Ready or Not (The Love Game Book 4)

by Elizabeth Hayley

  “What?” I asked when Brody was still staring at me.

  “Pretty smile,” he said.

  The fuck? “Dude, did you just say I had a pretty smile? That shit’s weird, even for you.”

  “No! That’s what you said, not me.”

  “I definitely did not say you had a pretty smile. Did you drop acid before you came here?”

  “You said it about Taylor, you big, stupid idiot. When you were describing her to the hostess.”

  “Oh. So?” I tried not to make eye contact with him even though I’d just asked him to explain the implications of something I had no interest in hearing about.

  “Sooo…” Brody said slowly. “You like her,” he practically sang.

  “You’re high. She does have a pretty smile. It’s an objective statement. Straight white teeth that fit her mouth perfectly. I’m sure nine out of ten dentists would agree with me.”

  “You like her,” he sang again.

  Fucker. “Would you keep your voice down, please? I don’t like her, like her. I just…” Sighing heavily, I said, “I don’t know what I feel or even if I feel anything at all, so just don’t tell anyone, okay?”

  “Dude, you and your secrets. I feel like I’m working for the CIA here.”

  “Well, then enjoy it because this’ll probably be the closest you ever come to being trusted with important information.”

  Brody looked like I’d just slapped him. “Um, you do realize that I’d make the best secret agent mainly because no one would ever expect that I am one.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, buddy.”

  “I will.” Then he gave me his dopey Brody grin and said, “For as long as you keep telling yourself you don’t have a thing for Taylor.”

  T A Y L O R

  Other than one table of thirty-something hipsters who’d brought their newborn and toddler with them, most of the tables I’d waited on had been relatively easy. The majority of the customers were content to sit for a while without my checking in too many times. I ran the apps out as soon as they were ready and kept the drinks coming as best I could, and since I’d told everyone I was new when I’d introduced myself to each table, most were pretty understanding.

  The other servers helped too by running out a few drinks here and there if they had time, so overall, the night had been going pretty smoothly. I was glad I’d been scheduled for my first shift on a Wednesday afternoon, though, because the place had still been pretty crowded. I would’ve been completely overwhelmed if I’d had this weekend level of demand on my very first day.

  I barely had time to breathe, let alone take an actual break yet tonight, but so far I’d made some decent tips, which was more than I could ask for considering I had no experience waiting tables. I was feeling pretty confident as the night progressed, but it still surprised me that the hostess would seat a large party in my section. The manager, Jeremy, had told me he’d keep the limit to tables of four for my first Saturday night, but I’d just been given a table double that. Fuckers.

  I grabbed some napkins and coasters from the bar and headed over to get their drinks started, praying I could keep up with the rest of whatever they ordered. From what I could tell at a distance, it looked like the group already had some drinks going from the bar and were studying the menus closely. I hoped they wouldn’t have too many questions I couldn’t answer, like when one person asked if we had vegan cheese for our pizzas.

  As I approached the table with my friendliest smile and got ready to introduce myself, I realized why I’d gotten such a large party seated in my section on my first busy night.

  “Aww, you guys. I didn’t know you were coming.”

  Sophia, Drew, Brody, Ransom, Xander, Carter, Toby, and Aniyah surrounded the table.

  “This is such a great surprise.” I leaned over to give Sophia a hug from behind. “This was your idea, wasn’t it?”

  “Actually, no. I’m not sure who brought it up first, but it wasn’t me. I’ll still take the hug, though.”

  “Well, thank you to whoever thought of it. It’s been a crazy night. Good, but crazy. So it’s nice to see some familiar faces.”

  “It was Ransom’s idea, I think,” Brody said.

  “Really?” I hoped my question didn’t reveal my surprise, but with the exception of Aniyah and Toby, I probably knew Ransom the least out of all of them.

  I looked over to see him combing his wavy, light-brown hair with his fingers. “Yeah, I figured you could use the support. We tried to come sooner, but we had to wait for a while to get seated in your section.”

  “What’s up with that hostess, anyway?” Brody asked.

  “Who? Gail?”

  “Gail?” Brody’s eyes were wide with surprise. “My mom’s friend from college is named Gail. That chick’s like our age and looks like a bitter female version of Marilyn Manson. No way that’s her name.”

  “Yup, it’s Gail,” I told them. “And she’s actually pretty nice. A little hard to read, but that’s why she’s good at her job. A lot of people come in being dicks for no reason—”

  “Like Gail was,” Carter chimed in.

  “Was she really that bad?” This time I looked to Ransom because for some reason I felt like he would be the most objective.

  “I mean…” He hesitated like he didn’t want to bad-mouth her, which I could appreciate. “She wasn’t the friendliest person I’ve encountered today, but we’re at a table in your section, so I can’t be too upset, right?”

  I was about to reply when a voice from behind me got my attention. “Hey, can we order now.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes, sorry. I’ll be right there.” I put the drink specials on my friends’ table, ready to go over to Mr. Personable’s table before the vein in his neck burst and my section looked like an episode of Dexter.

  “Can you just do your job, please?”

