Aced (Blocked Book 2)

by Jennifer Lane

  Hell, no! I had to admit a woman who knew her way around the bedroom was sexy as hell. When blood started flowing to my brain again, I shook my head to clear it. “I know I just said premarital sex was wrong for Lucia and me, and Mateo too, but that’s our family. I can’t judge others for making different choices, especially if I want to be a good doctor. You have to find your own way.”

  She blinked as she took that in.

  I hoped I hadn’t sounded like a righteous twat. I wasn’t sure I was convincing her of anything anyway. Hell, I was having more and more trouble convincing myself. I wouldn’t hate being another notch on your bedpost, noted a voice in my head.

  She tapped her chin. “I think I figured out the real reason you don’t want Lucia to have sex.”

  “I already told you: premarital sex is against our values.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “You’re upset because your younger sister had sex before you did.”

  “What?” I took a step back, and her eyes flared, like she’d caught me doing something wrong. “That’s ridiculous!” That wasn’t why I’d come here tonight, right? Dammit! I did worry about becoming a forty-year-old virgin. Had that fear contributed to my angst when Frank told me about Lucia and Dane?

  I tried to slow my breathing as I studied her. Her mouth curled up in a smirk, which ticked me off. “This is about my family’s beliefs, not some stupid sibling rivalry. You don’t understand.”

  “Why don’t I?”

  “You’re a liberal, right?”

  “Why do you think that?”

  I gave her an unflinching stare. “Because you’re black. Odds are overwhelming that you’re a liberal.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “Most people aren’t so direct about my color.”

  So she could evade questions just like I did. “Well, most people are terrified of being called racist. Especially white people.”

  “But you’re not white.”

  “Tell that to the media covering the Simon trial.”

  She shook her head, seeming to draw a blank.

  “You know, the Latino guy who shot a man on his property? The media was up in arms about a white man killing an unarmed black man. They were totally wrong.”

  “Oh, my brother did tell me about that. It happened in the middle of the season.”

  She probably missed a lot due to volleyball. “Just admit it—you’re a liberal.”

  She shook her head. “Actually, I couldn’t care less about politics.”

  I exhaled. “How refreshing.”

  “But my brother cares. He was treasurer of the College Democrats at his school.”

  I groaned inside. Of course. “Which school?”

  “Cleveland State.”

  “Is that where you’re from? Cleveland?”

  “Yep.” She nodded, with a slight smile. “Way different from Houston, Texas.”

  In a flash, Lucia swooped in next to Maddie. “Sorry I left you alone with my brother for so long.” My sister’s gaze traveled from Maddie to me, and she stepped back as her smile faded. “Why do I feel like I’m interrupting something?”

  My heart pounded, but I tried to play it cool.

  “What have you guys been talking about?” she asked.

  I glanced at Maddie, who shrugged. “You didn’t tell me Alejandro played baseball in college,” she said.

  “And you didn’t tell me Maddie plans to go to med school,” I added.

  “Oh, phew,” Lucia said as she wiped her hand across her forehead. “I thought you might be discussing politics, or s-s-something…” She swallowed and her face reddened.

  “Actually,” Maddie said, looking straight at me, “we’ve had quite the conversation about sex.”

  Her challenging stare was a total turn-on. Why is sex before marriage so bad, again? I needed to remind myself to stick to my values. Even when they were growing unpopular with me.

  “Well, wow. I’m sure that was…uh…” Lucia seemed like she had no idea what to say, and she looked down at the court. “Ooh, guys, Dane’s serving!”

  I turned to the court to watch Dane toss the ball high and execute a screaming jump serve. The ball shimmied so much it landed untouched between two defenders.

  “Ace!” Lucia cried. She high-fived Maddie then cupped her hands around her mouth to create a megaphone. “Way to go, Monroe!”

  Dane glanced up and gave her a thumbs-up as he returned to the serving line. He bounced the ball, waiting for the ref to blow his whistle.

  “He aced them, Maddie!” Lucia did a happy dance.

  He sure did, I thought. Just like he aced my baby sister.

