The worst part is the divorce came years after the injury, but he was never the same after it happened. It was like nothing meant the same if he didn’t have the NBA anymore.
I inhale a deep breath, and shut my car off, Taylor’s voice cutting off in the middle of Shake it Off.
Slipping from the car, I sling my purse over my shoulder and lock the car behind me. Though, in a neighborhood this nice—one where I had to enter through a gate—locking it is probably unnecessary. I doubt any of these rich pricks want anything to do with my ten-year-old Honda.
I trudge up the driveway, my arms wrapped around my body.
I don’t know why, but the memory of my high school graduation floods my mind. I gave my dad the cold shoulder after the event. My heart pangs in remembrance of his warm smile, the pride in his eyes when he told me congratulations and opened his arms for a hug, and I just dodged him. Like he was nothing. Before then I’d spend the occasional holiday with him, not because he didn’t want me to but because I loved my mom and felt like I had to be loyal to her, even though she never said or did anything to make me feel ill toward my father. That wasn’t my mom. She was a good, kind soul. Better than me, better than anyone I’ve known. What he didn’t know at my graduation, is the day before my mother confessed she’d been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She told me to be optimistic, that she’d be fine, but I knew my mom better than anyone and always knew when she was lying.
She was dead a year later, gone almost to the day of when she was diagnosed.
Perhaps her loss is why I latched on so strongly to Todd, even when I knew he was all wrong for me.
Reaching the door, I take a deep, fortifying breath and smooth my hands down the front of my simple flowered dress. Cole had jokingly asked if I was going on a date when he saw me leaving. I reluctantly grumbled out that I was going to my dad’s house for dinner.
I would’ve much rather met on neutral ground at a restaurant, but he was insistent that his wife, Allison, wanted to make me a home-cooked meal.
I know it’s unfair to Allison that I don’t like her. It’s not like she’s done anything to me. But I guess seeing her, and the kids they’ve had together, reminds me of what I should’ve had.
But now that I’m here in Tennessee and going to Aldridge, it’s time I made more of an effort. At least when it comes to my younger half-siblings.
After stalling long enough, I raise my hand and push the doorbell. It rings through the house.
Allison hurries to the door, her blonde hair cut off at her shoulders. She smiles at me behind the door. Opening it, she lets me in. “Zoey, I’m so glad you could come.” She opens her arms to hug me. I’ve always denied her embraces in the past, but this time I accept it and there’s no missing the happiness in her bright blue eyes. It makes me feel like a bitch for things I’ve said and done in the past.
“Thanks for having me.” I release her. She’s dressed in a nice pair of jeans and wraparound top. I wish I would’ve worn jeans now, but it’s too late to change.
“Everyone’s this way.” She nods for me to follow her.
We enter a massive kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances, shiny granite countertops, and cabinets I’ve only ever seen in homes well over a million dollars—which I’m sure this place is.
“Dinner’s almost ready.” She gives my shoulder a squeeze as my dad stands up from the large table in the kitchen. I’m glad we won’t be eating in some fancy dining room. Even though the kitchen is luxurious it definitely feels more relaxed.
“Hey, Zo-bug.” My dad’s voice booms as he stands to his full six-foot-nine height. His hands are massive, the size of dinner plates. I remember when I was little, I was always putting things in his hands to compare the size.
“Hi, Dad.” Like with Allison, I make myself hug him. He squeezes me tight, holding on like he doesn’t want to let go, and I swear the guilt is going to smother me just like his massive arms. Craning my neck back to fully take him in, I ask, “How are you?”
You’d think with such a giant for a dad I would’ve been taller than my five-seven stature, but my mom was a barely five-foot Latina powerhouse, and I inherited a lot of her genes. It definitely wasn’t always easy growing up as an Afro-Latina, but I love my heritage, both sides, even if I’ve harbored anger toward my dad over the years.
You know, I guess I should be thankful he realized that my mom wasn’t the love of his life and didn’t stay in a loveless marriage, but as a teenager growing up without my dad in those vital year, not looking like the other kids, it was hard.
