Love's Sporting Chance: Volume 1: 6 Romantic sporting novellas

by Janice Thompson

  “I hope you don’t mind, Pookie!” Sarah announces. “We wanted to see your dance before anyone else does.”

  “If you don’t mind,” the boy says before offering his hand towards me. “Jeremy Desota. We haven’t met.”

  “I’m Luke,” I say shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you. Cool guitar.” I noticed him holding it the way Dodge does when he wants to play the heck out of something.

  “Ah! You know guitars?”

  I shake my head. “No, my roommate and best friend since we were little are the player and guitar nut, not me. I’m the film nut.”

  “Hence the old-timey camera?” he asks.

  I nod and grin a little. “Yep!”

  April chuckles as she stands. “Alright, Jason. I’m ready when you are.”

  I move to wind my camera as she takes her place. She stands several paces away from Jason and he moves towards her. April holds a hand up as she basically tippy-toes away on pointe. I’m actually learning a lot of ballet around her. The dance is very flowy and the prince basically holds her hand as she dances. There is one part where he picks her up using his arms and tugs her along his back as he walks across the stage.

  I find myself rather loving this dance and would love to do it with her once the contest if over. I happily sigh as I film.

  “She is a good dancer, isn’t she?” Sarah asks.

  “Yeah,” I say. “She’s brilliant, and I know she’ll go far. Have you found out what’s in that bottle?”

  “No luck. She hid it where I can’t find it, and I don’t know why.” Sarah sighs. “I don’t like it when Pookie keeps secrets,” she pouts, pursing her lips.

  I chuckle a little and pat her back. “Neither do I.”

  Ashley taps my shoulder. “You mean the pills Jennifer gave her?”

  She knows about it? I raise an eyebrow prompting her to continue.

  “Well, Jennifer overheard the teacher tell April she needs to lose a few pounds before the contest so Jenny snuck out the bottle of Dexatrim her mom’s been taking for a year to keep her figure pretty trim. But her mom didn’t look anorexic. I think it’s because April was already so skinny. Honestly, now I think she could gain a few pounds.”

  I nod, I’d already thought that. “So do I. Maybe I’ll splurge some of my food money and go out with her.”

  Ashley smiles. “Or we could double date.”

  “I’d help pay,” Jeremy tells me. “It’s not charity. I just have a lot of cash to burn.”

  I chuckle a little. “If you’re sure, Jeremy.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Ashley squeaked her happiness and hugged me, forcing me to accidentally tip my camera over. She helps me right it, and I chuckle.

  “Saturday sound good?”

  Jeremy smirks. “Yes, since I know you’ve been taking her to the synagogue every Friday. So Friday nights are out.”

  I chuckle sheepishly. “Yeah. Thanks, Jeremy.”

  “Hey, no problem. And I’d love to meet that roommate of yours. I think we’d get along swimmingly.”

  Oh, that was putting it lightly. “I’ll talk to Dodger about it and see what he thinks. But I’m pretty sure you could talk him into a jamming session.”

  Jeremy grins at that. I look through my camera lens to see April bowing to Jason. I chuckle a little. She just looks so elegant.

  She almost dances her way over to me and kisses my cheek. I take her hand in mine gently.

  “How would you feel about a double-date on Saturday with Jeremy and Ashley?”

  April’s eyes light up. “I’d like that very much.”

  “Then it’s settled!” Ashley says as she hugs her tightly.

  April laughs softly and shakes her head. “If you don’t mind, I want a shower, and then I need to go to my dress fitting for the contest.”

  Ashley chuckles and releases her. I stand and take April’s hand. “Showering here or at your place?” I ask her.

  “Here, since the dress place is closer to my school than my apartment.”

  I nod and watch her walk off, leaning against the seat. Ashley and Jeremy had wandered off, and Sarah was looking around and poking everything she could.

  “Having fun, Sarah?” I ask.

  “Well, I’m a little curious about this side of April. She doesn’t gush about it to me. But I think that’s because I’m often times thinking about myself.” She sighs. “I guess I’m a little self-absorbed.”