  “Lucia will be okay,” Maddie whispered. She clasped my arm, and I looked down at her hand before raising my eyes to hers. “She’s just in love.”

  I grunted.

  Her hand lingered on my arm, and I liked it. I breathed deeply, inhaling her calming scent.

  “Have you ever been in love, Alejandro?”

  As my face warmed again, I kept my mouth shut. My standard position on premarital sex suddenly seemed harder to defend after talking to Maddie, and I hardly wanted to double down on painful disclosures by admitting the truth about this.

  Her brown eyes shone up at me. “I’ll take your lack of response for a no. Well, it’s wonderful. And horrible.” She flashed me a smile. “You should try it sometime.”

  Chapter Three

  WHY THE BEJEEBERS was I talking about love with Lucia’s brother? When his eyes widened, I realized how close he stood.

  Lucia tapped my shoulder, breaking the moment. I let go of Alejandro’s arm to turn and face her. “Hey, you coming to dinner with Dane and me after the match?” she asked.

  “Don’t think so, Rez. I’m not suitable company these days.”

  Lucia’s face fell. I didn’t like disappointing her. She looked down, and now that she’d finally removed her coat I noticed her hot-pink shirt with yet another volleyball saying: Don’t You Wish Your Girlfriend Could Block Like Me?

  “Nonsense,” Alejandro chimed in behind me. “You’re great company, and you should join us for dinner. Where’re we going?”

  Lucia’s eyes narrowed, and I stepped back to avoid the heat of her glare at her brother. “You’re staying tonight?”

  “I don’t have a choice,” Alejandro said. “The pilot told us when we landed that there’s snow headed our way. We can’t fly back till tomorrow.”

  “Ugh.”

  I wasn’t sure if Lucia’s disgust was about the snowstorm arriving or the shitstorm staying. I watched their back-and-forth argument like a game of pepper.

  “Where are you staying, then?” Lucia asked.

  “No choice on that one, either.” Alejandro’s eyes tightened as he studied her.

  Lucia’s lips pressed together. “So you’re crashing my greenhouse without even asking me?”

  He sighed. “Would it be okay with you, dear sister, if I stayed at your house tonight?”

  “No.” She laced her arms together.

  Alejandro’s hands flew to the sides of his head. “Do you think I like this? Being told where to stay, what to do? China and Brad ordered me to stay there tonight, for security.” He pointed to Brad, who’d inched closer to us. “Tell her, Brad. I didn’t choose this.”

  The beefy agent’s lips puckered in a kiss, which he blew toward Lucia. “C’mon, Luce. You know you miss us. Let your bro stay.” He clasped his hands together and lowered his head to blink up at her like a pleading Puss in Boots. The military muscle-head begging for a freshman girl’s permission made me giggle.

  A small smile relaxed Lucia’s mouth. “Okay. Just for you, Braddy Bear.” I followed her gaze toward Allison and China, who sat next to each other a few seats down from Frank.

  The female agents scrutinized the crowd continually, but I noticed how their shoulders and knees touched. Yet another happy couple. My smile faded.

  “And I’ll agree to it for Allie, too,” Lucia added. She turned back to her brother. “But I st
ill don’t like it.”

  “Duly noted.” He looked down. “Thanks for making me feel so welcome.”

  I felt a bit bad for him—Lucia was typically much sweeter than this. He’d done a really good job of pissing her off. When his gaze met mine, I said, “She’s just mad because it’ll be tougher for Dane to sleep over now.”

  “Maddie!” Lucia’s eyes stabbed my heart. “How could you take his side?”

  Whoops. “Didn’t mean to do that, Rez.” I patted her shoulder. “I’m still on your side. But your brother doesn’t visit every day.” I looked at him with a hopeful smile. “And maybe he’ll let this Dane thing go for now?”

  “So Dane never moved out,” Alejandro said, his voice strained. “Even though Dad ordered you to live apart.”

  Or maybe he won’t let it go. I heard a distant bell ding for round two. Or was this round three of their argument? It was hard to keep track.

