Boys and Girls, Part IV: Why I Love to Hate You
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Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
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Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
24
Views:
11,564
Reviews:
100
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Chapter 19 - The Wisdom of Quarterbacks
A/N: I love the following duos so much. Ryan and Tristan fight like cats and dogs, but there's more of a tolerance between Jason and Tristan. And you guys know how I feel about Ryan and Jacy. Enjoy.
Chapter 19 – The Wisdom of Quarterbacks
“Sit.”
Tristan plopped himself onto the stool next to where Jason was sitting. The latter had brought Tristan to Gil’s Tavern, a local watering hole for NMU students. He couldn’t believe that Jason was being such a bossy prick, but something about the mature-minded quarterback compelled Tristan to listen. After all, the son-of-a-bitch’s bossiness had assisted them toward a victory during the BCS Championship game, hadn’t it?
“What can I get you boys?” the attractive brunette bartender asked.
“Two beers,” Jason answered.
As the bartender turned to grab their drinks, Tristan thought how long it’d take for him to get her into his bed. He quickly shook that idea from his head. He was horny as hell right now, but there was only one brunette who was going to satiate him at that moment.
And she’d broken up with him not twenty minutes ago in front of a live audience.
“What are you thinking about, Carter?”
Tristan was shaken out of his thoughts by Jason’s sudden interruption. He tried to cover up his surprise with hostility. “None of your damn business.”
The bartender set the beers in front of the boys. She flashed a sexy smile in Jason and Tristan’s direction. Poor girl probably couldn’t decide who she’d rather get laid by.
Jason grabbed his bottle and took a quick chug. “Why’d you do it, Carter?”
“Do what?”
“Why’d you hurt Jacy?”
“She’s fine,” Tristan answered, taking an angry swig of his beer.
“You didn’t answer my question, asshole.”
Tristan slammed his bottle down. “She’s being such a goddamn pain in the ass! She’s so fucking insecure! Why can’t she just accept the fact that she’s beautiful and that I can’t live without her, and just let it be at that?”
“What’d you two fight about?”
Tristan eyed Jason warily. Did he really want to tell his quarterback all of this? May as well. Mackey sure as hell wasn’t going to give him the time of day.
“She saw a picture of me having lunch with Krista Baxter in some shit tabloid. It was just lunch, I swear. And…there was a misunderstanding. She believed me when I told her the truth, and she still wanted to break up with me. What the fuck kind of logic is that, Kent?”
“You know Krista Baxter?”
“Don’t you start with me,” Tristan complained.
“Just explain this one to me, please,” Jason requested.
Tristan sighed before going on. “Krista and I dated in high school. She sort of screwed me over, but I forgave and forgot. She’s got some emotional turmoil going on in her life, and I helped talk her through it. That’s all.”
“Jesus! You’ve lived quite a life, haven’t you, Carter?”
Tristan sighed in frustration. “You’re missing the point, Kent.”
“I’m hearing you loud and clear, man,” Jason corrected. He took another sip from his beer bottle. “Why can’t you just quit seeing Krista?”
Tristan gritted his teeth. “Fuck! You’re completely taking her side, Kent!”
“This isn’t about sides, dumbass,” Jason replied. “You obviously like Jacy a lot –
“Fuck yes,” Tristan interrupted.
“- But you’re not willing to make a sacrifice for her.”
Tristan groaned in frustration. “This isn’t about making sacrifices, man. I want her to know that I have a lot of female friends, but that’s all they are to me – friends. She’s the only woman I actually care about in that way.”
“Have you tried putting yourself in her shoes?”
“No, Dr. Phil,” Tristan answered sarcastically.
“Don’t be a smartass, Carter. I’m trying to help you,” Jason answered back with a scowl. “What if Jacy started hanging out with an attractive guy around her age as ‘just friends’? Would that be okay with you, champ?”
Tristan thought about it. The mere thought of Jacy with another man grated his nerves. Even thinking about Jacy and her British queer pissed him off. He wanted her all to himself, but he didn’t want to lose this argument either.
“I’d be cool with it,” Tristan lied.
Jason sniffed the bullshit immediately. “Don’t lie to me, Carter. I’m taking time out to help you. The least you can do is be front with me, man.”
Tristan scowled. “I’d kill whoever got within five feet of her, okay?”
