Third Strike Rule

One Time Comin'

"Whose party?" Nolan asks his brother over the phone.

"Benee's," Cy says in a hushed voice.

"Bro, remember the last time we went to a party in Crenshaw?" Nolan says and thinks about how they had been there for maybe a hour when gunshots popped off and the entire crowd scattered and ran through a mess of cops coming up the street. Cy had pulled him over a fence right before the cops grabbed him and then they had to outrun three pitbulls. It was a very eventful night. He had also hooked up with a pom girl from USC in the bathroom...

Cy is silent for a little and Nolan can hear a throaty engine in the background, "it'll be fine."

"Whose car are you in?" Nolan questions his brother as he hears the engine gun loudly just like Viv's does when she hits the gas.

The engine pops again and Nolan can feel his face getting hot as he thinks about Viv driving his brother around. Thing was Nolan knew Cy was enough of a dog to still slide in with Viv now that they were 'just friends'. He hated this just friends bullshit they couldn't even pretend to be nice to each other especially now that he fucked up spending time with Lena.

"I'm with Viv she picked me up," Cy finally tells Nolan deciding it was better to tell him the truth.

"The fuck why?" Nolan snaps over the phone. He knows Cy can hear his frustrated tone just fine.

Cy begins to speak, but Viv cuts him off with a short giggle. Nolan's nostrils flare. "She was reupping for the party and I had just got a hair cut so she asked if I wanted to ride with her to Benee's."

"Fuck you guys," Nolan grumbles.

"Bro, unlike you two Viv and I can actually be friends. I know you think I don't respect you, but I do. I'm not playing like that with you, you blood," Cy tries to reassure his younger brother.

"Whatever man," Nolan snaps not wanting to think about Cy and Viv spending anytime together. It was bad enough that Cy had been nonchalantly talking about banging Viv for the last two years. "Fuck y'all I'm coming whether its UCLA friendly or not this time."

"No blue or red," Cy reminds his brother.

"Yeah, yeah," Nolan says and hangs up the phone.

Nolan lets out a very frustrated groan and flops back on his bed in the dorm room. He had been in a slump since Viv freaked out on him in the parking lot. Even his teammates had noticed he had been half assing in lift and practice. It just bothered him that Viv had ghosted him so easy even after they had talked and pretty much made it official at the Underground. He couldn't figure out what he had done to make her freak.

Maybe it was best for them not to be together, or try to. Viviana was well known for her lack of trying and even more notorious for failed drug tests and skipping class. She really was a bad influence to be around and maybe Christian had been right about that. Nolan wasn't a super star either. He had skipped practice, class and done his fair share of fucking around the last year. It was a miracle that he had done as well as he did his freshman season. Somehow he had managed to help his school win a national championship and also take home Baseball Rookie of the Year. Viv wasn't exactly lifting him up, but rather was pulling him down into a pre-season slump. With the start of the year coming up having Viv around wasn't good for his draft pick.

Nolan sends a few texts before getting dressed in a white t-shirt, shoes and light denim jeans. His chain flops around his neck and he runs a hand through his dark hair and makes a mental note to get it cut. He gets an Uber out to the Crenshaw party house and tries to center himself. He is still upset about his brother riding around with Viv.