Fair Play

by Fox, Cathryn

  Peyton: Hey, just about to get off shift, do want to grab a drink?

  I smile and shake my head. Obviously, she spotted my sister and the man who took my virginity together at the pub.

  Me: Going to get to bed early, it’s been a long day and you know I hate the Growler.

  I don’t mention that I’ll be digging thorns from my ass for the next twenty minutes or so, or that I watched a movie with Landon, in the very bed he deflowered me in.

  Peyton: Just so you know, I’m about to spill a beer on Landon. Sorry, not sorry.

  I laugh out loud at that. Leave it to Peyton. No matter what, she’s always on my side, always fiercely protective. Seeing Landon at the bar with my sister, after learning I slept with him last night, has no doubt set her off. I’m not about to tell her he slept with Ivy after me, and I saw it with my very own eyes. I wouldn’t put it past her to neuter him. She might be studying to become a social worker, but like me, she’s a hardworking farm girl at heart, and knows how to use a scalpel during castration.

  Me: Don’t do that. I know he’s there with Ivy. We are just friends.

  Peyton: You never come out, Ella. You can’t go four years at Kingston and never hit the pub. Come for one drink. Lots of cuties here tonight.

  In my bedroom, I stand and look at myself in the mirror. Honestly, I’m a little keyed up and once I hit the bed, I’ll stare at the ceiling for hours on end, thinking about none other than Landon. I’m sure of it. What could one little drink hurt? Nothing. It will likely relax me and help me sleep. But seeing Landon with Ivy, that might hurt. Get over it already. Maybe seeing them together, dancing, drinking and laughing might help. Might be just the thing I need to get over it.

  Me: I’m not interested in any cuties.

  Peyton: You know what they say about falling off the horse.

  Me: I am not climbing back on anything.

  Peyton: (eggplant emoji) Get your butt down here. I’m off in five, and the band is kick ass. You’re going to love them, I promise.

  Me: Fine, be there in a few minutes.

  I set my phone down. Am I really going to the pub for a drink? I usually avoid that place. It’s nothing but a pickup joint, and a place my sister hangs out. I reach for my phone, ready to tell Peyton I’ve changed my mind, when a text comes in.

  Peyton: You are not changing your mind. I’ll drag you here myself if I have to.

  Laughing at how well she knows me, I spend twenty minutes picking thorns out of my ass. Then I comb my hair and slip into a pair of jeans and my vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt. Peyton knows I love music and local bands. I often go see them, just not at the Growler, where my sister hangs out. Music is a huge part of my life really and so important in film. And well, maybe I’m crazy, because I think there is a part of me that wants to see Landon and Ivy together at the pub. Maybe I’ll see something off, something that proves they don’t belong together. Cripes, what is wrong with me? I just said seeing them together would help me move on, didn’t I? I definitely need therapy.

  I keep my face makeup free, but put on a bit of peach lipstick, not that I plan to jump on any eggplants tonight, but my lips are dry from all the popcorn. I am not trying to impress anyone.

  I step out into the night, and a car drives by, a bunch of freshmen hanging from the windows, and I just grin. I feel safe on my street, and the campus is just a few blocks away, but it was still nice that Landon wanted to walk me home. He’s obviously a protector at heart, thanks to his four sisters.

  I reach the corner and I’m about to cross the street when I hear heavy breathing sounds coming from right behind me. I turn quickly and jump to my left, my hands fly to my chest when the guy coming at me tries to dodge me. I jump again just as he shifts directions to go around me and he crashes straight into me.

  “Whoa,” he says, his eyes wide as he reaches out to steady me before I get knocked over…again. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? I thought you were moving left, then you moved right.”

  Cameron Reid.

  “I’m sorry. It’s my fault, you just frightened me, and I never was very good at frogger,” I tease.

  Worried eyes lock on mine. “Are you okay? You seem…upset about something?”

  “I’m okay,” I say quickly and give a very unladylike snort. “I took a dive into the bushes earlier. Once a night is enough.”