“So why should Jacy accept that you’re just good friends with Krista?”
“Because that’s all we are!”
Jason rubbed his face and shook his head. “I’m dealing with a fucking two-year-old.”
“And since when did Jacy get all insecure? I’m telling you, Kent, that is not the girl I remembered falling for. I don’t like this color on her.”
“Jacy’s a complicated girl.”
“Saying someone’s ’complicated’ is just a nice way of saying that person’s nuts,” Tristan grumbled. “She’s beautiful and talented and fun – when she’s not being a pain in the ass. Fuck the world! Who gives a shit what some ass-faced gossip columnist thinks. Why can’t she just accept that I’m crazy about her?” Tristan drained the remaining contents of his beer before requesting another.
“This is about what she wants too, Carter.”
“She wants me,” he grumbled into his beer.
“What Jacy really wants,” Jason began, “is to know that she’s making the right decision. You know all about her mom and dad, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Tristan answered somewhat ruefully.
“That’s probably why Jacy is who she is today. It’s why she can’t always be Mary Sunshine and why she tries to cover up her hurt with sarcasm and cynicism.”
Tristan sighed in understanding. “She doesn’t want to make a mistake.”
“That’s right.”
Tristan chugged his beer before turning to Jason. “What should I do, man?”
“Give her some time, Tristan.”
Tristan instinctively shook his head. “I can’t do that, Kent.”
“You have to,” Jason answered. “If she likes you as much as you say she does, she’ll ask for you back.”
“So I’m supposed to sit back and give her the opportunity to forget about me?” Tristan asked in disbelief.
“It’s called a test, Carter. Every meaningful relationship requires one. You guys make it through this one, and you two are as good as gold.”
Tristan ventured to ask the unthinkable. “What if she doesn’t want me back, Kent?”
“Then…you move on. Proceed with the rest of your life because you can’t make someone love you, Carter.”
It was one of the hardest things to agree to, but for some reason, Jason’s wisdom prompted Tristan to listen and obey. He loved Jacy, and even though the thought of losing her was unbearable, the thought of driving her away was ten times worse. He wanted her to return his love, and Jason was right. He couldn’t make her love him.
Tristan was about to make the biggest sacrifice of his life.
****
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m okay, Delaney.”
Delaney still appeared concerned but didn’t pursue the topic. The trio of girls was gathered on the floor in Lani’s living room. Ryan was sitting on the couch, stewing away at how pissed off he was at Tristan. Lani kept a calming hand on his knee.
“Do you want me to call Steph?” Lani asked.
“N-no,” Jacy answered immediately. “Let’s not involve more people.”
Silence permeated the room. Jacy knew her friends were curious, but she also knew that they had the decency to respect her privacy. The only thing was…she didn’t want them to respect her privacy. She wanted to pour her soul out to her friends right now.
“He had lunch with Krista Baxter.”
A chorus of ‘whats’ erupted from the group simultaneously. Ryan nearly rose from his seat on the sofa.
“They’re just friends.” Her own friends looked skeptical, but that was exactly what Jacy had expected, right? Even if she believed Tristan about the whole Krista thing, the rest of the world wouldn’t. She didn’t care. They were her friends. She told them everything…about Krista’s pregnancy…about their secret luncheons…about the subsequent tabloid article…and finally, about the fight.
“Wow,” Delaney managed.
“Yeah,” Lani finally uttered out. She hadn’t even realized that Ryan’s fists were clenched the entire time. All of a sudden, the big guy got up and stalked out onto Lani’s kitchen balcony. Lani made a move to get up, but Jacy stopped her.
“May I?”
Lani nodded, and Jacy rose to her feet.
****
As Jacy walked out onto the balcony, she saw Ryan gripping the railing so tightly that his knuckles were white. The spring breeze nipped her skin, and her bare feet felt cool against the wooden floor. Ryan was barefoot too. She stared at his profile. God, he was handsome. He didn’t speak for the longest time, and when he finally did…it confused Jacy.
“You’d never have met that asshole if it hadn’t been for me.”
“Huh?”
“That day you guys met him in the men’s locker room…it was because you were grabbing my stuff for me, right?”
“Well, uh…
“You’d have never met him, and you two would’ve never dated, and you wouldn’t be going through all of this shit right now.”
