Team Player 2: A Sports Anthology

by Paige, Rochelle

  The pitcher throws her first pitch. The slap of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt followed by a, “Striiikkke,” from the ump has me sitting up straighter. “Come on, Maeve. Next one’s for you,” I mutter under my breath. These games don’t count for anything really, so I’m not sure why I’m so anxious. The girl winds up again and releases, the yellow ball a barely visible streak through the air. Maeve lifts her left foot just a bit, and I know she’s going to swing. Her bat connects, and the ball goes sailing out into left field over the head of the girl there. The Fire girls explode into cheers and yells. Maeve drops her bat and hauls ass around the bases, watching for the play to come infield so she isn’t tagged out. It never comes, and she rounds home just after the girl who was on second. One by one, her teammates slap her ass as she makes her way through the dugout to my sister, who gives her a high five. Never in my life have I wanted to be a girl. Or even a softball player. The sudden jealousy over their ability to play smack ass with Maeve has me wishing I was both right now, and that’s my cue to get the hell out of here for a while and find some ice. The sun is clearly getting to me.

  After a detour back to the hotel where I’m staying even though my parents live less than ten minutes away, for my hockey bag and stick, I was able to score some ice time on campus between practices. The coach was one of my coaches while I was in high school; one who had hoped I would come to his team at the university once I graduated along with a lot of my teammates. My plan was always to go to Fulton, though. Their hockey program was the best, and I knew if I wanted to make it to the show eventually, that’s where I needed to be. I wasn’t drafted right out of high school like Levi and one of our other roommates. I had to bide my time, play some Juniors, which is where Coach Kiehn from Fulton found me and secured my decision that that was where I wanted to play. Halfway through the season my freshman year on the Fire, I was signed to a professional team. Now I just have to keep up my grades, keep up my game, and wait for them to call me up the day I graduate.

  I’m just bullshitting with a couple of my old high school teammates who stayed on the ice with me after their practice when my phone starts ringing from inside my bag. Seeing that it’s my sister, I’m guessing I’m late for my chaperoning duties. “Shit, I have to take this. I’ll talk to you guys later. Let me know if you wanna play while I’m in town.” They agree, and we exchange fist bumps as I answer the call. “Hey, Liv. I’m on my way back now. I’m just on the other side of campus at the rink.”

  “I should have known.” Yeah, she should have. “Just be back here in the next five minutes. They just got off the field now. Once the girls all get back to the hotel, you can go back to playing hockey or whatever.” She’s still disappointed I didn’t take up baseball so that we had something in common. Our ten-year age gap means we didn’t have a whole lot to bond over until she started coaching at FU five years ago. She was the one who encouraged me to look into the school in the first place.

  “I’ll be there in three!” I promise.

  “Perfect. If you don’t see me, just grab a group of girls and start heading back. Between the three of us, you should only have to take one group.”

  “Got it. I won’t let anyone get lost, I swear,” I tell her jokingly. This is the first year my sister has been in charge of this trip all on her own, and she’s a little uptight about it.

  “Make sure that you don’t. And make sure you get them to the hotel but not into their rooms, Benny,” Olivia warns.

  “You make me sound like a predator.”

  “Eww, predators are creepy. You’re just…you. And I’ve seen where that has gotten you.” I’m pretty sure that was a compliment. Pretty sure.

  I’m rounding the clubhouse where the teams are when I see the twins, Kenna, and Lakyn come out. “Gotta go, Liv. I found the group I want.”

  “Why don’t I like the sound of that?”

  “Probably because you’re smart.”

  I pick up my pace, watching Maeve with her sister and friends. She’s in a pair of cut-off sweat shorts, the frayed edges hitting mid-thigh instead of at her ass cheeks like the other girls. A black cropped tank top with FU FIRE in red glitter gives me a teasing look at the pale skin of her toned stomach, and her hair is piled in a mess on top of her head. She’s hotter than any girl on the team, and that includes her identical twin. I’m not sure how that works, but it’s the damn truth.