  I wanted to tell him that just because he said “please” didn’t mean he was being polite, so there was really no point to the pleasantry, but there was no sense reasoning with him.

  “What’s your problem?” said Ransom.

  The white baseball cap guy’s two friends started snickering as they looked at Ransom.

  “Somethin’ funny?”

  The guys quit laughing, and one muttered a “Nah,” but the other remained silent.

  Unfortunately, the asshole sitting across from them wasn’t as smart. “This your boyfriend?” he asked with a nod toward Ransom.

  “Nope,” Ransom answered before I could. “Just a guy who’s gonna teach you a couple things about manners.”

  Brody put a hand on Ransom’s shoulder as Ransom started to stand. “Let it go.”

  Ransom’s chest expanded with the breath he’d taken, and he held it there for a second before slowly releasing it and taking his seat again, his eyes never leaving the other man’s.

  “It’s fine,” I told him. “Let me take their order. I don’t want to get a complaint from a customer.”

  “Sorry about that,” I said to the group of guys, even though I wasn’t. I would’ve felt bad for making them wait, but their reaction made it difficult to apologize with any sort of sincerity.

  Once I had their order, I hustled toward the kitchen to retrieve food for another table and get my friends’ wings going before heading to the bar to grab their drinks. I also put in a few appetizers for my friends, figuring I might be too busy to take their orders soon, and I was pretty sure they wouldn’t mind some fried food arriving.

  I stopped by a few times to check on a few of the tables in my section but didn’t get a chance to circle back to Sophia’s table until about ten minutes later. “I got some apps cooking for you guys. They should be out soon.”

  “Oooh, awesome,” Carter said. “I hope there’s mozzarella sticks involved.”

  “Those plus loaded fries and hot and honey wings.”

  He looked like he was about to begin drooling. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

  “The fuck is wron
g with you?” asked Drew on a laugh, causing me to laugh too.

  “So much,” was Carter’s reply.

  “Hey,” Sophia called from the far end of the table. “You think someone could get our picture? Or maybe we could just have you do a selfie or something at the end of the table if you think you can fit all of us in.”

  “You want a picture of me working?” I groaned but had already accepted it was going to happen. Sophia could be relentless when she wanted to be.

  “This girl thinks she’s a reality TV star,” Drew joked, pointing to Sophia. “How much would someone have to pay you to never take another picture? Hypothetically. Like would a hundred thousand be enough?”

  Sophia stared blankly at him, and it seemed like she was considering his question. “Just to clarify, am I never allowed to take a picture again, or I’m just not allowed to be in it? Like could someone else take the picture, or does that violate the agreement?”

  “Both. Can’t be in any and can’t take them yourself.”

  “Oh, then no way. I can’t put a price on that.”

  “Life-changing money,” Drew added.

  “Can we just take the fucking picture already?” Brody said. “I feel like I’m losing brain cells with every comment.”

  “I’m so glad you guys came in,” I said dryly, already taking Sophia’s phone and positioning myself at that end of the table. I held up the phone, my arm outstretched so I could capture everyone. “Squeeze in. Brody and Ransom, duck down a little.”

  The guys did what I said, and I snapped a few shots of us smiling and a few goofy ones.

  I wanted to look through all of them because there was no telling which one Sophia would post, and I didn’t want to look like a complete weirdo.

  “Thanks,” Sophia said when I handed her phone back. “And now to choose a filter.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Drew said, dropping his head into his hands.

  “I’ll leave you to it, then,” I told them. “I’m gonna go check on your appetizers, and then I can take your orders. Right after I do one more lap around to check on everyone else.”

  A few minutes later, I was back with the apps, so I quickly dropped them off before checking in on the four other tables I had. I was relieved to find that the group of guys who’d been a little rude earlier wanted to settle the tab they’d started not that long ago. I was a little concerned that their unexpected departure had something to do with my service or maybe Ransom’s response to them, but it wouldn’t do any good to worry about something that might not even be true.

  Once I managed to get their check squared away and cleared off one of the other tables, I headed back to Sophia’s table. Despite the three appetizers they’d blown through, they were probably starving. They’d been seated around seven thirty, and it was already almost nine.

  “Sorry,” I said, pulling out my pen and notepad. “I’m guessing you guys are ready to order some real food now since you had like an hour to look over the menu.”

  “No worries,” Toby said. “It gave me more time to explain how macro- and micronutrients affect our energy expenditure.”

  “Ohhh,” I said, sympathetically. “Then I’m extra sorry it took me so long to get back here.”

  It seemed to take Toby a few seconds to realize what my comment meant. “Hey!” he said, but then left it at that.

  Noticing that the table was one short, I asked, “Should I wait for Ransom to get back, or does one of you know what he wants?”

  “Oh,” Brody said. “He actually had to get going. But he said to let you know he’s sorry he couldn’t stay longer. He didn’t wanna bother to say bye while you were working.”

  “It’s fine.” I mean, it was fine. I didn’t need Ransom here or anything. I barely knew the guy. But what I did know of him made me curious about why he was always disappearing, and usually at night. I’d already asked him about it and hadn’t gotten a real answer. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was moonlighting as some kind of superhero. Which was the reason I had to ask, “Where’d he go?” I tried to act casual, like I cared less than I did.

