In Five Years

Chapter 7

Maddie

Later that evening I drive back to the nightclub where Maya works. It was an hour before it opened, but she said she'd let me inside. I have to return Tre his clothes and shoes that he let me borrow. I wouldn't feel right keeping them.

She lets me inside after I knock a few times. Tre is cleaning some glasses behind the bar. His arm muscles flex as he does this beneath a black t-shirt, and I fight the urge to stare at him longer.

"Look who it is." His eyes are alive with humor, a tiny smile threatening to appear on his face when he sees me. "One-night stand girl."

"I'd prefer you not call me that," I say jokingly. I put the plastic bag with his stuff in it on top of the bar. "Just wanted to return these to you. Thank you again for letting me borrow them."

"Anytime." He takes the bag and puts it beneath him in a spot I'm unable to see before he looks at me again and says, "Care to reconsider my offer?"

"About?"

"A date," he says.

"I told you that I don't do the long-distance thing, Tre. I'm not looking for anything serious, and—"

"Who said it has to be serious?" He asks, and again, a smile goes on his face. I love how playful and flirtatious he is. It's cute. "Let's just go out and get to know each other. As friends."

 I raise an eyebrow. "You just said that it was a date though?"

He laughs. "Okay, fair enough. Let's just hang out."

Maya scoffs when she returns from the bathroom, overhearing our conversation. "Jesus, this is sickening. Yes, she'll go on a date."

"Maya!" I hiss.

She flips her long black ponytail over her shoulder and places a hand on her hip. "What? You both look at each other like a damn piece of meat. When Tre told me all you guys did was sleep at his apartment I was thoroughly disappointed in you. Get laid."

"Maya..." I trail off. It's much more complicated than that.

"One hang-out session." He shrugs and throws a rag over his shoulder. "If you don't want to then it's cool and I'll understand, but I'd really like to take you out."

"Hang out," I remind him with a smug grin.

"Right," he says. "Hang out. Sorry."

I don't want to get involved with another guy right now. I'm vulnerable with Cameron being back here for the holidays, and I know this. But Tre is so handsome, and he's funny and kind. Why wouldn't I want to get to know him more?

He knows I don't do the long-distance thing. He knows I'm not looking for something serious, so what would the harm be?

I guess a part of me is scared to get hurt again. I messed around with a couple of guys in college, but I never had sex with them. A part of me was holding onto the stupid five-year plan between Cam and me, but it seems so stupid now that I think about it. I pushed myself off from guys that I might have actually had a future with because I was holding out for Cameron, who was starting his future with somebody else entirely. I'm an idiot.

"One hang-out session," I say. He gets a huge grin on his face. It's infectious. In seconds I find myself smiling too.

"In that case..." He turns around and grabs a notepad and a pen, laying the objects down in front of me. "I need your number."

"You'll thank me later!" Maya calls out as she heads outside. I want to kill her. Or hug her.

I guess only time will tell.

***

I'm finally back at home at around three, and after I make myself some lunch I head up to Ethan's room. He's wearing his gaming headset, and his room is still completely trashed. I'm surprised my parents haven't bitched him out yet for it.

I wave my hand to get his attention. It takes him a few minutes to find a stopping point in whatever game he's playing, but eventually, he takes his headset off and raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Have you seen dad?" I ask. "He hasn't been home for days it seems like."

Ethan shrugs, but I can tell something is up. He shifts uncomfortably where he's sitting and runs a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "Uh, I dunno," he says. "He was home last night."

"When?"

"It was late. After everyone had gone to bed. I went to grab a snack and heard him come in."

"Well, did he say anything to you?"

He shakes his head. "I guess he's been having to work a lot. They're short-staffed at the office, and he's had to pick up a lot of the workload. Late hours."

"Hm." I stare down at the floor. Something doesn't seem right. "It's just weird. He hasn't even said hello to me yet."

"Because he hasn't seen you. He's working, Maddie. Relax. Everything is fine, okay?"

It's still nagging at me, but I can tell that Ethan wants to get back to his video game so I let it go and wander back into my room. I'm still so tired from the other night of partying. I'm not sure if you can have a hangover for two days straight, but it certainly feels it.

Deciding to nap, I go to grab a t-shirt from the drawer of my dresser, only to freeze when I see Cameron's game jersey at the bottom. I pull it out and inspect it, my fingers running over the gold, shiny number.

I felt so special when he gave this to me. The night he took my virginity. It was a night I'll never forget.

It still smells like his cologne. I had sprayed some on it in his room that night and never washed it. I inhale the scent as the memories flood back, and in seconds I feel the heat between my legs.

I remember wearing this jersey and only this jersey that night they found out they were going to the state championship. He made love to me all night long. I can still picture his hands running up underneath his jersey on me, and I remember the way he looked at me. Like I was the only girl to ever matter to him.

This jersey is more than just a jersey. It's a symbol of our relationship. How amazing it was, but it doesn't feel like it's mine to hold onto any longer. Cameron should have this back. This is something he'll want to keep if he really does get drafted. It's a stepping stone to his career.

I don't know exactly how to give it back to him without making it obvious that I was reminiscing, so for now I tuck it away back in my drawer, deciding to save that problem for another day.