Hooped #3 (The Hooped Interracial Romance Series, Book #3) Read online

  “Of course he knows we’re friends,” Kelly said, rolling her eyes again. “I was at the Phi Kappa party too, you know. We got there together and hung out during. You think he didn’t see you talking to me and dancing with me? Of course he did.”

  “So then how does he know your name if you’ve never been involved?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “I’ve dated some of the other Phi Kappa guys. He probably got my name from one of them. Look—this is ridiculous, Jenn. You’re going crazy over this guy, and he’s totally not worth it.” I shook my head.

  “It doesn’t add up. There would be no reason for him to name-drop you if he was lying to me.”

  “There would be every reason!” I shook my head at Kelly again.

  “Don’t you think he’s smart enough to figure I’d check it out—if he picked your name deliberately?”

  “He knows you’re crazy about him because you’re about as transparent as an un-tinted window!” Kelly scowled at me. “He figured that you’d just trust his word on it because he’s so charming and sweet and gentle and fucked your brains out.”

  “He came clean to me about everything,” I said. “If he was just lying to me to get in my pants…hell, he’s already been in my pants! That wouldn’t make sense. And it wouldn’t make sense for him to try and feed me some story like that without thinking I’d confront you.”

  “He knew you’d do just what you’re doing right now—believe him instead of me. I can’t believe you, Jenn, I thought you had more sense than that.” Kelly shook her head and picked up her to-go box again, picking at her food. She took a deep breath, sighing.

  “Just come clean, Kelly,” I said, suddenly feeling exhausted. “I can forgive you for not wanting to tell me about it because you’re hurting still. I can get that. I was hurt too. But come clean about what it is with you and him, because we’ve been friends for way too long for you to lie to me.” Kelly closed her to-go box and threw it in the trash, shaking her head again.

  “You’re going to have to choose who you’re going to believe and who you’re going to side with,” she said, holding my gaze for a long moment. “Because you’re right; we’ve been friends for way too long for you to believe what some guy tells you instead of trusting me. If I’m not even a good enough friend for you to believe me, we shouldn’t be friends at all.” I sighed.

  “Kelly, come on,” I said, watching her as she grabbed her book bag from off of the floor. “You’re really going to make me choose between him and you?”

  “I have to go to class,” she said flatly, walking past me without even looking in my direction. She slammed the door shut behind her as she left the room, and I sat in the common area for a long time after she left, just staring at the TV she’d left on. I couldn’t believe that she’d keep the lie up even after confronted with the facts; I couldn’t believe that Kelly would care so little about our friendship to just keep to the same story.

  I knew that she had to still be hurting over Devon to have done the things she had, but to completely and totally deny that she’d had anything to do with him made no sense. I shook my head, full of disbelief. There had been absolutely no reason for Devon to drop her name if he hadn’t actually been with her; he could have picked any name at all and I would have been none the wiser. Especially since when I had asked him about the name of the girl in question, it was easily an hour or more after he had explained what the situation had been—if he wanted to deflect my attention, he could have picked a girl from one of the sororities, anything. It didn’t make any sense, and I couldn’t help thinking that it was a damned shame that Kelly was willing to throw away years of friendship all because she was bitter about Devon.

  Chapter Three

  I decided to check my email since I had lost any appetite I had for breakfast. I forced myself to eat dry cereal from my closet stash while I opened up my school account and logged in; the first thing that popped up was a notification that my professor for my only morning class that day had canceled the class meeting, adding a note that she was sick and didn’t want to spread it to the rest of us. I sat back in my chair at my desk, trying to decide what to do with myself in all my freedom for the day. My next class for the day wouldn’t be until the afternoon; I had all morning and lunchtime to stew about the situation with Kelly. Great, I thought. I’m just going to sit here pretending to watch TV and pretending not to think about the fact that I might be losing my best friend.