  “He was meeting some friends or something at another bar,” Sophia said.

  Who was he meeting? I’d never seen any of Ransom’s friends, other than all of us, and since he’d just moved here fairly recently, I didn’t think he had many in the area. Except that he was, or used to be, an athlete, and I was pretty sure that circle could be extensive no matter where someone lived. The guy probably had connections all over the county. “Were they old friends from college or something or…”

  Or some other thing that was none of my business?

  “I don’t think he said who,” Carter answered right as Brody said, “I think it was a party or something. He sounded like it was pretty important.”

  Aniyah glanced between the two of them. “I thought he said it wasn’t a party.”

  “Uh,” Brody stammered. “I think he said it wasn’t a surprise party.”

  “Aniyah’s right,” Toby chimed in. “He didn’t say it was a party.”

  The group debated Ransom’s whereabouts for a little longer, and I wondered why Brody was so insistent that he’d gone to a party when everyone else seemed so sure he hadn’t.

  Had Ransom told Brody the truth and Brody forgot he was supposed to keep it to himself? Was Ransom in some guy’s basement snorting coke off a dirty parquet coffee table while nineteen-year-old college freshmen twerked in the background?

  I didn’t think so, but I also only knew the Ransom that Brody brought around. I had no idea what he did in his personal life or who he hung around with.

  And I was torn between whether I wanted to know or not.

  Chapter Seven

  R A N S O M

  “When you shoot, try to put your fingers up in the air a little more and flick the ball up higher. Just be careful. You’re right-handed, so the ball’ll drop off to the right if your wrist’s not straight.” Manny tossed the ball up into the air from behind the three-point line toward the right of the net and turned toward me. “See, I don’t even need to watch it to know it went in.” The ball dropped into the net with a satisfying swish, and he smiled when he heard it.

  A lot of people might feel a little inadequate getting shooting lessons from a fourteen-year-old whose voice hadn’t quite deepened completely yet, but I was just happy Manny got to show off his skills, not to mention I got to learn a few things about a sport I’d never been great at despite my height. I had over a foot on this kid, but he could dribble circles around me. Literally.

  “Dude, you gonna play on a team this year, or what?” I asked him.

  Most of what he’d learned had been in the local neighborhood courts from his older brothers and other guys. And now that he was entering high school, I knew how important it was for him to play an organized version of the sport if he planned to get any type of scholarship. I wished he could’ve played for a summer league, but his mom didn’t have the time or the money for all the travel that was needed.

  “I guess,” Manny said, tossing the ball hard toward me. “Try the shot again.”

  I jumped up, letting the ball slide off my fingertips. It sailed toward the basket but didn’t quite make it in. Though it was closer than my previous shot.

  “Almost,” he said. He grabbed the rebound and threw it at me again. “Another. Remember not to let your hand drift over.”

  “Aren’t I supposed to be the one mentoring you?” This time the ball went through the net with that beautiful sound I’d heard on Manny’s shot.

  “Yeah, but you’re doing a shitty job of it.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Watch your mouth.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Again,” he said, tossing me the ball.

  I hit the shot with an ease I hadn’t felt since, well, probably ever. “Once you learn the fundamentals, you can help coach a kids’ team, I bet. That’ll look great on a college application.”

  “Why you always gotta be talkin’ about college like it�
��s the only way to do anything with my life? You startin’ to sound like my mom.”

  Manny shuffled around me as I tried and failed to steal the ball from him.

  “Your mom’s a smart woman,” I told him.

  “Yeah, I guess,” he said, though I knew Manny well enough to know he had more respect for his mom and how hard she’d worked.

  Maria Gonzalez was a saint, and her boys knew it. She’d raised three of them as a single mother from the time Manny’s oldest brother was five. Their father hadn’t been a stable figure in their lives before he went to prison, and he certainly wasn’t one now. Of the three boys, Manny was the only one who took the time to visit him, and those visits were still few and far between.

  I had no idea what it was like to have a parent who was there for you from the beginning and would be until the end. The kids in this neighborhood weren’t exactly lucky when it came to family dynamics, but Manny’d hit the jackpot with his mother.

  A few other kids came over to get a game going, including a twelve-year-old girl named Yazmine who had some serious skills. I let them play a three-on-three and was heading over to help a few kids do summer work at a nearby picnic table when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

  I pulled it out to silence it, but when I saw that the Caller ID said Melissa, I answered. Though we didn’t talk much anymore, I’d made a promise to myself that I’d answer whenever she called. And I didn’t plan to break it.

  “Hey,” I said, slowing my walk down a bit and plugging my other ear with a finger so I could hear her over the kids.

  “Hey, Rans.” No matter how infrequently I talked to Melissa, it was always nice to hear her voice. “Did I catch you at a bad time?” She must’ve heard the noise in the background.

  “No, no, you’re good.” It wasn’t exactly true, but to be fair, no time was ever great. I was usually either working or at school. Harry wouldn’t care if I took a quick phone call, because he knew I’d only answer if it was important. “What’s up?”