  Maeve turns like she senses me coming. She chews on her bottom lip as she watches me make my way toward them. I’m not sure if that’s because I make her nervous, or hot, or maybe just indifferent. Whatever it is, I like it. I like that I throw her off just as much as she throws me off. If we’re both off our game, nobody has an advantage.

  Maeve

  “Maeve, will you help me with mine next?” Kenna pops her head into the bathroom where I’m putting the finishing touches on Millie’s makeup. I love playing with makeup. Thankfully, they love me doing their faces as much as I enjoy doing it.

  “Yeah, Ken. Give me just a sec.” With a critical eye, I take in my sister’s deep red lips and shimmery eye shadow before I spritz her with setting spray. I went totally opposite with my own nude lip and smoky eye. Same with our hair—she went down and wavy, and I had Lakyn do two Dutch braids. The girl is a hair wizard. Millie and I look so much alike, the matching bar necklaces, mine with my name and her with hers were our only tells most days. So I like to make whatever changes I can to make us stand out from each other. Which is why when she showed up in an outfit almost identical to mine, I changed into another one of my rompers. This one was black and white with spaghetti straps and a lacy hemline. A little shorter than I normally go, but Millie assured me that with cute strappy sandals, it was hot, not skanky, and there was absolutely no ass cheek showing. I’m not sure I believe her, though.

  “Thanks, sissy,” my most likely lying sister says as she poses in the mirror taking selfies of her freshly made-up face.

  “You’re welcome, now get out of here so I can do Kenna’s, and then we can leave,” I say, shooing her out as Kenna squeezes in. “What do you want me to do with you, Ken?” My eyes roam over her high cheekbones and obsidian eyes and her yellow skirt and hope she’ll let me bust out my canary yellow shadow.

  “Don’t make me look like a ho.” Easy enough. Since that was her only request, I excitedly pull out all the products I want to use. “And be quick.” I nod, knowing I have to be fast because we were supposed to be gone a half hour ago.

  “I’m really glad you decided to come with us to this party. I was worried after today’s game you would bail. You were in beast mode!” Kenna says, her eyes closed to allow me to prime her face. “Did you see Josh and the other guys in the stands watching?” Josh is the guy whose party we’re going to tonight. He seems nice. Super cute with moppy blond hair and gray eyes. He’s a catcher like Kenna, but I’m pretty sure he’s trying to hook up with Millie.

  “I did notice them.” And Benny. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to them when you guys did, though. I had to go see Hannah to see if she brought any of that magic muscle cream. My hamstring was killing me.”

  “You could ask Benny to massage it. He looked like he was gonna eat you up right on the sidewalk yesterday!” She waggles her brows and peeps at me through a slitted eye before closing it again quickly.

  “Benny is not massaging anything, and he damn sure didn’t want to eat anything yesterday.” Even repeating what she said has me blushing. I’m glad her eyes are closed because there’s no way to hide a blush on me. My freckles practically jump off my face.

  “He did too, and you would have let him if Millie wasn’t there giving you guys the stink eye.” I can’t even deny it. Benny had me more than just a little out of breath on that sidewalk, and it wasn’t only the Arizona sun that had me hot and bothered.

  “Stop talking, I need to do your face.” She smirks knowingly. Kenna knows me almost as well as my sister does. I’m not fooling her by changing the subject.

  Frater
nity Village was a lot like our own Fraternity Row. A small area about a half mile from campus where the fraternities all had houses. We even had the Jock Jungle where a majority of our athletes who lived off campus stayed, like my brother and Benny. Their place was called Hockey House, which was totally fitting. This one is called Kegger Kastle, according to the sign out front. No red flag there or anything. “Is this really where we’re going?” I question as we step from the Uber.

  “Sure is,” Millie singsongs as she links arms with me. She clearly isn’t fazed by the name. “Okay, who is tonight’s sober sitter?” Kenna asks, looking at me hopefully. Whenever we go out somewhere, we always have one person who doesn’t drink and is, therefore, the sober sitter. I usually volunteer because, for one, I’m not trying to get busted for underage drinking or have someone slip me something, and for two, I’m not a beer girl, and that’s usually what they have at these frat parties. When we’re at my brother’s, I don’t have to worry about any of that. My brother doesn’t really let us drink there, but when we do, I know it’s the safest place to drink on campus. Neither he nor his roommates would ever let anything happen to us. As much as Millie bitches about the hockey boys, I’ve always appreciated having them around even if I’d never admit it to her.

