Playing the Player

by Lisa Brown Roberts

  “Let’s come up with a questionnaire for your future conquests.” Alex stretched out his tanned legs. “Number one: Do you expect prom-posals and fancy dinners? If they say no, they move up to the next round.”

  “Very funny.” I threw a towel at him. I had valid reasons for not doing that stuff. The one and only time I did, Kristen had dumped me two days later. Why waste my money?

  Alex snickered. “Number two: Do you expect late night, flirty Facetime chats? If they say yes, automatic elimination.”

  “You suck.” I threw a French fry at him. “Besides, that’s not totally off the table.”

  He shot me a look. “Yeah? When’s the last time you engaged in said activities? For longer than a week?”

  I scowled at him. “These things have expiration dates, you know.” I shifted in my chair. “Besides, those chats get boring after a while.”

  He snorted. “Only when you pick boring girls.”

  I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing. “Sometimes it’s not about the conversation. Most times, actually.”

  “News flash: it’s possible to have both. Brainy and sexy, all in one package. Take me, for instance.”

  This time I threw my water bottle, which he caught. “You’re not my type,” I growled.

  “No kidding. But I’m interested in the potential on-the-job action for you. I bet anybody as tightly wound as Bird Brain lets loose. Like, totally Girls Gone Wild.”

  “Shut up.” I launched myself off my chair, slugged him hard on the shoulder, and dove into the pool, tearing through the water like I was being chased by a shark.

  After I’d exhausted myself, I leaned on the edge of the pool, pushing wet hair out of my face. Alex raised his sunglasses and smirked at me. “Question number three,” he yelled from his chair. “How do you feel about chick flicks? Extra points for anything with lots of kissing!”

  I sank underwater, but not before I heard all the tittering laughter from the surrounding pool chairs. Ever since he’d busted me watching my mom’s old DVD of Bridget Jones’ Diary, I’d never heard the end of it. He’d accused me of being a repressed romantic, which I totally denied.

  Just because I watched that movie… Okay, a lot of those movies.

  It didn’t mean anything.

  “Why are you asking about Trina, Slade?” Desi gave me the stink eye from underneath her dorky white hat.

  “We have to work together. You know that. And it’s…just better if I have some, uh, insight into her. For us to work as a team. You know. For the kids.”

  Her face split into a gorgeous smile. “You’re so full of it, Edmunds.”

  Trey always said he couldn’t get anything past her.

  A mom and two little girls walked into the store, clamoring for pretzels, so I stepped aside and pondered my options.

  What if Desi reported back to Trina? Of course she would. She was probably sending her some sort of psychic vibe right now. I had to play it cool, but still find out something, anything, that would help me crack the Trina code.

  Desi turned to me once we were alone again. “Is this about the swim lesson?” She stacked drinking cups while side-eyeing me.

  I shifted uncomfortably. “She told you about that?”

  Desi rolled her eyes.

  Of course she did. Girls told each other everything.

  “Kind of. I don’t know. It’s just…she’s so…”

  Desi shoved the bag of cups under the counter. “Slade Edmunds. I never would have guessed you’d fall for her.”

  My neck felt hot, and it pissed me off. “What? Come on, no way. That’s not what this is about. This is about my job.”

  “Uh huh.” Desi grabbed a rag and started wiping crumbs off the counter. “Here’s the thing about Trina.” She shot me a cryptic look. “I know she’s kind of…intense. But she’s a really cool person once you get to know her.”

  I didn’t say anything, but I held her gaze.

  “If she lets you,” Desi continued. “Get to know her, I mean.”

  I expelled a sigh of frustration. “That’s what I don’t get. I’ve never met anyone who…she’s just…” I sighed again. “I can’t figure her out.”

  Desi waggled her eyebrows at me. “Can it be? Slade Edmunds met a girl he can’t wrap around his finger?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re not going to help me out, are you?” I grabbed my ponytail, retying it with my shoelace. I needed to get some of those elastic things girls used. “Kids’ lives are at stake, you know,” I told her. “Little kids.”

