Clare groaned, snatching the bag of sugary, chocolate covered Chex that was frozen in my hands. “Sorry about that,” she said, handing it to him. “And thank you for your support. Enjoy the show.”
He dove into the bag, heading over to the mass of people sitting in front of the projection screen. So many had showed up for the bake sale and movie screening that there were people sitting in clusters, cross-legged on the floor. Others were in the crowded bowling alley, gazing over at the college cult film playing on the screen between rolls. Griffin hadn’t arrived yet, but the evidence of him clearly had. He got a mess of people to come tonight. We were almost out of food! He was quickly making up for that cruel joke he played earlier today in our texts.
I had to smile to myself at how silly he was being. The smile wiped from my face at the sight of an agitated Clare.
I shook my head. “Sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
She handed a bag of cookies to a girl and exchanged it for cash. “Thank you for your support. Enjoy the movie.” The girl turned and agitated Clare was back. “Did you have to react that way? I’m already embarrassed that…” She gazed around at the other working Venomous Vixens then lowered her head. “I couldn’t perform.”
“I’m really sorry. You just… you know, you surprised me.” And she really, really had. I lowered my own head now. “You guys really taped yourselves being intimate?”
I mean, I really wasn’t judging Clare for experimenting with a video camera with Destiny. It’s not like I could with my own track record with a webcam. I wasn’t lying when I told her she just surprised me. Clare was a pretty modest girl. Well, outside of our derby uniforms, so this announcement came as a shock.
She gnawed her lip. “Well, we would have if I hadn’t gone all chicken shit. It was Destiny’s idea. We haven’t really went ‘all the way’ yet and she wanted to document it.” Her cheeks went crimson and she dragged her hands down her face. “How sophomoric is it that I’m even calling it that. God, I’m a loser. I just hid in the sheets the whole time. When it wasn’t working out, I turned off the camera.”
Our never-ending cookie line got backed up, but I felt the need to pull my friend aside for a second. The other girls covered while we hunkered down by the cookie stock.
I sat Clare down on a chair and bent to her level. “Clare, have you…” I bit my lip, feeling out of place asking, but I felt I had to. “Have you… you-know-what, yet?”
Her face fell in mortification, and when she buried her face in her hands, I knew my answer.
“I know.” She muffled through her fingers. “I’m a senior and I haven’t done it yet.”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell Destiny?”
She whimpered, groaning when she threw her head back. “I don’t know. Embarrassment? Fear of rejection? It’s not like I haven’t wanted to, but I was closeted the first two years I came here and awkward as hell the rest of the time. My parents don’t even know I’m out.”
Clare and I never discussed our sex lives, but it wasn’t unusual not to have lost your virginity in or before college. She shouldn’t feel ashamed. “How did Destiny take to you not going through with it?”
She crossed her arms over her legs. “She was cool about it. She said she didn’t care if we waited.”
I smiled. It reminded me of when Griffin said he’d wait to date me. I was glad he had.
Clare popped her chin on her palm. “I want to, but I just don’t want the first time to be on camera. She was cool about that, too. God, why couldn’t I have just done it and gotten it over with!” She threw her hands up in the air and stood. “I need to work. I need to do something. We’ll talk about this later when I get my head on straight.”
“With chocolate Häagen-Dazs. We’ll sneak some cookies from the sale to go with it.” I winked at her.
Her lips threatened a grin and she opened her blazer. My eyes widened at the sight of two packages of chocolate chip cookies stuffed into one of her pockets.
She cupped her mouth. “Everyone’s doing it. You better get on it before you miss out.”
I snickered. I guess I was out of the loop.
She closed her jacket, patting herself down like she didn’t do anything amiss. “Thank Griffin for all of us by the way. This is all him,” she said, motioning to the full room.
I patted her back when she passed me. I would thank Griffin once he got here. I wondered what was taking him so long. It seemed like the majority of his teammates were already here. He only stopped to get my hot chocolate, but that shouldn’t have taken him terribly long…
I shook my head at myself. How thirsty was I being? He’d get here when he did. It probably just felt long because I wanted to see him. I was settling with that thought when a large hand came around and settled gently over my eyes. The skin was warm, but a whisper moved into my ear that brought an intense shudder in me.
“Guess who?” Griffin said, his voice light and excited.
I bit my lip. “Hmm… Griffin.”
He scoffed dramatically, and when I turned around, he had my hot chocolate in his hand and a small smile on his face. The baseball cap on his head was backwards and he also had on a University hoodie.
He drew in close to me, slipping his free hand into mine. “You’re supposed to at least guess a couple times and humor a guy.”
He handed me the cup, and I chuckled. “Okay, then my guess is Tom Hanks.”
His brow jumped. “Really? Why?”
Shrugging, I took a sip of my hot chocolate, rolling the warm sweetness over my tongue when I lowered it. “Well, I like all his movies, and he can probably get me tickets to some premieres of his newest ones.” I grinned.
He shook his head, flashing perfect white teeth. “I can’t really do any movie premieres, but how about a promise to get you courtside seats to some future games I just might be playing in? Something tells me those will be tickets to pro games. Maybe, just maybe.”
