Loving Knight: Book One of the Cresswell Series

11. ALIYAH

The library was quiet, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

I sat at the table, skimming through my textbook. Kira sat next to me while Jennie was on the other side of the table, both going through their notes.

Jennie then groans quietly, sliding her notebook away from her. “I’m so bored.”

“Same,” said Kira. “I feel like taking a nap.”

“We could go to the cafeteria,” I suggested.

“I’m not hungry,” Jennie said, going on her phone. “Any other ideas on what we should do?”

“No clue,” Kira said, putting her head down on the desk. She stayed in that position for a moment before picking her head up, looking at me. “Oh, Aliyah. I forgot to ask. Where did you and Dieon go the night of the party? Since you didn’t come back to the dorm right away.”

“He took me to this diner off campus,” I say. “It’s called Ollie’s.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.”

“You could’ve texted me and told me that my brother basically kidnapped you, you know.”

“Sorry. I was kinda distracted and–”

Jennie cuts me off, standing up. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick.” She leaves the library before we could say anything else.

My phone then buzzes in my backpack. I reach inside the netted pocket on the side, pulling it out.

“Who’s that?” Kira asks, leaning over a little bit.

I take a look at my screen. “It’s Deion. He said he won’t be able to make it to my practice today.”

Kira rests her cheek in the palm of her hand. “You know, you and Deion seem to be getting pretty close.”

“We’re already close,” I tell her.

“You know what I mean,” she says, grinning a little.

“Come on, Kira. Deion’s your brother. You know I would never like him like that.”

Kira raises her eyebrow. “Really?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“So you’re telling me that you would never catch feelings for Deion?”

I nod again. “I would never catch feelings for Deion.”

“Okay. Let’s see if you actually live up to that statement.” Kira’s phone vibrates on the table over and over. She picks it up, checking the caller ID. “Oh, it’s my mom. I'll be right back.”

Kira gets up, leaving the library. I sit by myself, scrolling through my phone when I sense a presence in front of me. I look up from my phone, seeing Deion sitting across from me.

“What a coincidence,” he says quietly with a grin.

“What’re you doing here?” I ask. “I thought you had class.”

“I did, but get this. As I'm getting ready to head out, I get an email saying that the professor caught this stomach bug, so class was canceled.”

“Lucky you,” I said.

“Actually, I was looking for you,” he said. “Since I can’t make it to your practice today, I wanna make it up to you.”

I put my phone down. “Make it up to me?”

Deion nods. “Yeah. I can take you back to Ollie’s if you want. I heard that they’re giving out free milkshakes today.”

“A milkshake does sound good.”

“So…?”

“Yeah, I could go for a milkshake.”

Deion smiles. “Good.”

Kia then comes back, smiling once she sees her brother. “Hey, Deion. What’re you doing here?”

“I was just telling Aliyah that I would take her to Ollie’s for a milkshake since I can’t make it to her dance practice.”

“Aww, isn’t that sweet,” Kira gushed. “Deion’s never sweet to me like that.”

“You can come with us if you want to, Kira,” I said.

“I would but I have a meeting with one of my professors,” she says. Kira looks around the library. “Jennie never came back?”

I shake my head. “She’s been in the bathroom for a while.”

“Hold on.” Kira pulls out her phone to text her when Jennie walks up to us.

“Hey, sorry I took so long. My period came on and I didn’t have any tampons or pads so I had to wait on the toilet until someone came into the bathroom.” Jennie turns, spotting Deion. “Oh, hey, Deion.”

He waves at Jennie before looking at me. “So, you ready to go?”

“Yeah,” I said. “We should go now before it gets crowded.”

“Where are you guys going?” Jennie asks as we get up from the table.

“Deion’s taking me to Ollie’s for milkshakes,” I tell her, grabbing my bag. “You wanna come with us?”

“No, it’s okay. You two can go ahead.”

I nod as I say goodbye to my best friends before leaving the library, Deion following behind me.

****

The music from the speakers blasts loudly throughout the gymnasium as we dance, Brooke giving us the counts as we go along. My thighs were sore, but I continued to push through until the music ended.

Brooke claps in approval. “Nice job, ladies. Take a quick five minute break then we’ll run through it again.”

I wipe the sweat from my face as I head over to the other side of the gym, getting my water bottle from my bag. I put the bottle up to my lips when two of the girls approached me.

“Hey, Aliyah,” one of them named Lisa said. “Deion couldn’t come today?”

“His practice is running late today so he couldn’t make it,” I tell her.

“Aww, that’s too bad,” the other girl named Candace says. “I was hoping to see him today.”

“Oh, me too. Him coming to practice makes everything better, especially since we get to see his handsome face everyday.”

“I know right? Actually, I wonder if he has a girlfriend.” Candace turns to me. “Do you know, Aliyah?”

I drink some of my water, putting the bottle down once I’m finished. “Do I know what?”

“If Deion has a girlfriend.”

“I don’t think he does,” I say.

“I mean, you two seem pretty close. Are you sure that you guys aren’t dating?”

I quickly denied her question. “No, no we’re not dating. We’re just friends. That’s it.”

Candace gasps. “Omg, that means I have a chance!”

“Do you think he’ll say yes?” Lisa asks her.

“Of course he would. Why would he say no?” Candace whips her hair. “Besides, I’ve seen him eyeing me at one of our practices before.”

“He has not,” Lisa says as she and Candance walk off.

I sit down next to my bag, moving the hair out of my face as I go on my phone.

We’re just friends. Saying those words out loud and in my head seemed like the truth. Deion and I were just friends, and that’s all we’ll ever be. Nothing more.

The more I told myself that those words were true, the more I knew that deep down, they sounded like a lie.