Alpha Billionaire Series

GAVIN

Jiles threw a handful of popcorn at the TV and shouted as the opposing team scored a goal. Nick joined him, swearing at the goalkeeper as the clock counted down toward zero. With only two minutes left in the half, our team was down by two points and poised to enter halftime at a loss. The guys and I often shared friendly wagers on socce games, but today was all friendly, no gambling.

“God, these idiots need to pick up their game. You see number 22? He just let that guy walk right past him with the ball. Ridiculous!” Jiles shoved some popcorn in his mouth and munched on it as the ref reset the ball to midfield anc backed away. As soon as the whistle sounded, our team was off, making a series of well-placed passes and runs. Wit only I9 seconds to go, they made a shot on goal from the top of the I8, which the goalie deflected. It was returned with a beautiful bicycle kick into the upper righthand corner of the goal and all three of us leapt to our feet cheering Nick and Jiles exchanged a high-five, their typical routine, and we all touched beer bottles together. Saturday afternoons were something of a tradition for the three of us. If we weren't on a basketball court somewhere, we were watching a soccer or football game. With the dreary weather outside today, we opted for indoor entertainment. “Another round?” I asked them, realizing my beer was almost empty. I turned toward the kitchen to get a few new beers as they calmed down.

“I'll take another,” Jiles responded.

“Nah, man. I can’t stay much longer” I glanced over my shoulder to see Jiles pressing his hand to Nick's forehead. “You sick, man, or has your lady got you whipped?” Jiles chuckled.

Nick swatted Jiles's hand away and laughed. “Shut up. I do fine on my own.” Nick's chest puffed out and Jiles smacke it playfully.

“Ah, so it’s the lady,” I chimed in, pulling two beers from the fridge and snagging the bottle opener before heading back to the living room. Jiles had muted the TV and both men were seated on the couch again. Popcorn littered the carpet, but I didn’t mind. The cleaning lady would be along to vacuum the floor on Sunday, so a little mess never hurt. I was such a clean person anyway, she hardly ever had anything to do.

“Nah, listen guys. I'm going to ask her to marry me.” Nick grinned like an idiot, and Jiles offered a celebratory slap to his back, but my heart clenched inside my chest. I walked back into the living room and sat down, handing Jiles his beer, and forced the most genuine smile I could.

“Congrats, man. That's awesome,” Jiles told Nick, cracking the beer open with the small bottle opener on his key chain. I cracked mine open too and had the sudden urge to chug it just to drown the frustration roiling in my gut. “Dude, I didn't mean to bring up a bad subject” Nick tipped his beer up to his lips and finished it off, then set the empty bottle on the table.

“Nah, it's okay.” I took a long swig of my drink. “You're happy. You should be happy. It's time for you to celebrate.” I tried to celebrate with him, but all I could think about was what Adam had said. Madison had either kissed, or almos kissed Drew last week. I hadn't had the courage to bring it up to her—mainly because I didn’t want to argue with her and end up pushing her away.

“You look pretty pissed. Did something happen with the lady again?” Jiles sat down and propped his feet on the table, and Nick sat too, leaning forward, elbows on knees. The room suddenly felt half the size, like it was closing in on me and my anger.

“One of the doctors told me they thought they saw Madii kissing Drew one day.” I ground my teeth together to avoid letting a growl of rage out. Then I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“0000, harsh.” Nick shook his head. “I might just need that beer.” He stood and disappeared, and when he returned, he had a full beer in hand.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

I handed him the bottle opener and he popped the top and took a swig, letting the cap fall to the carpet. At this point I didn’t even care.

“Did you ask her about it?” Jiles put his feet on the floor and leaned forward, matching Nick's earlier posture. “I mean, what if it is just a misunderstanding? Communication is the best policy.”

“Yeah, well we text and stuff, but this is the sort of thing I have to talk to her about in person. You know?” The beer went down more smoothly with every drink, and I noticed it was almost halfway empty already.

Nick slurped a bit as he took a drink, then rolled his eyes at me. “You just need to put your foot down. Tell her she needs to make the choice now, or you're just gone. Like, take charge, you know?”