Did I say I wasn’t into basketball before? I’d be getting into basketball now. And I didn’t fail to notice what he said. Future. He said future games featuring him. He was seeing a feature with me in it.
He braced my cheek and I didn’t hold back when he kissed me, moving his lips slowly over mine. There were tons of people here, but they went ignored. His mouth, his lips, were priority. I didn’t know how long we were in the moment, but the chuckling members of my team ended up bringing us both out of it. Some of the girls had their hands in front of their Venomous Vixen shirts, simulating an exaggerated heartbeat when they thumped their hands over their chests.
My cheeks fought the heat and Griffin simply chuckled. He put his hand around me and drew me to him by the waist. He whispered into my ear, “I’ll see you. Find me later and sit with me.”
He kissed my cheek then moved from behind our selling table. He joined a bunch of tall guys also wearing University colors. It could have been in my head, but the busy room seemed to part like the Red Sea when he and his crew headed toward the screen. They fashioned a back counter for seats and chatted quietly amongst themselves.
I was immediately surrounded by derby girls, getting my fair share of nudges and a hard time for what just happened moments ago.
Clare was amongst them, giving me a knowing eye.
I was the one who nudged her now. “Is your significant other coming tonight?”
She sighed, shaking her head. “She has to work tonight. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if she used that as an excuse after what happened.”
I wrapped my arm around her. “You said she was cool with things. So trust that. Things will work out.”
Her lips moved into a smile. “Like you and Griffin?” She winked at me and I bumped her hip. “You guys look so good together, Rox,” she continued. “I hope that Destiny and I will…”
She didn’t finish, and I frowned at her. “That you’ll…”
I couldn’t finish the question as my gaze was directed toward where she was sta
ring at the projection screen. What was weird was the bright, slapstick cult film was no longer playing, and my mouth parted by what was. The screen was dimly light, the image a single bed on the screen. There were bodies moving underneath a sheet, but I couldn’t make out who they were, and when moans hit the air, the room summoned in laughter.
I pushed off the table I was leaning on. “What is this—”
A breathy name called out from the screen. It was a name I knew.
Clare.
The name was followed by a husky “Destiny” and cheers hit the air from the group viewing.
“It’s a couple of lesbos!” someone yelled, and finally my shock descended enough to bring me back to what was happening. I shot a look Clare’s way, and my stomach clenched. Clare was in tears, her face beet red and looking on the verge of vomiting.
Without thinking, I pushed from behind the table. I followed the projection light to the back of the room and found two guys there, looking both completely shocked and turned on by the two unidentifiable bodies tossing under the sheets.
“Turn this shit off!” I screamed at them.
They jumped but didn’t move fast enough for my liking. One of them had a remote and I swiped it. It took a moment for me to figure out where to direct it, but I found the player hidden behind their desk. An intense burst of laughter and hooting hit the air and I was momentarily startled. My attention went to the screen and I saw Clare’s face. She had her midsection out of the sheet, the rest of the bedding completely covering the body next to her. She had her arm covering her chest and her free hand hit the camera before the screen went dark. Even then lights were still around. People were holding their camera phones up to the screen, recording what they saw.
This felt like a dream. An intense nightmare that I didn’t understand. In the back of my head, I thought to ask the boys playing this where they got it, but I was already leaving to go find Clare.
Griffin found me first, and he grabbed my arm. “Roxie. What—”
I lifted my hands. “I’ll be right back. I have to find Clare.”
He let me go, and I headed back to the cookie table. Clare was gone along with half the group. “Where is she?” I asked April. She’d stayed.
Her eyes were still wide in shock and her cheeks matched the color of hair. “The girls took her home. God, Roxie. What happened?”
I had no idea. This didn’t make sense. Why would someone do this to her? Was it Destiny? Was she using Clare like Tanya said? Clare said the tape was Destiny’s idea.
My mind spun as I left the table to go back to Griffin. I didn’t know why I was going back to him, but he felt like home. I could feel myself panicking and my feet were naturally taking me to him. He was leaning against that same counter he was before, but I found myself no longer wanting to rush to him. His friends and teammates surrounded him, chuckling and fist pumping as they recited a verbal play by play of what just happened. They talked as if it was a game. An actual game and not peoples lives. The words “hot” and “sexy as hell” churned my stomach as I knew they were being associated with my friend.
I put my hand to stomach as if that would stop the sickness. As if that would stop this. “Griffin?”
His head popped up like he was in a daze, and my voice broke him out of it. He rushed to me. “Roxie. How’s Clare? Is she okay? What happened?”
He tried to take my hand and my automatic reflex made me pull back from him.
He stared at me. His gaze wandered over my face and confusion laced his eyes. “Roxie. What…”
Shaking my head, I turned, moving in the opposite direction from him. I went so quickly that I knew I was running. I couldn’t outrun him though, and he caught me by the arm after I went outside.
He whipped me around. “Roxie, what are you doing? What’s wrong, baby? You’re scaring me.”
