Team Player 2: A Sports Anthology

by Paige, Rochelle

  When she bends to pick it up, I come up behind her as she straightens and wrap an arm around her waist. Pressing my lips to her ear with her hair tickling my face, I say, “How about loser has to go skinny dipping tonight with the winner?”

  Maeve turns her head to the side so that she can see me. Her pink lips tip up in a pretty smile. “How’s that work if we’re both naked? Who is the winner?”

  “If you have to ask that, you must not remember how I play,” I tease. My eyes focus on her mouth as I bend, kissing her pouty lips and slipping my tongue lazily against hers. And I wonder, not for the first time, how am I going to quit her when we got back home?

  Benny

  It’s past curfew, which means that the rooftop pool area is also closed for the night. I made sure to go and prop the door open earlier since they’re on a timed lock. We found that out the hard way last night, but thankfully, the maintenance guy who helped us was wicked cool about it and gave me the heads-up about the automatic locks. With my backpack loaded down with extra towels, lube, a Bluetooth speaker, condoms, and anything else I could think to grab on my way out of the hotel room, I make my way to a lounger near the edge of the pool and toe off my shoes. Not wanting to unload everything, I take the speaker out and set it up, setting my Spotify app to shuffle. “Ten thirty,” I murmur. Maeve said she’d be down at eleven. After we played golf, she had some team stuff to do, so I went and caught some ice time, then ran into Josh and told him to keep it in Millie’s room tonight when he mentioned maybe checking out the hot tub. He nodded in understanding and said as long as he didn’t have to leave till the morning that it wouldn’t be a problem. I always knew that I liked him.

  It’s chilly again tonight as it usually is in the desert this time of year. The days are still all fucked, but the cool night makes the heated pool and hot tub even more inviting. Deciding to wait for Maeve in the warm water, I strip down to nothing, shoving the clothes in my bag, and dive in. The warm water sluices over my skin as I glide to the opposite end and then back to sit on the same ledge as last night. From here, I can’t see the door, but I can see the twinkling lights of the city. It’s a beautiful backdrop, the inky sky littered with a million stars seeming endless up here.

  I’ve been in the water only about ten minutes when I hear someone making their way toward me. “You lost the bet, Smalls. Hope you’re ready to pay up.” I turn my head to look over my shoulder, the smile dying on my lips.

  “Ooohh, can I play?”

  “What the fuck are you doing here, Samantha?” I bite out in irritation. I don’t know who the hell told her I was up here, but when I find out, they’re catching my hands.

  “I heard there was a private party up here. Am I not invited?” she says in a pouty voice, squatting down beside me making it so her dress rode up her legs high enough for me to see her underwear if I wanted to look. “A very private party I see.” The pool lights do nothing to hide my nakedness and everything to highlight it.

  Not wanting to engage or encourage her to stay, I look away from her and go back to looking out over the night sky. “What do you want, Sam?” I’m not sure what the hell she wants, but I need to get her out of here before Maeve shows up.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to call me.”

  “I told you I wouldn’t.” I can see her standing out of the corner of my eye. Hopefully to leave.

  “You always did like to play hard to get.”

  “Wasn’t playing.” I shake my head. “Not th—” I’m cut off by a splash in the water. What the fuck?

  Breaking the surface, Samantha swims toward me in nothing but a sheer bra and her goddamn panties. She doesn’t stop until she’s right in front of me, wearing a devious smile on her face. My arms are extended on either side of me on the edge of the pool, my hands flat against the decking. I refuse to cover myself. I’m not playing whatever game this is. She skims the water directly in front of me, her eyes on my flaccid cock. “I can help you with that.” Even closer now, she glides into the space between my legs and goes to take me in her hand.

  I catch her wrist, doing my best not to hurt her while still getting my point across. I drop it when she tugs. “Not going to happen, Samantha. Why don’t you do us both a favor and stop embarrassing yourself and get out of here.”

  “When did you become such a prude?” she hisses out in a scathing tone.

