The Line Drive

fifteen

Dane

I ask her if she thinks I'm stupid, and I'm fully prepared for her to say yes. When she trips and nearly falls and I have to catch her again, it's a struggle to not laugh. But I'm dying to know her answer, so I don't, instead steadying her in silence. 

"Are you serious?" She asks. 

A million replies fly through my mind, but none of them come out. "Yes." I'm dead serious. Amy had walked up to me at the party and told me I was the 'dumbest fuck she'd ever had' and 'at least she was with a smart man now'. She'd then started making out with Grant in front of me. 

It was disgusting, and I hated her for it, but it had still gotten under my skin. I knew that's exactly what she was trying to do. I hated myself for letting it bother me. Especially when I didn't think Grant could even read at a third grade level. 

"Of course I don't think you're stupid." Mackenzie says like it's the most obvious thing in the world. I breathe a small sigh of relief. We're only a couple of blocks from her place now, but I wish we were farther, because I enjoy being in her presence. "Dane, I wouldn't tutor you if I thought you were stupid." She elbows me lightly in the ribs because I'm not looking at her, instead I'm trying not to let all my emotions get the better of me because I'm drunk and having a hard time keeping a handle on myself. "Please smile. I'm trying to be nice here."

I try to give her a smile, but I think I fail because she just looks worried. 

"Dane, I'm serious. I think you're really smart. More smart than you give yourself credit for." She takes a breath. "I'm not sure that computer science is really your thing, but you seem to be getting it. And I've seen you do your other homework, you definitely look like you know what you're doing." She pats my shoulder as we walk. "Plus, I really respect that you're majoring in biology and don't seem to totally hate it." 

I stop in the sidewalk and pull her to me and hug her tightly. She hugs me back. I don't think she knows how much her words mean to me. "Thank you." I whisper, squeezing tighter.

"Can't breathe." She manages. I let her go and she lets out a big breath of air. "You're welcome though." She gives me a smile and takes off walking again. I follow her, trying hard not to think about how her body felt pressed against mine, and trying hard not to stare at her ass which is accentuated by her leggings. 

We walk for a moment before she looks over at me, concern obvious in her hazel eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I take a long breath in. "Yeah, I'm good." Mackenzie's confidence in me has restored my confidence in myself. I don't know why Amy's words had hit so hard today, but it was probably a combination of being tired and alcohol. It was the reason I had gone outside in the first place. I was almost thankful that it had happened, because being around drunk Mackenzie was making my week. 

When we make it to her house, she fumbles with her keys for a bit, trying to figure out the right one, before being able to open the door. I watch her walk inside. She seems a bit more stable now. "Are you good?" I ask her as she stands just inside her door. I almost hope the answer is no so that she invites me inside. I don't want to do anything with her because she's clearly drunk, but I'm amused by the whole situation. I'm hoping she'll say something incriminating that I can tease her about during the week. 

"Yeah, I'm alright." I try not to show my disappointment, but I'm not that surprised. Learning more about Mackenzie will have to wait. "A little less drunk now, I think." 

"That's good." I tell her. "Eat a spoon full of honey. That's how I prevent hangovers." 

"Sounds fake." She grins. "But I love honey so I'll give it a try." 

"You do that." 

"Goodnight, Dane. Thanks for walking me home." She gives me another smile before shutting the door. I watch her disappear and then turn back towards my house.

The walk is peaceful, but I wish that Mackenzie was still with me. Hearing her drunk giggles as she had tripped on every slightly uneven surface had made me feel warm. Now, I felt cold again, and was dreading the thought of anyone being home.

As if I had jinxed myself, Grant and Amy are making out on one of our couches when I walk through the door. Every time I see them together, it's like a stab in the chest. 

I had initially liked everything about Amy. She was fun and sexy and great at parties. She got along well with all the baseball guys. She was an excellent flirt, and seemed to keep up with me in the baseball world. She admired my baseball talents, and could talk ball with me easily. 

The flirting had quickly taken a turn when I realized that she flirted with literally everybody. We'd argued about it a lot, with her defending saying that it was just the way that she was, and that she couldn't change herself, and that I had to accept her or she was going to leave me. 

Arguments had always turned to sex. Sex with Amy was hot, because Amy was hot. And God, was she good in bed. I guess it should have occurred to me that she'd probably flirted her way into a lot of sex in order to get so good at sex in the first place. 

I duck my head and basically jog through the living room to go upstairs. I hear Amy murmur my name, but I ignore her and take the stairs two at a time. 

Unable to help myself, I slam the door behind me and lock it. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that whatever happens between them, I'm at least safe in my room for the time being. 

It doesn't take long for me to turn on Netflix and fall asleep with it playing in the background, desperately trying to keep all thoughts of Amy and Mackenzie out of my head.