Chapter Twenty-Four
Val
I woke the next morning with a crick in my neck from being snuggled against Tate all night. My mixed feelings could be dissected later when I had some free time to myself on the basketball court. For now, I was going to try hard to go with the flow and not think about the fear that crept around inside of me. Tate's mood swings were enough to leave me wondering what was coming next, but I wanted a chance at us enough to try to be the calm in the storms he kept coming up against.
"You awake?" He kissed the side of my head as I glanced up at him.
"Yeah. I can't believe we slept on this couch." I smirked.
His mother's voice caught my attention. "I can't believe you did, either. You guys need to get up and get moving. I have a detective coming out this morning to question me over this stuff with Daniel."
I sat up and groaned as my back popped. "It will be great when all of this is finally behind you guys."
"Let's just hope it stays that way." Tate stood up and turned to give me a quick kiss. "I'm jumping in the shower. You want me to walk you out to your car?"
"No, I'm good. I have a basketball game tonight. You guys should come and watch me play." I turned my attention back to Ms. Phillips. "It's up at the college."
"I'd love to. I'll make Tate bring me up there." She walked toward me and gave me a hug as Tate disappeared down the hall. "I'm so glad you two are working things out. He needs a good woman like you in his life."
"I'm not sure how good I am, but I'm not going anywhere just yet." I smiled at her and moved to pull my boots on before grabbing my keys and heading toward the door. "Good luck today."
"Good luck tonight." She smiled at me warmly and closed the door behind me.
I wrapped my jacket around me tightly and cursed myself for not getting a scarf from the house before heading out to Tate's the day before. It was freezing and the snow was moving in fast.
I jogged to my car and got in as my teeth started to chatter. I didn’t mind the cold, but the minute I graduated, I was going to look for a warm weather state to move to. The idea of Tate coming with me gave me pause. Was I that serious about him? We'd just started dating.
"One day at a time," I grumbled under my breath as I tried to start the car.
Nothing.
"Not again." I tried again. Not a sound. "Great."
A familiar truck pulled up next to me, and Sam got out all bundled up.
I opened my door and got back out of the car, giving him a curt wave. "Sam, is there any way I could get a ride to school? My car won't start and I have an exam this morning in my ten o'clock class that I need to study for."
"You bet. Is Tate's mom making breakfast?" He nodded toward the house.
"I don't think so. The detective from the police station was supposed to come down and visit her today." I walked toward the passenger’s side door quickly as the wind picked up.
We got into the truck and I worked to get my seatbelt on as he started the engine. It was still warm from him just getting out, but it was so intensely cold outside, that it took me a few minutes to thaw.
"You sleep over last night?" He lifted his eyebrow at me.
"That's kinda personal for someone you barely know." I gave him a grin and laughed.
His lips lifted as his cheeks grew pink. "I didn't mean like that. I just meant-"
"Yeah, I stayed the night. The couch is less than comfortable, but I wouldn't have been anywhere else." I pulled my phone from my purse and texted Katelyn to get me some clothes thrown in the dryer. Everything I had was wrinkled thanks to my rebellion over having to hang up clothes like I'd been forced to do my whole life.
"That's good to hear – about you wanting to be with Tate, not the crick in your neck." He pulled out onto the main lanes and glanced over at me as if nervous. "So, you really like him? Cause he's a great guy and watching you hurt him isn't going to fly."
"Are you trying to be tough with me?" I smirked. Tate's best friend was almost too cute. He reminded me of a young Clark Kent.
"I'm trying," he chuckled. "Is it working?"
"Yes. Absolutely." I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. "Tate's an interesting guy. I've yet to even start figuring him out."
"He's a great guy. Life's been hard for him, far harder than I could ever imagine living through."
I turned my face toward him and opened my eyes. "I think everyone has a story to tell though, don't you think? Tate being an orphan and not knowing his parents is horrible, but there are lots of kids who know their parents and wish like hell they didn't."
He gave me a quick glance and nodded. "Yeah, I get that. My parents are great, but I can imagine there are plenty of people we encounter at UMN every day that hate their home lives. It's sad."
"Yeah, but life isn't about where we were raised. It's about where we're headed. It's about where life is going, not where it came from, right?" I felt calm and comfortable around Sam. He exuded this feeling of acceptance that left me understanding why Tate would be so close to him.
"I guess you’re right, but people get stuck in their pasts all the time. My parents expect me to make good grades, marry a white girl with brown hair and good teeth, and have two well-behaved kids that I bring home on the weekends to see them."
I laughed at his description of his future wife. "Good teeth?"
"Yeah." He rolled his eyes. "My mom's a dentist, and my dad says he's not a racist, but he's full of it."
"That's...interesting. I was going to try and set you up with my friend Lucinda, but if your dad isn't-"
"Yes." His eyes widened a little. "The really pretty black girl from the party the other night?"
"Yeah, but if-"
"Yes. Hook me up. She's beyond hot. We only got to talk for all of 10 minutes the other night before Tate fucked it all up." He nodded and glanced over at me again. "Does she like white guys?"
"I don't think she really sees people as a color." I smiled at him. He was too cute, and Lucinda would eat him up. She needed a good man, and from the look of things, he needed someone to expand his horizons and give him somewhere to put his time and energy.
"Yeah, no one does but my damn dad." He pulled into the parking lot and turned to face me. "Are you playing in the game tonight?"