“I’m good, I’m good.” His eyes flit over me, taking in every detail like he’s trying to memorize me. “How are you? You’ve gotten all the furniture set up okay? I told you I’d come help.”
“My roommate helped me.”
“Good, good.” Awkwardness sets in like usual. I’ve cut him down so many times over the years the poor man doesn’t know what to say to me. “Want to say hi to the kids?”
I give a tiny nod, eyeing the small children at the table.
Gabriel is six, Isaac four, and then there’s the baby, Rose, who isn’t quite one yet. I remember the jealousy I felt when I found out my dad and Allison were having a girl. It was so dumb, I’m an adult and being jealous of a baby is preposterous, but all I could think about was how I was well and truly replaced. I’m not my dad’s only little girl anymore.
I take small, measured steps to the table and find the boys scribbling in coloring books, well Isaac is scribbling, but Gabriel is doing a good job of staying in the lines.
“You guys like coloring?” I ask my brothers.
Gabriel looks up. “Yeah, do you? We have more coloring books if you want to color with us?”
Isaac looks up, only just realizing I’m there. “Zo-Zo!” He grins from ear to ear and slips out of his seat, barreling toward me and tackling me into a hug. My heart clenches at his obvious excitement over being there. “I missed you! You didn’t come for Christmas!”
No, I was too busy spending it with Cheater-Cheater-Licking-Someone-Else’s-Pussy-Eater Todd. But I did spend Thanksgiving with my dad’s family last year. It was just as awkward as you’d expect but for some strange reason the boys seem to like me.
“I’m sorry,” I say automatically, but I actually mean it when I take in his saddened expression.
“The boys ask about you a lot,” my dad says with a smile that is both somehow happy and sad as he observes Isaac’s chokehold on me.
“They do?” I don’t mean to say it out loud, but the question slips out.
He jerks his head in a nod. “They love you.”
Letting Isaac go, he smiles at me holding my face between his small hands. “I’ll get you a coloring book. We have an Avengers one you can use.”
“Whoa! Whoa!” Allison calls after him when he tries to flee the kitchen. “Zoey can color with you after we eat if she wants to stay, but dinner is ready so park your tush back in your seat.”
Isaac goes back to the table, head hanging.
Walking over to Allison, I say, “Let me help you with that.”
She gives a smile, appreciating that I’m trying. “Thanks.”
Together we plate the chicken fettucine she made. It smells incredible and my stomach rumbles. She tries to hide her amusement at the sound.
“I might be a little hungry,” I admit sheepishly.
She smiles. “That’s what we want.”
Sitting down at the table with Allison, my dad, the two boys, and babbling baby isn’t as awkward or as horrible as I expected. It’s been my own fault all these years that things weren’t great. Now that I’m here, living nearby and going to school, I need to put in more effort.
“This is delicious, Allison,” I say to the pretty blonde. She’s only thirty-three, almost twelve years older than me, which if I’m honest with myself is another reason I resented her. Even though my dad was single for a few years after my parents’ divorce, it still felt like a betrayal to my mother when he
married Allison. Like he upgraded to a new, younger, shinier model. “I really appreciate you doing this.”
“Of course, Zoey.” She smiles at me. “You’re our family.”
Looking around at my dad, brothers, baby sister, and Allison, I return her smile.
We finish dinner and even have dessert—a homemade tiramisu that Allison prepared earlier. I help clean up and then stay to color with the boys for a little while, saying goodbye just before it’s time for them to settle for bed.
I arrive back at the apartment and trudge up the steps. Despite actually enjoying my evening I’m exhausted from the stress and anxiety of it all.
Opening the door, I find Cole relaxing on the couch with a root beer in hand.
“How’d it go?” he asks as I lock up behind me.
“Pretty good.” I decide that’s a pretty basic answer, so I elaborate with, “Better than I thought it would. My brothers were happy to see me.”