  I shrug. “It seems that Dodge likes that about you. Besides, you love April like a sister. And I’ve noticed that about you. That’s why I like you. You wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”

  “I know, but I don’t know why she lost weight so dramatically. She hasn’t been eating much since she started taking those pills.”

  “But she stopped, right?” I ask.

  Sarah nods. “Yeah, she did. And that was all your doing so I want to thank you for that.”

  I smile a little. “Trust me. April is a hard cookie to crack when she wants to be.”

  “Oh, am I?” April asks me.

  “It’s a good thing!” I defend. “It helps keep you out of a lot of trouble.”

  Sarah chuckles. “Nice save, Luke. Did you use the force for that?”

  April snorts and takes my hand. “C’mon, I want to try on my dress.”

  I stand and pack up my camera as I follow her. “So what will your dress look like?”

  “Uh-uh, you get to see it when I wear it. So think of it as a surprise!”

  I laugh a little. She’s just so adorable when she’s being secretive. “When was the last time you got it fitted?”

  She winces and runs a hand into her hair. “Before I started taking the pills. I think I might need to gain some weight. I feel a little woozy from how little I’ve been eating. But since I hadn’t been eating too much I was worried I’d stretch my stomach.”

  I nod and rub her back gently. So long as she didn’t go back on her diet pills I’d very happily support her no matter what she did.

  Chapter Twelve

  It turns out I was not able to show Luke my dress. I’m too skinny for it. I was told that I needed to gain a little bit of weight and come back next month to try the fitting again.

  I rake a hand through my hair. Over the past few weeks I worked on gaining weight with Luke, Sarah, and Ashley’s help. It was slow going but I think I’m almost back to a healthy weight. At least my clothes are starting to fit a little better again.

  I finally made it to my next fitting and this time the dress fit perfectly. I smile as I twirl a little in the mirror. It’s flowier than most tutus for ballerinas but it fits me and the role of Cinderella. The dress itself is a beautiful lilac silk-like fabric with silver tulle underneath it that goes to my knees and is made from the softest material in order to keep it from scratching my legs up. I do a quick pirouette in order to test if I can still move and grin when I can.

  I walk slowly but with purpose out to where Luke is waiting for me. I do a little twirl for him. “What do you think of it?”

  Luke grins at me and holds a hand out to me. I take it with a blush. “You look like a princess.”

  I feel my cheeks warm as I smile. “That’s the idea.”

  “Well they did a good job,” he says.

  Luke gently twirls me and then lifts me up like Jeremy does in our dance and dips me low. I laugh. He’s done a good job in learning the dance for my pas de deux. Maybe whenever Jeremy is busy I’ll be able to ask Luke to dance with me.

  He sets me gently back down onto my feet and I kiss his cheek before I head back to the ladies to change back into my street clothes. My dress is given to me in a plastic bag to keep it nice and clean until the contest. The second dress for me to try is another light and flowy dress but this one is a pure white with a blue ribbon to match the style of Giselle. It also reaches to the bottom of my knees. I smile softly as I leave the room with both dresses and take Luke’s hand.

  “So drop these off at my apartment and then wh
at?” I ask.

  Luke chuckles. “Well, I was going to treat you out for dinner. How does that sound?”

  I perk up and nod. My boyfriend is rather very sweet to me, and he makes me happy.

  ~

  Our classes are over and we only have a week until the contest. But a bunch of us are still going to the school in order to keep loose and fit.

  As I enter the stage room, a week after the fitting, I feel like I’m glowing and that nothing in the world can go wrong. I’d been off the diet pills for a while, my boyfriend was the sweetest man in the world, and I have a good group of friends, including Jennifer, even if she’s still a little snobby.

  I run a hand through my hair. The contest is next week and I just feel so nervous.

  I take a deep breath as I start practicing my dance for Giselle, feeling light like a bird as I start my flight. I smile when the dance finishes and almost wish Luke had been here to see it. But, I understand, he’s usually pretty busy with his own school work and his finals for class.