Jacy walked over to Ryan and leaned over the balcony. As she stared out into the darkness, she thought about what life would have been like if she had never met Tristan Carter. She’d probably still be overweight. She’d probably still be a virgin. And she’d be more of a smart-ass than she already was, for sure. Life certainly would have been different if she’d never known Tristan.
It would have been boring.
“I’m happy to have met that asshole, Ryan.”
He turned to her, a stunned expression on his handsome visage. “What?”
“Ryan…when you were trying to win Lani over, was it all fun and laughs?”
“Hell no. Sometimes I wanted to strangle her for making it so goddamn complicated.”
“But would you give that difficult time up if it meant you couldn’t be with her anym –
“Don’t even ask me something like that, Jacy.”
She smiled as she made her point. “Sometimes it’s worth the pain and effort if you’re striving for something new and wonderful.”
“Are you telling me Carter is either of those things?”
“Yes.” Ryan’s smile faded at Jacy’s serious tone. “I’m in love with him, Ryan.”
Silence.
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
Jacy didn’t answer. Instead, she regarded Ryan with utter seriousness. Her somber hazel eyes glistened in the moonlight. She shook her head.
“After all he’s put you through?”
Jacy nodded. “After all that, I still want to be with him. That’s how I know.”
Ryan ran a hand through his hair. “Then why aren’t you with him?”
“Because we have no future, Ryan. It was fun for a while, but playtime’s over. My poor, little heart’ll get over it, and we’ll both move on with our lives.”
“It’s not that easy, Jacy.”
“It has to be, Ryan. It just has to be.”
Neither one of them said anything for the longest time. Ryan was the first one to break the silence.
“I wish you didn’t tell me what you just told me, Jacy,” Ryan admitted.
“Why is that?”
“You’re beginning to make me think of Carter as a human being.”
That elicited a giggle from Jacy. “You’re awful, Ryan.”
“Jace?”
“Hmmm?”
“You know how everyone is lectured on falling into love too quickly?”
“Yeah.”
“Promise me not to rush out of it too quickly, sweetheart. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate Carter’s guts, but…I care too much about you, honey. This is your heart we’re talking about.”
“I promise,” Jacy answered, even though she wasn’t sure she could make any promises where her heart was concerned. Jacy felt Ryan’s strong arm around her shoulders. He pulled her in close and kissed her on the cheek.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
****
Chapter 19 – The Wisdom of Quarterbacks
“Sit.”
Tristan plopped himself onto the stool next to where Jason was sitting. The latter had brought Tristan to Gil’s Tavern, a local watering hole for NMU students. He couldn’t believe that Jason was being such a bossy prick, but something about the mature-minded quarterback compelled Tristan to listen. After all, the son-of-a-bitch’s bossiness had assisted them toward a victory during the BCS Championship game, hadn’t it?
“What can I get you boys?” the attractive brunette bartender asked.
“Two beers,” Jason answered.
As the bartender turned to grab their drinks, Tristan thought how long it’d take for him to get her into his bed. He quickly shook that idea from his head. He was horny as hell right now, but there was only one brunette who was going to satiate him at that moment.
And she’d broken up with him not twenty minutes ago in front of a live audience.
“What are you thinking about, Carter?”
Tristan was shaken out of his thoughts by Jason’s sudden interruption. He tried to cover up his surprise with hostility. “None of your damn business.”
The bartender set the beers in front of the boys. She flashed a sexy smile in Jason and Tristan’s direction. Poor girl probably couldn’t decide who she’d rather get laid by.
Jason grabbed his bottle and took a quick chug. “Why’d you do it, Carter?”
“Do what?”
“Why’d you hurt Jacy?”
“She’s fine,” Tristan answered, taking an angry swig of his beer.
“You didn’t answer my question, asshole.”
Tristan slammed his bottle down. “She’s being such a goddamn pain in the ass! She’s so fucking insecure! Why can’t she just accept the fact that she’s beautiful and that I can’t live without her, and just let it be at that?”
“What’d you two fight about?”
Tristan eyed Jason warily. Did he really want to tell his quarterback all of this? May as well. Mackey sure as hell wasn’t going to give him the time of day.
“She saw a picture of me having lunch with Krista Baxter in some shit tabloid. It was just lunch, I swear. And…there was a misunderstanding. She believed me when I told her the truth, and she still wanted to break up with me. What the fuck kind of logic is that, Kent?”