  There are three sets of expectant eyes on me. “Tag, I’m it.” I laugh, honestly not minding.

  “Yay,” Kenna says, and they all give a little happy clap.

  “You really are the best, Maeve,” Lakyn says as she slips her arm through mine. “And you look hot as hell tonight! Who did your hair?” she teases. Talk about hot. Lakyn should be a model with her beautiful coppery skin, golden eyes, and waist-length braids. Her mother was a model in Barbados before she got married and moved to Boston. Lakyn definitely got her looks. I pale in comparison. Literally. My skin is the color of milk on a good day, and my freckles splattered across it are the only color at all.

  “You’re a sweet talker, Miss Alleyne.” I hip bump her as the four of us pick our way across the lawn and up to the door. The music pulses from the open windows along with the sounds of laughing and talking mingled with the scent of pot and beer. Not unpleasant but it definitely sets the tone for the kind of party this is going to be.

  At the door is a big, burly guy, probably a football player if I had to guess. “You ladies are new. How’d you hotties hear about this party?” His smile is wolfish as he takes us in.

  “Josh told us to come by.” My voice is just this side of bitchy. I’m not used to having to explain myself, and I’m not in love with the way he’s checking us out.

  I’m not sure if it’s my tone or if it’s the mention of Josh’s name, but he stops ogling long enough to wave us in. “He’s in there somewhere.”

  Without bothering to thank him, I move aside so the girls can go ahead of me and follow behind. Knowing he’s watching has me wishing for my brother and his hockey boys. Maybe I should have invited Benny. It’s not the first time I thought about it. I almost asked him yesterday when he walked us back to the hotel. He had been covered in sweat again with a white tee clinging to his muscled arms and chest, his hockey bag slung over a shoulder, and his hat twisted backward. A rapid heartbeat and what felt like a flock of birds in my belly had me off balance. So much so that I started telling him about our plans. My sister was not affected by the sight of Benny Hayes, though, and she shut me up real quick with a vicious jab of her elbow in my ribs. Now I’m wishing I had fought through the sting and told him. Since Millie told me about this party, I had been worried about the sorority sisters not welcoming us, but I never gave any thought to the guys being too welcoming. Just another reminder of the safety net my brother has created for us on the FU campus.

  Leaning into Millie so I can be heard, I say, “Hey, try not to drink here tonight. I don’t trust these guys.”

  “Oh, sissy, you worry too damn much.” She tugs at my hand, dragging me toward the doorway that presumably leads to the kitchen and typically the drinks. As we make our way through, my unease at not knowing anyone here at all grows. There are some appreciative and curious looks from the guys at the party, and some not so appreciative looks from the ladies. This is going to be a long night.

  About two hours later, I’m making my way through the house, a little more familiar with the layout, to find Lakyn and my sister. Kenna hasn’t left my side all that much. She’s not feeling the crowd here any more than I am. We’ve danced a little and chatted with some other softball players we recognized from the field, but we’ve mostly spent our time wandering around the house and the backyard where a pool and hot tub full of nearly naked bodies is located. There are just as many people in the pool as there are in the house, and that is saying a lot. It’s surprising since the cool desert air is enough to cause goose bumps to blossom across my skin the minute I stepped foot onto the terra-cotta pool deck. I had to be careful not to slip on the wet tiles. Who tiles by a pool anyway? I pick my way through the people milling about, looking for Lakyn’s long braids or my sister’s red waves. It shouldn’t be this hard to find them, and that has me a little concerned.

  “Do you think they left?” Kenna, shouts over the thumping bass.

  “No, they wouldn’t do that.” I’m certain of it. My sister might be a little on the wild side at times, but she’s not stupid, and neither is Lakyn.

  The pad of my thumb caught between my teeth as I nibble away at the softball-roughened skin and continue to scan the crowd.

