I straightened my back, holding his eyes. I couldn’t back down—refused to back down. Unlike my father, I was a man. A man who faced his problems instead of running away from them. “I’m here to apologize, D. In person.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little too late for that?” He folded his arms over his chest, bushy brows drawing together.
“It is. I know it was wrong, and I apologize. I swear I didn’t force her into anything. I know that’s what you’re thinking. I should have told you that things were getting blurry for me with Kandy. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship or have you thinking I wanted to hurt her or your family.”
His nostrils flared.
“I didn’t hurt her. I didn’t force myself onto her. I did what she wanted me to do, D. I fucked up, yeah. I know. If I could go back and change things, I would. I would have made her stop and actually think about our consequences. I’m truly, truly sorry, man.”
His jaw ticked as he took a step forward. He looked me over twice, before peering over my shoulder at the black car that waited for me. “Why did you drop the charges?”
“Because it was a mistake. They never should have been drawn up in the first place.”
“Really?” he scoffed. “A mistake? You think me beating your ass and giving you what you deserved for fucking my daughter was a mistake?” he snarled through his teeth.
My brows narrowed. “I did deserve it, which is why you didn’t deserve for me to press charges. I never put the charges on you. It was Kelly who told the police I would be considering it. Kelly is the reason you even found out.”
He dropped his arms and shook his head, turning quickly to get in the house and pick something up from the table in the hallway. He came back with a white flash drive, holding it in my face, “So you’re telling me that Kelly used a flash drive with your company’s name on it and recorded you in the act with my daughter? Why would she do some shit like that, Cane?”
“Because she’s a psychotic bitch and she knows too much. She’s dangling shit over my head. She found out, told me to stay away…but I didn’t listen. She thinks this is the only way to keep me away from Kandy. By destroying our friendship. If there’s no Derek, there are no Jennings’ at all. ”
A deep growl formed in his throat. “Well, she’s damn right about that.” He shoved a fist into my chest, which forced me to take two slight stumbles backward. “I’m going to burn this shit, and then I’ll burn the copy my wife has. As for you, I don’t give a fuck about your apology. I don’t give a fuck that you dropped the charges out of whatever pity you had to help me or try and salvage this friendship. There is no friendship anymore. That’s dead. And if you ever come around my family or me again, what you get next will be much worse than a fucking concussion.”
With that, he shoved my chest one more time until I had no choice but to step off the porch, then he turned around and slammed the door in my face.
I stood there a moment, staring at the door, realizing I would probably never see it again. I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t see that coming. I knew Derek. He would never forgive me for this, but at least I tried.
This was it.
There was no coming back from this.
There was no denying the truth.
I no longer had a best friend, and that was the reality I faced during my walk of shame to the car.
I got home, took a hot shower, and tried to work, but it was impossible to concentrate. Frustrated, I slammed my laptop shut and went downstairs to the kitchen. I poured myself some scotch, and after the first sip, my phone rang in the pocket of my sweats.
Pulling it out, I checked the screen. It was from a number I didn’t know.
I frowned, ignoring the call. Several seconds and one sip of scotch later, it rang again. I ignored it.
It rang one more time and I cursed beneath my breath, frowning at the screen. I received a lot of crazy calls from random motherfuckers who found my number. Normally, I would ignore them, but that night I was pissed and hostile, and wanted to shout at someone—anyone. Maybe I should have invited Kelly over. Cursing her out would have been a fucking relief.
I answered when the number showed up on the screen for the fifth time. “Who the hell is this and why do you keep calling me?” I demanded.
“Well, shit, bro—is that any way for CEO to answer the phone?”
My back straightened, my frown rapidly disappearing. I couldn’t believe the voice I was hearing. This couldn’t be real. This had to be a joke.
“Lora?” I breathed, gripping the phone as if it would be snatched out of my hands by some criminal with a gun to my head.
“Hey, big bro. You missed me?”
