He Kissed Her

The nerve of him to even try and explain with this shitty story.

“But that's the thing. I asked her here because of the same situation,” he explained.

“And grabbing her hand and sitting with her the entire time, was that all a part of the plan too? You didn’t even come and talk to me during the entire party. ” I asked, grabbing up the pan of cupcakes.

He stood up and grabbed my elbow.

“Brees, I need you to know it’s not what you think. Jada is just my friend,” he said, pleading his case.

Just then, Jada ran over to him and tugged on his shirt.

“I’m leaving Keegan. Thank you Brees for having me. I’ll see you both later,” she said, hugging Keegan around his neck and kissing him quickly before jogging off to the car where her dad sat watching us all.

“Yeah, friends you say,” I said walking away.

“Yes, Brees. I promise. That’s it,” he shouted after me.

“Well Keegan I don’t kiss my friends for future reference,” I said, running to the van.

I needed to leave. I know Casey saw us and I’m sure she would have something to say about it. I wanted to just shrink down and crawl into a hole.

Casey came home with me and decided we would pack my stuff together so I didn’t give my mom anymore stress.

Baylen went back to dad’s after dropping us off. Casey and I cleaned up my room a bit and then started packing my bags.

“James, I’m so incredibly proud of you,” she said, stuffing my softball equipment into my Varsity softball bag.

I smiled at her and continued to pack.

“No James, really. Not just for being accepted into the pitching camp, which girls around the country would die to go to. But also how you are handling things with Jeff and Keegan. I saw Jada show up today and I thought your heart was going to break. But it didn’t. You stood tall and looked beautiful doing it. I also saw her kiss Keegan,” she proceeded to say.

I shook my head with a look of disappointment and slid down the side of my bed.

“But it did break my heart, Case. Her kissing him and hanging all over him at my party was difficult to watch. Even though it’s been over six months since that kiss, I can’t help but think about what it would be like to be Keegan’s girlfriend. He almost kissed me in my kitchen the other night, Case. I know I’m being stupid, but…” I cut myself off.

I couldn’t believe I was back in this place of hurt, unknowing and stress. I stood back up, determined to not let this ruin my three weeks at LSU. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. Only 25 girls across the nation were offered this chance and I was the only incoming junior. The rest were seniors.

“James, it’s okay for you to still love him, but it’s not ok for you to let him deter you from your goals. Okay?” she said, throwing my practice shorts at my head.

We laughed for a little and I tried my hardest to shake off the Keegan thoughts. He and Jada had become great friends, so it made sense that they may have fallen for each other during those six months. I’m okay, I thought. I will be alright and I will survive this.

I said it over and over in my head. But the truth is, I’m slowly breaking down thinking about Jada being in love with Keegan Patts.