by Claire Adams
The soft chuckle that left her warmed me. She knew I was teasing her, and she liked it. It was my turn to stiffen when her arms wrapped around me tightly. My heart started to beat harder, faster. I wanted her to cup my groin, press her lips to the side of my neck, and promise me more than something quick to eat. My damn hormones spiked once again thanks to the beautiful girl sitting behind me.
Her breasts pressed to my back, and I stifled a groan. Maybe riding on the bike together wasn't a good idea, at all.
"Let's go." She squeezed me harder, and I let out a grunt before shaking my head and starting the bike. We would be good together, good for each other, but it would never happen.
She was someone, and I was nobody. A nobody that was happy to remain as such.
Life was easier that way.
*
"So, tell me about the basketball team. Have you always played?" I sat down with our tray of burgers across from her. I'd almost had to twist her arm behind her back to let me pay, and while I should have simply relented and let her get it, I just couldn't. Some part of me wanted to impress her with anything I could and not buying lunch would have been the opposite of that, in my mind.
"Yeah, it's my one freedom. My parents are insanely strict, but they let me have basketball in exchange for me keeping my grades up and staying out of their hair as much as possible." I could see a bit of sadness tugging at the edge of her eyes as she shrugged. She had so much more to say, but we didn't know each other enough for her to open up to me just yet. I prayed we would, on one hand, and knew it was fruitless on the other. "What about you? Any sports or do you just enjoy riding your bike?"
"I love the bike, and swimming is my thing. Seems like an odd combination, I know, but I love the feeling of powering through the water and pushing myself as hard as I can." I took a bite of my burger and looked up to catch her staring at me.
Her eyes were the color of the grass on a summer day, and it took me a moment to break the intense stare between us. My mother would have been thrilled that I was talking with a normal girl, and I lamented a little over the fact that I wouldn't get to take her home and impress my mom with her. This was a onetime thing – period. We didn't fit in each other’s lives, not even as friends.
"We have a great swim team at UMN. You should try out." She nibbled at a fry before unbuttoning her jacket and tugging it off. "The guys are-"
"Assholes." I let my eyes moved down to take in the thick globes of her breasts through her sweater as my cock hardened painfully. She had to be a goddess under her clothes, my type of woman to a T.
"What? Some of them are decent."
If she noticed me checking her out, she didn't show it.
"None of them that I've met." I tugged the collar of my shirt to the side to reveal a few of my tats. "They're not too fond of anyone having marked up their skin, and they're quite mouthy about it."
"That's stupid." Her eyes moved down my neck, leaving me to feel a little more bare than I ever had around a woman. Was she interested? Did I turn her on? Scare her? Thrill her a little? I wanted to know what she was thinking.
"Maybe, but it's the world we live in." I finished working on my burger as she talked a little about her business law class that morning. I loved the sound of her voice, the confidence and calmness that she might not realize she was exuding.
Leaning back, I watched her, took her in, and listened intently, though she really didn't say anything terribly captivating. It was the full package that I was being dragged into wanting more of.
"And, what about a job? Do you work?" I picked up a couple of the fries between us and ate them as she licked at her fingers. Her pretty pink tongue caused my stomach to tighten with need.
Fucking behave. Shit. She's a million miles out of your league.
"No, but I'd like to. My parents are super controlling, and a job isn't part of the deal." She took another bite of her burger and started to wrap it up.
"You throwing that away or taking it with us?" I reached out and touched her hand.
"Throwing it away. You want it?" She pushed it toward me as a smile played at the side of her mouth.
"Hell yes, woman. We don't throw food away." I smiled at her. "It's too hard to come by for us poor folk."
"Hey, I know I was a bitch the other night. I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. You were scared and stuck on the side of the road with a blizzard coming. It's understandable." I took out her burger in four bites as she studied me.
I wanted to feel self-conscious or uncomfortable, but her expression wouldn't let me.
