Team Player: A Sports Romance Anthology

by Adriana Locke

  Panoramic views so far, you can see into the next state.

  “Hiking?”

  I avoid his intense gaze by pushing a mushroom into the steak sauce on my plate then popping it into my mouth.

  “Yes. I, uh, went out west for spring break last year to Idaho and hiked a bunch of trails. Really anywhere with a view.” I love it that much.

  “I was in Montana for spring break.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Snowboarding.” He pauses. “Do you…” His voice trails off in a question.

  “I ski.” Lucy and I both do, something our parents insisted we learn. It’s something I love, but my twin would rather parade around the chalet in cute ski clothes, flirting with the ski patrol and instructors that periodically come through.

  “Why does that surprise me?” he asks, sitting back to study me.

  “I don’t know. Why does it?”

  He quirks a heavy brow. “You seem more like the chalet kind of girl.”

  Ding ding ding! He certainly has my twin pegged better than most.

  “You really shouldn’t judge me by my appearance, and I’ll try to do the same.”

  “You haven’t judged me by mine?”

  I give my head a little shake. “Honestly? Yes. I might have, just a little bit?” I hold out my thumb and pointer finger to illustrate the teeny tiny bit I judged him.

  Physical appearances are the way Lucy chooses all her boyfriends. She spends hours on her hair and makeup to go out on the weekends, spends free time at the mall when she’s not in class.

  “Is that so?”

  “Just a little.” Change the subject. “Besides baseball, what is it you do for fun? What are your hobbies?”

  “I work out a lot.”

  I crinkle my nose. “That’s your hobby? Working out?”

  He narrows his dark eyes. “Sí.”

  “Anything else? Do you like to read, or watch movies, or, I don’t know…” I think for a moment. “Go to the county fair in the summer?”

  His expression is as blank as his tone. “The county fair.”

  “Rides, games, cotton candy…”

  “As a matter of fact”—the corner of his mouth curls—“I did go to the state fair this summer.”

  “Same. I’m freakishly good at the ring toss.”

  This information must surprise him because he laughs. “What else are you good at?”

  He’s purposely laying down the groundwork for an innuendo, but I ignore it. Best not to go down that path.

  “Darts,” I deadpan.

  “Darts?”

  “Yeah, like in a smoky bar. The more beer I’ve had, the better I am.”

  “I would pay to see that.”

  “It’s a sight. It’s like”—I wave around a fork with a chunk of steak on it—“my stupid human trick.”

  “Wanna show me? I’ll take you to Mad Dog Jacks and we’ll play darts.”

  Mad Dog Jacks used to be a biker bar, but for whatever reason, the college kids in town have decided it’s the perfect hangout on the weekends. Part dive, part…well, the place is a complete shithole no matter which way you look at it.

  Nervously, I push the hair behind my ears. “I-I’ll have to check my calendar.”

  Dash regards me quietly, eyes smiling. “You do that.”

  Before I know it, we’ve been here another hour, long after our food has been cleared away—so long I’ve completely forgotten myself and what I’m supposed to be doing here, ignoring all my sister’s texts—the ones blowing up my purse. It’s been vibrating for the past forty-five minutes.

  Dante pays the bill.

  Pulls out my chair and holds out my jacket so I can slide in. Guides me outside, hand at the small of my back, fingers gliding up and down my spine.

  It’s dark when we arrive outside, awkward when we walk to my car. The click of my heeled black boots against the concrete the only sound in the entire parking lot.

  “Thank you for dinner.”

  “You’re welcome.” When he comes at me, presumably for a goodnight hug or kiss or whatever, I put my hands out to stop him.

  “Dante.” I take a deep breath, lean against the driver’s side of my car, and look up at him. “We should probably finish the discussion we started inside.”

  “Which one?”

  Oh Jesus. He’s going to make me say it. “The relationship one?”

  “Okay.” His arms cross. “What about it?”