Just last night I loved that word of affection. But now… I waved toward the building we just came from. “How could you do that? Just stand there while your friends said all that disgusting shit about Clare and Destiny?”
His eyes flashed. “What? What are you talking about? I… I didn’t hear what they said. I was just thinking about you and what happened and…”
I turned away, and when he grabbed my arms I realized I was shaking. He brought me to him and leaned into my ear.
“Roxie, I swear to God I didn’t know what they were saying. If I did I would have told them to shut the fuck up. I swear to you.”
I closed my eyes. I believed him. I did, but still… still he was friends with those people. He was…
Shaking my head, I backed away, lifting my arms from his hands. The urge to leave him standing there jerked at my legs, but the look he was giving me faded the feeling away and stopped me in my tracks. Those cool blue eyes stared at me, stricken in their gaze, and his expression paired with it tugged at my heart. He looked terrified I might leave, and when he pulled me to him by the arm, I stopped fighting, no longer resisting.
“Please…” he whispered, though he held my arm, he didn’t grip it. He was giving me the option to leave even though he seemed to want anything but.
Swallowing hard, I moved my arms over my chest, and very slowly, I allowed myself to nod.
He came over to me and placed his hands on my cheeks. Leaning his forehead against mine, his breath rushed from his lips. Like he was coming down from panicking. “Thank you,” he said.
He curled his finger under my chin, lifting it with his finger, and suddenly his mouth was on mine. The fear to step back, retract from him, dissolved completely. He didn’t do this. This wasn’t his fault, and I couldn’t punish him.
I moved my arms around his neck and let him take me away from all this craziness and all this intensity that almost had me running again.
It was him who broke the kiss and it was only to say, “Let me take you home.”
The walk back was silent, but that wasn’t bad. He held my hand, the small touch so protective. He was guarding me in so many ways, and my hand in his let me know that. I kept close to him and he stayed by the door after I entered my apartment.
“Do you want me to stay?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I need to call Clare. I might stay over there if she lets me.”
“Call me if you do. I want to walk you over. I don’t want you out there by yourself.”
I nodded and lowered my head when he braced my cheek and kissed my forehead. He left me to my peace and I immediately sat on the couch and slipped my phone out of my pocket. I was glad I didn’t take my purse tonight, fearing in all the hustle and bustle I wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on it. I know I would have left it there tonight after what happened.
Before I could dial, a knock hit my door. I placed my phone on the coffee table and immediately went to answer it. I opened the door without checking the peephole, thinking it was Griffin, and was startled by the sight of her.
Tanya—Griffin’s ex-girlfriend Tanya—stood at my door… and she held a disc marked DVD in what looked to be a CD case.
She cocked her head. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Chapter Eighteen
Roxie
Griffin’s ex girlfriend sat on my couch, the DVD she brought in on the table. She tossed it there with no explanation, not a word or a thought, and I stared at it, wondering in silence of its contents.
She turned daintily, gazing over at me still frozen by the door. I never joined her on the couch, and I had no words when she pretty much led her own way into my apartment.
Her pink lips ghosted a smile. “Sorry to just bombard you like this. The plan was to talk to you at the Union, but well…” She gave a short laugh that gave me chills. “You rushed off so quickly with Griffin and all. Thanks for being so accommodating.”
It was like her voice jerked me out of my shock. I wasn’t being accommodating, and I wanted to know why the fuck she was here and on my couch.
I came over to her, refusing to sit next to her. “What do you w
ant?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She crossed her long legs. “Your attention of course, which I think I got from my little showing at the Union.”
A wave of nausea hit me and the onslaught of a fainting spell rushed me. My legs teetered, and I felt my way to my recliner then plopped down on it.
Tanya only smiled at my reaction. “Yeah, that was me. Destiny was going on about the tape she did with your friend. For some reason that bitch tells me everything.” She turned her head at the words.
I cringed. How could she talk about her friend like that?
“She came to my place,” she continued, “crying about how she felt so bad about what happened… or I guess I should say what didn’t happen. She didn’t know your friend was a virgin apparently.”
I was shocked by what she told me. I looked up at her. “You mean she didn’t give you the DVD?”
Only her gaze went back to me. “Oh, God no. I did her and your friend a favor. Destiny was simply wasting her time. I told you she’s just confused. Experimenting.”
Her words had me instantly livid to the point where I was shaking to control the actions of my limbs, the clawing of my nails. She brought my friend down, yes, but also her own friend, and for what? Because she thought she had to relieve Destiny of a struggle she felt she had with her sexuality?
I stood, taking a shuddered breath before I spoke. If I hadn’t I know I would have tackled the bitch. I pointed to my door. “Get off my couch and get the hell out of my apartment.”
The girl didn’t even stir and I had a feeling it had nothing to do with the fact she didn’t believe I could kick her ass. It must have been something else. She must have had something else.
“I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say first,” she said, briefly eyeing the DVD on the table before her.
I crossed my arms, jutting my chin toward it. “What’s on the DVD? Destiny and Clare?”
She shook her head, crossing her own arms. “I told you that was just to get your attention. That right there, on the table, is you actually, Ms. Masked Diva.”
Found by You Page 14