  “There!” I point over at a massive potted cactus to where Lakyn and Millie are standing, red Solo cups in hand talking to three guys. Two I recognize from the fields, Josh and Marcus, but the third I don’t know. Just by my sister’s body movements, I can tell that she’s at least a little tipsy, if not bordering on drunk. With a sigh, I grab Kenna’s hand and start picking our way around everyone, praying the whole way I don’t somehow end up in the pool.

  “Hey, sissy!” Millie slurs slightly, her skin flushed and eyes a bit glassy.

  “Holy shit,” the one I don’t know says. “There are two of you?”

  Josh just laughs. “I told you, Shane! I thought I was seeing things at first.”

  “Wow,” the guy, Shane, says again, taking us both in from head to toe. Slowly.

  “You okay?” I ask both my sister and Lakyn, ignoring his eyes on me.

  “We’re good, Maevey. Promise,” Lakyn says, clearly way more sober than my sister but still buzzed.

  Marcus stands with his hand on her hip, saying something in Lakyn’s ear and not paying much attention to the rest of us standing there. She laughs at whatever he’s saying and starts to walk off with him, snagging Kenna’s wrist and dragging her with. At least I knew Kenna had Lakyn, so I could focus on Millie.

  “Yeah, Maevey,” Shane mimics. “They’re good. They’re big girls.”

  My sister giggles at that, leaning back into Josh, who steadies her by pulling her into his chest.

  “Cool it, Shane. She’s just looking out for them,” Josh tells his asshole friend, giving me an apologetic look.

  “You don’t trust us?” he asks, stepping closer. “Afraid we might bite?” He snaps his teeth at me and laughs.

  “I don’t know you, so no, I don’t trust you, but I’m definitely not afraid of you either,” I tell him with as much Boston as I can inflect in my voice. Hopefully, it makes me sound tougher than I am. I don’t like this guy.

  He raises his hands, palms out. “Whoa, don’t kick my ass, girl!” Shane says innocently. “Come on, Millie.” I turn my shoulder on him and extend my hand to her.

  “Awwww, Maeve. Just a little while longer?” she pleads.

  “Let me get you a drink. Just hang out for a little bit.” Josh tries to soften the douchiness of his friend with a peace offering and a smile.

  “Oooh, I want a drink!” my sister says excitedly.

  I roll my eyes because I’m not getting out of here anytime soon. She definitely doesn’t need any more to drink, but there’s no way I’ll convince
her of that just yet. “I’ll get the drinks. Where will you be?” The question is directed at Josh. At this point, between him and Mill, I’m only going to get straight answers from him, and I’m not asking Shane shit. I don’t want to encourage or engage. Josh glances around and points at an empty pub table in the corner of the patio.

  I nod. “I’ll be right back. Watch my sister, Josh.” He smiles reassuringly, leading her to the table. His asshole friend follows. Unfortunately. If he thinks I’m going to warm up toward him and we’re going to hook up or something, he’s dead ass wrong.

  Not wanting to let my sister out of my sight for too long, I start weaving quickly through the crowd to the kitchen, resigned to the fact that I’m going to be here for a while yet. Millie is going to owe me big time.

  Benny

  With my windows rolled down, I navigate the back streets, enjoying the quiet and the sweet smell of creosote in the air. A lot different from the sounds and smells of the city. Luckily, my dad thought to drop my old car off at the hotel for me earlier so that I could use it while I’m here. I got a new whip my sophomore year at FU, something better for the Boston winters. He kept this one for a backup and to take the dogs for a ride, he said, so that he wouldn’t have to put them in his Audi. That explains the lint brush, the shedding beasts, and the slight smell of the special dog shampoo my mom uses on them.

  I could have walked the short distance from the hotel to this party, but I knew I wouldn’t be drinking tonight, and I didn’t want to get eaten by a damn coyote or some shit on my way home later, so I drove. Trying to find parking is a bitch, though. I’m just circling back around when I get lucky, and somebody pulls out right in front. I’m actually surprised at the number of people here because most students don’t stick around for the breaks. I pocket my keys and take the porch steps two at a time. They usually have one of the new pledges or one of the football players at the door for crowd control at these parties, but there’s nobody, so I walk right in.