“What the hell? Where are you? What made you call?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—slow your roll, Q! Look, before I answer any of your questions, I need to know where you live. I’m at the Atlanta airport and would like to hug my big bro before I get around to the serious shit.”
“Shit—you’re at the airport? Uh—okay. Stay there. I’ll have a car sent to you right now.”
“Oh my gosh—look at you! You always have to use your big bucks and big moves to make a statement, don’t you?” She laughed, that same infectious laugh that warmed my spirit and made me feel at home. “I’m using some stranger’s phone, but text me your address really quick and I’ll call up an Uber. No big deal. Bye loser.”
She hung up before I could speak again. I stared at the phone for a split second before sending my address. I couldn’t hesitate for long. I didn’t need her having second thoughts about being here.
Why was she here anyway? I knew we had a bond and a connection that was familiar…but did it really run that deep?
She showed up when I needed her most.
I hoped. I prayed. I begged.
I couldn’t believe it had worked.
Twelve
KANDY
“She’s the new pitcher?” The tone of disgust coming from my own teammate was like a slap right in the face.
As soon as we’d walked into the diner, Morgan and Gina, another lovely teammate of mine, groaned at the same time, and when I looked where their eyes were focused, two girls were coming our way, both wearing basketball shorts and Notre Dame T-shirts.
The girl who’d given me the rude tone was Jay and it was clear she wasn’t a huge fan of the freshman pitcher.
“Have a little class, Jay, seriously.” Gina folded her arms over her chest. She was a sweet girl—strawberry blonde hair, freckles, green eyes, really toned legs and arms, and a sweet southern accent.
“I don’t know if I’m the main pitcher yet,” I responded with a slight frown.
“Well, of course you are. The senior pitcher is hurt and will still be out when the season starts. You’re the only other pitcher we have…for now anyway.” She smirked then sipped from the straw of her cup. The girl beside her giggled at the snide remark.
I didn’t know who she was, but her skin was a smooth sable, her eyes a rich dark-brown, and her hair in coils so tight I was sure it was a bitch to comb through it. Trust me, I knew all about the kinky hair. My hair coiled a lot too, to the point that if I didn’t comb it after a shower, I’d regret it when it dried.
“I guess you’re another one of those, huh?” Morgan asked Jay.
Jay frowned at her. “Another one of what?”
“One of Sophie’s ass-kissers. You know what? It’s cool—I get it. I mean we can’t all be as talented as Kandy or even Sophie, and I bet it’s super fucking scary to know you can easily be replaced by a freshman. Wait, aren’t you an outfielder, too?” Morgan seemed truly curious, but I knew her motive was to get under Jay’s skin. Jay looked around the diner nervously, focusing on the girl with coiled hair before looking between us.
“Yeah, so what?” Jay grimaced.
“Oh—just wondering.” Morgan took a step forward. “Because I’m coming for you. You might wanna watch out.” She winked and flashed a smile in Jay’s face. “Come on, ladies. Le
t’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”
I walked past the girls, fighting a smile as they looked at each other and scoffed, watching us walk away.
“You are a badass,” I laughed.
“I told you I don’t have time for these bitches. I dealt with the snobby bullshit in high school, but I’m not dealing with it in college. If we don’t put our feet down now, they’ll never respect us.”
“That’s true,” Gina agreed. “Some of the girls on the team can be really snobby.”
“You know, you’d think since we’re a team, that we’d all get along. I mean, at the end of the day, we’re going to see each other all the fucking time,” Morgan went on as we slid into one of the booths. “We all got here by working our asses off and staying dedicated. I just don’t understand girls like them, or how they make it onto the softball team at all with their prissy, arrogant personalities.”
“Eh, well, I couldn’t care less. I’m good at ignoring the snobby bitches.” I shrugged as I picked up one of the table tent menus. “I only had one real friend in high school and she was all I needed. We kept to ourselves and got by just fine. I had some really cool teammates, but most of them were kind of like Jay. Only they’d smile in my face and talk shit behind my back. Wasn’t cool, so I hardly hung out with them. I think most of them despised me because my best friend dated most of their boyfriend’s before them.”
