Changing Lanes (Lake Park University Book 1)

by Christina Escue

  I splash cool water on my face, then look at myself in the mirror. My face is pale, despite the freckles, and I know it’s because I’m pissed off at them for not talking to me. Something happened, something that caused Rico to lose his shit, and none of them even called me. And how the hell did Rico talk to Ethan about it?

  “Gray?” I hear Wes say from outside the bathroom door.

  “What?” I snap out as I grab some paper towels and dry my face.

  “Gabe and Ethan are skipping their practice today so we can all talk,” he says softly, and I nearly growl.

  “We could have talked yesterday,” I say as I open the door and nearly bump into him. “And I’m not missing practice to talk about this. I was with you, Gabe, and Ethan last night, and none of you said anything about this. That would have been the perfect time to talk, but no. So, screw all of you.”

  I push past him and walk back to the lanes. Xander tries to approach me, but I shake my head and move to the lanes I’m bowling at.

  For the next two hours, I take my anger at the guys and turn it toward the pins. I’m off throughout practice, and that pisses me off more.

  By the end of practice, my anger levels have reached a breaking point, and I know I need to get away from everyone for a few minutes so I can calm down.

  “Graycen,” Ethan’s smooth voice penetrates the fog clouding my mind, and I turn to glare at him. “Please don’t be upset.”

  “Too late,” I snap as I pack up my gear.

  “Baby,” he says softly, and I look up at him. His baby blue eyes are full of concern and regret, and I sigh. “I know we should have told you yesterday, and I’m sorry.”

  “Tell me what happened,” I say, and he shakes his head.

  “Not here,” he says, and I nod then finish packing up my gear.

  “Where are we going?” I ask the four of them after we’re out on the sidewalk.

  “Put your stuff in your car, and ride with me,” Ethan says, but I shake my head.

  “No. Tell me where we’re going. I’m not leaving my car here,” I say stubbornly. I want to be able to leave when I’m ready, and don’t want to have to rely on someone to take me.

  “Follow me then,” Ethan says and looks at the ground.

  I can tell he’s upset about whatever happened, and I nearly walk to him.

  “Ethan,” I say softly, and he looks up at me.

  “I’m sorry, Graycen,” he mutters as he steps closer to me. “I know this has you upset, but I promise you’ll know everything very soon.”

  “I don’t like secrets, Ethan,” I tell him, and he sighs. “Secrets ruin friendships.”

  He reaches out and strokes my cheek before he bends and brushes a soft kiss across my lips. “After we talk, I promise there will be no more secrets.”

  “Okay,” I say and look into his eyes.

  “Come on, you two,” Wes calls from where he’s standing by his car.

  “Coming,” Ethan calls back without looking away from me. “Follow me, baby.”

  I nod, then step away from him. I’m still upset with them all, but Ethan makes me feel things I’ve never felt before, and I don’t want to lose that.

  I get in my car and watch through the windshield as they guys all get in their cars.

  When Ethan backs out of his parking space, I pull out and follow him. We head toward UF’s campus, and I start to wonder exactly where we’re going. I’ve been on this side of Gainesville more than once but have never really explored it beyond the places Ethan, Wes, and Gabe have taken me, so I have no idea where we’re going.

  When we pull into the parking lot of a very nice apartment complex, I watch as the guys all park before I pull into an empty space between Wes and Rico, then get out.

  “Where are we?” I ask as I walk to where Ethan and Gabe have parked.

  “Our apartment building,” Ethan answers then reaches out and takes my hand. “We wanted somewhere private and figured this was the best place to talk.”

  “Do you two share an apartment?” I ask and look from Gabe to Ethan.

  “No,” Ethan answers then looks around. “This is part of the athletic complex UF has. It’s where all the athletes live.”

  “Oh,” I respond.

  “Come on,” he says and takes my hand. “We’re going to Gabe’s apartment.”

  “Why his?” I ask, wondering why he isn’t showing me his apartment.

