The Anniversary

“Saw you chatting up my bird, Reynolds.”

Carl groaned. He hadn’t noticed Jason Tyrie. If he had he would never have gone near Louise. Carl didn’t want the aggravation.

The huge senior fell into step beside Carl. At six-four he towered over Carl, his size in both his height and build intimidating. He used this to his advantage on the football field and to intimidate lesser people in their year. The guys in other years were scared of him because of his aggressive behavior and his size and in awe of him because, despite his behavior, he was the best quarterback their high school had seen in a long time.

Carl didn’t care for the guy. He didn’t like football and he didn’t like bullies. They weren’t worth his time. Unfortunately Jason seemed to guess that he couldn’t bully Carl so they just upped the ante.

Carl was glad they only had one semester left and then he was out of there and wherever he wanted to go, where Jason Tyrie wouldn’t be dogging him at every step and daring him to lose it.

“I didn’t realize you were still dating her, Jason.” He said coolly, trying not to glance at the giant beside him. That would indicate that he was nervous.

The butterflies in his stomach said he was scared but he wouldn’t give the bas*ard the satisfaction.

“Not right now. She’s got things to sort out. But once they’re sorted we’re back together.” Jason sounded boastful, very sneering. “You’re not going to be getting a look in.”

That hurt but Carl pretended to shrug it off.

“I never said anything about wanting to date Louise. We’re just friends.”

“If I have any say in it, she’s not being friends with a white-black monkey.” Jason grabbed Carl’s arm and swung him around, stepping up close so Carl’s nose was nearly brushing against his shirt. “And she wouldn’t date a white-black monkey, either.”

Carl wanted to swing and punch the bas*ard’s face in. But his father had warned him about retaliation and Jason was the last person he should be picking a fight with. So he took a step back and adjusted his bag on his shoulder.

“You could come up with a better insult.” He said calmly. “White-black monkey is hardly insulting.”

“There are plenty more.” Jason jabbed a finger in Carl’s face. “Keep away from Louise or I’m going to do something to you.”

Then he turned and stalked away. Carl tried not to laugh at how much he tried to look cool with his walk. The man thought he was the top dog and controlled what happened. He thought he could control Carl.

Carl was probably one of the only two in the school – the other being Charlotte – who didn’t bow down to him. And that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

*****

Simone ran up to the net and volleyed the ball hard to the sideline. It whizzed past her opponent’s racket and disappeared off the court, bouncing before it hit the mesh fence. Simone squealed as she jumped in delight.

“Game to me, I think!” She declared with a whoop.

Bianca Bogojevic groaned and wiped the sweat off her forehead with her wristband. Her face was red for exertion.

“Would you ease up a moment, Simone?” She whined. “It’s too hot to be running around like a lunatic.”

Simone laughed. Her best friend was a wilting flower in the sun and would often be found skulking indoors with air conditioning and using a sunbed instead of the real thing. It was only her love of tennis that Simone was able to get her out into the sunshine and get some genuine vitamin D into her system.

“Sorry.” She took off her hat and pulled the tie out of her hair, shaking her sweat-sodden locks about her shoulders. “You okay?”

“I will be after I’ve got in the hot tub.”

Bianca went to the sun lounger at the side of the court and dropped into it, laying her racket on the floor before sitting back and closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. Simone couldn’t help but feel envious of her high school friend. They had grown up on the same street, Bianca was one of her many friends who approved of Toby. Shortly after Toby and Simone had married Bianca had got married to a rich Russian tycoon. The marriage had fallen through three years and two children later but Bianca still received enough money in the divorce settlement to live comfortably and within her means.

And she wasn’t short of attention. Nearly six feet and statuesque with hair in tiny braids down to her waist, Bianca certainly looked ten years younger than her forty-one years. Everyone thought she was Simone’s younger sister and both received a lot of attention whenever they were together. Any attention Simone got she diverted to Bianca, who lapped it up. But Simone wasn’t interested. Why would she be when she had the man she wanted?

Bianca gave Simone a bemused look as Simone picked up her water bottle and chugged half its contents down.

“How the hell have you got so much energy?”

Simone lowered her bottle and wiped her mouth with her wrist.

“I don’t know.”

“You only have this much energy when you’ve been ‘energetic’ in the bedroom recently.” Bianca slanted an eyebrow at her. “Were you doing something with Toby last night?”

Simone sat on the other sun lounger and grinned. Her body was still tingling at the memory of what she and Toby had done.

“Not last night.”

Bianca shuddered.

“I don’t want to know.”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s a great stress reliever.”

“It had the opposite effect on Stefano when we were married.” Bianca grunted. “It gave him a headache.”

Simone still struggled seventeen years later to figure out what Bianca had seen in her ex-husband. The man had been twenty years older and stiff. Ice cold was how Toby had described him. Bianca had been his fourth wife and had met him while he was still married to wife number three. Simone had told her friend she shouldn’t be with him but Bianca had ignored her. It had taken eighteen months before she had realized that everyone was right about him and everything had been a mistake.

It was only because she had kept evidence of Stefano’s infidelities during their marriage that she got a decent settlement and monthly alimony. She had kept her smarts but they had escaped her while she fell head over heels for the wrong man.

“Sounds like he’s doing it wrong.” Simone commented.

“Besides, the pool guy isn’t due until Friday.”

Simone had been taking another gulp of water. She spluttered and coughed in amazement.

“Bianca!”

“What? I’m not sleeping with him but watching him eases my stress.”

Bianca hadn’t had a relationship for nearly a year and hadn’t had s*x for more than that. Simone wondered if having another relationship would clear the cobwebs and make Bianca more relaxed. But they always ended in disasters so she kept well away from it; she didn’t want to lose a friendship because she chose the wrong guy.

She was distracted by her phone buzzing, saying that a text had come through. Scooping it off the table between her and Bianca, Simone opened the text and saw who it was from. Her pulse picked up. She had been waiting for this.

“I need to make a phone call. Give me ten, Bianca?”

“No problem.” Bianca picked up her sunglasses and slipped them on. “We’ve got the court for another half hour.”

She settled back with a sigh as Simone hurried off the court.