Believe in Me

“I swear, Landon, it was him!” I yelled into the phone. Landon didn’t believe me. He kept saying I was drunk and hallucinating. “He’s in jail, Lil. He’s gone for good.” He tried to convince. I didn’t believe it. I knew it was him. He wouldn’t have hurried away so fast if it wasn’t. He knew who I was too.

“You don’t understand, Landon. The moment I looked into his eyes, it all flashed back to me. It was him!” I sighed. There was no convincing. “Just don’t go to that area of town anymore, okay?” My brother asked me. “Fine.” I told him, defeated. “I’m serious, Lil. If you think you saw him, and you really think it’s him, don’t go over there anymore. For any reason. Don’t.”

I hung up the phone a few minutes later. There was no way to convince Landon about it. He wouldn’t give in. Sighing, I finally called Jade back. I had 7 missed calls from her, so I felt bad and called.
“
What happened last night?” Jade asked, as soon as she picked up her phone. I told her the whole story, including what Andrew had asked him. I felt like an idiot. I believed Patrick. He convinced me, and I believed it.

“What a shame.” Jade said after I explained everything. “I’m not surprised, though. That’s how he is. He’s a womanizer. Sorry you had to go through that. I didn’t know those were his intentions.” She told me. It wasn’t Jade’s fault. I wasn’t blaming her at all. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine; or Patrick’s. Mine for being so gullible, and his for being a liar.

The Blackhawks had a day off today, so I agreed to go shopping with Jade and Rachel. Jade picked me up about an hour later, and we headed to go get Rachel. The three of us then headed to Water Tower Place mall. I was happy to finally go shopping for myself. I hadn’t had time since I moved here, and the fact that I was going with friends made it better. We shopped at places like American Eagle, Forever 21, Bebe, and Banana Republic. I found myself a few pairs of jeans and a couple shirts, so I was satisfied. After hours of shopping, the 3 of us decided to get lunch after we all agreed that we were starving.

We stopped for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. One of my favorite places. Rachel and I ordered Fish & Chips while Jade had pasta. We munched on the bread they give you while waiting for our food. I really enjoyed these girls. They seemed trustworthy, and they were so friendly and funny. The three of us were laughing about one of Jade’s date horror stories when all of a sudden Rachel tensed up, and brought up different topics to talk about immediately.

“Why’re you acting weird?” Jade asked as Rachel rambled on about Vegan people. Rachel stopped in her tracks, taking a sip of her lemonade to avoid something we quite couldn’t figure out. Jade and I sat next to each other at the table, and Rachel kept glancing at something behind us. I finally turned around to see what it was, and I sighed when I saw him. Of course, there sat Patrick, looking right back at me with Jonathan and Andrew by his side. Why me? I really didn’t want to deal with him right now.

I turned back around and rolled my eyes. “Great.” I mumbled. “We haven’t even gotten our food and I already want to leave.” I told the girls. They looked at me sympathetically as the waiter brought our food. Perfect timing. Now we could hurry up, eat, and then get the hell out of here.

“Lilly, I need to talk to you.” I heard as I felt a tap on my shoulder. I almost choked on my fish because a) he scared the crap out of me and b) the last thing I wanted to do was talk to him. I sighed, throwing my napkin on the table and standing up. “What do you want?” I asked harshly. “Can we talk somewhere more privately?” He asked me. I rolled my eyes and walked outside of the restaurant with him. We sat down on a bench as I waited impatiently for him to speak up.

“Lilly, you really shouldn’t be mad. You don’t even know wh-“
“Oh, let me guess. I don’t know the whole story?” I asked sarcastically. He nodded with his pleading eyes. “Okay, so you’re telling me, that you didn't tell your teammates you planned on sleeping with me?” He sighed. “If you want the truth, I did.”