She liked what she saw, which just seemed to force me into wanting to see her again – soon.
"Yeah, it was stupid to take the damn car out in the first place. My father told me not to, but I love being a rebel. Not like a real rebel. Just a semi-rebel, I guess." She was getting flustered. Time to save her.
"You looked hot the other night, all dressed up. Where were you going? A party or something?" I glanced down at the fries. "You all done, princess? I'll be the cleanup crew for us."
She smirked. "Yes. Eat all of it, just don't touch my drink."
"No?" I reached for her drink playfully to have her pull it back.
"No. Germs. Ugh." She lifted her straw to her pretty pink lips and took a long sip. "I went to a party, but I shouldn't have. It sucked. Bad."
"Worse than having some scary biker guy accost you on the side of the road in a blizzard and then eat your lunch and drink your drink the next day?" I leaned back and licked the salt from my fingers, loving the way her eyes widened as she watched me.
"You're not getting my drink. Stop thinking about it. It's not happening." She leaned back and cupped her drink close to her.
"But I want it. It looks better than mine. Give me a taste. Just one." I leaned forward, teasing her as my smile lifted farther than it had in weeks.
"No!" She turned and we both laughed, unable to help ourselves.
"Why was the party so bad?" I moved back as she relaxed again.
The sound of some guy beside me caused my shoulders to stiffen. "Because her boyfriend fucked up, and he's sorry. He loves her very much."
I glanced up to see a cookie-cutter jock standing beside me with several other guys from the football team.
"I'm not talking with you." Val's expression hardened, and I could tell that she didn't need help defending herself, at all. She had a tough side that had been hidden up to that point.
"Yeah, you are. I told you that I'm sorry, Valentine." I stood as the guy moved around the table.
Valentine. Beautiful.
"Hey. If the lady isn't interested in talking to you, she's not going to." I turned to face the guy, ready to fight if necessary.
"No one's talking to you, riff-raff." He poked me in the chest as three other big guys moved up behind him.
"Paul, stop it. Now." Val moved out to stand in front of me, but I bumped the guy with my chest and pulled her behind me.
"Fuck off, dude. I'm not a pussified rich kid. I'll jack you up good and be more than happy to leave you bloody on the floor." I got in his face, and the fear that moved across his eyes was too familiar.
"Valentine, this guy is dangerous. Where did you pick him up? He's not like us, baby." The guy tried to move around me to get to her, and I grabbed his arm tightly.
He jerked it back, and Val moved in front of me. She slapped the guy hard in the face before I could do anything more.
"Fuck off. I'm not interested in you. I never was." She turned to me as tears filled her eyes. "Let's go."
I expected them to stop us, but the guy looked too shocked to do much of anything.
Looks like the rich have the same problems as the rest of us. Drama.
Chapter 9
Val
"I'm so sorry." I got off Tate's bike and tried to keep my emotions on lock down. It was almost as if Paul had me on a tracking device. He'd been involved in my day too many times. It dawned on me then that we did link up our phon
es to find each other just for safety precautions. I'd have to right that wrong – soon.
"No worries. It looks like someone fixed your tire for you, so you're all set to go." Tate handed me my keys and gave me a sexy smile. "Thanks for the date."
"Was it a date?" I took a step toward him and stopped. A confidence that didn't belong to me bubbled up inside of me. I wanted to close the gap between us and run my hands up his chest, testing out my theory that he had a hot swimmers body under his clothes. I loved muscle as much as the next girl, but not so much the body builder type.
"I'd like to think so. I almost beat up your ex-boyfriend. That sounds like a lot of my past dates." He chuckled and slipped his hands into his pockets after I took the keys. "I love your name, by the way. It's beautiful."
"Val?" I scrunched up my nose. I hated my name.
"Yeah, but the fact that it's actually Valentine is even better." He tilted his head as he studied me. "Was that the jerk you went to the party to see the other night?"