  He already had his video final and had an A+ on it! I am so proud of him for that. He’s following his dreams. Just like me. Ashley stands beside me as I get a drink and I notice her looking me up and down. I raise an eyebrow.

  “What’s wrong, Ashley?”

  She shrugs. “It looks like you might have gained a little too much weight. Are you sure the dresses still fit?”

  I pale, I hadn’t thought of that. I’d been so busy trying to gain weight after losing so much that I hadn’t been paying attention to how much I had regained.

  “Thanks for looking out for me, Ashley,” I say softly. But honestly I’m starting to panic. If I gained too much weight I wouldn’t have enough time to do the diet pills for the entire week. I wouldn’t lose the weight fast enough.

  Jennifer pats my shoulder. “I think you look fine.”

  “Oh, thank you,” I say, smiling a little bit.

  She nods and walks off. I head into the back room of the studio where the scales are. I should be at 120 but when I step onto the scale the weight reads 135. I place a hand over my mouth. I need to lose fifteen pounds before next Monday! I groan and rake my hands into my hair, I can already feel the tears forming as I change into my street clothes so I can head home.

  I shake my head, I feel the depression weighing down on me I keep walking up the stairs to my apartment. What’s the worst that could happen if I take more than one of the diet pills? All Jennifer had said was there could be serious consequences but really, like what? Throwing up? It couldn’t be death. She wouldn’t have given them to me if that would happen, right?

  When I get inside I notice that Sarah isn’t home yet, which is a good thing for me. She might have freaked out with what I’m thinking of doing next.

  I open the bottle and dump out the pills. I take about half of them with my water. I need to lose the weight now! I place the rest of them in the bottle and back into the purse.

  My throat starts feeling really dry so I drink some more water but my breathing feels so short and shallow. My legs feel almost like lead as I start to fall forward. I wince as the door opens, please don’t let it be Luke.

  “Pookie?” I hear Sarah.

  “Help,” I rasp out.

  Her eyes widen as she picks up the phone. “My friend is on the ground, I think she’s close to passing out. Yes,” Sarah gives our address before she hangs up and kneels beside me, placing her hands on my face.

  “What did you do?” she asks.

  I wince. “I took more of the diet pills.”

  “Oh, crap,” she mutters. “I’m going to call Luke.”

  I can’t answer her because my vision turns black.

  Chapter Fourteen

  My phone starts ringing as soon as I touch the door to my apartment. I unlock it quickly and pick up the phone.

  “This is Luke.”

  Sarah’s voice comes over the speaker and she sounds a little shaky. “April passed out and I’m waiting for the ambulance to arrive. She said she took more of the diet pills. I don’t know how many she took but she was acting like she was overdosing on something big. I don’t know what’s in those pills but they aren’t diet ones.”

  I grimace. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  I hear banging on the door right before I hang up. “I’ll leave the door unlocked and April’s keys in her purse. Lock up. I’ll call you from the hospital.”

  “Alright, thank you, Sarah.”

  On my way up the stairs I pass the EMTs as they were walking fast with April. I wince as passes out of my sight. April… Sarah squeezes my hand as she runs past me and nods. I nod back, my expression grim.

  Inside the apartment I found the almost empty pill bottle April has in her purse and my eyes narrow as I take out one of the final pills. It was small and grey, almost like an aspirin tablet.

  The phone rings and I pick it up without thinking. “This is Luke.”

  “Hey, we’re at the hospital. We’re at Mother Mary’s. Apparently in pumping out her stomach she took twelve pills and they need to detox her.”

  “Why would they need to do that?”

  She hesitates and then sighs softly. “Heroin.”

  I start shaking. “Thank you, Sarah.” I hang up the phone and growl.

  Someone had given April heroin as fake diet pills. The only person I could think of who would give April that sort of thing was Jennifer. So, I decide stalk out the ballet school waiting for Jennifer to get out of the studio, my eyes narrowing as soon as I see her blond peppy self walk out with her two friends. I continue to wait until Ash and Ashley had off in their different directions. I was starting to wish I’d brought Dodge with me in case things turned violent.

