Changing Lanes (Lake Park University Book 1)

by Christina Escue

  Wes and Gray are talking to someone I haven’t met about something that was said before the relay race. Greg and Oakley made comments, and Ethan reacted as a caring boyfriend should.

  I watch as they enter the locker room, and I get a view of Ethan pinning Oakley to the wall beside the lockers. Their coach is yelling at them and pulls Ethan off Oakley. I watch and listen as they tell him what’s been going on, and I grin a little when Greg calls me a little fuck. He has no idea just what I wanted to do to him last weekend. I look away from the video feed as I listen to Gabe and Ethan talk.

  “Dude, you’ve lost it over a little whore,” I hear Oakley say and my eyes snap open and latch on the little shithead on the screen.

  “Whore?” Ethan asks and I see him step closer to Oakley, and into camera range. He’s ready to kill these two, and I can’t say as I blame him.

  “Wait,” I hear Gray say, and see her hand appear on Ethan’s arm. Her voice is gentle, and her touch looks soft on his tanned skin. “What he thinks about me doesn’t matter. It’s what you think that I care about. His opinions don’t mean jack shit to me.”

  Her words trigger a memory from the past. A memory of a situation quite similar to this one. We were at the bowling alley and one of the guys on the league with us started running his mouth about her. She kept me from beating the hell out of him with a soft touch and gentle words. She’s so much better of a person than I am.

  “Ethan, bro, she’s fucking with you, just like Meghan did. And she’ll end up fucking one of your friends, just like Meghan did,” Oakley’s voice pulls me back to the video. His eyes are on Gray, and I see red for a second. “Just like all girls do.”

  “She’s nothing like Meghan,” Ethan snaps and shoves Oakley into the wall again. I wonder who Meghan is, but I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.

  “You’ll see, bro,” Greg says with a smirk that I want to knock off his face. “All women are alike.”

  “Gray is nothing like other women,” I mutter as I watch Gabe lunge and punch Greg in the face.

  “Leave Gray the hell alone,” he says before he turns and walks out of view.

  When Ethan tells their coach he wants to transfer apartments, my jaw drops. I know he’s pissed and acting like the protective boyfriend, but I didn’t know if he’d really cut the two of them out of his life for Gray.

  “Shit,” I mutter when I hear Gabe speak up and offer their third bedroom. Gray will be over there all the time since Wes is there so much, which means she’ll be in Ethan’s apartment all the time. The apartment where Ethan’s bed is. This isn’t a good thing.

  I keep my eyes on the video feed as Ethan and Gray walk from the locker room. Now that we have what we need, I know I should cut the video feed, but I can’t seem to just yet. I hear Gray and Ethan talking as they walk to his car, and I reach out to turn kill the feed.

  “I’m sorry you had to see and hear all that.” Ethan tells her softly and I look back at the screen in time to see him pulling back. I know he kissed her, and a shot of hot jealously shoots through me.

  “Ethan, I know you had a life before we met,” Gray tells him. Her voice is soft and understanding, which is typical Graycen.

  “Yeah,” he says and runs his hand down his face. I can hear the destress in his voice, and it makes me wonder again. I know I should kill the feed, none of this is meant for me to hear, but I can’t. I have to make sure she’s okay.

  “You don’t have to tell me about it,” she tells him, and I frown. He does have to tell her about it if they’re going to keep seeing each other.

  “Yeah, I do. Not here though,” he tells her as he starts his car. I reach out to kill the feed, knowing they need to have this conversation in private, but Gray’s voice stops me again.

  “Ethan, no matter what you tell me, it’s not going to change how I feel about you.”

  “And how do you feel about me, Graycen?” He asks and I watch the feed with renewed interest. I feel like an interloper, but I can’t see to look away now.

  “I’m falling in love with you,” she tells him, and I feel my heart shatter in my chest. I kill the feed before he can respond, and I sink to my desk chair.

  “She loves him,” I mutter and press the heels of my hands to my eyes as the intensity of her words sink into my brain.

