Another long pause as they sipped from their cups and got ready for the next serve and volley.Neely had been planning the encounter for weeks.Cameron had had no idea she would ever see him again. Still, he knew the element of surprise would not help him. She would have all the answers.
"You're not saying much," he said.
"I have nothing to say."
"Come on, Cameron, this is your chance to unload with both barrels."
"Why should I? You're here trying to force me to dig up bad memories that took years to forget. What makes you think I want to go back to high school and get burned again? I've dealt with it,Neely . Obviously you haven't."
"You want to know about Screamer?"
"Hell no."
"She's a cocktail waitress at a low rent casino in Vegas, fat and ugly, thirty-two and looking fifty, all according to Paul Curry, who saw her there. Apparently she went to Hollywood, tried to sleep her way to the top,got squeezed out by a million other small-town homecoming queens trying to sleep their way to the top."
"No surprise."
"Paul said she looked tired."
"I'm certain of that. She looked tired in high school."
"Does that make you feel better?"
"I felt great before you got here,Neely . I have no interest in you or your homecoming queen."
"Come on, Cameron. Be honest. It must be somewhat satisfying to know that Screamer is closing in on skid row while your life is looking pretty good. You've won."
"I wasn't competing. I don't care."
"You cared back then."
She placed the cup back on the tray and leaned forward again. "What do you want me to say,Neely ? Shall I state the obvious? I loved you madly when I was a young teenage girl. That's no surprise because I told you every day. And you told me the same. We spent every moment together, had every class together,went everywhere together. But you became this great football hero, and everybody wanted a piece of you.Especially Screamer. She had the long legs and cute butt and short skirts and big chest and blond hair, and somehow she got you in the backseat of her car. You decided you wanted more of the same. I was a nice girl, and I paid a price for it. You broke my heart, humiliated me in front of everybody I knew, and wrecked my life for a long time. I couldn't wait to leave this town."