  Kelly came back from her short morning class while I was still ruminating on the situation, sitting in my room and pretending to myself that I was actually making any headway in studying for one of my classes. I heard the door close behind her, heard her go into her room—and ignored her completely. I still couldn’t believe that she had not only lied to me, but also lied about lying to me.

  In spite of how confused and hurt I felt, I might have made an effort to at least talk to her again about the situation if my phone buzzing hadn’t interrupted my thoughts. I unlocked my screen; Devon had texted me, and I couldn’t help but smile. Got your note, babe. Hope everything’s all right with your friend crisis! I was just wondering if you’re not doing anything right now…feel like coming to watch me practice? You could give coach a few of those pointers you gave me last night. I laughed, rolling my eyes; the last person I’d give advice to on coaching would be the coach himself.

  I closed my books; I didn’t have a class for hours, and I definitely wanted to see Devon again, even if it was just from the bleachers while he practiced. I’d love to watch you get all sweaty. Be right there. I grabbed my purse and made sure that I had my keys and my phone; I changed into new clothes—no sense walking around in the ones I’d worn last night for any longer than necessary. I closed the door to my side of the dorm hard, enough for Kelly to hear me leaving; but she stayed in her room, and I decided that if she was going to keep ignoring me, that I would just return the favor.

  I made it to the court just as the team was finishing up their warm-up, finding a good spot in the bleachers and settling myself there. There were a few other girls from campus watching; most of them were girlfriends of different members of the team, but there were some obvious fangirls too, just hanging out to watch and giggle. Devon looked out over the bleachers as he went in for drills; he caught my eye and grinned, and in spite of the fact that I was still feeling guilty and confused about how things had gone earlier in the morning, I felt my heart skip a beat.

  I tried to focus on watching the practice, listening to the coach call out orders and tweaks and critiques, but I couldn’t keep myself from thinking about Kelly and the whole stupid confrontation we’d both been through. She had said that Devon had picked her name to give me because he knew that I’d take his side instead of hers. I felt my cheeks burning as I remembered what she said about the fact that I’d lost my virginity to Devon and how it was making me crazy.

  I cheered Devon on, trying to find the balance between just sitting there staring at him and looking like a crazy fan-girl, smiling back at him every time he glanced in my direction, watching his flashy moves as he went up against the best players on his team. I had to admit to myself that even with the flashiness, there was no one who could say that Devon wasn’t a really phenomenal player; it wasn’t just that he was visible. I could tell that he practically breathed basketball. He was light on his feet, quick to move through any little hole the defense created, and he made shots as if he didn’t even think about it—and sank them. Whether he was working with or against Miles in the drills, he was a standout player.

  Even though I was cheering and doing my best to pay complete attention, though, my mind kept going back to Kelly. Why hadn’t she just admitted it? If she really valued our friendship and wanted to continue to be close, it wouldn’t make any sense to keep up her story. It wouldn’t make sense to make me choose between her and Devon. Devon had seemed so sincere when he’d explained what had happened, when he confessed to me about his previous playboy ways; why should I doubt him when
he gave me the name of the girl? But by the same token, Kelly had proven herself over years of being my friend to be someone I could trust. If she was telling me the truth, then I owed her the apology to beat all apologies—but if she was lying, and Devon was telling the truth, how could I ever trust her again, knowing that she was just trying to drive a wedge between Devon and me? It seemed like one or the other of the two other people in the situation were trying to drive me away from the other—and I had no idea for sure who was the guilty one.

  The end of practice nearly took me by surprise; I was so lost in thought that I didn’t know it was ending until the shrill, sharp whistle cut through my mind. I came down from the bleachers, grinning in spite of my anger and confusion, hoping against hope that I’d be able to get a minute with Devon before I had to leave; I realized that I had to get to class within a few minutes—I’d spent most of the morning watching the guy I liked play or thinking about Kelly.

  “Hey Jenny,” Devon called up to me as I made my way down. I rolled my eyes.

