Our Broken Pieces - M.E. Clayton Page 0,3

as he started unbuttoning his pants. “Don’t be like that, G,” he chuckled. “Margot Cross is hot as fuck, dude, and you know it.”

Margot Cross was a hot piece of ass, there was no denying it. And, by all accounts, she was a good person, too. She was popular and kind to everyone. I didn’t hang out with her or talk to her, but there were plenty of rumors going around that she had given it up to her ex-boyfriend, Timothy Carr, last year, but then quickly dumped him after she’d found out she hadn’t been the only one he had been getting pussy from. Timothy, in turn, did what all insecure assholes did; he started spreading rumors about her. Unfortunately for him, he underestimated just how much people liked Margot, so his bullshit never stuck. And now it was like he never existed.

“I’m not saying she isn’t,” I replied as I started removing my jeans. “I’m just surprised.” I shucked my jeans. “You’ve never mentioned liking her before. And since when do you ask girls to prom?”

He pulled on his undershirt, and then looked over at me. “I’m not looking to marry her, G. It’s just fucking prom.”

My brows shot up. The defensiveness was new, too. Chance was usually super laid back. “Hey, man, no need to get pissy about it. I was just wondering what changed.” If shit were just casual and Chance just wanted to fuck her, I could work with that. But if he really liked her, that might change things and, if so, I needed to know.

The drop in my gut was instant when he said, “I like her, okay.” Fuck. “I never made a play because she was dating that asshole for all that time, and then, when she dumped him...I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to give her time to move on from him. Girls are funny about their first.”

I made sure to keep my face impassive at his comment about girls being funny about their first. He had a point, though. Whether good or bad, girls will always remember the guy they gave their virginity to, and it didn’t necessarily have anything to do with the guy himself. They’ll remember their first time because it’s their first goddamn time. Just like most guys remember the first time they ever sank their dick inside a warm, wet pussy, most girls will remember the first time they were torn apart. Eve really fucked the game up for women everywhere when she ate that goddamn apple.

We finished gearing up in silence, but when we were about to head out onto the field, I asked, “But why start something now, Chance? We graduate in six months. What happens if you end up really liking this girl?”

Chance shrugged his shoulder. “I haven’t gotten that far,” he admitted. “If it works out, maybe we make it clear that this thing has an expiration date. I dunno.”

And expiration date.

I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t. Arrangements and agreements sounded all good and well while you were making them, but emotions didn’t have expiration dates. Love, hate, heartbreak...you didn’t stop feeling those emotions just because you abided by the agreed upon deadline.

“Well, good luck with that,” I replied, trying my best to sound supportive. “She’s a cool girl.” The words sounded lame even to my ears, but this shit was fucking with me.

Chance cocked his head and gave me a queer look. “Uh, thanks,” he muttered.

We headed out towards the football field with the rest of the team without saying anything more about Margot, but she was resting heavily on my mind. Football was coming to an end, with only a couple of more games left in the season, so I wasn’t overly concerned with practice. I loved football, and I knew a few scouts have been checking me out lately, but I loved practicality more. No matter how good I was at throwing the football, I planned on going to college for a sensible and tangible degree.

I wasn’t the type of person who could be blinded by money, women, or fame. That just wasn’t my character. I knew if you chose a career in professional sports it could all come crashing down with just one injury or an awful scandal. If I did decide to play football professionally, I still wanted something I could fall back on, so I made football second to reality. Or maybe football was third on my list of priorities.

We got out onto