by Lark Maren
“You inspired me,” she said calmly. “I’ve been spending my whole life looking for my dream so I could get out there and pursue it. Reality is, that’s not the way life fucking works. I’m sick of being a bum. I’m sick of not having anything of my own.”
I wished this car wasn’t suddenly moving so fast because I would’ve thrown myself onto the interstate in that instant. I didn’t even know how to begin to unpack what she was telling me. I couldn’t believe she was being so dumb, and I didn’t want to take even a shred of that responsibility on myself.
“I figure since I own the team now, I want to take you on as my business partner. I want you to be in charge of management. You won’t have to work so many jobs anymore. You can focus on football and your family. I bought the whole apartment complex, so I figured I could rent the team places at cost just to cover the mortgage. It’s not anything spectacular but it’s close to the new practice field. Your place is right next to mine, and there’s this little hallway that connects the two, so we can keep that open and just have one big apartment we share.”
I didn’t even have the energy to argue. That wave of nausea and exhaustion I was feeling earlier? That escalated tenfold. This crazy chick, hot as she was, was making a mess out of her life, and somehow it was my fault. I brought my fist to my mouth, biting at my finger nervously, trying to hold back my words.
“You probably think I’m nuts,” she said. “Maybe I am a little crazy, but I think this is going to be so good for us.”
“What is this us you’re talking about?” I blurted out. “I am not being held responsible for any of this madness, Ella. What made you think this was a good idea?”
She took a sharp turn off the expressway, pulling down a dirt road. Was this the part where she was going to kill me? I grew up in the city. I knew places like these were where rich people came to dump dead bodies. I braced myself, mentally playing out how I could dive into the backseat and grab my pepper spray if I needed to.
Why did the hot ones always have to be the ones with the most issues?
Not a mile down the road there was a little barbecue shack, smoke pouring out the top of the wooden hut, the smell of pulled pork filling the air. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t going to die hungry.
“You know I’m just fucking with you, right?” she asked as she began to laugh so hard she had to gasp for air. I gripped the file folder so tightly it began to wrinkle in my hands. “Don’t do that,” she said. “That’s actually just a couple grant proposals. I was talking with one of my dad’s advisors this morning, and he is going to help me transition the team to a nonprofit organization. Don’t worry your head, Tonya.”
“That whole apartment with the hallway thing?” I stammered.
“You should’ve seen the look on your face.” She parked the car and rested her head on the steering wheel, that stupid puffy glove still on her hand. “You really think I know the first thing about being a landlord? Do you really think my parents allow me to go anywhere near my inheritance?” She waved her gloved hand around, accenting her words. “Do you want to get out or do you just want me to go order for the both of us?”
I was still speechless. I tried to feign a smile, but I’m sure it came off as more horrified than anything, all teeth.
“What?” she asked, licking her lips. “You think you get to have all the fun? You’ve been messing with me since the minute I met you. You might think you’re a player, but I wrote the game, babe.” She pecked me on the forehead and I started to laugh. “I’ll go grab a little bit of everything.”
I watched her slink down the gravel driveway, a little bounce in her step, the tight green dress clinging to her ass as it swayed back and forth, and I knew she was doing it on purpose. I knew in that instant I had met my match. There was so much more to Ella than who she was or what she was born into, but she owned her privilege to the point that I found myself feeling extremely comfortable around her. We had more in common than I’d ever thought. We were both women with no aspirations or direction, born into two entirely different worlds. We were both drifting along, doing our best, trying to make the most of whatever cards we were dealt.
Never in a million years did I imagine a girl like Ella Morgan would make me feel a little less alone in this world, but here we were. She came back from the shack balancing two styrofoam cups on top of a giant stack of boxes, and I jumped out of the car to open the door for her.
“You weren’t kidding when you said a little bit of everything,” I said with a giggle.
“You look like you need a good meal,” she said. “I figured we could go back to my place and feast and chill?”
I raised my eyebrows. I knew she lived with her parents. Her father obviously knew exactly who I was. Something about that didn’t seem like such a good idea.
“Relax. My parents are on a cruise this week,” she said, as if she could read my mind. She set the pile of boxes on my lap and rested her hand on my knee as I poked my straw into the cup of cherry soda and took a huge gulp. “That sounds so pathetic, doesn’t it. Like I’m a kid or something.”
I shook my head. I technically still lived with my parent as well.
“What’s in this bag?” I asked. “It smells amazing. I don’t think I’m going to make it home. You have rules against eating in your car, fancy pants?”
“I still have gyro sauce smeared on the dashboard from last night.”
The paper bag was overflowing with fresh baked cornbread. I stuffed my face as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway, moaning in glee.
Chapter Thirteen
Ella:
I hit the keypad on the gate, punching in my code. I was nervous about bringing Tonya back to my house. Feeling guilty because it technically wasn’t my house. I didn’t do anything to earn my place or my keep here. She was so distracted by a bag of bread, she didn’t even seem to pay attention to the gated community full of monstrous mansions we were driving through.
The garage door heaved open, and as we got out of the car, she stood there on the concrete, blinking wildly as the door closed behind us automatically.