  “I’m a prude because I don’t want to fuck you? Not how it works, sweetheart. I’m just not interested. Been there, done that, ya know?” My smile is condescending. I didn’t want to be mean, but I’m over this bullshit. “Wasn’t that great, so I moved on to better.”

  “Fuck you, Ben,” she practically growls. Leaning into me, she does her best to press her tits into my chest as she whispers in my ear, “I was the best you ever had. You told me that yourself. Just remember that.”

  My laugh is as condescending as my smile. “That’s because I didn’t know any better. Turns out, you aren’t even in the top ten.”

  If we weren’t in the water, she would have been able to connect the slap she aimed my way, and I may have even deserved it. Again, I was able to catch her wrist before she put her hands on me. “You weren’t even that good. Go fuck yourself,” she says as she hauls herself out of the pool.

  “I’d rather fuck myself than fuck you,” I call after her retreating back, watching for as long as I can to make sure she actually leaves.

  The adrenaline of the past few minutes coursing through me has me so on edge I decide to swim a few laps while I wait for Maeve. The returned peacefulness and the beauty of the night sky and the city below do nothing to help with the irritation I feel. It takes a good twenty minutes for me to find some inner peace again. Moving to the side of the pool, I pull myself out to check the time. 11:15. Maeve should have been here by now. I don’t even have her number programmed in my phone to call and see where she is. How the fuck did I let that happen? Remembering that I have Kenna’s number in my phone, I text her while pulling a towel around my waist

  Benny: It’s Benny, you know where Maeve is?

  Kenna: I know who this is. No, haven’t seen her.

  Benny: Text me her number

  Kenna: You’re sleeping with her but don’t have her number? Wtf!?!

  Benny: Just give it to me.

  Kenna: 555-1441

  Benny: Thanks.

  Punching in her number, I wait for the ring, but instead, it goes right to voicemail. Fuck.

  “Hey, Smalls. I’m at the pool. The doors open. Hopefully, you’re on your way.” I end the call and walk over to the door to make sure Samantha didn’t lock me out, and maybe that’s why Maeve isn’t here. The door can’t be accessed from the inside or outside without a special key card. The door is propped open just as I left it earlier. “Where the hell is she?” I pick my way back to the chair and all my things and sit down, trying to figure out if I should wait here or go look for her. Using the towel to dry off, I start pulling my clothes out of the bag. Maeve is never late for practice—she’s crazy about being on time—so something must be up. Shirt and shorts on, I slip on my shoes and gather my shit. This night turned out to be a fucking mess. I leave the pool area and head for the door, taking my makeshift stopper with me. At the elevator, I try calling Maeve once more, and once more, it goes to voicemail. “Just left the pool, going to check your room.” I disconnect just as the elevator doors open. The thirty-second ride seems to take an eternity. At her door, I see the same red scarf hanging on the knob from the other night. Not giving a shit since I’m pretty certain it was Josh who told Samantha where I was, I bang on the door loud enough to wake the fucking dead. A knock the motherfucking FBI would be proud of. I’m just about to knock again when a pissed-off Millie swings the door open. How I ever worried about telling them apart, I don’t know. I can tell without even trying. “Where’s your sister?” I ask, not bothering with pleasantries.

  “I have no idea. She had a meeting with Hanna, and she said she’d see me in the morning,
so I assumed she was with you.” She snarls. Like legit snarls. If she had claws, they’d be out right now.

  “I haven’t seen her. She was supposed to meet me and never showed.”

  This pleases Millie if the smile on her face is any indication. “If she didn’t show, it’s because she changed her mind,” she says almost gleefully. “Guess you’ll have to find someone else’s sister to bang.” Her words made definite with the slam of the door in my face.

