In Her Eyes (5 page)

She tried to look over at Ben without actually moving, so he wouldn’t notice.
I wonder what he’s thinking. Is he wondering what I’m thinking, or is he thinking about something else entirely?
Then an idea popped into her head.
Why don’t I just ask him? Technically he told me earlier I could ask him anything.
So she did. “What are you thinking?”

“Do you
really
want to know? Or is this just one of those questions that are supposed to break the awkward silence.”

“I actually like the silence,” she said. “But…I really want to know.”

“Are you sure? Because thoughts aren’t like words. They don’t always make sense.”

“I want to know.”

“Okay, well. I was thinking about how I dislike when people are mean to dogs.” Ben paused for a moment and then he continued. “And what practice would be like next week; Coach always likes to change things up. And about what type of person you are and if those sandals are any indication. And lastly, about how I love chocolate pecan pie, especially when my sister makes it for Thanksgiving.”

That was a lot more than she ever expected him to say. She looked down at her black Steve Madden sandals. Her jeans stopped just short of the gladiator style leather straps that ran over the top of her foot and a few inches of her heel. It’s not like they were slutty stilettos. “What’s wrong with my sandals?”
I love these sandals.

He laughed. “Nothing, I like your sandals. They are very chill.”

Casey raised her eyebrows slightly. “Chill?”

“Yeah, like you look relaxed, instead of strutting around in three inch heels like a lost chicken.”

Casey laughed quietly. She imagined all the girls in the club walking kind of funny and bobbing their heads as they moved. “I could absolutely go for some pecan pie right now too.”

“I know, right?”

“Yo, Ben!” someone yelled as they ran onto the balcony. Ben turned around; it was Mike Mitchel again.

“What’s up, Mike?”

“Your boy Parsley is about to get his ass beat.”

“Parsley?” Ben asked, confused.

“I don’t know his fuckin’ name man. It’s your boy.”

“Parker?”

“Yeah, whatever. He’s about to get his face kicked in.”

13

Black and Blue

April 3, 2015

Casey ran after Ben, who was running after Mike. She fell behind as he took the stairs two and three at a time.

I’m so wearing sneakers next time I go out.

She reached the bottom of the stairs just in time to see Ben follow Mike out the back exit. The crowd was hyped up and rowdy after the first fight. She bumped into several people as she zigzagged her way through the tables. She had almost made it to the back door when the last table must have gotten word of the fight outside. A tall sandy-blond guy with a pink and white plaid shirt stood up from the table the same time she tried to pass and Casey ran straight into the side of him.

Unfortunately he was holding a full cup of beer, which had now been emptied onto the girl that was sitting to his right.

Casey looked down at the girl. “I’m so sorry,” she said.

“You little bitch,” the girl replied.

The guy she bumped into was trying not to laugh, but he couldn’t help it. “Have fun with this one tonight,” Casey said. She quickly made her way outside before anything else happened.

When she stepped through the back door she could see a crowd of people already forming around the guys she guessed were Parker and some frat guy. This wasn’t one of those khaki shorts, boat shoes, and sweater-vest frat guys. This was one of those crazy, drunk, and obsessed with shooting-himself-in-the-butt-with-steroids frat guys. This was Nikki's ex, Trevor.

Casey looked back at Parker. He was actually pretty tall, probably a couple inches over six feet. Unfortunately he was about 150 pounds dripping wet and looked like he probably knew more about badminton than fighting.

Casey couldn’t make out what anyone was saying because they were all screaming something different. Though she was pretty sure the people crowding around only cared about one thing: a fight.

That’s when she saw Ben step in front of Parker.

* * *

Inserting himself between the two, Ben held up his hands like he was trying to stop a truck. The big guy took a step back with his right leg, and Ben stopped. “Whoa, man. Why don’t we take this back inside and talk. I’m sure it was just some misunderstanding. I can buy you,” Ben motioned behind the guy, “and your boys a drink.”

