Friend Zoned (Barnett Bulldogs #2) (6 page)

“Have you thought about submitting applications at any other law schools?”

My grandfather was a district attorney for about twenty years and then a circuit court judge for another fifteen.  I think he’s proud that I’ve decided to follow in his footsteps just as my father had before me.

Because I know exactly the kind of response my answer will elicit, I say somewhat offhandedly, “No, I think three schools are enough.”  I’m leaning towards Barnett for obvious reasons.

In all fairness, Barnett really does have a top notch law program.  I know he’d like me to look further away than I have, but the idea of being more than a two hour drive from them is tough for me to consider.

Just as expected, he levels me with a look as if he knows exactly why I’m set on continuing my education at Barnett.  “You don’t need to stick around here, Violet.  Your grandmother and I are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.  We want you to branch out.  Experience life somewhere else.  Maybe look at UCLA, or Berkeley, or even Columbia in New York.  This is a wonderful chance for you to live somewhere you’ve always dreamed of.  Don’t squander an opportunity like this by not considering all the possibilities.”  His eyes skewer mine.  “You’ll only regret it in the end.”

You know what I’ll end up regretting?

Not being there for them when they need me.  Not spending time with them when I could because I know all too well just how short life can be.  So… no, it’s highly doubtful I’ll regret not moving further away at this point.  I have my entire life for that.  And honestly, I like living here.  This is my home.  And my grandparents are all the family I have left.

Glancing down at the half eaten sandwich on my plate, I give a tiny little shrug in response.  This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation.  And, because my grandfather is stubborn and only wants what’s best for me, it won’t be the last either.  A moment later, Sam slips his hand around mine before giving it a gentle squeeze in silent support.

My eyes flicker towards him.  He gives me a small smile.  That’s the thing about Sam, he totally gets me.  He understands why I make the choices that I do and he doesn’t try to change them.  He simply accepts and supports me.

“Barnett’s a good school, gramps,” I finally say.  “Why do I need to live somewhere else when I’m perfectly happy here?”

Because my grandfather was a cagey lawyer in his day, he knows exactly when to pick his battles.  And clearly this is one he’s not going to win.  Turning his attention to Sam, he asks, “And what about you, Samuel?  What schools did you end up applying to?  I imagine you’ve set your sights on expanding your horizons a little broader than my granddaughter over here has.”

The corners of my lips curl upwards as my grandfather gives me a little wink.

Shoving the last bit of BLT into his mouth, Sam swallows it down before taking a huge guzzle of water.  “I threw in an application at Barnett as well but I’m also considering Cornell and Columbia.”

Looking thoughtful, my grandfather nods his head.  “All excellent schools.  I would expect nothing less from you.”

“I’m just trying to decide if it’s worth retaking the LSAT.”

“Oh, please.”  I can’t help but roll my eyes at that bit of nonsense because Sam scored a freaking one seventy-two on his LSAT.  The first time taking it too.  The guy is so damn smart, it’s almost sickening.  And yeah, I couldn’t be more proud of him.  Sam was the valedictorian of our high school graduating class and going into senior year at Barnett, he has a near perfect grade point average.

While academics have always come easily for Sam, that hasn’t been the case for me.  I have to keep myself focused and organized.  I have to bite off little chucks and continually be working towards my goals instead of cramming or waiting until the last minute.  And I definitely can’t have Sam sitting next to me in every single class, even though that’s exactly how we could arrange our schedules, or I’d end up flunking out.  The guy barely has to pay attention in class.  Hell, he probably doesn’t even need to attend class, but he always does.  He never misses.  He may not have to work hard but he still does. 

Sam smirks as his deep blue eyes lock on mine.  “What?”