  I reach out and close my computer then remove the flash drive the video feed was recording on and rise to my feet. I need to get the hell out of here. My dorm room feels confining and oppressive, and I know I need to get out for a while.

  I slip the drive into my pocket then snag my keys from my dresser and walk to the door as my roommate opens it. He’s a tennis player, and he and I have been roommates since we were freshman.

  “What’s wrong, Al?” He asks when his eyes land on me. “You look like someone punched you in the gut.”

  “Feel like it,” I respond then shake my head. “I’ll see ya later.”

  I step around him and out into the hall. I have no idea where I’m going, but I know I need to get out of here.

  I make it to my car, and slide into the front seat as my phone starts ringing in my pocket.

  I pull it out and look at the screen. It’s Wes, and I close my eyes as I answer.

  “Hey, man,” I answer.

  “Did you get the feed?” He asks. I can hear Gabe and someone else in the background, and I assume they’re at Gabe’s apartment.

  “Yeah,” I respond and sigh again. “I have the flash drive with me.”

  “Come to Gabe’s,” he says, and I open my eyes.

  “Be there in a few, but I’m not staying. I’ve seen it, and can’t watch it again,” I tell him, and he must hear something in my voice.

  “What happened?” He asks, and I sigh.

  “You’ll see,” I respond as I start my car. “I’ll text you from the parking lot when I get there so you can come down to get it.”

  “No, come up,” he says. “Mario is going to get some beer, and we are going to hang out here until Ethan gets back with Gray.”

  “Nah man,” I say and run my hand down my face. “And don’t drink around Gray. She hates the smell of beer. She hates all alcohol, actually.”

  “Noted,” Wes says then tells the others what I told him. I hear Gabe say something then Wes comes back to the phone. “No beer.”

  “Thanks, man,” I say and smile a little. “I’ll be there in a few, but I’m still not coming up.”

  “Okay, man,” Wes responds and sighs. “See you in a few.”

  “Yep,” I respond then end the call.

  It takes less than twenty minutes for me to make it to the apartment building that houses all of UF’s athletes. I pull into a parking space, then send a quick text to Wes, letting him know I’m here.

  I close my eyes and lean my head back against my headrest as I wait for him to come down. A moment later, there’s a sharp knock on my window, and I open my eyes. I glance over, assuming it’s Wes or Gabe, but my eyes land on Oakley and Greg. They look pissed, and that makes me grin.

  “The fuck are you doing here?” Oakley asks and I slip the flash drive from my pocket and slide it into the center console before I unlock my door and open it so fast I knock Greg on his ass.

  “Visiting a friend,” I answer as I step out. I grab my keys from the ignition then shut my door and hit the lock button before looking at Oakley. He’s helping Greg to his feet, and I shake my head.

  “What fucking friend?” Greg asks once he’s on his feet.

  “Us,” Gabe answers from behind him. “Is there a problem here?”

  “This little shit ran his mouth and now we’re both on suspension pending an investigation,” Oakley says and looks at me.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have been running your mouth,” Wes says and steps closer to me. “Then there wouldn’t have been anything for him to overhear and report.”

  “Maybe he should mind his own fucking business,” Greg spats.

  “Graycen is my business,” I tell him coldly
. “She has been since she was five.”

  “I see how it is,” Oakley says with a smirk. “You’re the one she’s fucking behind Ethan’s back.”

  “What did you just say?” I ask and take a step closer to him.

  “No need to get all defensive. We knew she was fucking someone, just didn’t realize she was into dark meat,” Greg says and before I can stop myself, my fist connects with his face.

  “Stop, Al,” Wes says and tugs me away from him. “He’s not worth it.”

  “I’ve already told you to leave Graycen alone,” Gabe says as he gets into Oakley’s face. “Stay the hell away from her, or I’ll make damn sure you’re not just suspended, but kicked from the team completely.”

  “You don’t have that kind of pull, Appleby,” Greg says and shakes his head.

