“Nah, I think I'm good –”
“What? Your girl's pretty cute.” Hardwick scrunched up his face. “I mean, I guess we could tag-team my girl, we haven't done that in a good minute –”
“That sounds like a good time and all that, but I'm good. I'm sorta waiting for someone.”
“Psh. Fine, more for me.” Hardwick grinned, looking me up and down. “What the hell are you supposed to be, anyway?”
“Beats me.” I glanced down at the glowing phoenix armor painted over my chest, arms, and stomach. “Some kind of phoenix-man hybrid, I think? This guy, Pablo – his nephew goes to some art school on the West Coast – modeled for the kid for one of his projects this morning.”
Before Hardwick could rag on me, someone called out to me from behind.
“Ace!”
I glanced back to the familiar face in the middle of the dance floor. The sexy Medusa in the glinting armor bra pushed her way through the crowd. Her bright copper hair was curled in thick locks and stacked up on her head like red snakes.
“Hey, Tabitha. How's it going?”
“Better, now that you're here!”
Tabitha hiccuped, swaying towards me. That was weird. But when I smelled the vodka on her breath, I got it. I reached out and grabbed her arms, steadying her on her feet.
“You might wanna take it easy on the vodka. You've got all night –”
“Wanna dance?” Tabitha clawed at my arm lightly.
“Uh, maybe a little lat –”
“Come on,” Tabitha insisted, tugging on my arm. “One song – that's all I'm asking.”
“Yeah, alright. After you.”
I finished off the rest of my beer and followed Tabitha to the edge of the dance floor. As I danced around her, I made sure to stay about a foot away from her. Shit was awkward as hell, but this wasn't just some girl – this was Brooklyn's best friend. Boundaries were all I could think about.
But as I slowed down, just sort of bouncing from left to right, real low-key, Tabitha kept trying to dance up against me. No matter where I stepped, she came after me, grinding her shaking hips up against my cock. I didn't know what else to do. I reached out and held onto her waist, leaning away from her.
“So, uh, you know when Brooklyn's gonna get here?”
“Nope.” Maybe it was just me, but Tabitha sounded pretty cross. “She said she had to work late tonight, but she'll call me when she gets here.”
She reached behind her, touching the side of my face, but I pulled away from her.
“Whoa, you okay there?” I withdrew my hands and took a step back from her. “Wanna sober up a little bit –”
“No.” Tabitha swung around, grabbing my arm. “I want you to stay here with me.”
“Okay, what –”
“I love you, Ace.” Tabitha squeezed me so hard, she was twisting my wrist. “I've always loved you –”
What did she say?
“Ha. You're drunk.” I chuckled, but my heart rate spiked. “I'm not gonna let you live this one down – just wait till morning–”
She threw her arms around me, standing on the tips of her toes. I didn't know how to react. I just stood there, my arms hanging on my sides. Her metal bra felt so cool against my chest.
“Ace, you've gotta believe me. Ever since that – that day – I knew you were the one I was meant to be with –”
“Tabitha, stop,” I said firmly, but I held onto her elbows. “I'm – I don't know what to say – I'm sorry. We've known each other for years – we're practically family, but I don't feel the same way. You know how I feel about Brooklyn –”
“But why?” The pain in her voice stung. I could feel her going limp in my arms. She peered up at me, her lip wobbling. “What does she have that I don't?”
“I'm sorry, Tabitha, I –”
Tabitha mashed her lips against mine. I froze, my forehead creasing as I tasted the bitter vodka on her breath. The fuck was this? I pushed her off me, wiping the lipstick smear off my mouth.
“Look, we can't – ”
Noticing the figure by the club entrance in the corner of my eye, I shut right up. I turned my head to the right slowly, my gut seizing up with dread. Brooklyn was standing by the red doors, looking breathtaking in a bikini studded with starfishes and seashells and a shiny blue-green mermaid tail. Worst part was, she was looking right at us.
I'd have preferred if she stormed up to us and demanded an explanation. But she didn't. She did a 180 and slipped right back out the door.