  “It’s still not working,” I told him with a pretend scowl. “I still hate to be called that.” Devon laughed, taking my hand and helping me down the last step onto the court.

  “I’ll just have to make it really, really good next time I say it then, won’t I?” He grinned at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. Devon leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips, giving me a quick hug.

  “You’re going to have to work really hard to make me like that nickname,” I warned him, blushing as he gave me a flirty, knowing look.

  “I will,” he promised. “But first; have you got a minute? I want to introduce you to the guys.” I looked at the clock on the wall—I only had a few minutes before I had to be in class.

  “I wish I could,” I said, smiling sadly. It gave me a thrill to know that Devon wanted to introduce me to his friends; it made what he had said the night before about being serious about me, about really wanting to be with me, that much more real. “I’ve got to get to class in like ten minutes, though. Not even for you am I going to be late.” Devon laughed.

  “It’s all good babe,” he said, giving me another quick kiss. “Let me dry off some of this sweat and I’ll walk you there, how about that?” I grinned, unable to help myself.

  “I’d love that,” I said, standing up on the balls of my feet to give him another fast kiss. Devon grabbed a towel off of the bench and dried himself off quickly.

  “I’ll grab a shower once I get back to the house,” he told me, tossing the towel into his duffel and slinging it over his shoulder. He took me by the hand and led me out of the practice court, and I felt the envious glances of all of the girls who’d come to cheer on the team in practice.

  We chatted while we walked across campus together, hand-in-hand, and I couldn’t help but feel absolutely thrilled. Not only was Devon willing to introduce me to his friends; he was making it clear to everybody that he liked me, more than just a one-night stand, more than just a fling. He teased me about being a bookworm and study freak and jokingly asked for my critiques of his practice; I pretended to break down his gameplay, making ridiculous observations about his flashiness and crowd appeal.

  We took the stairs up to my class—I reasoned that I might end up being a minute or two late, but it was worth it for the extra minute or two I could spend with Devon. “I have an idea,” Devon said, pulling me close to give me one final kiss as we came to the door for my class.

  “Oh?” I asked, wishing I didn’t have to leave him, wishing that I could just blow the class off and spend the rest of the afternoon with him.

  “Come by tonight when you’re done with classes; I’ll introduce you to the guys then.” I thought about it. For sure it would be good to have an excuse not to be in my dorm, especially with how jumbled up my thoughts were about Kelly still. I definitely wanted to meet Devon’s friends and frat brothers.

  “Sure,” I said, giving him a quick hug as he finished kissing me goodbye. “I’ll come by tonight. That sounds great.” Devon grinned at me and I turned to go into class, barely able to make myself pull my hand free of his. Even if I didn’t want to be part of Devon’s life, spending the evening with him and his frat brothers would be a welcome distraction. The fact that he really wanted to introduce me around, that he wanted to make sure people knew that he was dating me, meant a lot to me. I couldn’t help but feel like it had to mean that Devon was sincere.

  I knew that Kelly would probably hate it if she heard about where I was spending my evening; but even though I couldn’t quite bring myself to totally disregard her insistence that she had never been involved with Devon, the severity of her dislike was a little much. I didn’t want to be around her at all if I could avoid it, and if Devon hadn’t invited me to hang out, I would have been forced to figure out my own excuses for not being in the dorms and avoiding everyone. I would much rather spend the hours hanging out, maybe watching a game, getting to know Devon’s friends and being around the guy I liked than sitting around in the Library or the Student Union, pretending to study or take part in some club-sponsored event but really stewing about my friend the whole time. I went into the classroom and got settled in; I had been just in time, and from the looks on the faces of some of the girls who had come in around the same time I had, they hadn’t missed the fact that Devon had walked me there. I grinned to myself and told myself that I would do the right thing and be good and attentive through my classes, so I could really enjoy myself that evening hanging out with “the guys” and the man I was quickly falling for.