  He frowns. “Yeah, I saw that.”

  A tortured groan crawls out of my throat. This day could not get any worse. “You saw that. How did you see that?” I wrack my mind, but don’t remember seeing him when I went ass over heels. There was a group of giggling girls across the street. I guess he could have been with them. Landon did say Cameron liked them innocent.

  “I don’t want to tell you,” he says, and my gaze races over his flawless face, his hair still perfectly styled despite the fact that he’s out running.

  “Ohmigod, someone recorded it, didn’t they?” I slap my hands to my face, embarrassed.

  “Yeah, they put it on the campus Instagram. It’s gone viral. Sorry, Ella.”

  I groan, and he puts his hands on my hands, removing them from my face. His touch is warm and friendly, and doesn’t elicit the things inside me that Landon’s touch does. “Want me to go hunt them down for you? Crack a few heads?”

  I relax as he goes perfectly serious. I’ve been fighting my own battles my whole life and honestly, I don’t think this one is worth fighting. “Nah, it’s okay. Let them have their fun. In eight months, I’ll be out of outta here.” He grins at me and I take in his classically handsome looks. I can see why all the girls like him, but I guess I’m just hung up on Landon. “What?” I ask as he continues to stare in silence.

  “Chin up. I like that attitude,” he says.

  “I better get going. Sorry for interrupting your run,” I apologize, and beneath the streetlight, I take in his hard body.

  “Not interrupting at all. Glad I ran into you.” He grins and says, “See what I did there?”

  I laugh. “A baseball star and a comedian. I had no idea.” I admire his grin, and as my gaze moves over his face, I ask, “How did you know it was me and not Ivy?”

  His eyes narrow in on me. “I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.”

  “Not.” I tug my hair. “Now that I have blonde in it, I figured people wouldn’t be able to tell us apart.”

  “Is that what you want, Ella? Is that why you dyed your hair blonde?”

  As soon as the words leave his mouth, I nearly swallow my tongue. No, that’s not what I want. I want people to like me for me, and when I went to the frat party last night to apologize to the players, I wanted them all to know it was me, Ella Holmes, not Ivy Holmes, right? Ohmigod, please don’t tell me there is some small part of me that hoped Landon thought I was Ivy—because the only way I’d ever find myself in his bed is if he thought I was my twin. God, I really do need therapy.

  “No,” I say. “That’s not what I want.”

  Still deep in thought, I take a step off the curb and he jerks me back fast. I land against him with an undignified thud as a car speeds past. My heart races, as I watch the taillights until they disappear around the corner.

  “Gotta watch where you’re going, Peaches. The freshmen are a menace to society.”

  I take a couple fast breaths. “I’m…thanks, Cameron. I owe you one.”

  “Yeah, you do, and I’m going to walk you to wherever you’re going.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Move it, Peaches.”

  “You’re exercising.”

  “And you’re exercising my patience,” he teases with a wink. “Let’s go.” Refusing to take no for an answer, despite my protests, he puts his hand on the small of my back and leans forward, almost bent in half, and looks both ways, his eyes big, his actions so exaggerated as he scans the street, it pulls a laugh from me.

  “All right, it’s clear.” I whack his stomach and hit a wall of muscles. “Cut it out.”

  “Just being
careful,” he teases, and I study his profile as we walk.

  “Like what you see, Peaches?” he asks, a wide cocky grin on his face. What is it with these jocks and their ability to charm without even trying?

  Landon warned me to stay away, but he seems nice enough. He was nice at the party the other night too. Wasn’t trying to lure me out back or to anyone’s bed. Could Landon be right about him, though? Does he go after the innocent and then dump them when he gets what he wants? I like to come to my own conclusions about people, but I’m wise enough to adhere to someone’s warnings. Maybe the two have a history that I don’t know about. Maybe Cameron stole one of Landon’s girlfriends or something.

  He arches a brow at me. “You never answered my text.”

  I shrug in apology. “Been busy studying, filming the team and tutoring.”