Chapter Seven: Tabitha
2004
I opened my eyes slowly, feeling the breeze blowing my hair back.
The river was so peaceful. It looked like of a sheet of glass reflecting off the full moon in the sky. At the same time, the shadows of the night made it look almost black, like ink. It was so black, you couldn't see anything under the surface. What a beautiful place to disappear...
“Tabitha, come on. This isn't funny. Get down from there.”
I glanced down at my flip-flops, wiggling my toes. My toe rings glinted. They were just a few inches away from the edge of the stone railing.
“Tab? Tab, are you even listening to me?”
I turned to my left. Brooklyn was standing on the walkway a few feet away from me in her peanut butter and jelly PJs and fuzzy unicorn slippers. She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head, warming her hands together.
“Go home, Brooks. I'm fine.”
“Tab, quit messing around. I've got a History test tomorrow morning, and if I miss my alarm because of you, there's gonna be hell to pay, Missy.”
I knew Brooklyn was trying to stay calm, but I could hear how scared she was. I was tired of it. Everyone walks on egg shells around me, and I hated it. I wasn't a little girl anymore.
“Just leave me alone.” My eyes burned with my tears. “Everything's just so...hard. I don't expect you to understand –”
“It's okay, it's okay. Be careful up there.” Brooklyn pulled at the tips of her fingernails. “I'm gonna take another step towards you, okay?”
“Whatever.” I wiped my eyes angrily. “Do what you want.”
“Listen, Tab, why don't you come down? You can come over to my place, we can talk, watch something with Chad Michael Murray in it – you know, a spontaneous sleepover! It'll be fun!”
“No,” I snapped. I scowled at her. “And don't you come any closer –”
“Okay, okay!” Brooklyn ran her hands through her hair, scratching her scalp like she had lice. She backed off, but she started to pace back and forth. “Please, Tab, I don't know what else to do. You're starting to scare me, so please, just come down from there, or I'll –”
“You call anyone, and I swear I'm jumping right now –”
“Okay, okay.” Brooklyn jerked her hand away from her pocket. It was horrible to see her so frightened, but I just couldn't have her ruining this for me. “Okay, Tab. Just tell me, what will it take for you to come down from there? Do you want me to call Travis?”
“No.” Spreading out my arms, I sat myself down on the railing. I closed my eyes, swinging my legs over the edge. A repeat of yesterday's events started to play in my head. “Travis is into Lana now. He got tired of me, just like everyone does –”
“I'm not tired of you, Tab.” Tears were now pouring down Brooklyn's cheeks. They garbled her words. “I'm right here –”
“Yeah, but for how long?” I took a deep breath and took another shaky step forward. “Sooner or later, you'll just get tired of me, too, and I don't want to be around when that happens.”
“Hey, what's going on?”
A cute boy in a Bay Valley sweatshirt walked up behind Brooklyn. As he got closer, I recognized him. His name was Ace Warner, and he was on the football team. I've seen him around at school – we had some of the same classes together – but we've never spoken before.
“You again.” Brooklyn gasped when she saw him.
“Hey.” Ace stopped between us, his jaw hanging. He stared at Bro
oklyn, who was sniffing next to him. “You guys okay?”
Brooklyn jerked her head to the side. She made a phone with her pinkie and thumb, holding it against her ear. Ace's eyes bounced between us like ping-pongs. He nodded, twisting away from us.
“I'm not blind, guys. I can see you. If you call anyone, I'm stepping off –”
“Wait, wait,” Ace cried. He threw out his arms, showing me his palms. “I'm staying. You're cool. I'm cool. We're cool.”
None of us said anything. Brooklyn clamped an arm over her mouth, her shoulders shaking violently. Ace breathed out from his mouth, gazing up at me.
“Tabitha, right? I think we've got Algebra II together.”
I stared at him blankly.
“My name's Ace – Ace Warner.”
“I know who you are,” I answered him coldly. “Why don't you take her home?”