  Chapter Four

  In spite of my anger and worries and confusion about Kelly, my classes for the afternoon flew by. All afternoon, I was giddy at the fact that I was going to actually be meeting Devon’s friends, although a little voice in the back of my mind—Kelly’s voice, it seemed like at the time—told me that it was just part of the act. Part of Devon trying to make me feel special. But if he was just trying to get in my pants, I thought, then there would be no point in keeping up the act and making me feel special.

  I avoided my dorm room like the plague and didn’t even bother trying to find any of my other friends when I grabbed lunch. I decided against even going up to change my clothes before I headed over to the Phi Kappa house; it was just asking to run into Kelly, and after our confrontation that morning I couldn’t imagine anyone I wanted to see less than her.

  I sent Devon a text that I was coming over. As I was walking across campus, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Can’t wait to see you! I even got showered and dressed. I grinned to myself, shaking my head. I had to admit that I was really excited to spend time with Devon—and even more excited to meet his friends. I was a little bit wary of the Phi Kappa guys; the reputation they had on campus as the rowdiest partiers—confirmed by how the party I’d gone to at the frat house had played out—made me think that by the time I showed up there, they’d already be drinking, hanging off of the ceiling, daring each other to crazier and crazier stunts. But if Devon wanted me to meet his friends, it was a good sign, and I wasn’t about to push it away.

  I got across campus as quickly as I could, hurrying to avoid running into any of my friends who might ask where I was headed and why. My heart was beating faster and faster in my chest as I came closer to the fraternity row; I didn’t know whether it was because I was anxious to see Devon, anxious his friends wouldn’t like me, or worried that it was some kind of elaborate prank.

  I was surprised as I walked up to the front door of the frat house; there was no pounding bass, no crowd of revelers, and no sign that any kind of party was going on at all. It’s not even night yet, Jenn, I thought, shaking my head at myself. Surely even these guys aren’t partying all the time. I came to the door and hesitated just a moment before knocking; I had already told Devon I was on my way—I couldn’t just back out of it now. “Just a minute!” someone from inside called out. My heart hammered away in my chest, my blood roaring in my ears. I swallowed against the tight, dry feeling in my th
roat, holding myself still so that my feet wouldn’t take off of their own volition while I waited.

  The door opened, revealing a perfectly normal-looking guy—I thought I’d probably seen him once or twice in the dining hall—in jeans and a tee shirt. “Hey, you’re Devon’s girlfriend, right? Jenn?” I smiled, nodding. “Come on in; Devon said you were coming. We’re all in the living room.” I stepped through the door, taking in a brand-new shock: the frat house was actually reasonably clean on the inside—a far cry from the state it had been in when I’d been there for the party. It occurred to me that I hadn’t paid enough attention when I’d been there the night before to notice whether it had been clean then.

  The frat brother, who introduced himself to me as Brian, led me through the front hall to the living room. “Hey, Bri—don’t think you can go scamming on my girl, now,” Devon said, crossing the room to meet me. I blushed, laughing and rolling my eyes at him as Devon took my hand in his. He kissed me lightly on the lips, holding my gaze for a long moment while he smiled.

  “Dunno man, Brian may not have the skills on the court, but rumor has it he’s got other skills,” one of the other brothers commented from the couch. Devon rolled his eyes and led me deeper into the room, his hand holding mine.

  “This is Jenn, everyone; she’s the one I was a creepy stalker to the other day.” Everyone snickered, and I felt my nervousness starting to dissolve. The rest of the brothers hanging out in the living room—I counted about a dozen of them, scattered around the couch, on the floor, in a couple of the chairs—looked up from the video game they were either watching or playing, pausing long enough to smile and wave and murmur a quick hello.

  “Want anything to drink, Jenn?” One of the guys, sitting towards the edge of the room, asked. “We’ve got soda, beer, water, whatever you want.”

  “That’s Jason,” Devon told me, leading me towards one of the uninhabited chairs in the room. “Do you want anything?”