  “That’s a yes then. Drinks at the Growler.”

  “I don’t like the Growler.”

  “Oh, I get it, you’re into Brooks. I’m not your type, right?”

  “How do you know my type?”

  He glances the length of me, and I fidget a bit. “I was there the other night, remember? I saw the way you were looking at Brooks.”

  I twist my fingers together. “I needed to apologize to him, and everyone else on the team.”

  “Yeah, heard about that too.”

  I shake my head. “Is there anything you don’t know?”

  There’s something in his eyes, spreading across his handsome face, that says he knows a lot about a lot of things, maybe too much, and it creates a strange sensation in my stomach. Always listen to your body and your intuition. As my mother’s words ping around inside my brain, he cracks his knuckles, and his devilish grin full of secrets, widens.

  “Star pitcher, Peaches. Gotta know what’s going on around me at all times, stay on top of my game.”

  “Are you saying life is a game?”

  He laughs. “Are you telling me it’s not?”

  I guess I never really thought of life as a game before. “Why are you calling me Peaches?” I ask, and cross my arms. My mind takes that moment to remember Landon’s mouth near my ear, the name Angel on his tongue when he entered my body.

  He shrugs. “’Cause you’re so goddamn sweet, Peaches.”

  A sound of disbelief rumbles in my throat, and he wets his lips like he’s ready to sink his teeth into a big juicy peach. “You don’t know me well enough to say that, Cameron.”

  “I know enough.” He skips ahead of me, and starts slow jogging backwards. “Why’d you think I’d confuse you for Ivy?”

  I glance at him, take in his lightness on his feet. I can’t help but think Ivy was one of his many conquests, or maybe he was one of hers. I snort at that and he angles his head. I tap my cheek like I’m deep in thought. “We’re very different.”

  “No shit.”

  “Are you and Ivy friends? I take it she’s your type.”

  He laughs. “Nope, not my type.”

  “Right because she’s not an innocent,” I mutter under my breath.

  Not missing a thing, he lightly pokes my forehead, and I note how rough the pad of his thumb is. Likely from baseball. “Sounds to me like someone’s been filling your head with lies. Don’t believe everything you hear, Peaches, and don’t believe everything you see.”

  “Sage advice,” I say, although there was no denying what and who I saw the other night—in Landon’s bed. “I’m a cinematography student. I know better than to believe everything I hear or see. Trust me on that.”

  “Glad to hear it, but yeah, I like chicks, all chicks. Show me a straight guy on campus who doesn’t. But I gotta tell you, Peaches, I don’t meet too many girls with balls like yours, though.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He goes quiet for a long time, like he’s trying to figure out how to answer me, then his head lifts, his dark eyes on mine. “One, you turned an entire football team against you, then had the balls to show up and apologize. Two, the guy you like is fucking your sister and you’re holding your head high. Like I said, balls.”

  “I don’t have balls, but I appreciate the compliment, I think.”

  “So whaddya say, grab a drink with me?”

  I stare at him trying to figure out his angle. “I’m not looking for any sort of relationship, Cameron.”

  He holds his hand up, palms out. “Just friends.”

  “You really want to be my friend?”

  “Let’s be honest here, Ella. I’d love to fuck you six ways to Sunday,” he says and my cheeks heat. “But you and I both know that ain’t gonna happen when you’re hung up on Brooks.”

  My stomach clenches, as I think about Landon and Ivy together. “I guess I can’t figure out what’s in it for you.”

  “I figure you’re gonna be a big director someday.” He angles his face and shows me his chiseled jaw. “Figure you might want to put me in one of your movies, after I retire from the MLB.”

  I laugh at that. “What is it with jocks and their egos? Wait, how do you know what I want to do?”

  My question seems to take him off guard for a second, but he quickly pulls himself together and says, “I have my ways.”

  “Tell me, what this is really about?”

  “It’s not about anything.” He glances around as we hit main street, numerous students milling about. “Where are we going anyway?”