  “Because my roommates are home,” he answers, and I look at him curiously. “And if I see them right now, I may kill them.”

  “Ethan, you’re scaring me a little,” I admit as he gently tugs me toward the doors.

  “You’ll understand after we talk,” he tells me, and I sigh.

  I don’t say anything as he leads me through the lobby and into the elevators. We join the others in the hall on the third floor, and I notice a couple of the apartment doors are open, but I can’t see inside them.

  “This floor houses the entire swim team,” Gabe tells me as he leads us down the hall. “We’re always together, so most of us don’t keep our doors closed when we’re home unless we have company.”

  I don’t respond as he stops in front of a door at the end of the hall and unlocks it.

  Once we’re inside, he closes it behind us and flips the locks before he turns to me.

  “Gray,” he says and looks at me. “Please don’t be mad at the others. It was my idea to wait to tell you.”

  “To tell me what, exactly?” I ask and cross my arms over my chest.

  “Saturday night, after we left the swim party, you know Oak and Greg were heading to the Kappa Sig party, right?” Ethan asks and I nod.

  “I was at the Kappa Sig party, Gray,” Rico says and sighs. “I went with an ex of mine, but we decided to part ways early on. I was standing on the back porch enjoying a beer when I overheard two guys talking.”

  “Okay,” I say and look at the four of them. “What does that have to do with me?”

  “The guys he overheard were Oak and Greg,” Ethan tells me. “And they were talking about you.”

  “Me?” I ask, my eyes going wide.

  “Graycen, come here,” Ethan says as he walks over to a chair and sits down. I walk to him, and he pulls me down into his lap and nuzzles against my neck for a second. “Please, whatever you do, don’t think for a second I had a part in what Rico is about to tell you.”

  “You guys are scaring me,” I say and look at Rico, who is pacing the floor in front of the door. “Tell me what happened.”

  “Those two asshats were talking about how hot you looked, and one of them said something that made me lose my shit,” Rico says and runs his uninjured hand through his hair.

  “What did they say, Alarico?” I ask, using his full name.

  “Oakley said he wanted to corner you, pull your dress off, and show you the effect you have on the male population,” Ethan says when Rico doesn’t answer me. “Him and Greg were joking about sloppy seconds, and about me sharing you with them.”

  I can feel the fury coming off Ethan in waves, and I know he didn’t have anything to do with what those two were saying.

  “You heard them and jumped right in with your fists, didn’t you?” I ask, looking at Rico.

  “He didn’t do anything the rest of us wouldn’t have done had we heard them,” Wes tells me, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Those two deserve a hell of a lot more than an ass kicking.”

  “And they’re getting it,” Ethan says and shifts me off his lap. He stands and squats in front of me. “Graycen, I need you to know that I didn’t have anything to do with what they were saying. I’m not that kind of guy.”

  “I know,” I tell him and lay my hand on his cheek. “Now, tell me what else is going on.”

  “Oakley and Greg are Ethan’s roommates,” Wes tells me, and I look up at him.

  “Were my roommates,” Ethan corrects him. “Since Saturday night, after talking to Wes and Gabe, I have been staying at my dad’s place. I can’t be in the a
partment with those two right now. I may kill them.”

  “Ethan, they’re your best friends,” I say softly but he shakes his head.

  “Were my best friends,” he corrects me. “I cannot be friends with guys who talk like that about my girl, or any girl for that matter.”

  “Ethan,” I say softly, but he shakes his head.

  “No,” he says and rises to his feet. “I need to confront them, but I don’t need to do it alone. I really am that pissed at them.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Rico says, but I shake my head.

  “You’re injured,” I remind him and nod toward the sling. “Tell me how that happened, anyway.”

  “Greg,” Wes answers and looks at Rico when he sighs. “Al here punched Oak, and Greg jumped on his back and landed a solid blow on his shoulder blade. It isn’t broken, but there is some serious bruising, and it hit in the same place as an old injury.”

  “Where you were shot,” I breath out, and jump to my feet. “Show me.”

