Despite being flamboyantly gay, Adam is the coolest person I’ve met here today. I’ve never been one of those homophobe types. Mom raised me to accept all people, that’s what she left me with. I was friends with a couple of gay guys back in Carolina. One even played ball with me. They’re no different from anyone else I would consider a friend, and maybe Adam could sense how I felt about people like him. Maybe that’s why he didn’t ask me a lot of questions about Ellie or how we got together. Still, something wasn’t right about the way he skidded around the subject. He’s not buying our charade, because he knows his sister too well, and she would never bring somebody like me home.
I didn’t say anything about it, and neither did he. That’s our silent agreement for the week, and I’m just fine with that.
While Ellie was barricaded in the powder room, he helped me settle into my guest room, which is as big as a five star hotel suite. I asked him about himself, because he seemed to be very open to talking to me. He’s in his final year at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, wants to be a fashion designer and makeup artist wrapped into one. He received an internship at Marc Jacobs for next summer, and in January he’s going to be working with him exclusively at New York City’s fashion week. He didn’t hesitate to ramble on about how excited he is, but I let him, because I didn’t think anybody else in the family cared enough to listen and he’d been nice to me from the get go. He gave me some good advice too: ‘stay away from the vultures’. When I asked him what that meant, he just smiled and said ‘you’ll find out’.
Sure Jules was a bitch, but I’d met women like her before. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more she reminded me of Tamara. I hate Tamara. Actually, I’d probably hate any nineteen year old that was dating my father, but that’s another story.
It wasn’t exactly right, the things Jules said, but I think Ellie needs to get some backbone when it comes to her step sister. They’re just empty words. Maybe I can make a difference, get this girl to toughen up a little bit and stand up to her family, if nothing else.
Adam showed me where the basketball courts were, once I was changed and refreshed. He sort of laughed when I asked about them and said that nobody had used them in a years, but that I was welcome.
“Do you play?” He asked.
“Yeah…it’s sort of my life. I have scouts coming to take a look at me after the holidays, so I need to be ready,” I told him. “When Ellie told me that you guys had a place for me to practice I was pretty excited. Thanks for letting me use it.”
“Sure. Dad had it built when I was in high school. I think he convinced himself that if he got me hooked on sports it would somehow turn me straight, since he always had an idea that I wasn’t “quite right”. Max was on the team and was appointed to be my teacher, and honey let me tell you, those were quite interesting days.” We stopped in front of the black iron fence that surrounded the immaculate outdoor courts, and he pushed the gate open for me. “You could imagine his surprise when I didn’t make the team. After that I told him that I was gay and wanted to design women's clothing. If Jeanine hadn’t protected me, I swear he would have sent me straight to military school. Instead, he just sent me to therapy.”
He laughed, but I could tell it pained him to talk about it.
They have a fucked up family, it’s obvious, but for the first time, I can sort of relate to them…and to Ellie, because my family is messed up too, just in a different way.
I’ve been out here for hours. The sun has set, leaving the California sky a thousand different shades of orange. I’m quickly losing daylight, but the spotlights have turned on high above me, providing me with what I need. This place is great. I wish we could afford to put a court like this back at my dads, but I can’t even imagine how much it would cost. Still, it’s nice to know that I’ll be able to practice after sundown while I’m here. Things are starting to look better for me, although not so much for Ellie.
Shortly into my solo practice, I had the privilege of meeting Max, the stepbrother. I was running suicides up and down the huge court when I head the gate creak open. At first I didn’t stop because I thought it might have been Ellie, but when I saw an unfamiliar person leaning up agains the fence, smirking at me, I forced myself to stop and stare at him. He looked like your typical rich, spoiled, arrogant asshole. The smirk on his face said it all, the way he looked at me, like he was plotting something, told me he was one of the ‘vultures’ Adam warned me about. Needless to say, my expression didn’t welcome him into my practice.
“So, you must be the guy Ellie brought home.”
“Justin Timberlake,” I said, still trying to catch my breath as I walked across to greet him. “Are you Max?”
He shook my hand. “Word gets around fast. Did you talk to Adam?”
I just nodded.
“Nice trainers,” he said, pointing to my Jordan’s. “What…do you play basketball?”
“Yeah. I just transferred from Carolina.”
“Oh,” he nodded and his smile grew wider. “You’re that big transfer I heard about aren’t you? The one they gave all that money to and that car?”
My dad has the car. I gave it to him because I didn’t think I’d be able to use it, since I’d be away at school. I’ve never driven it, but it’s nice, and my dad really enjoys it. “Well, I’m not really supposed to talk about my contract.”
“What’s a guy like you doing with Ellie anyway?” He asked me as I started running the suicides again. “Sounds like you can get any woman you want on that campus.”
I didn’t want to answer him. It was obvious that his point of coming to introduce himself wasn’t to get to know me, it was to prove that Ellie was lying. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction.
“She’s great in bed.” I stopped running and caught a stitch in my side as I panted the words out. “I mean, you wouldn’t think so, just by looking at her, but damn, get her out of those clothes and she’s like a tiger. Great personality too. I can’t help but love her.”
He chuckled, but didn't smile. He didn’t like my attitude, didn’t like me. “What a heartwarming pile of bullshit.”