“You scored a one seventy-two on your LSAT.  I would be throwing a party if I scored even close to that.”  Yeah, I scored a one sixty.  Not terrible, but not great by any means.  Which just about sums up my academic career.  A little better than middle of the road.  “I’m the one who should be retaking the LSAT, not you.  I don’t even know why you’re applying at Barnett.  You could probably get into Harvard Law if you wanted.”  I’m not kidding about that either.  Even though I should probably retake the LSAT, I don’t really want to.  That test was beyond brutal.  I thought my brain was literally going to leak right out of my ears with all the hours Sam and I spent hunkered down studying at the library.

Shrugging his massive shoulders, he shifts self-consciously in his seat.  He looks uncomfortable by the sudden direction of our conversation.  Sam isn’t one to brag about himself, his family, or his achievements. Like everything else in his life, he keeps it tightly under wraps.

And I get it.

There’s a lot of pressure on Sam to walk the straight and narrow.  To achieve great things.  To follow in his father’s footsteps.  Sam’s dad is a state senator, so it’s important for him to keep a low profile, to not do anything that’s going to garner bad press.  He doesn’t go to parties or bars and get shitfaced or out of control. Nor does does he sleep around so that his sexcapades end up splashed across those stupid websites that are solely dedicated to the Barnett football players.

Maybe some twenty-two year olds would chafe and feel resentful about that kind of pressure heaped upon them at such a young age.  The pressure to conduct himself like he’s in his thirties rather than early twenties.  But Sam handles it well.

Most people at Barnett, even those who know him well, don’t realize that he’s related to Senator Derek Harper.  And that’s exactly the way Sam likes it. 

“We’ll see what happens.  I haven’t decided where I want to go just yet.  My dad attended Columbia.”  He flashes a brief smile.  “He’s hoping I’ll end up there.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” my grandfather says, “as long as that’s where you want to be.”

His words are a sudden reminder as to the inevitable changes next year will bring.  I can’t help but think about just how different everything will be when Sam heads off in one direction and I go in another.  We’ve been entangled in each other’s lives for so long now.  Not a single day goes by that I don’t see or talk to him.

The thought of Sam being somewhere else, living a life without me, sends a little pang of sadness sliding its way through me.  We’ve been at each other’s side for the last eight years. But I suppose I’ll have to get used to it, because I can’t see Sam sticking around here for another three years.

Something in his eyes shifts as they hold mine.  It’s like he knows exactly what’s churning inside my head.  Shaking off the sudden melancholy, I tug the corners of my lips up into a brief smile before finishing the chips on my plate.

“Well, I should probably head over and say hi to my parents.”  With that, Sam makes his way to his feet.  For someone so big, he’s quite agile.  “Thank you for lunch, Mrs. Winterfield.”

“I should be the one thanking you for coming all the way over here on a Sunday afternoon to fix that toilet.  I’m sure you have better things to do with your time.”

Sam’s smile softens before he leans down, planting a gentle kiss on my grandmother’s cheek.  “It’s no problem.  I can stop by anytime.”

“You don’t mind if I just hang out here, do you?”

He shakes his head as if he expected no less.  “Nope.  I won’t be long.  Then we can head back to school.”

Even though I love Sam’s family, I’d rather spend a little more time with my grandparents.

And just like everything else, he gets that as well.

Chapter Four

Sam

I head over to the Victorian that looks, from the outside, very similar to the Winterfield one.  There’s a wide lawn that separates our houses.  I’m pretty sure my dad would love to move into something newer, grander, and in a more upscale neighborhood but my mom fell in love with this house twenty years ago and refuses to uproot the family.

As I let myself in through the beveled glass front door, I find my mom in the kitchen pouring over an old book of family recipes.  My dad’s silver SUV is parked in the driveway, but he’s conspicuously absent.  My guess is that he’s holed up in the downstairs sunroom that he’s taken over as an office so he can work from home on the weekends.

Not that he spends much of his time here.

More often than not, he’s traveling to the state capital or Washington DC when the senate is in session.  Because my dad has been in politics for the last fifteen years, my mom decided it would be easier to give up her nursing job at the hospital so she can be here for me, my younger brother, Gavin, and sister, Arianna.  Or Ari, as we affectionately call her.