  I’m definitely doing a crap job impersonating my sister. She wouldn’t be having a conversation with him in a half-empty parking lot; she’d be leaning into him and running her palms up and down his hard chest. Planting her lips on his, no doubt sticking her tongue down his throat. Sucking on his neck and—oh my God, what am I even saying?

  “I don’t know if…” I clear my throat. Peel my eyes of the column of his neck.

  “You saying you want to take it slow?”

  “No.” I can barely shake my head. “That’s not what I meant.”

  He waits me out, silently—which is the freaking worst. If he was acting like an asshole or being demanding or pushing me into talking, I would have no problem kicking him to the curb.

  Unfortunately, he’s not doing any of those things. Dante is patient and willing to listen.

  It’s horrible.

  “Want to go downtown for a drink? This was fun.”

  “It was,” I admit reluctantly, feeling guilty for enjoying my sister’s date.

  Dash moves closer with purpose, and I propel myself backward until my ass hits my car door, sending me into a slight panic—he’s definitely going to try to kiss me.

  The problem is, I want him to—want him to so bad my lips are tingling.

  Everything on my body is humming.

  “But I should probably go.”

  I don’t have to go; I don’t want to go.

  I should go.

  Because he is not my date. He’s my sister’s, and I’m here to break up with him. I turn my back, unlocking the car to busy myself. Hand on the handle, ready to pull it open.

  “You don’t have a few more seconds to say goodbye?”

  And by say goodbye, I assume he means make out.

  “Not really—I should have been home an hour ago, sorry. Homework is calling.”

  “Darts then? Saturday? We can make asses of ourselves and you can show me how freakishly good you are.”

  “I can’t.”

  “What about another night?”

  “That probably won’t work either.”

  “What the hell is going on here, Lucy?”

  “I can’t do this anymore…with you. I’m not…” I take a deep breath, blurting out, “I want to see other people.”

  “Okayyy.” He takes a step back, jamming his large hands into the pockets of his dark jeans, brown eyes scanning my face, searching. “Not that it matters, but why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “I tried.”

  “When?”

  “Now?”

  “You know, most people just do this shit over the phone. You could have saved yourself a lot of time by texting me.”

  “It’s not my style.”

  “Really,” he deadpans. “Breaking up with people over text isn’t Lucy Ryan’s style.” Dante snorts sarcastically. “¿Por qué me cuesta creerlo?” Why do I find that hard to believe?

  All in all, this breakup is going great, considering…if you don’t factor in that I like the guy I’m breaking up with, he doesn’t know my true identity, and once he finds out I lied, he’s never going to want to speak to me again.

  But at least he’s not shouting. Or acting hostile. Or being a jerk.

  “I was really starting to actually fucking like you.”

  “I’m sorry.” My voice is small.

  “Trust me,” he scoffs. “I’ll get over it.”

  It’s not mean or rude, but it stings.

  Hurts.

  Still, he doesn’t walk away as I climb into my car and buckle in.
Doesn’t walk away as I back out of the space, shooting him one more longing glance through the rear view mirror, tears threatening to blur my vision.

  He stands in the parking lot, in the same spot my car was just parked in, watching me drive away.

  Watching Lucy drive away.

  He likes her.

  Me.

  I like him.

  And I hate myself for it.

  DASH

  When Lucy pulls out of the parking lot, I do something I haven’t done in ages.

  Go on social media.

  Log into Instagram.

  Search: Lucy Ryan.

  Scroll through her account. Scan the dumb pictures of her partying, hanging all over her friends. Frat parties. There are several of her at our house on Jock Row, another on what looks like a girls weekend. Starbucks cups. Photos of her nails. Other random stupid shit sin sustancia. No substance.

  Then.

  There, in living color, is a photo that has me seeing double. I do an actual double take, eyes practically bugging out of my fucking skull.

  Holy. Shit. There are two of her—two of them.

  Twins.

  I fucking knew it. I knew something was off with her.