I gave him an intimidating look. “Do you have a problem?”
He shrugged slightly. “No. I just know a lie when I see one, and I’m going to make sure Ellie doesn’t get away with it.”
“What makes you an expert on Ellie and me?”
He smiled again, the same fake one he’d shown me upon his arrival. “Come on Justin,” he whispered and came close to where I stood. “You and I both know what a big fuckin’ mess she is. You can’t tell me that you really find her attractive?”
I couldn’t manage to say anything to him.
He laughed. “Thought so.”
Then he walked off, laughing to himself.
If I had a choice, I’d pitch him off the roof of this place before the others.
I can tell he deserves it more than anyone I’ve ever met.
“Dinner’s going to be ready soon.”
I shoot another basket and smile when it goes in. Then I look at her. She looks more tired and run down than I’ve ever seen her. I know, I haven’t really been around her all that long, but at school there was a lot more light in her eyes, and her face wasn’t this pale. “Thanks.” I dribble the ball. “You want to play defense for a few?”
“Defense?”
I smirk. “You stand over there and try to block me.”
“Seriously?” She narrows her eyes. “Where’s the challenge in that for you?”
I laugh. “Come on.” I walk over to her and gently pull her her into the center of the court by the arm, and she doesn’t try to stop me. Her skin is soft and I’d like to keep my hand where it is, but I don’t.
“Justin…”
“Hey this is good stress reliever.” I bounce the ball a couple of times. “It helps you forget shit.”
“Somehow I doubt it.”
I attempt to shoot, and she puts one hand up to block me, which of course, doesn’t get in my way. “Is that really the best you’ve got?”
“Can we go in now?”
“Do you really want to?”
She drops her hand at her side. “What did Max tell you?”
I don’t look her in the eye as I dribble the ball a couple of times. “He didn’t really tell me anything, just tried his best to make me think his shit smells better than most.”
“Justin…whatever he told you…
“Could you stop worrying about it? I don’t care what he said. He’s a piece of shit.” I say it automatically, and look into her eyes. “You need to forget about these people and their supposed opinions. They know they can get to you Ellie. That’s why they do it.”
“I can’t just forget…”
“You can.” I cut her off. “Now come on, I want you to block me…really block me. Think about how much your family pisses you off, that’s what I do when I need to focus on my game more.”
“I doubt your family pisses you off that much.”
“You forget that you barely know me.”
She’s silent.
“Come on, block me.”
A stern, angry expression takes over, and she bends her knees, puts her arms high in the air as I dribble the ball. I take a few moments and then I surge forward, putting my arm in her face to block her advance when I spin around and attempt to shoot the basket.
She catches me by surprise when she knocks me back. The ball falls out of my hands, and then she trips over it, landing on her backside.
“Oh man,” I laugh. “That was great.”
“Asshole.”
I hold my hand out to her, and she takes it so I can help her to her feet. “Hey, that wasn’t fake. You really did block me…you just lost your balance. Maybe I should have you help me on the court this week. I can get some real practice in.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m all set with basketball for the time being. Let’s just go in so we can get the rest of the introductions over with. My Dad and Jeanine can’t wait to meet you, and they practically ordered me to come out here and drag you inside. You’re the guest of honor.”
“Wow, already? That’s like a record or something,” I smirk.
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
She turns and starts to walk away in the usual, miserable way she always does. I hate it, because I know somewhere inside of her, a better person is waiting to break free. That part of Ellie had to exist once. I wish I could help her find it again. “Hang on.”
She stops, sighs, and then turns slightly. “What?”
“Well, shouldn’t we come up with some kind of plan for dinner?”
“Just wing it, who cares? You’re great at charming the crap out of everyone.”
“You know, it’d be great if you could smile a little. If you did, you could show Max and Jules that what they said to you earlier hasn’t effected you.”
“Well it did effect me,” she admits. “It always does.”
I step closer to her, so close that I can reach out and touch her, and I do. I take her hand in mine, and feel myself begin to smile. Her hand is warmer than it was when we first got here, although, her expression is still stone cold.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I just…I don’t think you should sell yourself so short, that’s all. I think a lot more people would like you if you would let them in. That’s your biggest issue you know? I mean, now that I’ve hung out with you a little bit, I can sense that you’re better than how you act most of the time. You close yourself off. You don’t have to, you can talk about it, you know?”
She yanks her hand out of mine. “You’re acting weird.”
“What?”
“You can’t just…don’t stand there and pretend that you give a damn about me. I know you don’t, remember? You’re here for one reason, and that’s all.”
“El…”
“Just play your part, Justin, and let me play mine so we can get through this!”
“I…”
“I mean it!”
It takes me a few moments to say anything at all. I’ve struck a cord, gone too deep with her and she wasn’t prepared for it. I should take a step back, remember why I’m here. It’s not so I can save Ellie, or start to have feelings for her. It’s about my career and nothing else…
Yeah, she’s right.
“Okay…fine, all right.”
“Now come on.”
She stalks away and I follow silently, preparing myself for dinner, for the smile I’ll have to flash and the fake feelings I’ll have to put out there about Ellie, for the good of my career.
Still, I can’t shake the peculiar feeling inside of me. I can’t shake the way I started to feel this time, when my hand was holding hers.
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