  Desi snorted. “Yeah, right.” She pulled another pretzel from the case and handed it to me. “You’re still hungry, right? Trey always is.”

  I took the pretzel. “Thanks. But shouldn’t I pay you?”

  She shook her head. “My manager says I can have four per day for free.” She giggled. “He must think I’m a pig.”

  I took a deep breath. “So, did she have some childhood trauma? Is that why she’s such a control freak?”

  Desi’s eyes widened like I’d hit a nerve. She glanced away before speaking. “Her dad split when she was younger. Her mom’s cool, though.” She shrugged. “You could have an actual conversation with her, you know. If you really want to get to know her.”

  “We have lots of conversations, but most of them end in arguments.”

  She quirked her lips. “Sounds like my girl.” Then her face brightened. “But maybe there’s hope for you. She only argues when she cares about something. Or someone.”

  My stomach did a weird somersault, which I chose to ignore. “I told you, this isn’t about…us…or anything like that. It’s about our job. So we don’t end up killing each other before the summer’s over.”

  She just nodded, looking all smug. Crap. The second I left here, she’d text Trina. Hell, she’d probably send up a flare.

  “Look, never mind. I just thought…”

  A swarm of little kids ran into the store, trailed by a couple of dads talking on their cells.

  I started to back away, but Desi’s voice stopped me. “Slade, hang on.” She looked desperate. “Please?”

  Surprised, I nodded. I sat on a stool, scanning my phone while the dads and kids placed their orders. Tons of parties tonight, and I was invited to all of them.

  Once the store was empty, I slid off the stool and met Desi at the counter.

  “What?” I asked.

  She bit her lip nervously then looked around.

  I grinned at her. “Nobody here but us, Dez.”

  She frowned. “I know. It’s just…” She took a deep breath. “I promised Trina a long time ago that I’d keep her secret.”

  My heart rate sped up. “What secret?”

  Desi shook her head. “I can’t tell you. But maybe she will. There’s something you should know about her. It explains a lot. Why she’s so uptight.” She glanced around again, looking for invisible eavesdroppers. She leaned across the counter and whispered. “Why she can’t swim.”

  I had a desperate urge to run away. I didn’t need a girl with baggage. Drama. Emo. No way.

  But I didn’t run. Instead I waited, wanting to hear more. “That’s it?” I prompted. “That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

  She huffed out a sigh. “I wish I could tell you everything, Slade. But it’s Trina’s story to tell. And I made her a promise a long time ago.”

  Girls. So freaking dramatic. Still, I sensed this wasn’t the usual girl drama. This was something real.

  “Thanks,” I said. “At least you gave me a clue. Sort of.”

  She laughed. “Just talk to her, Edmunds.” Her grin made her eyes sparkle. “She thinks you’re a total slacker who’s had everything handed to him on a silver platter, but I keep telling her you’re more than just a pretty face and a smokin’ body. Don’t let me down.”

  I gaped at her. “She thinks I’m what?”

  Desi crossed her arms, looking smug. “Don’t look all shocked, dude.”

  My heart
hammered in my chest again, but not in a good way. I turned to leave before Dez could see how much her words had pissed me off. And hurt.

  A posse of middle school girls ran into the store, giggling. They stopped to stare at me, giggling even louder, then pelted Desi with shouted orders.

  “Don’t give up, Edmunds!” She called after me. “She’s worth it.”

  As I spun around, I almost crashed into Trey.

  “Hey man.” He gave me a high-five. “You scamming my girl for free food? I hope you left some for me.” He grinned.

  “Yeah,” I said, forcing a laugh. “I left you a few crumbs.”

  Trey jangled his keys. “You going to Jackson’s party tonight?”

  I shrugged. Maybe I should. Anything to get BB off my mind. “Maybe. You?”

  “Yeah, as soon as Dez gets off work. Text me if you decide to go. You should bring Trina.”

  I froze. “What?”