  “Wanna bet your scholarship on that?” Gabe challenges.

  “Fuck you, man,” Oakley spats and grabs Greg by the back of the shirt. “Fuck all of you.”

  “No thanks,” Wes says and grins. “You’re definitely not my type.”

  Oakley pulls Greg over to a car I never heard pull up and pushes him into the passenger seat before he looks back at us and shakes his head.

  Once they’re gone, I look at Gabe and Wes and smile a little. “Thanks for having my back.”

  “We’re teammates,” Wes says and shrugs. “It’s what we do.”

  “All the same, thanks man,” I say and hold my fist out. He bumps it with his then I unlock my car and retrieve the drive from my console. “Here. This is the video from the locker room, and after.”

  “After?” Gabe asks with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yeah,” I respond and shake my head. “The after doesn’t matter.”

  “You sure about that?” Wes asks.

  “Yeah,” I say then shake my head again. “I didn’t kill the feed quick enough and got part of Gray and Ethan’s conversation. It doesn’t matter when it comes to what we were trying to accomplish.”

  Wes nods then takes the drive from me. “Sure you won’t come up?”

  “Yeah,” I respond then get into my car. “I’ll see you at practice.”

  “See ya then,” Wes says as I shut my door.

  I pull out of the parking lot and have no idea where I’m going. I just know I can’t stay here, and I can’t go back to my room.

  I need fresh air, and a place where I can run off some of this excess energy. I grin as I think of the perfect place to go. It’s a place I’ve been several times over the past three years.

  I turn my car in the direction I need to go, and I can feel the stress already starting to fall from my shoulders. This is what I need to refocus. This is what I need to get what Graycen told Ethan out of my mind.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Graycen

  We pull into the parking lot of Cellon Oak Park and Ethan kills the engine. The blanket from last week is still in his backseat, so he grabs it then opens his door.

  I open my door and am out before he can walk around and open it for me. He narrows his eyes at me, then shakes his head and reaches out for my hand. Without hesitation, I intertwine our fingers and he smiles softly at me. He’s nervous about this conversation, and that makes me nervous.

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

  “Let’s go to our spot,” he says, and I nod as we start walking toward the place we stargazed last week.

  It doesn’t take two minutes to walk across the field to the same spot we made out in last week. The memory of his lips on mine makes me shiver.

  “You okay?” He asks, as he spreads the blanket on the grass.

  “Yeah,” I answer. “Just remembering last time we were here.”

  “I have some pretty good memories of that night, too,” he responds then takes my hand and pulls me onto the blanket. I cross my legs and sit while he keeps hold of my hand. Once I’m seated, he lets me go, and sits beside me. I lean back on my elbows and tilt my head up to look at the stars.

  “It’s a beautiful night,” I mutter and close my eyes for a second before I shift and focus on Ethan.

  “You’re beautiful,” he says and lays his hand on my uncovered knee. “The night is pale in comparison.”

  “Charmer,” I tease, but his words and soft touch have ignited a flame within me.

  “Come here,” he says then lays back. When I lay beside him, he reaches out and pulls me against his side. He takes a deep breath, and I can tell he’s trying to calm himself a little before he starts talking.

  “Ethan, you don’t have to tell me,” I say softly then turn my head and brush my lips across his cheek.

  “I do,” he says and tilts his head so ours are touching. “Meghan moved here when I was in eleventh grade. She was from California, and her dad was transferred here. When I met her there was this instant connection. She was on the swim team with me, so we spent a lot of time together. She was very quiet at first, and I liked that about her. We started dating just after Christmas that year, and things progressed quickly. By our senior year, we were the hottest couple in school. Everyone wanted to be friends with the champion swimming couple, and she loved the attention. We were both accepted to UF on swimming scholarships, and I couldn’t have been happier. Four of us from our high school got swimming scholarships from UF, which was unheard of considering we went to a small private school. Anyway, we were planning on living in the athletic building for the first year, then getting a place off campus together.