  “That went well,” I mutter to myself. Maybe she went to my room. That’s the only other place I can even look for her. I can’t go to Hanna’s room or my sister’s. If Kenna doesn’t know where she is, and she’s not in her room or the pool, then maybe she’s in my room. I gave her a key earlier this morning before practice. At my door, I wave the little card in front of the lock and wait for the light to turn green. When it does, I push open the door. “Smalls, you here?” I call into the empty room. Tossing my bag onto the neatly made bed, I flop down next to it. Where the fuck is, she? After trying one more time to call her and getting her voicemail, I put the phone on the nightstand. Pissed off that she stood me up but worried about where the fuck she is, I strip down, push the backpack on the floor, and crawl between the cool sheets. Nobody else is worried, so I guess I shouldn’t be either. Easier said than done, though. She owes me a skinny-dipping pool party, and I’m for damn sure gonna call that shit in. I might collect double for making me worry.

  Maeve

  “Hey, Smalls! What happened to you last night?”

  I startle at the sound of his voice in the quiet locker room. I got here early to avoid seeing him. I should have known he would find me anyway. “Nothing happened to me. I didn’t feel like swimming.” I don’t bother looking up from where I’m tying my cleats until I’m forced to.

  He looks confused, his forehead creased, his brows angry slashes over his blue eyes. “What do you mean you didn’t feel like swimming? I was there waiting for you.” His tone is heavy with irritation.

  “You looked like you were doing okay.” I didn’t mean to even tell him that I saw him, but his attitude about me not showing up is pissing me off. Who does he think he is?

  “What are you talking about? So, you did come to the pool, and what? You didn’t feel like swimming, or you didn’t feel like swimming with me?”

  “I didn’t feel like swimming. Not with you and not with Samantha actually”—I shrug—“so I didn’t.” Seeing her there with him hurt me more than I thought anything could and that scared me. I had shown up, excited that I was early. Benny was sitting on the ledge just like the night before, his arms spread wide on either side of him. I watched in appreciation as the water dripped from the long strands of his brown hair onto his broad shoulders. His tattoo, the one that I traced over and over the night before, looking distorted from the bend of his arm and the droplets of water hitting the lights. And that’s when I saw her, Samantha. In nothing but a bra and thong, floating between his legs and whispering in his ear. The rest is a blur. Through tears in my eyes, I was able to leave as quietly as I had come in. Luckily, Hanna was just coming in from a late dinner. I stayed in her room for the night, telling her that I had gotten locked out looking for something for a headache and didn’t want to wake my sister or bother anyone at the front desk to let me back into my own room. Probably not the most believable story, but I knew that he would come looking for me in my room and couldn’t in hers.

  Benny interrupts the memories of last night. “Me and Samantha? What in the hell are you talking about? She was in the pool for all of five minutes and then she fucked off back to her house when I told her nothing was going to happen between us. Someone told her I was on the roof, she came up there, jumped in the water, and I shot her down. Why would I be fucking around with Samantha or anyone else for that matter knowing that you were on your way up?” He shoves his hands into the pockets of his shorts, shaking his head at me. “I know I have a reputation, that all of us at Hockey House do, but still, Maeve. Have I given you any reason to think I’d do that shit to you? Have I treated you like a side piece?”

  Not wanting to hear his reasoning or answer his questions, not willing to think about how sweet he’s actually been to me, I plow forward as if he didn’t even say anything. “Like I said, you looked like you were doing okay.” I tug on the brim of my baseball cap. Even in full uniform, I feel naked standing in front of him and letting him see that I care. That I was jealous. That he…hurt me. I don’t want him to see any of that. This was supposed to be just some fun. Right now, it feels anything but.

  His frustration at my inability to see that what he’s saying is true is apparent. “Maeve. I don’t know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t that. And even if it was, weren’t you the one who told me that this couldn’t go any further than here because Levi wouldn’t like it?” He practically spits the words at me with disdain dripping from them. He likes saying them as much as he liked hearing the words the other day. They’re like a thousand little daggers pinpricking my skin. Determined to make it out of here without crying, I stand straighter.

  “Yup. That’s what I said. I’ve had my fun, and now I’m done,” I lie. I’m not even close to done, and I don’t want to be. But he made the choice for me. I won’t share, and I won’t be like those girls who fall all over themselves just waiting to get whatever attention Benny or my brother or the rest of their roommates will give them. I have more self-respect than to let myself fall into that group. Those girls are looking for a story to gossip to their friends about. A ticket to the show. I’m looking for so much more.