  “Gray,” Rico says, but I shake my head.

  “Show me, damnit,” I demand, and he sighs again but slips off the sling and unbuttons his shirt.

  When he slides it off his shoulders, I see the bruising on his shoulder blade, but that’s not what catches my attention. Across his back, stretching from one shoulder to the other is a phoenix with its wings spread out. It’s flying out of a flame that starts at the middle of his back and rises up to touch the phoenix’s tail feathers.

  “Wow,” I breath out as my fingers reach out to touch the phoenix. I stop myself and shake my head as I try to focus on the bruises on his shoulder blade.

  “It isn’t as bad as it looks,” Rico mutters as my eyes land on the scar just under the edge of the phoenix’s wing. I know that’s where he had surgery to repair the damage the bullet did, and I have to close my eyes.

  “Graycen,” Ethan says softly as he wraps his arms around me. “Are you okay?”

  I shake my head as I feel tears forming in my eyes.

  “Tell him, Gray,” Wes says softly, and I shake my head again.

  “I told him about Gav,” I tell them and wipe at the tears starting to trail down my face.

  “But did you tell him about me?” Rico asks, and I shake my head again.

  “What about you?” Ethan asks, and I can tell he’s shifted his gaze to Rico. “What’s going on?”

  “I told you my twin was killed, remember?” I ask and open my eyes. I focus my gaze out the window when I feel him nod. “What I didn’t tell you is she was murdered during a car-jacking, or that Rico was the one driving the car at the time.”

  “So, you two have a history?” Ethan asks, and I nod. “Tell me about it, Graycen. No secrets, remember?”

  “No secrets,” I say and turn in his arms. “I’ve known Rico since I was five years old. He used to be my best friend.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Rico

  “Rico, Gav, and I grew up together,” I listen as Gray tells Ethan about us as kids.

  “So, you have a history?” Ethan asks again and looks from Gray to me then back to her.

  “Yes,” I answer and look at Gray. “Her sister and I were dating when she was killed.”

  “Rico was shot during the car-jacking, too, but he survived. Until a few weeks ago, I blamed him for Gavyn’s death,” she says and looks at me. “He and Gav had gone out, and on their way back, a man shot them both and left them on the side of the road to die. A witness called nine-one-one, but Gav was dead before they reached the hospital.”

  Tears are streaming down her face as she tells Ethan what happened.

  “I was in the hospital for eight days and had to have two different surgeries to repair my shoulder where I was shot, but I was alive, and Gavyn wasn’t,” I add, and Gray looks at the floor. “Gav and I broke up that night, just a little while before it happened.”

  “Shit,” Ethan says and pulls Gray to his chest. Jealously flashes through me, and I have to stop myself from walking to them and pulling her from his arms. He’s her boyfriend, and he’s the one who should be comforting her, but I want to be in his place.

  “Before that night, Rico was my best friend, and one of my biggest supporters,” she tells all three of them. “Until that night, Rico was the one person, other than Gav, I could talk to about anything.”

  “I still am,” I tell her, and Ethan looks over at me. He can see how I feel about her written all over my face, and he holds her a little tighter. Despite his clear message, I keep talking. “No matter what, I will be there for you, Graycen.”

  “We all will be,” Wes says and looks at me.

  “What are we going to do about Oakley and Greg?” She asks, clearly changing the subject. “What they said was horrible, but they were most likely just words.”

  “Maybe,” Ethan says and looks at me. “It wouldn’t be the first time Oak acted on words like those though.”

  “What?” Gabe asks. He’d been relatively quiet this whole time, but now he’s on edge.

  “You know the three of us have known each other since middle school, right?” Ethan asks, and Gabe nods. “Well, Greg and I have known each other since first grade, but it was seventh grade when Oakley moved to our school. His family relocated there after something happened at his old school. He was eleven at the time, so there weren’t any charges pressed, but he attacked a girl in the locker room at his old school. Then, once in high school, a girl accused him of assaulting her. Nothing came of that one because of who the girl was, but there was always a cloud of suspicion over his head after that.”

