I Want You

Chapter 5

Lennon.

Our routine flows flawlessly on the court during the basketball game and my smile never leaves my face. The guys win 80-60 and the whole squad goes out to celebrate with the team afterward. Luckily Draven doesn't make it awkward but I think that's just his MO, I'm not the first cheerleader he's messed around with and I doubt I'll be the last. We're all hungover on the flight home and I pass out in my bed as soon as I make it to my apartment.

I wake up a few hours later and take a quick shower, washing away the alcohol I can practically feel seeping through my pores. I get dressed in a pair of distressed mom jeans and a dark blue Wolverines basketball crew neck sweater and pull my damp hair back into two Dutch braids. After I'm dressed I feel more alive and a little less like a zombie. When I enter the living room Ace, Tayen, Draven, and Xan are sitting on the couch watching tv. My eyes widen in surprise. It's the first time I've seen Xan since I dry humped him in his living room and I oddly feel awkward having him and Draven in the same room.

My eyes flick to Tayens, she wince's and mouths Sorry. I go to the kitchen and get a glass of water to give myself something to do. I take small sips of the cool liquid as I walk back to the living room. I don't know why I feel awkward. Xan and I have just messed around a few times and Draven and I went on one date. It's not like Draven knows the reason I couldn't get off is sitting right beside him and it's not like Xan is aware he broke my vagina.

"We're gonna go grab some pizza if you wanna come." Tayen says.

I nod. "Sure."

What else am I gonna say? Who turns down pizza? I quickly drink the rest of my water down and put the cup on the kitchen counter, grabbing my coat as I go back to the living room.

"Hey did you get any pictures of Parker doing shots last night?" Draven asks as they all rise from the couch.

"I think so." I reply as I slip my sneakers on and zip up my coat.

Parker is a shooting guard on the basketball team and he drank twice the amount of alcohol as everyone else last night, I don't know how he's still alive. I pull my phone from my pocket and Draven stride matches mine as we exit the apartment, watching me flick through the pictures I took last night.

"Here's one of him gagging after the shot of Fireball." I laugh at Parkers scrunched up face.

Dravens deep laugh joins mine. "Definitely send me that one."

I nod and keep looking, most of the pictures I took are blurry because I was pretty drunk but I still managed to get a few good ones.

"Divya got this one of us." I say, showing him the image of Divya squeezed in between me and Draven, the three of us smiling big while she takes the picture.

"Send that to me too."

I send the pictures to him and put my phone back in my pocket feeling someone's eyes on me. I look up and Xan is staring me down as we exit the building. I arch an eyebrow at him, wondering what he's about to say but he breaks eye contact and remains silent. Weird.

On the walk to the pizza place Draven shows me his group chat messages after he shares the picture of Parker with his friends. Poor Parker is getting roasted.

"Do you remember Freshman year when we drank so much Fireball that for months afterward even the slightest scent of cinnamon would make us start gagging?" Tayen asks, her hand intertwined with Aces a few feet in front of Draven and I.

I groan. "Don't remind me. Divya brought those snickerdoodle cookies from her Moms bakery two days after the Fireball incident and I threw up in the middle of the quad, right in front of at least twenty people."