  I point to the campus pub. “I’m going to the Growler to meet Peyton. And you’re going back to the pavement to finish your run.”

  “The Growler, huh? Thought you just said you didn’t like the place.”

  “Well, not normally, but Peyton convinced me to come tonight to listen to the band. In case I might want to put them in one of my movies, when I’m famous.” I cheekily grin at him.

  He steps close, his body hovering over mine. “Are you easily swayed, Peaches?”

  “No,” I answer as he looks over my head, a snarl on his face to go with the one in his throat. I have no idea what he’s looking at, but whatever it is, he doesn’t like it. “I wonder why your sister never told me she had such a pretty twin,” he says.

  I arch a brow. “Maybe she was trying to protect me from guys like you.”

  “Guys like me?” He grins. “I’m offended, Peaches.”

  “You don’t look like the kind of guy who gets offended.”

  His grin is bright and wicked. “You don’t know me well enough to say that.” I laugh as he throws my words back at me, and he lifts his head, and gestures to the sign above us. “We’re here.” He pulls open the door and waves his hand. “After you.”

  “I’m meeting—”

  “Not joining you, unless you want me to come in and help make Brooks jealous.”

  “I’m not into games,” I tell him. “Besides, why would me being with you make him jealous? He’s into Ivy, not me.”

  “Fuck, you are so innocent. If you’re not careful, some guy is going to chew you up and spit you out.”

  “I heard that was your specialty.”

  “Brooks tell you that?”

  “Maybe.”

  His lips twist, like he has a secret. “Maybe he’s the one who chews them up and spits them out, Peaches.”

  “I don’t know,” I say, my mind racing back to the night I snuck from his bed, only to return to find my sister. Did he chew me up and spit me out or did he think I was Ivy all along?

  “And remember,” he adds. “We already established that you can’t believe everything you hear or see.”

  “True.”

  “All right. Go meet Peyton. I’ll wait here until you’re safely inside. Gotta make sure no bushes or cars take you out first.”

  I smile at him. “Thanks, Cameron. I’m good now, and walking me here was sweet of you.”

  “Don’t forget saving your life. That was sweet of me too, don’t you think?” As he looks down at me with those deep blue eyes of his, music pours out of the club, but that’s not why my skin has come alive. I angl
e my head, and scan the club, almost certain Landon’s eyes are on me. Cameron puts his thumb under my chin, and turns my face back to his. “I think there’s some proverb that says you’re my servant now or something.”

  I laugh and put my hand on his chest to give him a shove. “Go run.”

  He takes my hand and gives it a little squeeze. “Not until you agree to drinks, as friends of course.” He cocks his head, and looks so damn adorable, I can’t help but shake my head at his foolishness. Honestly though, why shouldn’t I go out with him as friends?

  “Fine. Drinks. That’s all, though.”

  He looks offended. “Did you hear me ask for anything else?”

  “Goodbye, Cameron.”

  “Later, Peaches.” I watch him walk away, and as I do, I can once again feel Landon’s eyes drilling into the back of my head. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe my day could get worse. What good could possibly come from being here tonight?

  12

  Landon

  What the ever-loving fuck is Ella doing with Cameron again? Jesus Christ, she’s laughing and putting her hand on his chest, acting like they’re best friends or something…something I don’t want to think about. Nope, picturing her with anyone but me is like a good hard kick to the balls. Even though I have no rights, I want to go over there and drag her away from him. That guy is no good and she’d be wise to stay away from him.

  Beside me, Ivy says something and lets loose a laugh and she puts her hands on my shoulders, digging her nails in and dragging my attention back to her. “So, do you?”

  “Do I what?”

  She shimmies closer, and rubs against me. “Do you want to get out of here, go someplace quieter?”

  I glance up to see Brady and a few of the guys come in. “I’m just going to grab another beer. The guys just got here.” As Ivy whimpers her protest, I make a motion to Peyton, and she brings me a beer, but when she does, she accidently tips it, and it splashes over my shirt.