  “And you never told us this?” Gabe asks, looking at Ethan with fire in his eyes.

  “I didn’t tell you guys because he’s been clean since tenth grade,” Ethan tells us. “The girl in high school, she was a drug addict, and basically sold herself for her next hit. Oak was a star swimmer and wasn’t the first in our group she’d approached. She was bad news, and when she accused him of assaulting her, everything she’d done came out. Now, I’m not saying he didn’t do anything, and I don’t think what she’d done in the past had any part in what she was accusing him of, but when the rest of us were questioned about her, we were truthful about her approaching us, and that weighed in the school’s and court’s decision. The incident from middle school wasn’t brought up, and none of us even knew about that one until after we graduated.”

  “So, what should we do?” Gray asks again, and Ethan holds her a little tighter.

  “I keep you the hell away from them to start with,” he says, and I happen to agree with him.

  “I don’t like that idea,” she says, and Ethan pulls back to look at her. “Staying away from them means I can’t come watch you swim, and that’s not fair to me, or you.”

  “I agree with Gray,” Wes speaks up. “We can make sure she isn’t in a situation where she’s alone with either of them, but there’s no way to keep her away from them completely. She’s your girlfriend, and she wants to be there to support you when she can. It isn’t fair to ask her to stay away because those two pricks think with the head in their pants and not the one on their shoulders. Besides, most of the team’s girlfriends don’t wanna hang with me.”

  “I agree with Wes,” Gabe says and looks at Gray. “I have an idea if Gray’s up for it.”

  “What’s your idea?” She asks, and I have a bad feeling about this.

  “We could always set them up to expose themselves,” he says and Ethan glares at him.

  “Hell no,” Ethan and I say at the same time.

  “I think it’s a great idea,” Gray says and we both turn our glares on her.

  “You want to put yourself in a situation where one of them could try something? Have you lost your damn mind?” Ethan asks, saying exactly what I’m thinking.

  Gray glares at him for a second before pulling from his hold and walking to where Wes is standing. “No, but thanks for implying that I’m stupid. What Gabe suggested makes sense. You, Wes, and Gabe would be clo
se enough to hear and see what’s happening, and if it gets to where I can’t handle it then you can step in.”

  “Baby, I wasn’t implying you’re stupid,” Ethan says, and I am so glad I’m not in his shoes right now. “I know Oakley, and I know he won’t try anything if he thinks he’s being watched. You’d have to be alone with him, completely alone, for him to try anything, and that’s not a risk I want to take.”

  “What about if she’s alone, but not really alone with him?” I ask, and they all turn their attention toward me. “You’re all forgetting that I’m a technology major and have computer skills most people don’t even know about.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Gray asks, and I grin.

  “Here’s what I’m thinking,” I say and lay my plan out for them.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Wes says when I finish talking. “And Gray being at the meet wouldn’t be questioned at all.”

  “No, and no one would question her waiting outside the locker room for Ethan either. Girlfriends do it all the time,” Gabe adds. “The only thing is, we’d have to make sure Oakley and Greg were the last ones out aside from Ethan and I.”

  “I think we can manage that,” Ethan says then looks at Gray. “Graycen, you don’t have to do this though. There will be other opportunities.”

  “If we do this on our terms, then no one will get hurt,” she tells him and reaches over to grab his hand. “I’m not scared of him, Ethan. He can’t hurt me if I don’t let him, and everything he says and does will be recorded.”

  “If he hurts you,” Ethan starts, and Gray reaches up and lays her hand on his cheek. He closes his eyes and leans into her, and I have to look away. They’ve only been together for about a week, but I can tell they really like each other. I vow then and there that I won’t do anything to come between them.

  “He won’t hurt me,” she assures him, but his concern has me nearly cancelling the whole thing. “You and Gabe will be right on the other side of the door, Wes will be just around the corner, and Rico will be watching everything through the video feed on his laptop. I’ll also have my pepper spray, and I have a heck of a left hook.”