  “Dane did move out!” Lucia’s cheeks flushed. “He moved to a condo in December.”

  “Humph.” Alejandro shook his head. “I still can’t believe that green energy shyster Jim Thompson let a Republican keep his house.”

  “Well, Dane thought one of us should stay while Dr. Thompson’s still in DC. It’s an awesome house. And since I’m the one stuck with protection, we decided it would be me.” She smirked. “Dane said Dr. Thompson’s trying to suck up to Dad by letting me stay there.”

  “Good luck with that.” He scowled. “No way Dad will waste money on bogus climate change research.”

  Bogus? My eyebrows lifted. Even I know climate change is real.

  Alejandro assessed Lucia. “So how many nights a week does Dane stay over?”

  “Not…that many.” She shrugged.

  A low laugh sounded from Brad, who had drawn even closer to us as the conversation continued. “Bowm chicka bowm bowm…”

  Lucia paled.

  “Man, do I miss this drama. It made my shifts just fly by last fall.” He pointed at Alejandro. “All you do is study and exercise.”

  Sounds like my life, I thought. Plus Netflix binges. So…no girlfriend for Señor Suave?

  “Sorry to bore you, Agent Jansen,” Alejandro muttered.

  “Nah, it’s cool.” Brad stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “Boring’s good in my job. It means the protectee is safe.”

  A tendril of unease worked its way up my spine at the thought of danger facing the Ramirez family. Lucia often acted like Secret Service was a nuisance, nothing more, but her agents were here for a reason. Rez had become a good friend in a short time, and if anything happened to her…

  I swallowed and tried to think about something else as my eyes wandered around the arena. When Dane stepped up to serve again, Lucia gave a giddy, fluttering clap. To my left, Alejandro played with his watch as he too focused on the court. Highbanks already had a two-game lead, and I knew Dane and company would take the third one soon, so I was less interested. Competition got my blood pumping—a shellacking like this was kind of a yawn-fest.

  I nudged Alejandro’s shoulder with mine. “Brad said all you do is study and work out?”

  He frowned. “I know. Lamest guy ever.”

  “Not at all. I’m stoked to hear you have time for exercise in med school. I was worried about that.”

  He smirked at me. “Something tells me you’ll find a way to fit exercise into your life, no matter what.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  When his gaze floated down my body, my breath caught. He looked back up into my eyes. “You’re rather fit.” He cleared his throat. “But you already know that.”

  But I don’t mind hearing it from you.

  “Some of the second-years claim they don’t have time to work out,” he added. “But you have to make it a priority. I work out every afternoon after class, and it helps me study better at night. There’s a ton of research about exercise improving cognitive function.”

  “I’ve heard about that.” In fact, my academic advisor had told me most Highbanks athletes earned their best GPAs in season. “Was it tough to find an exercise routine when you retired from baseball?”

  He opened his mouth to answer, then shook his head with a smile.

  “What?”

  “It’s good talking to somebody who understands, that’s all. None of my classmates get how hard it is to stop playing the sport that consumed you for seventeen years.”

  I smiled, too. “Why do you think I’m trying out for Team USA? I’m not ready to retire.”

  “Lucy says you have a good shot.”

  I glanced to my right, but Lucia appeared absorbed in the game instead of our conversation.

  “To answer your question,” Alejandro said as I turned back to face him, “at first my workouts didn’t feel like enough. I was used to three-hour practices. But then med school started, and now I’m lucky to squeeze in an hour. No matter how busy I am, I make it a point to fit in exercise, though.”

  It was tough to envision life after Highbanks, and knowing I could work out even at my busiest calmed me. But my anxiety about the rest of life after graduation remained. Would I make the national team? Could I survive med school, if I got in somewhere? And if I did manage to become a physician, how would I find time for family?

  I sighed. Having a family seemed like a mirage now. Would I eventually find a man to marry? I’d thought it was Jaylon, but now I had no one. Everything felt uncertain, and I gripped the railing just to have something to hold onto.

  “You okay?” Alejandro asked.