“Are you sure this is alright?” I grabbed the boxes from her arms and nodded, leading her through the foyer and into the kitchen. “I’m filthy. I feel like I shouldn’t be wearing these clothes in here.”
“You can wear whatever you want, Tonya. If that’s nothing, I won’t be mad.” I set the boxes on the granite countertop and got to work pulling some plates out of the cabinets while she paced around the kitchen, looking all around and sniffing the air. She was pretty filthy, her baggy blue jeans and safety orange t-shirt covered in dirt. It was sexy to me, her callused hands and sun-kissed face. Rugged. Natural. “You want to shower? You want to eat? It’s up to you.”
“I probably stink,” she said.
She didn’t stink. I liked the way her sweat mixed with deodorant smelled. It was one of the first things I noticed about her when I met her that day at practice. Sexy.
I led her through the house and up the stairs into my bedroom. I tried not to think about the way I wanted to throw her down on my comforter right now, the things I wanted to do with her now that we were finally alone together. Instead, I opened the door to my bathroom and started the water running in the shower, placing my hand underneath it as I waited for it to turn warm enough.
“Help yourself to whatever you want,” I said, pulling some fresh towels out of the cabinet. “I’ll grab you some clothes.”
She stood there with her hands in her pockets, looking around nervously. “You’re going to leave me alone, in your room, unsupervised?”
“I will happily stand here and watch you shower. Don’t get me wrong. But yeah, why not?”
She gritted her teeth and sighed. She looked so uncomfortable, like she was about to crawl out of her skin. “I feel like I’m being set up,” she finally said. “Shit goes missing, your parents blame me, I go to jail, turns out they just forgot they put the jewelry in the ot
her safe… I’ve seen this story go down before.”
“What?” I stammered. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. She was my friend, and I was letting her hang out and take a shower. “Stop being ridiculous.” I held her shoulders in my hands, softly rubbing away the tight knots as she rolled her neck. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I promise. Go take a shower.”
I stepped out of the bathroom and pulled some comfy shorts and a t-shirt out of my dresser, setting them on top of the counter for her. I watched her silhouette through the tempered glass, a shiver running down my spine at the sight of her up close and in real life for the first time. “I’m going downstairs,” I shouted over my shoulder, knowing if I stayed any longer I might not be able to control my lust for her.
I looked at the closet full of expensive handbags, the jar I kept on my countertop stuffed with random cash, the set of drawers where I kept all my jewelry, and knowing how uncomfortable it made her made me sick to my stomach. I trusted her. If she really needed something so badly, all she had to do was ask. I’d happily give her anything I had.
I went downstairs and poured myself a glass of wine as I began going through the file folder of information my father’s advisor had given me this morning. He suggested that, instead of trying to turn the Lady Cats into a money-making commodity, we instead moved along to structuring it as a nonprofit organization. We could use the profits to better the community and start scholarship funds for female athletes. It was a no-brainer, and with the help of our family connections the transition was going to be smooth sailing. Savannah was thrilled about my suggestions.
I lifted my wineglass as Tonya crept down the steps, her towel dried hair wild and curly as it hung down her shoulders. My t-shirt was a little tight on her, my shorts a little short. She looked comfy and casual and just plain delicious.
“Feel better?” I asked.
“For sure,” she said. “I’m starving, though.”
We went in the kitchen and I popped open the tops of the containers of barbecue. Leroy’s was one of my favorite spots, and I didn’t scrimp on anything—Ribs, brisket, pulled pork, this homemade macaroni and cheese that brought me to my knees—I grabbed the full spread. We loaded up our plates, and she sat down at the island.
“Do you want some wine or something?” I offered.
“No thanks. I really don’t drink that often. You caught me on a bad night. I think you probably got the wrong impression of me.” I sat down next to her and we ate mostly in silence. “Do you want some cash or something for all this?”
“Hell no. It’s a business expense.”
She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “You didn’t bring me back here to wine and dine me? What kind of business meetings involve taking a shower?”
I laughed and raised my wineglass. “I don’t know. If you haven’t already realized, I’m totally clueless here. I’m just figuring things out as I go along.”
“Same,” she said with a shrug. “and Lord do I have a lot of figuring out to do in the next few weeks.” She looked down at her plate and groaned. “It’s never-ending, Ella. I don’t even know how to explain it to you. Just when things start falling into place, somebody is waiting to rip the rug right out from under me. The only thing that keeps me constant is the football team, but I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to play this season.”
“What?” I stammered. “You have to play. Your teammates worship you, Tonya. You are the best player on the team. You keep everybody motivated.”
“I have bigger fish to fry right now. I need to get out of that apartment. I need to get my sister in a different school district. I’m probably going to have to pick up a lot of extra hours. It’s not looking promising.” She pushed her plate away and stood up from the barstool. “In fact, I probably need to get going pretty soon here. Today’s already been a wash. I have some shit I need to figure out tonight.”
I looked up at her with disappointment. Just a few hours ago, she was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. “Is it me?”