  “We made it through the first semester without any issues, then after Christmas break she started acting different. I’d try talking to her about it, but she’d brush it off and tell me everything was fine. Just before spring break that year, I went to her apartment, like I always did. When I walked in, her roommates were acting weird, but I ignored it and walked to her bedroom. That’s when I heard them. I opened the door and saw for myself what was going on with her. She was on top of one of the other members of the team, and she was clearly enjoying it a hell of a lot more than she had enjoyed sex with me that past couple of months.”

  “Oh, Ethan,” I say and reach out to lay my hand on his stomach.

  “She didn’t even care that I’d caught her. She just continued to ride him as I shut the door and walked straight out of the apartment,” he says and turns his head to look at me. “I later found out she’d slept with three other members of the team. That’s what Oakley was referring to when he mentioned Meghan.”

  “So, your ex cheated on you and your friends think I’m going to do the same,” I state, and he nods. “What about you? Do you think I’m going to cheat on you?”

  “Hell no,” he answers immediately. “You’re nothing like Meghan.”

  “I’m not, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have that doubt,” I mutter, and he shifts so he’s facing me.

  “You would never do that to anyone,” he says, and I can hear the confidence in his voice.

  “I wouldn’t,” I assure him, and he smiles softly at me. “I’d end it with someone before I’d cheat on them.”

  “I know,” he says and reaches out to run his fingers into my hair. “I also know you’d never have sex for the sake of having sex.”

  I nod and look into his eyes. Their usual baby blue has deepened, and I can see something in his eyes I can’t name. I lick my lips, and he eyes flick to them as the tip of my tongue moistens them.

  “I want to kiss you, Graycen,” he breathes out and I nod as I lick my lips again.

  His lips brush over mine softly, and I gasp at the gentleness. He groans and presses his lips against mine with more urgency and slips his tongue between them.

  He tastes me slowly, giving me the chance to pull back, but I don’t want to. I don’t want him to stop so I reach up and run my hand into his hair. He moans again as he shifts so I’m lying on my back. His body presses into mine, and I lose myself in the moment.

  I feel his hand trail down my arm to my hip, where it slips under the edge of my shirt and his fingers br
ush against my heated skin.

  “Graycen,” he breaks the kiss to look into my eyes. Whatever he sees in them causes him to groan again and crush his mouth to mine. This kiss isn’t like the soft one from a moment ago. It’s hard, and full of passion I’ve only read about.

  I run my free hand down his arm and rest it on his hip as his hand trails down to my thigh and under the edge of my shorts. I lose myself in the taste and feel of him, and don’t notice his hand has made its way under my shorts until his fingers brush the edge of my panties. My shock must register in the kiss because he breaks the kiss and pulls his hand back.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologizes and rolls off me to lay on his back on the blanket. “I got lost in the moment.”

  “Ethan,” I say quietly but he doesn’t look at me. “We both got lost in the moment.”

  “I don’t want you to think all I want is sex,” he blurts out and I raise up on my elbow to look at him.

  “I don’t think that,” I tell him as I lean down and kiss him softly. “I was just as much a part of that as you were, and I don’t remember asking you to stop.”

  “Your body asked me to,” he says and closes his eyes.

  “Ethan, look at me,” I say. When his eyes open, his gaze is turbulent, and I know he wants things I’m not ready to give him yet. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “Leading you on.”

  “You didn’t, baby,” he says then shifts so he’s propped up on one elbow. “Listen, Graycen, I know you’re not ready to take that step, and I’m okay with that. We’ve only been dating for a few weeks, and I’m really not one to just jump into bed with girls. I’m twenty, nearly twenty-one, and have only been with three girls in my life. My body may be ready, but my mind isn’t.”

  “I meant what I said in the car, Ethan,” I say and reach out to cup his cheek.

  “As did I,” he responds and leans down to kiss me softly. “Now, it’s getting late, and we both have class in the morning. Why don’t we go to my dad’s and get my things, then I’ll take you to your dorm?”