I knew that was how Nick operated, but I also knew if I did that to Madison, she'd be walking away. She wasn't that type of woman. She did appreciate me being assertive, but not bossy, so giving her that type of ultimatum was not going to work.

“I think what Nick is trying to say is that you should communicate.” Jiles scowled at Nick and set his drink down. “When my wife and I have a disagreement about anything, I'm always the first to try to talk it out and work on it.” “No, what I was trying to say is be a fucking man. Like, she's spending her days with another man, Gavin. That's prett f****d up if you ask me.”

I had to admit, even though my mother had said some of the same things, when my best friends put it like this, I hac to agree. Madison wasn't respecting me or my patience with her. She was purposely avoiding my invitations and calls It was time for her to make a decision.

“Just tell her she’s being a bit—"

“Fuck, man." Jiles cut Nick off just as I was about to stand up and slug him. No one talked about Madison that way. If wasn't tolerating it from the woman who gave me life, there was no way Nick was going to speak about her like that. “Easy,” Nick said, leaning backward and holding his hands in front of himself defensively.

“You might talk to your woman that way, but I will never speak to Madii that way. Got it?” My flared nostrils and fistec hand must have given him the hint.

“Yeah, sorry. Sheesh. I was just trying to help.” Nick stood, taking his beer with him. “I should go. I'll give you a call tomorrow once I pop the question.”

I ignored him as he walked out and listened for the front door to shut behind him. Jiles kicked back again, propping his feet on the coffee table. He seemed to be tuned in to the game again, his eyes focused on the muted TV. The game was the last thing on my mind now. I had tried hard all week to keep this frustration from mounting. I found myself going for a run that day Adam had told me about Madii and Drew, and it had helped me refocus. But now all my nervous energy was turning into a rehearsed speech I'd give her the next time I saw her.

I wasn't going to wait either. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number, not even caring that Jiles was still seated on my couch watching a silent television. The phone ran through to her voicemail, and I hung up. Repeating the process three times, I got the point that she was not going to answer, and I would have given up if I hadn't noticed Jiles staring at me.

“Just leave the goddamn message, man. She's in a shower or something, okay?” He leaned forward, picked up his beer, and then relaxed back into his lounging position.

Jiles was right. If I didn’t say it when I felt the urge to say it, I would regret it. So, I dialed her number again and waited for it to go to voicemail again.

“Madii, I think you should come over next weekend. We haven't spent much time together and there is something we need to talk about” I almost hung up, but decided to add, “And I love you. Don't forget that.”

After hanging up and putting my phone on the coffee table, I finished my beer and stared at the TV. The game no longer held my interest, but I humored Jiles by acting like it mattered. All I could think about was Madison. Except, I found another thing sprouting into my mind from time to time. It was an ugly image that I'd be horrified if my mothe knew I even thought about it.

I had a dream that I played Drew in a game of basketball, and he started beating me, besting me in points. But instead of letting it go, playing the game, I started to get defensive, and aggressive. I ended up beating the shit out o him in that dream and sitting in my living room right then, watching the soccer ball bounce around the screen, I wanted to make that dream a reality.

The more I stewed, the angrier I got. Drew was the one thing stopping me from having what I wanted—what I felt was rightfully mine. Madison was supposed to be mine, and I had never wanted anything more in my life. Jealousy was such an ugly thing, but dammit if I wasn’t jaded and inflamed with jealousy. I knew I had to calm myself down, because it wasn't doing me any good to get all worked up. I was not about to go assault a coma patient in mid- recovery. And I wasn't about to fuck up what I had with Madison by going off on either of them. But dammit if she didn't make up her fucking mind, I was going to lose mine.

I picked up my phone and dialed her number again, listening to it ring. I held it to my ear as Jiles sat forward and raised an eyebrow at me.

“Dude, put the phone down. She'll call when she’s ready. Ignore Nick. He is a moron. If his woman lets him treat her that way, so be it. I've been married for years. Listen to me. Just be patient, and she will come to you, and you'll work it out. If she doesn’t then you have to let go or it will kill you.”

I threw my phone at the couch, and it bounced and landed on the floor, the screen dark. If only I could just let go an trust that she would come to me. The problem was waiting wasn’t my strong suit. And neither was this game of “will I get chosen.”