  Once she is alone, I walk up to her.

  “What do you want?” she asks, crossing her arms.

  “You’re not even sorry are you?” I growl.

  Jennifer stands, her eyes narrowing. “Sorry about what?”

  “April is in the hospital because of this!” I hold up the bottle I found in her purse. Jennifer’s eyes widen. “You gave them to her didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, I did. What of it?”

  I grab her by her shirt and shove her against the wall. “They aren’t diet pills were they?” I demand.

  Someone grabs me from behind and I lose my grip on her shirt just as someone punches me to the face, which sends me to the ground, and I groan as I look up. Yeah, definitely wishing I brought Dodge with me right now.

  Jennifer winces. “Hi, James. Thank you.”

  “Oh, sure, play the victim,” I grumble from the ground as I sit up.

  James picks up the bottle that I had dropped and I reach for it.

  “What was in it?” he asks, his tone flat.

  “According to the tox tests the doctor’s ran on my girlfriend’s stomach contents, heroin.”

  His eyes narrow as he looks at the fake bottle and I grimace. Jennifer takes a few steps back, rubbing her arm. I see the guilt in her eyes as she looked down.

  “I-I just need to win. She wasn’t supposed to get hurt, just drug-tested.”

  “So you stole this from me?” he asks, tone still flat.

  Jennifer winces and I stand up looking at her. “Yes, I’m sorry. I-I did leave some extra money for you. More than most people pay for that much.”

  James winced. “You still should have talked to me about it. You could have killed someone.”

  “Almost did, apparently. That’s why he’s here, right, Luke?”

  I run a hand through my hair. “She took twelve of them in one sitting. Sarah got to the apartment before she passed out and called 911 and then me.”

  Jennifer places her hands over her mouth, her eyes horrified. “I’m so sorry. That wasn’t supposed to happen!”

  I wince and reach a hand towards her but she shakes her head and runs away I groan. James makes his way after her. I groan and rub a hand down my face. I need to tell Dodge what just happened with April. And of course what happene
d with Jennifer.

  I found Dodge when I got home and sigh. “Well, April is in ICU they pumped her stomach and care to guess what was in those ‘diet’ pills she was taking?” He curses and I wince. “She took twelve heroin pills. Sarah called 911 and then me.”

  “Who gave them to her?”

  “Take a guess, Dodge.”

  He curses again and runs a hand down his face. “Jennifer? Are we going to go after her?”

  “I already did. She confessed but also said that she didn’t want her to die just get kicked out of the contest.”

  “You went without me?” he grumbles.

  I sigh. “Yeah, and then she ran off as soon as she found that April was in the hospital. James went after her.”

  “So when are we going to visit April?” he asks.

  “As soon as Sarah calls and lets us know when visiting hours are. And once April is awake.”

  “Right.” Dodge shakes his head. “I’m going to kill her.”

  “No, you aren’t,” I tell him crossing his arms.

  “Why not?”

  I roll my eyes. “Because she already feels bad. She wasn’t trying to kill April.”

  “Just crush her dreams!”

  Why was he so upset? April is my girlfriend. I shake my head and cross my arms. “She hasn’t. Just be patient. Things can still get better. Besides if this doesn’t get out she’ll still be in the contest. And if it gets out now not only will April get kicked out of the contest but Jennifer as well. So Jennifer won’t tell anyone about what happened.”

  Dodge sighs but sees my point. “Alright. Fine, I’ll do what you say.”

  I can’t do anything except sigh while I wait for Sarah to call. I rub my arms as I glance at the clock. It’s almost ten at night. It’s been four hours since she was rushed to the hospital. She must still not be awake yet. I can’t help it I’m just worried, I start rubbing my arms when someone knocks at the door.

  I stand to answer it but Dodge already has it open, Ashley, Ash, and James are all standing in the doorway.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “We can’t find Jennifer!” Ashley says, wincing a little. “We looked everywhere including her home but her mom wouldn’t let us in. Can you help us look through town?”