  My fingers slide apart so the picture expands—the shot of them together, standing with their arms around each other’s waist, long, tan legs playing peekaboo beneath flirty dresses. Under a flower-wrapped archway, there’s no denying they’re both beautiful, the caption reading Aunt Victoria’s wedding #RyansTieTheKnot

  The really fucked up part of this whole thing? I can tell exactly which one I’ve been spending time with lately, and it sure as hell wasn’t Lucy Ryan.

  It was the girl on the right.

  Under the dim lights of Zin’s parking lot, I study that picture, zooming in on that face. Her hair. Her eyes.

  They’re identical, but it’s their expressions that give them away: Lucy’s trying to be confident and cocky while her sister is gorgeous and easygoing, letting her twin hog the camera.

  I zoom again.

  There’s that dimple I love so goddamn much—one of them has it, the other doesn’t. Lucy’s hair is lighter, layered around her face, and cut a few obvious inches shorter.

  And their chests? I was right about the tits.

  Her twin is beautiful. What was she doing pretending to be Lucy?

  They’re nothing alike; any moron with a modicum of sense could have figured it out eventually—it only took me two dates with her to distinguish the differences.

  Except I’m not fucking dating her anymore.

  She dumped me.

  Which is such bullshit, because after our last date together, I envisioned myself getting serious with a girl like her, doing all sorts of fun, outdoorsy shit together in the off season. Hiking and skiing and snowboarding, whatever she wanted to do.

  I’d chase her anywhere.

  We had a connection I’d bet money she felt, too. I would stake my ball career on it.

  I’m a planner—always have been—so once the wheels get turning, there’s no stopping this train.

  I close Instagram, immediately tapping my phone to make a phone call.

  It only rings twice.

  “Uh…hello?” The reluctance in her voice makes me want to laugh.

  “Lucy?”

  “Hey Dash. What’s up?”

  I waste no time throwing down. “Why did you send your twin sister to break up with me?”

  There’s a long, pregnant pause on the other end. “My what? What are you talking about?”

  She sounds so bewildered and confused.

  “Cut the bullshit, would you? I saw a picture of you two on Instagram.”

  Nervous laugh. “Oh, that sister! I was confused for a second.”

  “How are you confused—just how many sisters do you have?”

  “Um, just the one?”

  “The one you had pretend to be you,” I deadpan.

  Lucy sighs like she’s had this same conversation before, like the speech is rehearsed. “I’m sorry Dash, it just isn’t working out between us. I’m already dating someone else new, so…” The sentence trails off, unfinished. I swear to God she’s filing her nails and not even paying attention.

  “Too chicken shit to break it off yourself?”

  “Oh my God, admit it, you didn’t like me that much either. Ugh, get over it.”

  “You’re right—I didn’t like you that much.” But I like your sister.

  She gasps, shocked by my bluntness. “Hey!”

  “Don’t act surprised—you’re not my type either.” I’m walking to my car now and climbing in, staring out the driver’s side window while we talk. “That’s not why I called, so relax.”

  “I’m not trying to be rude, but why are you calling? I did just break up with you and don’t want you calling to harass me.”

  “Technically, you didn’t break up with me.”

  “By proxy I did.”

  Is she always this fucking exhausting? Jesus. “Look, just tell me one thing: has your sister said anything about me?”

  She’s quiet a few seconds. “Like what?”

  “Like…” I stare around the empty parking lot. “I don’t know. After we went out, did she say anything about it?”

  “Can you be more specific?” Lucy laughs, and I want to reach through the phone and strangle her. “I’m kidding, but also, no. She hasn’t said anything specific—why would she? It would be breaking girl code for her to admit she had feelings for you.”

  The line goes quiet a second time, and then she sighs. “But if you’re asking me if I got any twin vibes that she likes you, then yes. Between you and me, I think she does.”

  Hell yeah! I fist-pump the night air. “How do you know?”