“Man, your bestie sounds like she likes to get down,” Morgan tittered, and Gina laughed with her, throwing her hands in the air as if she had no right to say anything. “Your old teammates can talk all the shit they want, but I bet none of them are where you are right now, at one of the best colleges in the country, playing for one of the best softball college teams around. Screw those bitches.”
I chuckled while Gina said, “Amen,” in her adorable, southern accent.
I ordered a garden salad and fruit bowl. Morgan chowed down on a cheeseburger and a milkshake, and Gina went with a chicken sandwich and slice of apple pie. My salad wasn’t as great as the pizza I had the day before. No wonder so many students turned toward cheeseburgers and pizza. The salad was literally thrown together and looked as if it’d been sitting out for days. I ate my fruit bowl instead.
Being around Morgan and Gina was a breath of fresh air, that was for sure. They were understanding and good listeners, which I loved. It was nice to have genuine people at my side. It took away some of my nerves, plus Gina was a big help with where to go and how to get around campus. She loved answering our questions.
Later that night, it was hard to fall asleep. The night before, it was easy because I’d had a long trip and I crashed. But this night, it felt impossible.
Morgan was like a rock, I learned. It took her no time to get comfortable and drift into a deep snore. Lucky for her, my father was a heavy snorer and I could hear his snoring from my room three doors down so I was used to the noise.
I tossed and turned. Grunted and groaned. I gave up eventually and laid flat on my back, staring out of the window at the milky moon. While I stared at it, my eyes became tight and wet, my throat thick with emotion. I picked up my phone and sighed.
Cane was only a phone call away. He’d reminded me of it every time I saw him. But it wasn’t like that anymore. I couldn’t call him without risking everything. There was a chance Kelly was around and as badly as I wanted to know what she had on him to make him so wary, I wanted more for him to be safe.
Helpless, I cried silently, half of my face buried in the pillows that smelled like home, until finally, I’d fallen asleep.
Thirteen
CANE
The hardest thing about my entire situation was whether or not to call Kandy. I wanted to know how her first two days had gone, hear the nerves and excitement in her voice as she filled me in on everything.
I remembered my first day of college and how nervous yet thrilled I was to start a new life—a new adventure. I was sure she felt the same way.
I wanted to hold her hand along the way, tell her that there wasn’t anything to worry about and that she’d get through the next four years just fine—that I was always going to be here for her, no matter how screwed up all of this was. I wanted to hear her sweet, sultry voice, hear her tell me that she still wanted me. Still cared for me, despite being backed into a corner.
It was useless, though.
I stared down at the phone on my counter, glaring down at her number on my screen, my palms pressed on the edge of it. Would it have been selfish of me to call her, ruin her first few days? Was she even thinking about me, or was she trying to move past it and live a better life? If so, who was I to set her back?
I had my time and I’d ruined it. I told her I would ruin her, but in the end, I was the one who was crushed.
Headlights rolled across the wall in the hallway. Someone was here. I picked up my phone and marched to the door quickly, pulling it open and spotting a white Impala parked in the driveway.
“Thanks, man!” I heard the familiar voice shout, and then she was coming toward me.
She, as in my sister. My baby sister.
She looked different. Way different. Her hair that was once brown and straight the last time I saw her, was now wavy and dyed a pastel blue. The sleeves of tattoos on her arms I could make out in a busy crowd, but I couldn’t recall the lip piercing.
It was funny. When people who didn’t know us, saw us together with our tattoos on display, they automatically knew we were related, or assumed we were a couple if they didn’t look at our faces long enough.
Lora and I looked very much alike. We had the same gray-green eyes that we got from our mother, though hers were more gray than green, and similar lip structure. The only difference was our noses. While Lora’s was rounder and smaller, like Mom’s, mine was narrower and wider, like my father’s.