“I could, but I think it's better if all 3 of us go home together.” Ace lowered his hands. He looked up at me with a slight smile on his face. His warm brown eyes were so kind. “It's getting kinda late.”
“Please, Tab...”
“You don't even know me.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Just go aw – what are you doing?”
Ace unzipped his black sweatshirt. He stepped up behind me slowly, draping his shirt around my bare shoulders. I fingered the sleeves of his sweatshirt, running my tongue along the back of my teeth.
“If you wanna stay out here, that's fine, but at least stay warm.” He smoothed out his white beater and crossed his big arms over his burly chest. I hadn't realized he was so jacked up. “But I'm thinking I'm staying right here. It's a pretty nice view, and I've got all night.”
“And why do you care?”
My brows furrowed as I stared hard at him, trying to figure him out. This guy was super cute and way out of my league. He'd never bothered to get to know me before, so why the sudden interest now? But the longer he looked at me with those gorgeous, earnest eyes, the stifling feeling in my chest was starting to give.
“Why wouldn't I?” said Ace gently. “Come on. Think about it. What are you doing here? You're smart, young, and beautiful – you've got your whole life ahead of you. The second you hit that water, there's no coming back from it. Things may be bad now, but –”
“ – yeah, yeah, things will get better. Like I haven't heard that before.”
“Yeah, but if you jump now, you'll never get a chance to find out if they do.” He gave me one of his hands.
“Please, Tab,” Brooklyn sobbed in the background. “You can't just leave me like this – you're all I've got.”
I looked back at my best friend. Her face was all red and bloaty, and she was crying so hard she was breathing snot bubbles. I could feel the heartache in her broken sobs. It was mystifying.
I've known Brooklyn forever, and not once have I ever seen her breaking down like this. She was the toughest, most badass girl I knew, and that was why I loved her so much. What the hell was I doing?
When I took Ace's hand, Brooklyn crumbled, falling to the ground. Ace slid his arm behind me. He held onto me tightly as he helped me down from the railing.
The second I hit the floor, my knees turned to marshmallows.
“Whoa, easy there.”
Ace caught me with both hands. But he didn't push me off him. He wrapped an arm around me, holding me to his chest. I buried my face into his strong chest, his heart thumping hard and fast in my ear. I clung onto him.
“Th-thank you –”
“You're good, Tabitha.” His chest vibrated with his deep, soothing voice. “Just take it easy –”
Suddenly, Brooklyn peeled me off Ace's chest, shoving me hard.
“You!” Brooklyn shrieked, her eyes flashing. In the next second, she pounced on me. She hugged me with all her might, her tears splashing on my shoulders. “Don't you ever do that to me again – you hear me?”
“I'm sorry, Brooks. I –”
“Don't be. I love you, Tab.” Brooklyn pulled away from me, blowing her nose on her sleeve. She slipped her arm around mine. “Come on.”
“You girls need me to walk you home? I'm way past my curfew, anyway, so Dad's gonna be pissed either way.”
“That'd be nice.” I gave him a small smile.
But as I pulled the jacket off me, I saw the look in Ace's eyes. It was a quick glance and only lasted about a second, but I knew that look. It was a look of longing, a look of unspoken desire...
Sadly, it wasn't me he was looking at.
Chapter Eight: Brooklyn
2016
“You love how you push me to the point of crazy,
And I love when you're on your knees and begging for me.
You got me good with all these mind games,
There you go, you got my heart again...”
I sat on the edge of my sofa armrest, mouthing along to the lyrics. Aiden glided across the living room on the balls of his feet, moving perfectly to the beat. But when the verse ended, he threw up his hands, grunting.
I picked up the remote from the coffee table and paused the track.
“Fuck,” Aiden muttered. He reached for the glass of water on the kitchen counter and gulped it down. “That's the second time I've gone off count today. I came up with this crap, too. Maybe I'm in over my head – the competition's in 2 weeks –”
“No, you are not quitting. Not when you're this close.” I hopped off the armrest and sat down on the sofa. “It's fine. It happens – it's probably 'cause you're overworking yourself. Don't think I don't hear you thumping around in the living room at in the middle of the night. What do you get, like 3 hours of sleep everyday?”