  “I know my sister, and she’s been weird the past week—really defensive, short with me, and, well, I sense these things.”

  “Is that a genetic twin thing?”

  “Yeah, except she doesn’t have the gift. She doesn’t feel things like I do.”

  Impatient, I keep this conversation moving along. “I’m going to assume you don’t give a shit if I date her.”

  “If you can convince her to date you after I just did, you have my blessing.” She laughs good-naturedly, and I remember the reason I agreed to go out with her in the first place. “I honestly do not give a shit.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “All I’m saying is, my sister has a way stronger moral compass than I do. She’s going to feel guilty—really guilty admitting she has feelings for you. She won’t want to, you know, make me mad or whatever.”

  Oddly, that news makes me feel better; I don’t want to date anyone who would backstab her own sister.

  Lucy interrupts my musing. “Can I ask you something though?”

  “Shoot.”

  “How did you know it wasn’t me?”

  “¿Estás hablando en serio?” Are you being serious?

  “Can you not do that? I have no idea what you just said.”

  “Which would have eventually given you away.” I smirk. “The first thing I noticed, though? You don’t have a dimple near your lip like she does.”

  “That’s true. I don’t.” She’s smiling now; I can hear it. “No one can tell us apart, you know.”

  “Seriously?” I can’t keep the scoffing inflection out of my voice. “I find that hard to believe. I can list at least five things she does that you don’t.”

  There’s another long pause before she takes in a breath. “Wow. I can’t believe it.”

  “Believe what?”

  “Well…” She pauses for dramatic affect. “There’s an urban legend among twins that if you find the person who can tell you apart, that’s like meeting your soul mate.”

  “Uhhh, let’s not go that far.”

  “I’m serious!” Her excitement is palpable. “You might be her unicorn.”

  Getting called a unicorn is where I draw the line. “I’m hanging up now.”
>
  “Wait!” Now she sounds positively giddy. “Wait, don’t hang up yet! I just want you to know that I won’t make this awkward. You and I barely fooled around, and truly, it was like kissing my brother.”

  Awesome. Just what I wanted to hear. “Gee, thanks.”

  “For real. We had zero chemistry,” she rambles on. “Like, none.”

  “The chemistry between you and me is nothing compared to what I have with your sister.”

  “Ahhh.”

  “One more thing before I let you off the hook for pulling a twin switch on me—I’m going to need you to do me a solid.”

  “A solid? What’s that?”

  “You know, a favor?”

  Pause. “Yeah, okay. Let’s hear it.”

  8

  Amelia

  Lucy: So how did it go tonight? Did you finish the job?

  Me: Do you have to make it sound like I’m a mob hitman with a contract out on someone?

  Lucy: Yes, because it sounds more exciting that way, don’t you think? You know how I fancy the idea of being a mob princess.

  Me: Tonight went well.

  Lucy: WRONG ANSWER! That was a test, and you failed it. Do you know why?

  Me: Um, no?

  Lucy: Because Dash Amado just texted to see if I still want to play darts this weekend. DARTS, Amelia.

  Lucy: Amelia, WHY WHY WHY is Dash texting me about another date? Let alone playing DARTS. You were supposed to DUMP HIM for me.

  Me: I DID!!!! I did break up with him. I have no idea why he texted you, I swear.

  Lucy: You must not have done that good of a job.

  Me: Trust me, I did. When I drove off last night, the two of you were 100% broken up.

  Me: I think?

  Lucy: Don’t do that.

  Me: Do what?

  Lucy: Don’t punctuate it like it’s a question. You were there—this shouldn’t be a question.

  Me: Yes, I’m sure I did. I broke up with him.

  Lucy: Then why do I feel you hesitating?

  Me: You really need to stop doing that. You are not telepathic.

  Lucy: How do you know I haven’t been blessed with the gift? Maybe I’m the twin gifted with that superpower, and it’s finally getting powerful now that I’ve come of age.

  Me: That is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard you say.