  Trey punched me on the arm. “Mary Poppins. Drag her along. That girl needs to get out more. Dez and I try to drag her to parties and stuff, but she hardly ever goes.”

  “I…uh…why do you think I can drag her out if you and Desi can’t?”

  He shrugged. “I dunno. You’re working together, right? Isn’t your golden boy glam working on her?”

  God, he was as bad as Alex.

  “She’d rather stay home watching documentaries than go out with me. Trust me.”

  Trey laughed. “Same ol’ T. She’s like seventeen going on seventy.” He tossed his keys in the air and caught them. “Whatever, dude. Maybe I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Maybe. Catch you later.”

  But as I walked to my car, I knew that I’d be the one staying in tonight, watching lame movies by myself.

  My stomach twisted as I thought of what Desi said Trina thought about me. I didn’t care. Not really. She was just a coworker.

  Nothing more.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Trina

  Saturday, June 15

  My phone pinged, rousing me from my couch doze.

  Call me asap!

  Desi.

  I dialed her number. “911. What’s your emergency?”

  She giggled in my ear. “Are you sitting down?”

  “Technically I’m lying down.”

  “Perfect. Now close your eyes. Ready?”

  I rolled my eyes, but closed them. Not like she could see, but I’d play along.

  “Slade is totally into you.”

  My eyes flew open and my heart flew around inside my chest, looking for somewhere to land.

  “What?” My voice was a whisper.

  “Slade! Oh my God, Trina. He totally stalked me at the mall asking a million questions about you. He’s mad crazy in love with you, girl.”

  I closed my eyes, not daring to believe it.

  “Maybe you misunderstood. Maybe he was just—”

  “Just what?” she snapped. “Since when does he go hunting for girls? Trust me, this is big. I know his style. Slade never works at getting girls. They just line up, and he picks who he wants.”

  “Then clearly you’re wrong,” I said. “If there’s a line of girls wrapped around the block, why would he care about me? He probably just stopped in for free pretzels and made small talk with you.”

  I tried to believe the words as I said them, but my stupid heart was still flying around inside my chest like a caged bird trying to burst free.

  Desi snorted in my ear. “He blushed, Trina. Slade never blushes.”

  I kicked the blanket off my legs. I was burning up.

  “So you embarrassed him. You’ve made me blush before.”

  “You’re damn right I embarrassed him—when I accused him of falling for you.”

  “You what?” I jumped up and paced around the living room.

  “To quote, I said, ‘Slade Edmunds. I never would have guessed you’d fall for her.’ And he said he hadn’t fallen for you, but his face totally gave him away.”

  My heart sank back into place. “Desi, you’re contradicting yourself. If he said—”

  “You didn’t see his face when he said it. Trust me, girlfriend, you’re the brightest light on his radar right now.”

  No way.

  “What did he want to know?”

  She hesitated. “Oh, just stuff. You know.”

  “Now you’re going to be vague? You could quote him thirty seconds ago, but now you don’t remember what he asked?” What was she hiding?

  She sighed in my ear. “Trey’s waiting for me, Trina. I’ll call you tomorrow. Maybe I’ll remember better then.”

  “You suck at lying, Desi.”

  “I know.”

  “Just tell me.”

  She sighed. “He’s trying to figure out…he wants to know why…”

  “Why I’m such a freak?” I flopped face down on the couch and buried my head in the cushion.

  “He never called you a freak. Or any other name.” She paused. “Honestly, Trina, I’ve never seen him act this way before.”

  A loud car horn sounded through the phone.

  “I’ve gotta go before my dad kills Trey for honking.” Desi’s voice was rushed. “Call you tomorrow!”

  I tossed my phone on the coffee table and buried my head deeper in the couch cushion. Slade figuring out the Freaky Trina show was not going to happen. No way.

  Why did he care, anyway?

  I headed into my bedroom and booted up my computer. I stared at my screen, willing it to swallow me whole and send me into its circuitry, like that weird Tron movie. I’d rather battle video game characters who could kill me than write my weekly report for Slade’s mom.

  Or think about why Slade was asking prying questions about me.