“Ah, yeah, sorry 'bout that.” Aiden slumped against the other end of the sofa. “I've got all this work from school, and I've got finals coming up next week, so I'm just trying to practice as much as I can –”
“You'll worry about studying for your finals first.”
“But –”
“That scholarship won't mean jack if you don't buckle down and get that diploma. Get your head in the game. Stay home from the studio for now – get all that homework and studying out of the way. I'll work out a schedule with you, maybe get in 30 minutes or an hour of practice a day – if you want. And when finals are through, you can practice all you like.”
“Yeah, okay.” Aiden stroked his chin, grinning at me. “You know, for a lady in her 30s, you sure do nag like a 60-year-old Chinese man –”
“Why, I am mightily offended. You try to show your concern for someone, and this is how they treat you.” My jaw dropped in mock indignation. I grabbed the throw pillow behind me, raising it over my head, laughing. “And for your information, I'm 28, you little –”
The whistling doorbell chimed through the apartment.
“Are you expecting someone?” I asked Aiden.
“Nope.”
I crept up to the door. Pressing my fingers lightly against the frames, I peeked into the peephole. With a heavy sigh, I unlocked the door.
“Hey. Is this a bad time?”
“Actually, it –”
“Don't mind me,” came Aiden's voice behind me. He stood up from the sofa and grabbed his hoodie, slithering past us. “'Scuse me. I'll be back later.”
Aiden pushed through the doors of the emergency exit, slinking out of sight. Damn it. Lowering my shoulders, I pulled open the door and stepped aside.
“Come in.”
“Thanks.”
I closed the door behind him. Ace hovered between the kitchen counter and sofa, looking lost. He was aghast, fumbling with his fingers and cracking his knuckles nervously.
“So. How's the kid?”
“He's doing a little better,” I replied curtly, looking down at my purple slippers. “Thanks for asking.”
“Good, good.” Ace coughed into his fist, taking a step towards me. “Brooklyn, listen. What you saw at the club – I can explain.”
I kept my eyes fixed to my slippers, waiting for him to continue.
“T
abitha asked me to dance, and well, I took her up on it – she was really drunk, wanted to make sure she was okay until you showed up. It started off fine, but then she started acting a little off, and well, this is gonna sound crazy, but she said she was in love with me. Before I knew it, she was kissing me. I mean, she was hammered –”
“I know.” I raked a hand through my hair, wagging my head sadly. “I mean, I didn't put 2 and 2 together until a couple of days ago. I don't know how I didn't see this sooner.”
“What, you think she's serious?” His eyes shot wide open, his forehead rumpling. “When did this even – what?”
“I can't say for sure, but looking back, I'm positive it could have gone as far back as our Bay Valley days.” I started towards him, lowering my arms. “I'm sorry I'm being weird about this. I wasn't exactly sure how to process that – still not sure I've done it, to tell you the truth –”
“Slow down. It's okay.” He reached behind me, combing my hair with my fingers.
“I guess I'm going to have to talk to her sometime, huh? I mean, I can't avoid her forever. She's my girl.”
“That's on you.” Ace leaned in close to me. He kissed my ear tenderly, moving his soft, warm lips down my neck. “All I know is, you're the only one I want.”
The moment his lips touched my skin, I was his. I tilted my head to the side, my arms coiling around his neck. God, that tongue...
I reached between his legs, palming his cock through his jeans. I could feel him growing against my hand. Grabbing his chin, I pulled him in for a messy, passionate kiss before flipping myself over. I held myself against the kitchen counter, unbuttoning my shorts.
Ace yanked my shorts down to my ankles. He stripped them off me and tossed them over his shoulder. I was about to shimmy out of my panties, but he held onto my waistband, keeping them on. He bunched up the crotch of my panties and pushed them aside, fingering my lips to see how wet I was. When he retrieved his glistening fingers, I could heard him unzipping behind me.
Reckless: A Bad Boy Sport Romance Page 20