"Yeah, and I found him upstairs fucking one of my sorority sisters." I hadn't planned on putting my shitty life on display, but lying to him wasn't going to fly either.
"Ouch. Well, I can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to cheat on a pretty girl like you." He licked at his lips. "So, when do I get to see you again?"
He was confident, if nothing else.
"Soon, maybe?" I hated the fact that warmth had coated my cheeks and neck. I wasn't a high school girl being asked to prom, but for some reason, everything felt uncomfortably new with Tate. "I'll give you my number and you make that decision."
"Not the controlling type?" He lifted his eyebrow as if surprised.
"Only when the urge overwhelms me." I pulled out his card and texted the number on the back with my number. Relief flooded me when his phone buzzed. I didn't know why, but some part of me almost expected him to have given me someone else's number. It was dumb seeing that I was standing in front of his shop, but something had to give. The situation between us felt too good. Too right.
"That's hot." He winked and pulled his phone out, checking it and taking a step back. "Thanks for making my day. See you around?"
"I hope so." I walked to my side of the car and got in without looking back at him. My heart was racing and every cell of my being screamed for me to invite him out later that night, but I didn't. I couldn't. I wasn't lamenting over Paul or worried about anything other than falling for the handsome mechanic who was quick to steal my thoughts. He was the polar opposite of what my parents would expect or approve of, and though it shouldn't have mattered, it did. I couldn't figure out how to get from underneath their oppression, but I knew that bringing home a guy like Tate would only make matters worse.
My parents didn't care how good someone was. They cared how he looked. What he did for a living or was setting himself up to do. They cared about his status, his stature, his wealth.
All the things that I could care less about.
*
I was working to get Paul off of my contacts and turn off my tracking when he called later that afternoon. I contemplated not answering the call, but I figured it would be a good chance to tell him to back off for the last time. I wasn't the girl for him, and I never had been.
"Val, before you say anything, just let me talk. Please." His voice was tight with something between anger and anxiety.
"Fine. Talk." I dropped back on my bed and closed my eyes, praying that the conversation would be over quickly. I needed to get to the courts within an hour to play in a scrimmage that some of the intramural teams were hosting. Coach wouldn't be too thrilled to hear that I'd played when we were in a bye week ourselves, but I didn't care. I wanted to get rid of some unwanted energy and basketball was the most productive way to do it. Sleeping with Tate, of course, was riding high on the list, too.
"I understand that you're pissed, and you should be. I got drunk at the party, and if I hadn't been drinking, I swear on my grandmother's grave that I wouldn't have touched Carolyn. Not ever." He let out a short sigh. "I know you and I haven't been doing spectacular lately, but I see you in my future...like forever."
A laugh and resounding snort left me. "Is this a joke? Am I being punked?"
"What? No, I'm being serious. You're the kind of woman I want by my side. You're classy and smart, you're going places in life, and you have a great family."
A great family? Oh...a wealthy family.
"Right, well, I spoke to my mom and dad about what happened, and neither of them are comfortable with me dating you anymore. My father, especially." I lied, not caring about my guilty conscience. The asshole on the phone was only focused on preserving our relationship to stay connected to the great Scotts. My stomach turned at the thought, and for the millionth time in my life, I honestly wished I were from a poor family on the shitty side of town. It would have been so much easier to just be me in a different family. I didn't fit into the wealth I was born into, nor would I ever care to.
"What? Why would you do that? You're not even close to your family," he growled. "Look, just send me your father's number and I'll call him. I can patch this up for you and then we'll just get on with our relationship."
For me?
"If you want to impress my father, you're going to have to do far better than simply dating me, Paul. You're going to have to graduate at the top of your class, debt free. Then after that, you'll need to start a company from scratch and push it to the top within a few years. They'll be impressed with two and a half kids that have rosy cheeks, blond hair, and are extremely well behaved. Oh, and don't laugh at anything until someone else does because chances are your humor isn't at all like theirs. And don't complain – ever. Don't sneeze, or smack, or yawn, and for fuck’s sake, don't you ever cry." Tears burned my eyes as he sat quietly on the other end of the phone. "Get it? You don't, do you? No, no one does. Do me a favor and lose my number. I'm not interested in marrying a man who wants anything to do with my family. Not ever."