She chuckled, taking my chin in her hand. “Trust me, it’s never you. All this stuff I put myself through, it’s all me.”
“I want to help you,” I said. She hadn’t even seen my new proposal for the team yet. “I can easily make some phone calls and find you a new apartment anywhere you want. I can find you another job. I’m sure my dad has a position for you somewhere that will work with your football schedule. Why won’t you just let me help you?”
She looked like a deer in headlights for a moment, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water before her demeanor changed entirely. Suddenly, she was angry. She was rolling her eyes at me. “Those are band-aids, Ella. I don’t need a fucking band-aid. I don’t need some temporary fix to get me through. This is all on me.”
She reached for her cellphone and I grabbed for her wrist, running my finger over her fist as it began to clench.
“Why, though?” I asked. “Why is it all on you? Why doesn’t your mom help you out?”
She shrugged, sitting back down on the barstool, curling her knees into her chest, the only thing visible her long red mop of curly hair.
“Why do you have to carry the weight of the world? Don’t you ever want anything for yourself?”
“I’m a fuck-up, Ella. I’m a nobody. My sister, she’s brilliant. She’s an awesome artist. She is so talented. I will do whatever it takes to make sure she gets every opportunity she can. She’s throwing it away and it’s all my fault.”
She collapsed into sobs, and I’d never seen her so vulnerable before. It made me want to cry, too. Instead, I ran my hand over the small of her back, watching this normally tough woman unravel on the granite countertop.
“You’re not quitting the football team. I won’t let it happen. Where is Areal now? Do you want me to go pick her up somewhere? Maybe we can all sit down and figure this out. There’s an amazing charter school for art not too far from here. I bet we could get her in.”
She perked her head up, her eyes bloodshot, as she wiped a single tear from her cheek. “I bet we could find some after-school internship for her, even. I know my dad hires a ton of graphic designers. That way you don’t have to worry about her while you’re at practice.”
“You really think that’ll work? I don’t want to get her hopes up and have them ripped away. Kid has seen enough heartbreak. She’s already about as trusting as I am.”
My heart flowed with compassion for this woman. She wasn’t mean and flippant. She was so dedicated to caring for her family she couldn’t even care for herself. She sacrificed everything she had to make sure her sister didn’t have to see the same fate. In a way, she reminded me of my parents. They only ever wanted me to be happy, no matter how hard they had to work.
“I’ll ask around,” I assured her. “Worst-case scenario, we have to go back to the drawing board. We’ll figure it out together, Tonya.”
I hugged her in a tight embrace, her head resting on my shoulder as she sighed in defeat. Her body felt so good pressed against mine, and I tucked her hair behind her ear, tracing my fingers over her jawline until a soft gasp escaped her lips.
“I don’t deserve you,” she mumbled. “You know you’re way too good for me.”
I pressed my lips to hers, anxious to taste her sweet lips once again. She kissed back with a ferocity that overpowered even last night’s passion. It was everything I had ever craved in my whole life wrapped up into one electric explosion. Her tongue explored my mouth, parting my lips, and her hands traveled down my waist, pulling me tighter to her.
She backed off, and I snapped my eyes open. Her tongue rested on her teeth, her green eyes squinted into these mischievous half-moons, that same expression I recognized from the sultry photos she’d sent me last night. Her hands traveled to my ass, lifting me up off the floor until my toes no longer touched, until I was hanging in her arms. I was sure my heart was going to explode through my chest, and she knew it by the way she purs
ed her lips and grinned.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, trying to come off cool, but it came off more like my words were stuck in my throat and I was just barely squeezing them out.
“What I should’ve done last night.” She began to pace towards the stairs with me in her arms, my legs hooked around her back as I began kissing her neck. “You better stop doing that or we’re not going to make it upstairs.” Her moans were angelic, only driving me further, and with every labored step, I swirled my tongue up and down her flesh. I nibbled on her earlobe and she stopped about halfway up the stairs. “I told you,” she said with a giggle, resting me on the steps. “You got cameras in this place?”
“Shit,” I muttered as she towered over my body, sizing me up with her eyes, my thighs trembling and my breathe choppy. We could probably erase them, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure how. One more reason why I needed to move out of this house. I needed my own place to desecrate with Tonya. No room would be off-limits. Even if there was video footage, it would only be for me.
I jumped up from the steps and took off for my bedroom, faster than I’d ever run before. I nearly tripped over her feet, she was so quick to follow, and I dove onto my bed stomach first as she slammed the door behind us and locked it.
“Damn,” she said with a sigh, tracing both her hands up the back of my thighs, stopping just before she grazed the hem of my short, tight skirt. She hiked my dress up just a little bit and I looked over my shoulder and winked at her as a groan escaped her throat. I’d slipped my panties off while she was in the shower, knowing fully well how much she’d appreciate it. Judging by the way she was licking her lips as she hiked my skirt up further, I could tell she was impressed. I was so turned on simply by her gaze on my bare ass I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if she actually touched me.
She tucked my hair over my shoulder as she slowly pulled the zipper down the back of my dress. She knew she was in charge. I liked handing over that power. I wanted everything she had to offer.
