The Enemy of Trade

27

-Evren Black-

"Wha- what?" I turn to Corina.

She shakes her head and drags me over towards JJ and Aster.

They were arguing in hushed tones.

"Oh quit the bullshit, we know you two are seeing each other." Corina crossed her arms over her chest.

I stare between all three of them as Aster does the same.

I sigh, taking his hand, "Alright, fine, you caught us."

"How long?" JJ asks.

Aster answers this time, "A few weeks." He says, "I asked her just this past weekend."

Corina let's put a breathy laugh, "You've been lying to us for that long?"

My brows furrow, "Are you serious? And how long have you two been seeing each other? Because I swear it's been almost a year... right?"

She's silent now, "So don't criticize me for keeping my life private when your doing the exact same thing." My voice raises a tone.

"Yes, I'm seeing Aster. Yes, we wanted to keep it a secret because of everything that happened on Saturday night and because I knew you were going to have something to say about it."

We all know that those weren't the only two reasons why we kept it quiet.

I turn and walk away, not even caring that my team is still doing routines on the sidelines.

"Ev, wait!" Asters voice breaks through my rage.

He turns me around, his eyes holding sorrow.

"Mr. James! We still have an hour left of practice!" Coach Baron yells.

"One second coach!" He yells back.

I cross my arms over my chest, "So what now? Cause the whole point was to make sure they didn't find out and that barely lasted a day."

"Come here," he pulled me into a hug.

He was sweaty, but I didn't care, I needed a hug. Especially from him.

He stroked back my hair, "We'll figure this out. Okay?"

I nod my head, "You drove me to school this morning, I don't have a way home." I whisper, looking up at him.

He winced, "I could give you my key, and you can wait in the car." He suggested.

"If you have a problem with it, then I don't have to, I'll just get an Uber." I say, reaching for my phone.

He stops me, "No. I don't have a problem with it, just... wait right here."

He runs off to the outdoor locker room, the door closing behind him.

"Ev, look, I'm sorry... really I am." Corina says, walking closer to me.

"I can't do this right now C. Just run through the floor routines and jumps. I'll help tomorrow." I say, rubbing the space between my brows.

I look up and see Aster running back to me. But his coach stops him.

They talk for a second, both of them glancing at me as I rock on my heels.

Coach Baron nods and Aster runs back into the locker room.

When he walks out again, he's holding his bag and is now fully clothed.

"Late lunch?" He asked and lead me to his car.

~

We sat in the old timey diner. Almost everything was as shiny as a mirror, and I loved it.