"Yeah. I invited Tate and his mom. You should come, too. My friends will be there."
"Lucinda will?" He lifted his eyebrow at me.
"Yep. She should be." I opened the door. "Thanks for the lift."
"Anytime, and Val… I know it sounds trite, but don't hurt Tate. He's a good guy and all he needs is the right woman to help him bridge the gap between where he is and where he's going. If that's not you, let him down easily, okay?" His smile faded.
I nodded. "I'll do just that."
After closing the door, I jogged to the Gamma house and walked into the living room to find the place full of new faces. It must have been recruiting day.
How could I forget?
"There you are." Katelyn walked up beside me. "You're supposed to give the new recruits their first assignment today, remember? We discussed it a few weeks back."
"You forgot, didn't you?" Carolyn moved up in front of me as her eyes moved down my body. The disgust on her face was almost palpable. "Where were you last night?"
"None of your business, and no, I didn't forget. You guys said nine. I have 15 minutes to spare. Now, if you'll excuse me." I moved past Carolyn, bumping her shoulder before I raced up the stairs. I needed to pull myself together fast. Presenting in front of the recruits wasn't the challenge, but having all of my sisters watching was. Knowing that Carolyn would be praying for me to mess up or look ignorant didn't make matters any better, either.
I closed the door behind me and let out a long sigh. Having only been with Tate for a few days, I knew one thing was for sure: he wouldn't have run for the presidency to impress anyone in his life.
Maybe I shouldn't, either.
*
Katelyn and Lucinda walked beside me as we made our way to campus a little later. I'd walked the new recruits through their first assignment for the house, which was to clean it spotless. They each had a room, and everyone was quite happy with my choice. We'd come home to a good-smelling house and everything being picked up. Carolyn had turned up her nose at me as I left, but she was simply jealous – as always.
"Tell me more about Sam." Lucinda poked me in the side as I reached for the door to the business building. I tried to ignore my father's name plastered to the side of it. Most people didn't know that I was related to the all-mighty Scotts, and I was grateful for the small reprieve.
"I don't actually know much. He seems like a great guy, and he and Tate have been friends forever. He's coming to the game tonight. Just make sure you're there and grab the seat next to him if you can. He's pretty open, from what I can tell." I looked up to see Kade holding the door to my business law class for me.
"Ladies." He smiled and turned his attention back to me. "Val."
I laughed. "What? I'm not a lady?"
"Yes, but you're a special lady." He opened the door winder and I walked in after giving my friends a silly look.
"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" I turned to face him.
"Because. You were right." He crossed his arms over his thick chest.
"About?" I tugged at the straps on my backpack.
"About Amy being a great girl. I took her out for dessert last night, and we laughed until our sides hurt." He shrugged. "I'm not sure about dating, but she's going to be a great friend."
Warmth filled me at the news. "That's awesome. The dating part will come later. I promise."
"Maybe." He shrugged. "My parents have some girl they want me to meet, so who knows where that's going to go. I'm almost 23 and they're still setting me up on blind dates like we live in a third world country."
"I know the feeling. My parents aren't much better." I moved to the front of the classroom with him. "Mine haven't done anything like that in a while, but I messed up the last date pretty good. I'm not sure I'm out of the woods with my mother still over that one."
"What did you do?" A smirk lifted his mouth. He was impossibly handsome, but surprisingly enough, I felt nothing but a good friendship growing between us. I was glad. The last thing I wanted was the internal drama of having feelings for more than one guy.
"Let's see... I slurped my soup, burped three times, and wore my hair in pigtails to a nice restaurant." I wagged my eyebrows. "You just thought I was a goodie-two-shoes."
"Actually, I could see the rebel peeking around the edges of your personality at the first party we went to a few weeks back. It's the reason I asked you to dance." He turned as Professor Griffith walked into the room. "Come have coffee with me after class. Just two friends hanging out?"
"Yeah, sure." I walked to the middle row and took my seat as Kade passed out the test we would be taking. I wasn't nearly as prepared as I'd hoped to be, but with all the drama swirling around me, it was a miracle that I was dressed and sitting in the right class.
I finished up faster than I thought I would and told Kade that I would be waiting outside for him. He nodded curtly, not really giving me his attention, at all. I ignored it and walked out into the chilly mid-morning. After dropping down onto a bench, I pulled out my phone and texted Tate to find out how things were going.
I hadn't gotten a reply by the time Kade walked up beside me, but it was probably for the best. Tate had plenty to deal with without having to entertain me and keep me updated on their every move.
"Hot chocolate or coffee?" He stopped beside me and smiled.
"Coffee, for sure." I picked up my bag and walked beside him toward Barney's Cafe. "Do you know anything about this chick your mom and dad are setting you up with? You might be surprised and find out that she's the one. Sometimes parents get things right."
"Nope." He opened the door for me. "No clue who she is, nor do I care. I'll take her to dinner and be as pleasant as I can for her sake. She's probably in the same situation as me. Poor thing."
"What? Being set up on a blind date?" I moved up to stand behind the long line at the register.
"No, having her parents threaten her college funds if she doesn't do exactly what they say when they say it." He rolled his eyes. "I'm so ready to get the fuck out of here. Six more months and I'm gone."
"Where to?" I tried to stave off my interest in him. It was an attraction to the fact that he knew my pain and seemed to have experienced the same life I was living.
"Somewhere warm. I hate the cold."