“You know Krista Baxter?”
“Don’t you start with me,” Tristan complained.
“Just explain this one to me, please,” Jason requested.
Tristan sighed before going on. “Krista and I dated in high school. She sort of screwed me over, but I forgave and forgot. She’s got some emotional turmoil going on in her life, and I helped talk her through it. That’s all.”
“Jesus! You’ve lived quite a life, haven’t you, Carter?”
Tristan sighed in frustration. “You’re missing the point, Kent.”
“I’m hearing you loud and clear, man,” Jason corrected. He took another sip from his beer bottle. “Why can’t you just quit seeing Krista?”
Tristan gritted his teeth. “Fuck! You’re completely taking her side, Kent!”
“This isn’t about sides, dumbass,” Jason replied. “You obviously like Jacy a lot –
“Fuck yes,” Tristan interrupted.
“- But you’re not willing to make a sacrifice for her.”
Tristan groaned in frustration. “This isn’t about making sacrifices, man. I want her to know that I have a lot of female friends, but that’s all they are to me – friends. She’s the only woman I actually care about in that way.”
“Have you tried putting yourself in her shoes?”
“No, Dr. Phil,” Tristan answered sarcastically.
“Don’t be a smartass, Carter. I’m trying to help you,” Jason answered back with a scowl. “What if Jacy started hanging out with an attractive guy around her age as ‘just friends’? Would that be okay with you, champ?”
Tristan thought about it. The mere thought of Jacy with another man grated his nerves. Even thinking about Jacy and her British queer pissed him off. He wanted her all to himself, but he didn’t want to lose this argument either.
“I’d be cool with it,” Tristan lied.
Jason sniffed the bullshit immediately. “Don’t lie to me, Carter. I’m taking time out to help you. The least you can do is be front with me, man.”
Tristan scowled. “I’d kill whoever got within five feet of her, okay?”
“So why should Jacy accept that you’re just good friends with Krista?”
“Because that’s all we are!”
Jason rubbed his face and shook his head. “I’m dealing with a fucking two-year-old.”
“And since when did Jacy get all insecure? I’m telling you, Kent, that is not the girl I remembered falling for. I don’t like this color on her.”
“Jacy’s a complicated girl.”
“Saying someone’s ’complicated’ is just a nice way of saying that person’s nuts,” Tristan grumbled. “She’s beautiful and talented and fun – when she’s not being a pain in the ass. Fuck the world! Who gives a shit what some ass-faced gossip columnist thinks. Why can’t she just accept that I’m crazy about her?” Tristan drained the remaining contents of his beer before requesting another.
“This is about what she wants too, Carter.”
“She wants me,” he grumbled into his beer.
“What Jacy really wants,” Jason began, “is to know that she’s making the right decision. You know all about her mom and dad, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Tristan answered somewhat ruefully.
“That’s probably why Jacy is who she is today. It’s why she can’t always be Mary Sunshine and why she tries to cover up her hurt with sarcasm and cynicism.”
Tristan sighed in understanding. “She doesn’t want to make a mistake.”
“That’s right.”
Tristan chugged his beer before turning to Jason. “What should I do, man?”
“Give her some time, Tristan.”
Tristan instinctively shook his head. “I can’t do that, Kent.”
“You have to,” Jason answered. “If she likes you as much as you say she does, she’ll ask for you back.”
“So I’m supposed to sit back and give her the opportunity to forget about me?” Tristan asked in disbelief.
“It’s called a test, Carter. Every meaningful relationship requires one. You guys make it through this one, and you two are as good as gold.”
Tristan ventured to ask the unthinkable. “What if she doesn’t want me back, Kent?”
“Then…you move on. Proceed with the rest of your life because you can’t make someone love you, Carter.”
It was one of the hardest things to agree to, but for some reason, Jason’s wisdom prompted Tristan to listen and obey. He loved Jacy, and even though the thought of losing her was unbearable, the thought of driving her away was ten times worse. He wanted her to return his love, and Jason was right. He couldn’t make her love him.
Tristan was about to make the biggest sacrifice of his life.
****
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m okay, Delaney.”