“Brothers? I didn’t know you had siblings.”
“Yeah, Gabriel and Isaac. They’re young—six and four. There’s a baby too, Rose, she’s only nine months.”
“Wow.”
I give a small laugh, filching one of his root beers from the fridge. When I first opened the refrigerator and saw all the bottles lined up, for a split second I thought I was dealing with an alcoholic college boy and what a nightmare it would be, but I had quite the laugh once I read the label and saw that it was root beer.
Cole gives me an amused smile when I sit down beside him, kicking my shoes off on the carpeted floor and tucking my feet under me and drink in hand. “Are we sharing drinks now?”
“I needed something stronger than water.”
He throws his head back and laughs, caramel brown eyes sparkling when they meet mine. “Sorry I only have root beer then.”
“It’s okay. We can go shopping for actual beer sometime this week.”
“We, huh?”
I roll my eyes. “At least if we grocery shop together, I won’t have to carry everything up the stairs by myself.”
He tsks. “Using me as a pack mule to carry your shit, Zoey? I see how it is. And here I thought you wanted to spend more time with me.”
For some reason my heart trips over itself. I better as hell not be developing a crush on my roommate. The last thing I need is to be lusting after a guy, even one as hot as Cole, after the disaster that was my last relationship.
“You wish, Anderson.” I bump his shoulder with mine, definitely not affected at all by how muscular his bicep feels against my arm.
He grins, eyes glimmering with amusement and holds his bottle out to mine. “Cheers, Zoey.”
“Cheers to what?”
“I don’t know. To school starting, to you surviving dinner with your family … to ‘grocery’ shopping.”
My heart skips a beat again, something about the way he says ‘grocery shopping’ feels illicit. Like limbs touching between sheets, nails scraping against skin, tongues dueling.
Somehow, I find my voice and tap my bottle against his. “Cheers.”
I down a swallow, disappointed there’s not a twinge of alcohol, because right now I think I need it.
5
Cole
It feels good to be back on campus. I stroll into the Aldridge Café where Teddy and I agreed to meet before classes start. I ate breakfast before I left the apartment, actually shared some eggs and bacon with Zoey, but I could go for some coffee.
Surprisingly, I’m not minding her company at all. It hasn’t been a full week yet, so that could change, but so far she’s way easier to deal with than I know Teddy would have been. Not that I don’t like Teddy, obviously I do since we’re friends, but he can be a lot to handle. Like a toddler that’s had too much sugar.
I order a black coffee with one creamer and find Teddy at a table already with one of those frozen coffee drinks with whipped cream on top.
“Top of the morning to you, hey.”
I furrow my brows as I pull out a chair and sink my body into it. “What kind of accent is that supposed to be?”
“No idea.” He sips on his drink, making eyes at a girl a few tables over. “How’s the new roomie working out?”
“Better than you.”
He feigns injury. “I’m hurt.”
“Mhmm, you look real torn up about it.” I indicate the girl he’s checking out with a nod of my head.
He grins, setting his drink down. “It’s going to be real boring without me.”
“Now that I can agree to. But Zoey’s great.”
“Nice to look at too. Great tits.” I reach across the table and smack the back of his head. “What was that for?”
“For talking about my roommate like that. Respect her.”
He puts his hands up, gesturing for me to calm down. “My bad, but even you have to admit they’re nice.” He gestures to his own chest like he’s holding a handful.
“Teddy,” I growl a warning.
“I forget you’re a nice guy,” he grumbles, stirring the whipped cream into his frozen coffee. “And with sisters too.”
“What’s that mean?”
He cracks a grin. “Just that you’re extra sensitive.”
“Don’t be an ass,” I warn him.
He looks over my shoulder and his smile grows bigger. “Yo, Mase! Come join us.”
Instantly, I stiffen and Teddy frowns when he notices giving me a sheepish look.
Mascen’s shadow falls upon the table. “Morning.” He lifts his coffee to his mouth, watching me over the rim. No doubt he’s trying to gauge my reaction to him.