The guy looked back at his buddies, unsure what to do. Most of them looked like a free drink sounded like a good idea. But there’s always that one window licker that has to ruin it for everyone else. “He hit on your girl, Trevor,” the guy yelled. “You let that go and next thing you know he’ll be hitting on your mom.”

Ben glared back at Parker, and then over to Nikki standing behind him.

Ben heard another group of people mumbling several things to the right of him. “Isn’t that Benson Wilder?” one guy said.

“The runner?” another guy asked.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, I think it is.”

At the same time Mike and a few of his boys walked over behind Ben. He recognized one that played on the baseball team with Mike, but he didn’t recognize the other three.

Mike spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “You alright, Ben?”

The words distracted Trevor for a second.

“Yeah, I believe Trevor,” Ben said motioning towards the big guy standing across from him, “was just heading back inside.”

The same chucklehead from before yelled again, “Beat his ass, Trevor!” And then another one, “Stomp his ass, man.” Ben looked back over at the group of guys behind Trevor and realized he was wrong. Trevor wouldn’t be going inside anytime soon, which meant it was time for Plan B.

“Aren't you a little worried that your boys seem to be somewhat preoccupied with another guy’s ass?” The guy looked behind him towards friends, momentarily confused, and then turned back to Ben and clinched his fist. “Move out of the fucking way.”

Ben looked down and sighed. He stepped to the left to give the guy a clear path to Parker. Then he said, “I’m sorry.”

The guy looked confused again. Why was he apologizing? The confused look never left his face as Ben reared back and kicked him right between the legs. The guy fell forward to the ground, but before Ben knew what was happening a blur entered his vision from just behind him and to the right. His head snapped to the left as he brought his hand up to his right eye that was now stinging.

Some little shit just blind-sided him. The kid was winding up again, and then he was down on the ground. Parker had just kicked him between the legs too.

Several people in the crowd started laughing, and then Mike and his boys jumped in along with several of the other frat guys. Ben took two steps towards the fray, but suddenly Casey was pulling Ben towards the street, with Nikki following.

Casey looked in Nikki’s direction when they got to the street. “I thought you and Trevor were done?”

Nikki looked at her like,
not now.

“You okay?” Casey said.

“Yeah,” Nikki said. “We can talk about it later.” 

Ben looked back to find Parker and saw him stuck between the two groups of guys. Then Parker darted back inside the club. Ben was about to run back in when Casey pulled him again towards her car that was parked across the street. Parker, you are on your own now, Ben thought.

Casey was laughing when they got in the car.

Ben was still touching his hand to his eye. “I’m glad one of us enjoyed that.”

“Guys, uh, maybe we should go,” Nikki said pointing at Trevor and the guy Parker kicked running towards the car.

She pulled away from the curb, nearly swiping the tailgate of the truck in front of her, and turned west down University Avenue. “Did you really tell that guy a joke before you kicked him in the balls?”

“It was either that or run in like an idiot, which Parker already seemed to have covered.” Ben looked back at Nikki. “What the heck happened anyways?”

“I didn’t know he was going to be there,” Nikki said.

“You didn’t know who was going to be there?” Ben asked.

“Trevor,” Casey said. She looked at Nikki through the rear-view mirror. “Who is
supposed
to be her ex.”

“He
is
my ex,” Nikki said.

Ben looked back at Nikki again. “But how did Parker and Trevor end up outside?”

“When you left I guess Trevor saw me with Parker. He came over, and at first was just talking to me, apologizing and everything. I asked him to leave and he wouldn’t. Next thing I know Parker is standing asking him to leave. Trevor’s stupid friends came over, and I don’t know.”

Casey interrupted the conversation. “Where are you parked?”

“I’m not. I rode with Jen, but she didn’t stay. Actually I just texted her, and she’s over at Gator City if you guys want to go?”

“I think I’ve had enough fun for the night,” Casey said.

“Will you drop me off? It’s just up here on the right.”

A few blocks ahead Casey stopped at the light and Nikki got out. She leaned down against the car where Ben’s window was open. “Take care of my girl,” she said with a wink.

Nikki!
Casey mouthed.

“Will do,” Ben said, winking back at her.