  Even worse, another paycheck had arrived in the mail from Dr. Edmunds. I’d shoved it in my desk drawer because I couldn’t bring myself to deposit them anymore. Not when my feelings about Slade were such a jumble.

  The cursor blinked at me, daring me to put on my “mentor” hat and document all the things Slade had done wrong. Or right.

  What about me? What about all the things I’d screwed up? Maybe I should write a report about myself. I sighed heavily and started typing.

  The kids are bonding well with Slade.

  I paused. What about Slade and me? Were we bonding? Something had shifted at Jungle Fever. There’d been that moment under the tree, when I thought maybe….

  This was the problem with me going so long without dating, or going on blind dates from hell courtesy of Desi. I’d forgotten how to be normal around guys.

  I jumped up from my chair. Mom was working a twenty-four hour shift, so the rest of the afternoon and night were completely mine. I needed to do something to get out of my head. I didn’t want to turn into one of those stupid obsesso-girls who couldn’t talk or think about anything but some guy.

  The bus ride to the shelter would put me there in less than an hour. Sharon was always happy to see me, and there had to be something constructive to do there. Maybe it would absolve a little bit of my guilt about those stupid paychecks sitting in my drawer.

  And keep my mind off Slade and his prying questions.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Trina

  Monday, June 17

  I woke up exhausted. Besides a nightmare about my brother, something I hadn’t had for a long time, I’d also dreamt about Slade. We’d sat under the tree at the park and he’d kissed me, but then he’d pulled away, laughing, and suddenly we were surrounded by a bunch of kids from school, laughing and pointing at me.

  Yesterday, before he’d stalked Desi at the mall, Slade had texted me his idea for the day. He wanted to take the kids to a park that had outdoor rock walls for climbing and fountains that shot out of the ground. He’d surprised me by suggesting he pick me up first, and then we’d get the kids.

  I’d refused, using my sleeping mom as an excuse, but the truth was I didn’t want him seeing Brian’s shrine, which Mom had set up for this week’s annive
rsary.

  After I showered, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror blow-drying my hair. I yanked my fingers through it, pulling out the ends to make wispy spikes around my face.

  Desi had to be wrong. I wasn’t blow-drying long, blonde waves of hair. I didn’t have ginormous boobs or wear tons of makeup. My eyes were brown, not blue or green. I was pale, not suntanned like a beach goddess.

  It didn’t make any sense that Slade would turn into the Miss America judge who preferred the girl who won the talent competition instead of the swimsuit contest.

  Mom had left a note by the toaster. See you tonight. Pizza and movie? XOXO.

  Like I had any other plans?

  I made a cup of nasty instant coffee while my Pop Tart toasted. I’d rather have awesome coffee from Starbucks, but I was trying not to spend any extra money. Even though I could afford it, what with the extortion money and all.

  I couldn’t stop yawning as I walked down the three flights of stairs from our apartment to the parking lot. Our ancient Honda had seen better days. Sometimes I envied Desi’s newer SUV, with its Bluetooth and GPS. And Slade’s Jetta that he didn’t think was cool enough.

  Slade and I had agreed to meet at the park; he’d bring Max and I’d bring Gilly. As I drove, I tried to clamp down the hope bubbling inside of me, but it filled me up just like music did when I danced in my room, when no one was watching.

  Gilly tore across the park, heading straight for Max, who was already halfway up a climbing wall. Slade turned, saw me, and turned away.

  Startled by the closed expression on his face, I almost tripped. What the heck? My heart had been fluttering the whole drive to the park as I imagined all the different things he might say, and the ways he might look at me.

  Ignoring me hadn’t been on my list of possibilities.

  I slowed my pace. The hope inside me dimmed, just like turning down the volume on my favorite music.

  Slade glanced at me as I paused near where he stood. “Hey,” he said, frowning slightly.

  I forced a smile. “Hi.” Maybe he was just tired, like me.

  He didn’t return my smile. He took a long drink of coffee from his travel mug and turned his attention back to Max.