“What class do you have first?” Teddy asks, filling the awkward silence.
Mascen rubs his jaw, facing Teddy, but his eyes move in my direction every few seconds. What does he expect? A surprise attack like I’m going to jump up and brawl in the middle of the coffee shop. Not likely.
“I’ve got a chem class.”
“Brainiac,” Teddy mutters under his breath. He’s not wrong. Mascen is a talented athlete, and could easily go pro with baseball, but he doesn’t want that. Instead, he’s pursuing sports medicine.
“What about you?”
“News writing and reporting.”
“Damn, you mean I’m going to be all alone in communications? Figures. Stupid majors separating us. I’m going to need another one of these if I’m going to survive.” He slips out of his chair, going to place an order, and Mascen takes his place.
“Teddy told me he bailed on rooming with you. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I regard him for a moment before I answer. “What good would that have done?
I know what he’s going to say before he does, so I’m not surprised when he replies, “Because I can help you.”
“I’m sure Teddy also told you he solved my roommate problem. It’s all good, man.”
With a sigh, Mascen stands, adjusting his baseball cap before he picks up his cup. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry. And you know me, dude, I don’t apologize for shit. And I’m not saying I’m sorry for loving Rory, just for hurting you.”
I wave my hands. “It’s water under the bridge.”
He arches a brow. “Is it?”
He doesn’t give me a chance to answer before walking out, lifting his hand in goodbye to Teddy.
Teddy struts back to the table, another frozen coffee in hand but I’m already standing and grabbing my backpack to sling across my shoulders.
“Don’t tell me you’re leaving already. That’s no fun.”
“Gotta get to class, dude.”
“Fine, pizza for dinner?”
“Dinner?”
He looks at me like I’m the dumb one. “First day of class celebration, duh.”
I shake my head over the fact that he actually used the word duh in a sentence. “No parties.”
“No, not a party. Promise. Just a few of the guys.”
“Don’t forget Zoey lives with me now. I can’t have you infringing, because it’s
not only my space.”
“Only a few people, I promise.” When he winks I know I’m fucked.
6
Zoey
Cole gives me yet another apologetic look, mouthing, “I’m sorry.”
Our apartment is crowded with guys. Apparently, Teddy took it upon himself to have a “First Day Back Get Together” as he called it. So far, I’ve been introduced to guys named Murphy, Jude, Cree, Daire and one who introduced himself to me with, “Caesar, like the dressing, not the dead guy.” Both him and Teddy cackled over that one. There are a few others who’ve since joined, packing into our small apartment that I haven’t been introduced to yet.
“Give me one of those.” I tell Teddy, waving my fingers at one of the beers in his hand. Something called Three Floyds Zombie Dust. Never heard of it, but if I’m going to have to deal with this much testosterone, I’m going to need actual alcohol. Cole’s root beer and my water just aren’t going to cut it.
“Here you go pretty lady.”
“No flirting.” I glare at the pretty boy as I take the beer from him and grab the bottle opener, popping off the top.
“I bring you beer and food and this is how you treat me. Shame, Zoey.” He actually rubs his right index finger on top of his left.
“Boohoo.”
Not only do I help myself to his beer, but I pile a plate with two slices of pizza and some of the chicken wings he brought.
Squeezing past some of the guys in an effort to get to my room, I bump into one, spilling a little of my beer on his shirt. “Shit, I’m sorry, Murphy.” I cringe at the stain on his shirt.
He laughs. “It’s fine. It’s just a shirt, it’ll dry. And it’s Murray.”
I cringe at having messed up his name. I could’ve sworn I heard him say Murphy earlier, but with a thick Australian accent it’s apparent I misheard.
“Murray,” I repeat. “I’ll remember that.”
Cole appears out of nowhere, fire in his eyes. “He’s not bothering you is he?”
Murray snorts at the accusation. “Nah, man. She bumped into me by accident.”
Nice Guys Don't Win (A College Sport's Romance) Page 3
