feelings for, then you guys really don’t know me.”