Nikki walked towards the back patio of Gator City as the light turned green.

“You think that was a good idea?” Ben asked as they drove away.

“As opposed to?”

“I don’t know, maybe…not leaving her right now.”

“She’s a big girl, Mr. Sensitive. Besides Jen is there.”

Casey looked over to Ben and swerved a few feet into the oncoming lane. “Now let me see your eye.”

“How about you just focus on the road.”

“Don’t be such a baby. Now turn this way so I can see it.”

Ben turned his head all the way to the left, so she could see his right eye.

“Good news is, you’re not going to die. Bad news is your jokes are terrible,” she said, laughing.

14

First Date

April 3, 2015

Five minutes later Casey was following Ben into his dorm room after insisting on taking a quick look at this eye.

Ben sat his keys down on the desk that was immediately to the left of the door, and Casey’s eyes scanned over the rest of the room.

There was a closet next to the desk that had no doors revealing several shirts on hangers and about ten pairs of sneakers on the floor below them. Another desk sat directly across the room and acted like a dividing line between the two beds. Above the bed on the right was a post of Megan Fox bending over a motorcycle, another post of three well-endowed blondes in white bikinis, and a close up of Emma Stone’s gorgeous green eyes.

Ben sat down on the other bed. The walls above it were empty except for a paper sized photo of a guy running and a quote she couldn’t make out.

She walked over to the mini fridge next to his bed. “Seriously? All you have are frozen chicken patties and some Cheetos? I thought athletes were supposed to be healthy? And why are the Cheetos in the ‘fridge?

“Did you think I’d have a fridge full of fruits, vegetables, and vitamins? And because everything stays fresher in the ‘fridge.

“Actually, yeah. And that’s dumb.” She grabbed the bag of frozen chicken patties and turned around to the bed where he was sitting. “Put this on your face.”

Ben took the frozen bag and pressed it up against his eye. He leaned back so he was half sitting up, half leaning on right arm. “Tell me something about you,” he said.

“What?”

“Well, we can’t just sit here in silence, so tell me something about you.”

“How about
you
tell
me
something about
you
?”

“How about we go back and forth?”

Casey thought about it for a moment, and then sat down on the bed next to him. “Deal.”

“I’ll go first,” Ben said. “I like fried chicken and Cheetos.” He laughed, but it hurt, and in between each attempt he grimaced.

“Seriously, your jokes are soooo bad,” she said, trying not to smile. She thought about something she could tell Ben, but only dumb things came to mind, like her favorite color. And Emma of course, but she definitely wasn’t going there.

“Well?” he said.

“I don’t know.”

“Alright, well the rules clearly stipulate that you now have to answer any four questions of my choosing.”

“That’s what the rules say, huh?”

“Yep, very specific. Page 23, subparagraph A. I would show you, but unfortunately I let someone borrow my only copy.”

She was a little nervous what he might ask. “I guess I’ll have to take your word for it then.”

Ben got up, still holding the frozen patties to his face and grabbed a pencil and notepad. He sat back on the bed and put the frozen patties down next to him. “Okay if I take these off for a minute?”

“Yeah, but you need to put them back on in about ten minutes.”

“Okay, question number one…”

“Wait you’re going to write down my answers?” Casey asked.

“You’ll see. Okay, question number one. You walk into your house, and everything is white. The wall, the ceiling, the floor, everything. What do you feel the moment you step through the door?

“And everything is white?” Casey said.

“Yep. White as white can be.”

“Okay, I guess I probably feel peaceful, but also somewhat alone.”

“Question two. What feeling do you get when you see your favorite color?”

Casey thought about it. Her favorite color was red. “I guess I feel alive and passionate.”

“Question number three. Describe the qualities of your favorite animal.”

“That’s technically not a question,” Casey pointed out. “But, I would have to say…”

“No, no, let me rephrase. What are the qualities of your favorite animal?”

“Like I was saying…loyal, and kind, and wise in that quiet way, because I love dogs.”

Ben made an audible noise as he wrote down her answer. “Hmmm.”