“I was out of line,” I admit.
I glance up and catch her gentle smile, her eyes crinkling on the edges behind her glasses. She leans her head to her right, and I follow her lead, meeting Raskin’s gaze with a tad less antagonism. I repeat my words to him, stopping short of an actual apology. Baby steps and all. His tongue pushed into his cheek, he nods in acceptance.
Eventually, Ms. Asplund invites our headmaster back into the room, and after signing a series of documents that basically let Welles off the legal hook and promise we will not cause further violent disturbances or break the bullying policy on campus, we’re dismissed. We never shake hands but the ice in the glares we shoot each other melts, at least for me. I vow to be indifferent to Oliver Raskin until I graduate. If I see him on the street any time after, however, he’s fair game. And I’ll probably punch him in the face.
* * *
By the time I make it to the fieldhouse, Lily is just finishing up for the morning. She had planned on swimming early, and I was going to go with her. That’s the rule—she swims, I watch. Nobody drowns.
The headmaster’s call put a snag in our plan, so I called James. I don’t want my issues to derail her from overcoming hers. And maybe I also wanted to show some personal growth by insisting James be her guardian.
He’s sitting on the small set of bleachers at the opposite end of the pool when I walk in. I saunter over, watching Lily’s arms make perfect strokes along the top of the water in my periphery.
“I swear I was standing closer at first, but she told me I was a distraction, and the girl is intense when she’s in swim mode.” His eyes widen with his words.
“By intense, you mean scary,” I say.
“Yeah. She’s scary,” he deadpans.
I chuckle and return my gaze to the pool. Lily’s locked in today. I don’t even think she’s noticed I’m here. That’s for the best because I have some amends to make with James right now.
“Thanks. For . . .” I stop, not knowing quite how to put into words everything James has done for me. I shrug and lean forward, arms on knees, and look at him sideways.
“For dragging your ass off the field? No problem.” He snaps the gum in his mouth and winks at me, which eases the tension some.
Cocky fucking quarterback.Damn him, he is a good guy.
“Raskin’s got some hits coming his way, just so you know. Practice isn’t going to be easy for him next week.”
I nod, a little ticked that Raskin still gets to practice. He got suspended for the next game, while I got two games out and no practice for a week. Feels cruel given that being on that field is the one thing holding me together. Well, maybe not theonlything.
Lily slaps the edge of the pool and howls as her head comes out of the water. James and I both stand and start clapping.
“You see that? I wasn’t slow!” She pulls the cap from her head and tosses it up on the deck before climbing out of the pool.
Funny, when I was thirteen and fourteen, I thought the bikini was the sexiest swimsuit alive. The way the black racing suit hugs every curve and shows off Lily’s toned shoulders, though, has taught me otherwise.
“Damn, girl. You weren’t just not slow. You’d kick my ass,” James says.
“That’s not saying much,” I add as he walks backward to Lily. He turns around and scowls at me before laughing.
I follow behind him, my lungs full and chest a little lighter. It feels good to be able to joke with him, to be able to let go of the jealousy. And it feels good to walk right past him and pull my soaking wet girl into my arms and kiss her smiling face.
She pulls back briefly but lets me keep my arms around her. Her arms are beading up with chills from being out of the water, so I rub them with my palms.
“How was your meeting?” Her brow is pinched, and I can tell she’s a little worried.
“I may want to change my college major from business to psychology,” I answer.
She steps back and screws up her mouth, confused. I wait while she picks up her towel to dry off her hair and wrap her body.
“Typical Welles intervention. Brought in some alumni from Harvard. She knew her shit, though. Pretty much nailed my psychological profile in two minutes, after reading my file.” I stop short of telling Lily everything Ms. Asplund said. I’m not up to sharing my issues with James yet. He’s had enough of me for one weekend. Maybe for a month.
“But you aren’t facing anything . . . bigger?”
She means expelled.
“Nah.” I take her towel so her hands are free to slip into her sweatpants and gather her things. “My mom might have a lot of flaws, but nobody’s kicking her baby out of school. She’d bring down holy terror on them, and they don’t want that. It would be a bad look on top of everything else my family’s been through.”