“You’re a pig.” I told him. “You don’t know the rest!” He began. “Listen, I’m used to girls just giving it up for me, but I met you and I forgot about what I said. We talked, and I liked it. I wanted to talk with you more than I wanted to get with you, and that rarely happens with me.” He chuckled. I swallowed, not knowing if I should believe him or not. He just sounded so damn believable. He set his hand on my knee, and looked into my eyes.

“Have dinner with me.” He requested. I was unsure of how to answer that. Mixed feelings rushed through my body. One part of my brain said run, the other said do it.

“Fine.” I breathed. “Ridgestone Apartments. Pick me up at 7, and don’t be late.” I told him, then walked back inside.
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“Well boys, told ya nothin’ can stop Kaner.” Patrick laughed as he sat back down, joining his friends for lunch. “We’re having dinner tonight.” He winked. Jonathan rolled his eyes. Kaner could literally sweep every girl off her feet, and it was slightly annoying.

“You’re just using her.” Jonathan said. “She seems nice. I still don’t think this is a good idea, Kaner. Not with her.” He told his friend. Andrew nodded, agreeing with him. Patrick shook his head. He was sick of his friends acting like they’re his father. “Who’s to say I don’t actually like her?” He asked his friends. Jonathan rolled his eyes. “You don’t like her, Kaner. If you did, you wouldn’t be so desperate to sleep with her.”

“You guys don’t believe me? Okay, fine. I’ll take her out to a nice dinner, maybe a stroll around the city, and then I’ll take her back to my place.” He told his friends, then he held up a finger. “Wait for it, we’ll be at my place, but nothing will happen. Maybe we’ll watch Miracle or something, I don’t know. I won’t sleep with her. Just for you guys. I’m going to prove to you that I might actually like this girl.” He explained. Andrew shook his head.

“Whatever you say.” He told him, taking a bite of his hamburger. “I wanna know how this goes. I really do. You’re gonna have to text me updates.” He said. Jonathan nodded. “Yeah, me too. This should be great.” He chuckled. Patrick ignored them and watched as the three girls left the restaurant. He tried not to look at Lilly’s ass, but he couldn’t help it. She was wearing leggings and it tempted him.

“Hey, Johnny, why don’t you get with one of her friends? Maybe double date with Kaner, eh?” Andrew joked, nudging Jonathan in the arm. Jonathan shook his head. It’s season. He has no time for dating or worrying about girls. Especially with how good the Hawks have been, the last thing he needs is a distraction.

“That’s a good idea.” Patrick interrupted. “No, guys. I don’t have time for that.” Jonathan told his friends. “Alright, alright…how about you, Shawzie?” Patrick asked. Andrew and his girlfriend had recently just broken up, so Patrick was happy to be a wingman for him. Andrew shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

“You can get with Rachel. She’s a dime.” Patrick told him. Jonathan’s head shot up as soon as he mentioned Rachel. “Rachel? Why not Jade or Bree?” He asked. Patrick shrugged. “Rachel’s good friends with Lilly. We all could go out if they dated.” He suggested. Jonathan rolled his eyes and threw a $20 dollar bill and two 5’s on the table. “I’m done here. I’ll hit you guys up later.” He said, then walked away.

“What the fuck’s his problem?” Patrick asked Andrew as the two of them watched their friend walk away. Andrew shrugged. They both were confused about what had just happened.
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“What do I wear?” I asked Rachel. I was freaking out about tonight. I still had an hour and a half before 7, but I wanted to look good. I wanted to make Patrick suffer. I had no intentions on hooking up with him or anything; I just wanted to tease him a bit. Rachel rummaged through my closet and threw me a white lace dress. The dress had ¾ sleeves, and a thin brown belt attached to the waist area. I curled my hair and paired the dress with some brown Tory Burch flats.

I decided to wear my Louis Vuitton purse, the purse that I rarely wear. It’s by far the most expensive thing I own. It was a gift from Landon on my 21st birthday last year. I’d always wanted one, but I could never afford it.Time passed and the clock hit 6:50. The lobby called my apartment, and Amy told me I had a guest waiting. He wasn’t late. Impressive.