  “Yeah.” When he kept staring at me, I said, “Just thinking about life after school.” He nodded, and I tried to brighten my mood. “So, what do you like to do for exercise?”

  “Oh, you know, run and lift. But the best workout is pickup basketball with the guys. It’s pretty cut-throat.”

  I’d wondered about a purple mark near his temple. “That’s where you got that bruise?”

  “Yeah.” His eye closed. “Took an elbow to the head. But I freaking snagged that rebound, baby.”

  I laughed.

  Lucia surprised me by piping in. “I didn’t know you’d picked up basketball again, Alex.” Her voice had lost its edge.

  He leaned forward to look at her. “I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

  “You played in high school?” I asked.

  “Yes.” He cocked his head. “You too?”

  “You can’t be six-one and get away with not playing. My high school coach would’ve killed me.”

  “My high school basketball coach guilt-tripped me every day for quitting the team after ninth grade,” Lucia said. “But I didn’t have time with club volleyball. How’d you find time for two sports, Maddie?”

  I’d actually played three sports in high school, including running track, but I didn’t want to boast. “I just made it work, I guess. I didn’t like the break between high school and club seasons.” I glanced at Alejandro to find him looking at me again.

  “You love to compete,” he said with a hint of admiration. “So does Lucy. Too bad she stopped basketball, because she and Dad made a killer team against Jake and me for two-on-two.”

  “President Ramirez plays basketball too?” I asked. When Alejandro nodded, I added, “Who’s Jake?”

  “My high school buddy.” His jaw clenched.

  He didn’t say more, so I looked at Lucia.

  “Jake’s a marine,” she said, then lowered her voice. “He’s deployed in Afghanistan. Alex won’t admit it, but he’s worried about him.”

  I looked back and noticed him staring over Lucia’s shoulder. Frank was approaching.

  “Lucia,” he said. She tensed next to me. “We’d like you to return to your seat.” He gestured to the stands, where Allison patted the seat in front of her. “We don’t want you or your brother out in the open like this.”

  Lucia’s hold on the railing tightened. “So you can overhear more of my secrets and broadcast them to the world?”

  My phon
e buzzed in my vest pocket, and I looked down to see an incoming call from my brother.

  “C’mon, Luce,” Brad said. “I was thinking the same thing about exposure—that’s why I kept getting closer. Back to the stands, Ramirez niños.”

  To my surprise, Alejandro didn’t hesitate. He cupped Lucia’s elbow and nudged her toward the stands as he looked over his shoulder at me. “Coming, Maddie?”

  Lucia shirked away from his hold. “Get off me, control freak!”

  With Alejandro’s eye-rolling grin, I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and followed them. It was fun to see that my brother and I weren’t the only ones who antagonized each other. And it was too loud in the arena to answer Braxton’s call, anyway.

  I ended up sitting between the squabbling niños. We watched the game in silence for a few points, and I marveled at Dane’s perfect set to Josh. Too bad Josh hit the ball into the net. I expected to see Dane explode, but instead he shrugged and bumped fists with his best friend. Then he said something to Josh that made him laugh. Whoa. Apparently Dane’s counseling had helped him manage his anger. Lucia told me both she and Dane had continued to meet with Dr. Valentine, the school’s sport psychologist.

  I watched Alejandro scan the crowd, looking more like a protector than a protectee. “You seem to listen to the agents better than Lucia does,” I said.

  “Probably because it was Brad, not China.” He tilted his chin up in her direction. China scowled as she kept watch over her charge. She was one tough chick. “But I’m not stupid,” he said. “There’re people out there who want to kill us.”

  Fear flipped my stomach.

  He shook his head. “Especially now that my dad’s stepped up counterterrorism efforts.”

  “Like what?”

  He snorted. “Well, it’s sure as hell not creating shovel-ready jobs for the terrorists.” When my confusion apparently showed on my face, he said, “You really don’t watch the news, do you?”

  “I’m too busy. And it’s too depressing.” I wondered if he thought I was an airhead. “I probably should pay more attention.”

  “Most college students don’t follow politics, studies show. So you’re not alone in that. But you did vote, right?”