Page 43 of One Bet

And Keaton. “I brought them.”

He leaned against the frame and waited for me to invite him in. I didn’t have any idea what the hell was going on, but I turned to find them all seated around my table. Alex smiled at me. “You messed up everything.”

Apparently, he’d come to insult me, to point out my flaws and add insult to the loads of injuries present in this day. But he was smiling, as was Susie.

“We need to talk.” She stood and motioned for me to take her chair at my table, and I gave it a good long look before I sat. “Good.”

Alex nodded. “I lied to you.”

Didn’t that figure? “I am not having an affair with Susie.”

Well, that was good news. “Okay, but why would you say you are?”

Susie looked at Jameson. “It was my fault.”

Jameson put a hand on her arm. “No. It was my fault.”

“Oh, for the love of God.” Alex shook his head, exasperated. “Susie and I have been friends forever. When you stopped spray painting the Alpha house with her, I picked up the ceremonial paint can and went penis wild, so to speak.”

I stared, from one to the other, I wondered why he hadn’t ever told me. Then it occurred to me. After I stopped spray-painting bad words on the front of their house, I started seeing Keaton and stopped seeing my friends. I added that to the list of my innumerable faults I couldn’t fix in this situation and I was tired of it all.

So tired I would’ve ended the whole thing in favor of a nap, but Keaton was standing so close…smelled so good…made me want to hear the rest.

“Okay. You painted. And you and Susie got closer. What does that have to do with anything?” But if we could speed the whole thing up…

“Well, it didn’t then, all that matters is that we’ve been friends since then. So I called him because I was having a rough time in my marriage. Jameson and I needed…something. We were losing the fight to want to be together. Not just the fight. We were even losing the will to put up the fight.” Susie laid her hand on Jameson’s cheek. “I’m a fighter, Avery, and Jameson is a fighter. But we needed to get our fight back.”

“So, as a friend, I offered to help.” Alex twisted his mouth to the side.

“I got punched in the face for it, too.” He rubbed his jaw.

“Jealousy is a powerful motivator.” Jameson nodded at me as if we shared this truth. He nodded at Keaton, too, then went back to smiling at Susie. “And I was jealous.”

They took turns filling in details so that my head might as well have been on a swivel.

“And for a minute, I was confused.” Susie laced her fingers with Jameson’s and gave a squeeze. “But just a minute.”

“And the ring I showed you was Grandma’s.” He looked down at his hands. “And I do love you, forever, but when I said I loved you, that night at the pier, it was me trying to throw you off Susie’s trail. I didn’t want you going to Jameson.”

“And when you called me on it all…I knew we had to come clean.” Susie smiled softly at Jameson then at me. “Especially when Keaton said…”

My eyes narrowed and her story stuttered. “What he said.”

I looked up at Keaton. He hadn’t moved closer, nor had he moved away. Right now, he was just there. A few feet that might as well have been a few miles. But more important than where he was, what had he said?

The weird lies between Jameson and Susie and Alex didn’t affect me and Keaton or the things we had said to each other. We’d made such a mess of things between us, unresolved feelings, anger, harsh words and truths. No matter how well things worked for Susie and Jameson, and even Alex, there were no guarantees for me and Keaton and the thought broke my heart all over again.

One Decade Ago

In the space of one night, devastating as it was, everything changed. Or maybe it went back to normal, back to solitary me. It was back to my black-on-black wardrobe and back to the long stares and whispers when I passed.

Dean Ferguson tracked me down in the library. She looked haggard, run-down, and flustered, just like I felt. In fairness, this had been hard on her. The administration, the alumni, the students, all made their very public protests when the announcement was made about the suspensions and expulsions of half the football team. This was a talented team that brought home championships, trophies, bowl wins and you know, boys would be boys. The athletic association called for her resignation.

Damn the girls who’d been hurt and come forward. And the one, me, who’d pressed charges probably should’ve kept her clothes on or her mouth shut because she certainly didn’t seem to mind what was going on in the video...and there was no evidence of force...and how could she not know she was on camera? I’d heard it all in the last few days.

“Miss Stroh?”

I looked up, swallowing a batch of tears because since this all started, I was always fighting tears.