  “Just like that.” It’s not a question.

  “Just like that.” I mimic and go to walk by him and out of the locker room. It’s still wicked early, and I don’t have to even be on the field yet, but it’s better than being in here getting my heart broken. No. Not my heart because that would mean that my heart is involved. Sure feels like my damn heart, though. Before I make it more than three steps, he hooks my arm at my elbow, stopping me in my tracks. I’m looking straight ahead at the door to freedom while his gaze burns into the side of my face. Each freckle and beauty mark feel like they’re being lit on fire from the heat creeping up my neck.

  “What if I’m not done?” Benny asks, his thumb sweeping over the sensitive skin at the bend of my arm. “What if this is more than just fun for me?” I shake my head. I don’t need a bullshit line from him. I can’t handle it. Because I want what I think he’s offering, and I know I shouldn’t.

  He tugs on my arm, spinning me to face him. With a finger under my chin, he tilts my head back so that I’m looking at him, but the brim of my hat still blocks my eyes from his. Thankfully. I don’t want him to see the tears shimmering there. My emotions are all over the place, and the tears are just one more thing for me to be mad about. I hate that they make me look weak. Benny has other ideas, though, and spins my hat around backward just like his. My shield is taken from me, and I’m forced to meet his gaze. “What if I say fuck Levi? I’ll take the ass beating. I want to date you, Maeve Sexton, and I’m willing to fight your brother if that’s what it takes to do it.” A crooked smile softens his face that only moments ago was pulled in anger. My heart accelerates dangerously, the butterflies that had been gaining momentum since the moment he stepped into the room are now in full flight. “Not in secret and not behind anyone’s back. I will go back home and walk right into my house and tell your brother that whether he likes it or not, I’m going to see where this thing between us goes.” He shifts, pulling me closer to him, the clean scent of his cologne clinging to him and enveloping me. “He will undoubtedly try to kick my ass, and I will let him if it means you’ll kiss me all better and nurse me back to health.”

  I sniffle, willing the tears clinging to my lashes not to fall. Crying when I’m mad, when I’m sad, frustrated, happy whatever has always been an irritating weakness of mine. Talk about a drama gene. Benny gently swipes them away with the back of a finger. “Don’t cry. He won’t actual
ly kill me. He’ll just hurt me a little. I promise. It’ll be worth it, though.” I can’t help but laugh at him, glad that he doesn’t seem fazed by my tears.

  “Levi might kill you.” I’m not entirely convinced he won’t.

  “He can try,” Benny says, winking, his smirk reckless.

  Shaking my head, I feel the anger and hurt dissipate, knowing he wouldn’t be willing to put his life, his home, and his hockey on the line if he wasn’t sincere. Especially not his hockey. None of the hockey boys are about the dating life, so this is a big step for him to even admit. The realization that he has just admitted that he wants to date me—not just hook up whenever but date—is huge. I don’t want to get too excited in case he was just in the moment. “You sure? I think you might have a death wish, Benny Hayes.”

  He pulls me flush against him now, kissing the tip of my nose. “Not a death wish, Smalls. I’m tougher than him anyway. Plus, I did win a bet, and I always collect on my bets. You owe me.” His hands rest at the small of my back, fingers grazing the top of my ass.

  “So, what, you’re gonna fight my brother over a bet then?” I toy with him, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. If you had told me just thirty minutes ago that I would be standing here, in Benny’s arms, happy and hopeful, I would have called you a liar.

  “Have you seen you naked? Hell yes, I’m going to fight him over a bet!” Benny’s face softens. He raises his hand and traces the swath of freckles across my face from cheek to cheek. Something I’ve always been self-conscious of, and he has a way of making me feel beautiful because of them. “It’s not just about the bet, Smalls. It’s about you. You’re the whole damn package, and if I have to play dirty to have you, then I guess I will. Isn’t that what you softball girls say? Look pretty, play dirty? Well, I’ve got the play dirty part on lock!” His lips tilt up in that smirky smile that I can’t get enough of.