Spotting me, my mom does a double take as a big smile spreads across her pretty face.  “Sam!  I didn’t know you were stopping by today. I would have prepared lunch.”  Hands going to her slender hips, she gives me a mock frown.  “You should have texted.”

I nod my head towards the Winterfield house. “Violet asked if I could stop by and fix something for her grandparents.”

My mother’s dark blonde brows draw together in concern.  “Everything okay?”

I shrug.  “It’s fine.  A pipe in the bathroom just needed tightening up.  No big deal.”

My mother and I have the same blond hair and deep, ocean hued eyes.  Although, where she’s more finely boned, I take after my father.  He’s tall, broad, and played college football as well.  So I was groomed at a young age to follow in his esteemed footsteps.  Not only with football, but in law and hopefully politics as well.

“They should have called me. I would have gotten your father…”

Her words trail off as one of my brows hikes up across my forehead.  Yeah… I can’t exactly see my suit wearing father wielding a wrench, trying to fix a leaky pipe in our own house, let alone at the elderly neighbor’s one next door.

Catching the meaning of my look, the edges of her lips slowly tremble before she finally finishes that thought, “Well, I could have at least called a plumber for them.”

Her words have a soft chuckle escaping from between my lips.

Yup… That’s exactly what she would have ended up doing.

Straightening to her full height of five foot seven, she comes around the large white marble island to give me a warm hug.  Our house may be old and full of charm on the outside, but it has been completely gutted and renovated on the inside.  It’s one of the concessions my mom had to make to stay in the house and neighborhood she loves.

Pulling away, she asks, “Can I get you something to eat?  We can order Chinese if you’re hungry.”

I shake my head.  “Nah, Mrs. Winterfield made us grilled cheese sandwiches after I fixed the pipe.”  I pat my flat belly.  “I’m stuffed.”

“Did Violet come with you?”

“Yep.  She wanted to stay and visit with her grandparents while I stopped over.  Mr. Winterfield isn’t feeling well.  Picked up a bug or something.”

My words have her brows lowering.  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.  Maybe I’ll pop over tomorrow and check up on them.  See how Edward is doing.”

I can’t help but smile at my mom’s instant concern.  She’s always been so caring about the neighbors we have, especially the Winterfields.  Sometimes it surprises me that my mom married someone like my dad.  Not that my dad is a bad guy, because he isn’t.

But with his work schedule, he’s gone a lot and that leaves my mom on her own more often than not.  Even though she’s busy, I think she really misses working at the hospital.  With Arianna being eleven and in fifth grade and Gavin being fourteen and in eighth grade, she still needs to be around for them.  My dad can be gone for weeks on end if something is happening in DC, so he can’t really be counted on to help out around here.

I suppose that was one of the factors in my decision to stick around and attend Barnett.  But I think we all know that it was Violet’s choice to stay that tipped the scale for me.  I just wasn’t ready to relinquish her at that point.

“I’m sure they’d really appreciate that.”  As I say those words I realize just how quiet the house is. 
Almost too quiet
.  Which is definitely odd.  Gavin and Ari usually have friends over and my dad, when he’s here, is surrounded by staff.  Even on a Sunday afternoon. “Where is everyone?”

“Your father is in his office making a few calls and Ari and Gavin are both at friends’ houses.  They’ll be sorry to have missed you.  They each brought a friend to the game yesterday.”  She beams. “They couldn’t have been prouder of their big brother and how well the team is playing this year.”  Then she makes an exasperated little noise in her throat.  “Now that football is over, Gavin’s already chafing at the bit.  He can’t wait to get back out there and play again.  Although he did make the school basketball team this season, so that should keep him pretty busy.  But still, that boy is all about football.”  Her eyes sparkle.  “Just like his brother.”