“Oh. My. Fucking. Gosh!” she squealed, looking all around. “Look at this house! The pictures you sent me a while back didn’t do it any justice!”
I slid my phone into my back pocket, smiling. “I’ve told you repeatedly to come and see it for yourself. Repeatedly, butthead.”
She gave a playful scowl. “Oh, cut it out, monkeyface! I’m serious—this is really nice!” She stepped in front of me with a bold grin. “You did good brother—getting all of this without my help.” She dropped her suitcase down and wasted no time throwing her arms around me. I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tight.
“Don’t ever go that long without talking to me again,” she muttered over my shoulder.
I pulled back, and that’s when her eyes became wider. “Oh my gosh—what the hell happened to your eye?”
“An accident, it’s nothing. Lora, I called, texted, and emailed you constantly, but you have that shithead so far up your ass that he probably blocked my fucking number. How can you tell me not to go that long when I tried to get in touch with you so many times?”
She hissed and winced, like she was just now remembering the fallout we had. “Just be glad you didn’t change your number. Oh, and about that shithead…yeah, we aren’t together anymore.”
That caused my brows to draw together. She pushed past me and I picked up her suitcase to bring it inside. When I set it down and shut the door, I trailed after her.
“What do you mean you’re not together anymore? I mean, trust me, I’m fucking relieved, but what happened?”
She gazed around, like she was truly in awe, like she hadn’t even heard my question.
“Lora,” I called.
“What, Cane? It’s no big deal, seriously. Just wasn’t working out like it should have.”
“No big deal?” I took a few steps forward as she opened the fridge and snatched out a can of Mountain Dew.
Seeing the can made me stop talking almost immediately. Kandy had brought the sodas over and left them here.
“What? You wanted this? It was the last one,” Lora said, eyes wide.
“No. Keep it. It’s fine.” I straightened my back and tried br
ushing off the memories of Kandy, but the smile she always gave me when she took her first sip of soda, claiming the first sip was always the best, played like a movie in my head.
I pulled myself out of it though, focusing instead on Lora as she cracked the can open and took a few swift chugs. “You two were about to get married, right?” I asked, keeping my voice level.
“Yeah, well the wedding is off now. The fucker got caught and was arrested for possession of cocaine. He’s a fucking idiot. They searched the car, found coke under the hood.” She sighed, and even though she tried to remain defiant, I could also see the glisten in her eyes, like her heart was broken. “He’s doing serious time, Cane,” she said, staring me in the eyes. “He told me they’re talking fifteen to sixteen years max if he pleads guilty.”
“Shit.” I walked around the counter, pressing my back against the edge of it and focusing on the wall across from me. “Is that why you’re here? You want me to send a lawyer to get him a shorter sentence?”
“What?” she spat, narrowing her eyes up at me. “No! What the fuck? Why would I fly all the way here when I could have just called and asked you that, you fucking idiot!”
“I’m just asking, Lora!” I threw my hands in the air. “No need to be so upset. Shit happens and I’m here to help...though not always for Aaron.”
She placed her soda on the countertop behind her, then rested her lower back on the edge like I did. “Doesn’t matter if you send one or not, he’s out of luck. Aaron has had too many slip ups. He’s gotten rusty. When you dropped out, he got worse at it, Cane. He had no guidance or anyone to tell him if something was stupid. That’s why he was so pissed. He didn’t know what to do and had too much pride to ask for your help. And you remember when he did ask you for a favor? You turned him down.”
“Because I had to, Lora. I didn’t have a choice. You know how bad that would have made me look with Aaron as an employee of my company? He had a bad background. He was arrested too many times and the background checks are heavy. Not to mention, Aaron was trying to get one of our highest paying positions. I couldn’t have it. That would have left me sunk and I’ve worked too hard to build Tempt to lose it over his terrible reputation.”
The Cane Series: A Complete Forbidden Romance Series (4-Book Set) Page 33
