Blood Rivalry

“What’s come over you, man?” asked Luis. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

Johnny was sitting on the edge of a deck chair, bent at the waist and staring into his cup of coffee, a mixed look of confusion and contemplation plastered on his face. “I don’t know? She’s not like any girl I’ve ever known. I know this might sound crazy, but I think she really likes me.”

“Of course she does, but so does about every girl on campus. You haven’t exactly been the sultan of loyalty to Caroline.”

“Those other girls were different. They didn’t really like me. They liked the idea of me and of being with a big man on campus.”

“You’re only a sophomore,” said Luis with a bemused expression. “I’m not sure you can call yourself a big man on campus.”

Johnny stood up, staring down at Luis who was still sitting on his deck chair. “But I am, and you know it. At school, at home, wherever—I get what I want. Always have. If a girl sleeps with me, it just makes others want to even more. It’s crazy. And it’s true with guys too.”

“I don’t think guys want to sleep with you,” Luis responded, chuckling.

Johnny walked to the edge of the ship and placed his hands on the railing. “That’s not what I mean. I mean they comply. They follow. They kiss my ass.” He turned and leaned back against the railing. “Have you ever noticed I can be a real asshole?”

“Yep.”

“But you don’t care, do you?”

“No.”

Johnny turned and leaned forward, resting his forearms against the railing. He thought back to how he’d treated his brother during their childhood together. “It’s like I can’t help it,” he said. “It’s who I’ve been groomed to be.”

“What? An asshole?”

“No . . . someone who will do whatever it takes to get what I’ve been told is rightfully mine. Being an asshole is just a byproduct.” Johnny reclaimed his seat in the deck chair and absentmindedly picked up an empty Presidente beer bottle from the table beside it. It appeared to have been left over from the evening before. He began picking at the label. “You don’t fall in line and buy my bullshit, though. Probably why I like you. And Nadia doesn’t buy it, either.”

“Is that why you are so taken with her?”

“In part. But she hasn’t met the real Johnny—the Johnny who is the big man on campus.”

“What do you think she would do if she did?” asked Luis.

“I don’t think she’d like him very much.”

“Heavy stuff. So what happens now?”

“Spring break ends in a few days, and I never see Nadia again,” Johnny said as his head dipped forward.

“And Caroline will be none the wiser, I presume.”

Johnny gave Luis a pointed look. “That’s right. She’s my golden ticket to the White House.”

“Her family has that kind of pull?” asked Luis.

“That’s what everyone says.”

“And you’ll go back to being an asshole.”

Johnny said nothing and continued to peel the label off the empty beer bottle.