I threw the phone across the room as a cry left me. He was no different than they were. That he thought he could sleep with the one girl who hated me most and then call and apologize so that we could move on was sickening. These people had no clue who I was, at all.
After drying my face, I got up and tore through my clothes, looking for a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I laced up my shoes, grabbed my gym bag, and walked out into the hallway. Several of the girls in the house called after me or waved as I walked by. I responded with a curt nod for each of them. Opening my mouth was dangerous and wouldn't do any good. I wasn't willing to shoot arrows and leave useless wounds.
"Get your coat." Katelyn stopped by the front door and stood in front of me. "Please."
"Fine." I turned and grabbed my long winter coat from the closet before pulling it on and walking out into the chilly night’s air.
"You okay?" she called after me.
"I will be soon. Just going to shoot hoops." I tried to steady my voice, but it didn't help much. Hopefully, the poor people playing against me would blame my shaking on being cold and not furious. I was sick of sitting back and letting life take me for ride after ride – especially, seeing that I'd not signed up for any of the fucked up adventures I'd been on as of late.
I picked up my walk to a jog as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it, not wanting to talk with anyone just yet. I'd call them back after the game, maybe.
The gym was brightly lit up, and the sight of it offered me an odd sense of peace. I ran toward it and tugged off my coat as I approached. The dark-skinned girl at the door gave me a bright smile as I stopped in front of her.
"Scott, we were hoping you would show up. Some of the guys from the next county over came in tonight to play. We need a strong player on the blue team. It's mostly guys, but we figured you'd be down." She lifted her eyebrow. "Could get ugly."
"Excellent. Sounds like my kinda game. Just don't tell Coach on me, or I'll have hell to pay for real." I tugged my bag up higher on
my shoulder and opened the door. "Give me a heads up if Coach shows up. Okay?"
"Yep, I got your back." She patted my shoulder just before I disappeared down the long dark hallway that led to the main gym. The sound of shouting and cheers left my blood racing. I loved the feeling of being important and needed, just like everyone else did, and basketball allowed for that reward.
I pushed open the door and moved to drop my bag next to the large group of guys in blue shirts. They glanced over at me with a bit of confusion on their faces, but Dill, their captain, walked toward me and tossed me a shirt.
"Scott, I'm glad you're here. We need one female on the team tonight. That you?" His dark eyes moved around my face as a smile lifted his lips.
"Nope, It's you, but I'm happy to play captain." I winked at him, finding myself like I always did with the shiny wooden floor beneath me.
"How about point guard, instead? Pretty close." He reached out and squeezed my shoulder.
"Alright, but don't say I didn't try." I dropped my bags and tugged off my t-shirt with far too many eyes focused on me. My sports bra covered me well, but boys would be boys. I pulled the blue shirt over my head and ignored them as I started to stretch.
"We're going up against Waller in fifteen minutes. You're going to be a starter." Dill moved up beside me before addressing everyone. "Guys, this is Val. We call her Scott. She's the captain of the girls’ basketball team here, but she wasn't here with us tonight, okay? Her coach is a bitch and a half about the girls playing out of season or on other leagues. Mum’s the word. Yeah?"
They all yelled their agreement, some of them a little more enthusiastic than others.
A familiar voice pulled me from my thoughts. It was Katelyn's boyfriend, Martin.
"Hey, I thought you guys were having some game night bullshit thing at the Gamma house?" He stopped in front of me as a look of concern moved across his face.
An idea burst inside of me, and I went with it before getting cold feet.
"They're all playing games tonight, but you know I don't like that girly stuff." I rolled my shoulders. "I need a favor."