Delaney still appeared concerned but didn’t pursue the topic. The trio of girls was gathered on the floor in Lani’s living room. Ryan was sitting on the couch, stewing away at how pissed off he was at Tristan. Lani kept a calming hand on his knee.
“Do you want me to call Steph?” Lani asked.
“N-no,” Jacy answered immediately. “Let’s not involve more people.”
Silence permeated the room. Jacy knew her friends were curious, but she also knew that they had the decency to respect her privacy. The only thing was…she didn’t want them to respect her privacy. She wanted to pour her soul out to her friends right now.
“He had lunch with Krista Baxter.”
A chorus of ‘whats’ erupted from the group simultaneously. Ryan nearly rose from his seat on the sofa.
“They’re just friends.” Her own friends looked skeptical, but that was exactly what Jacy had expected, right? Even if she believed Tristan about the whole Krista thing, the rest of the world wouldn’t. She didn’t care. They were her friends. She told them everything…about Krista’s pregnancy…about their secret luncheons…about the subsequent tabloid article…and finally, about the fight.
“Wow,” Delaney managed.
“Yeah,” Lani finally uttered out. She hadn’t even realized that Ryan’s fists were clenched the entire time. All of a sudden, the big guy got up and stalked out onto Lani’s kitchen balcony. Lani made a move to get up, but Jacy stopped her.
“May I?”
Lani nodded, and Jacy rose to her feet.
****
As Jacy walked out onto the balcony, she saw Ryan gripping the railing so tightly that his knuckles were white. The spring breeze nipped her skin, and her bare feet felt cool against the wooden floor. Ryan was barefoot too. She stared at his profile. God, he was handsome. He didn’t speak for the longest time, and when he finally did…it confused Jacy.
“You’d never have met that asshole if it hadn’t been for me.”
“Huh?”
“That day you guys met him in the men’s locker room…it was because you were grabbing my stuff for me, right?”
“Well, uh…
“You’d have never met him, and you two would’ve never dated, and you wouldn’t be going through all of this shit right now.”
Jacy walked over to Ryan and leaned over the balcony. As she stared out into the darkness, she thought about what life would have been like if she had never met Tristan Carter. She’d probably still be overweight. She’d probably still be a virgin. And she’d be more of a smart-ass than she already was, for sure. Life certainly would have been different if she’d never known Tristan.
It would have been boring.
“I’m happy to have met that asshole, Ryan.”
He turned to her, a stunned expression on his handsome visage. “What?”
“Ryan…when you were trying to win Lani over, was it all fun and laughs?”
“Hell no. Sometimes I wanted to strangle her for making it so goddamn complicated.”
“But would you give that difficult time up if it meant you couldn’t be with her anym –
“Don’t even ask me something like that, Jacy.”
She smiled as she made her point. “Sometimes it’s worth the pain and effort if you’re striving for something new and wonderful.”
“Are you telling me Carter is either of those things?”
“Yes.” Ryan’s smile faded at Jacy’s serious tone. “I’m in love with him, Ryan.”
Silence.
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
Jacy didn’t answer. Instead, she regarded Ryan with utter seriousness. Her somber hazel eyes glistened in the moonlight. She shook her head.
“After all he’s put you through?”
Jacy nodded. “After all that, I still want to be with him. That’s how I know.”
Ryan ran a hand through his hair. “Then why aren’t you with him?”
“Because we have no future, Ryan. It was fun for a while, but playtime’s over. My poor, little heart’ll get over it, and we’ll both move on with our lives.”
“It’s not that easy, Jacy.”
“It has to be, Ryan. It just has to be.”
Neither one of them said anything for the longest time. Ryan was the first one to break the silence.
“I wish you didn’t tell me what you just told me, Jacy,” Ryan admitted.
“Why is that?”
“You’re beginning to make me think of Carter as a human being.”
That elicited a giggle from Jacy. “You’re awful, Ryan.”
“Jace?”
“Hmmm?”
“You know how everyone is lectured on falling into love too quickly?”
“Yeah.”
“Promise me not to rush out of it too quickly, sweetheart. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate Carter’s guts, but…I care too much about you, honey. This is your heart we’re talking about.”
“I promise,” Jacy answered, even though she wasn’t sure she could make any promises where her heart was concerned. Jacy felt Ryan’s strong arm around her shoulders. He pulled her in close and kissed her on the cheek.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
****