Playing to Win (The Trouble with Tomboys Book2)

by Stephanie Street

  I shook my head, ready to deny it to the death.

  “Good luck with that,” Adam said.

  “Yeah, man,” Bash agreed. Bash played the drums and where Adam was all things dark, Bash looked like he just stepped off the plane from California. Bleach blonde hair, blue eyes, white shorts and a baby blue shirt. Since he sat down, he’d been tapping out rhythms non-stop using pencils, utensils, even his fingers.

  “What do you mean? Not that he’s right.” I jabbed my thumb at Jarom who just smiled.

  Bash sat forward, leaning his elbows on the table. “Jordan Parks may be smokin’, but I’ve never seen her with a single guy at this school. Not once.”

  “I don’t think she’s ever had a boyfriend,” Adam added.

  Jarom glanced Jordan’s way again. “It’s a real tragedy.”

  I didn’t know how I felt about these guys talking about Jordan being hot, but it wasn’t good. “Why not?” I hesitated to ask, but only for about a split second. These guys had information and I wanted it.

  Jarom shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I think it might have something to do with the fact she’s hella intimidating. Have you seen that girl? Her biceps are bigger than mine.”

  I glanced at Jarom’s arms and figured it didn’t take much.

  He followed the direction of my gaze and frowned. “Not cool, man.”

  I grinned, already knowing him well enough to know I hadn’t offended him.

  “Not only is she intimidating, so are her brothers. Bobby Parks is a freaking legend at this school. Nobody messes with him or his.” Adam shuddered.

  Of course, I knew about Jordan’s brothers. Bobby was twenty-one and played in the minors. Joe was nineteen and played on the same team as Jordan and I. Joe seemed cool, but then, I’d never given him reason to hate me.

  Yeah, I guess I understood what my friends were getting at.

  “Okay, so dudes are too chicken to ask her out, but hasn’t she ever liked anyone?” It kind of slayed me she’d never dated anyone. A girl like Jordan should have guys hanging all around her. Not that it hurt my feelings she didn’t.

  All three guys shook their heads.

  “Not that I’ve ever heard,” Bash said.

  Jarom narrowed his gaze at me. “What about you, man? If you don’t have a thing for Jordan, then what? You got a girl back where you came from?”

  I hadn’t really talked about where I moved from or why with these guys, but I hadn’t tried to hide anything, either.

  I shook my head. “Nope. No girlfriend.” At least, not anymore. “Not interested in the long distance thing.”

  All this talk about Jordan and girlfriends had my fingers itching to play my guitar.

  “Listen, I’m gonna go play my guitar. I’ll catch you guys later.” Reaching for my bag, I got ready to leave.

  Adam snorted. “You sound as bad as me. Maybe you should join our band.”

  I rolled my eyes, not taking him seriously. “Right.”

  But Jarom sat up straight, his mouth dropped open. “That’s a great idea. You should totally join our band.”

  I sat back, glancing at Adam and Bash to gauge their reaction. They didn’t seem at all wigged out by Jarom speaking up for the three of them.

  “You guys barely know me.” I’d never been part of a band. I’d always imagined a solo career. Like my mom. “You don’t even know if I can sing.”

  “Yes, I do, man. I heard you singing yesterday. The door to the practice room wasn’t closed all the way. You can definitely sing.” Jarom watched me with hopeful eyes.

  Adam made a face. “He’s been talking about it ever since.”

  “Look, I can sing, but even just hearing you sing one song, I can tell you’re better.” Jarom really wanted this, I could tell.

  “So, how would it work?” I couldn’t believe I was actually considering it. I had no idea when I’d have time to practice or how I would explain it to my dad, but I wanted it.

  Jarom nodded, the start of a smile curling his lips. “Right on, man.” He sat forward, bracing his elbows on the table. “We can work things out, but you’d be our lead, Bash on drums, Adam, guitar. I play piano, but don’t tell Ms. Jackson.”

  Pulling my chin back, I stared at him. “You play piano?”

  “Dude, shh. Seriously, don’t tell anyone. Ms. Jackson will make me accompany the choir if you do.” He glanced around dramatically. “With you and Adam on guitar and us singing.” He shrugged and kind of let the implication hang there.

  “My dad’s not super supportive of my music.”

  The three of them exchanged glances.

  “Yeah, we get that. None of our parents are either.”

  “And I have hockey.” I’d quit hockey today and spend every day practicing with these guys, even if they were terrible. My dad would have a fit and disown me.

  Jarom nodded. “Maybe we can work something out with Ms. Jackson during advising or something. I’m not sure. But we’ll do what it takes to make it happen. We don’t have any gigs right now, but I think if we work we can audition for some local shows.”

  Wow. Jarom had bigger dreams than I expected. I kind of thought they just messed around for fun, but from the expressions on all their faces, I’d underestimated them.

  “Yeah. Okay. I’m in.” And I’d deal with my dad when the time came, which would hopefully be way, way in the future.

  All three guys sagged with apparent relief.

  “Awesome.” Jarom stood, his fist extended.

  And just like that I’d joined a band.

  Chapter Five

  Jordan

  I didn’t see much of Asher the rest of the first week of school and everything seemed to be falling into place as it should. No one parked in my parking spot. Asher sat with Jarom and his friends at lunch. Natalie and Kelly apologized and made up after squabbling at lunch. And after practice that first day, we seemed to form some unspoken agreement to skate on opposite ends of the rink for drills. During scrimmage, since we played the same position, we never scrimmaged on the same team and we never had to go against each other.

  Instead, I battled Leo Jessup.

  Play to win.

  “Oomph.” My shoulder hit the wall. Leo’s huge body pinned me for a split second before he backed off, grinning.

  Too bad Leo wanted to maim me before we could even play our first game.

  “Idiot! We’re on the same team.” I’d been going home with sore shoulders from all the body checks into the wall. Leo outweighed me by at least fifty pounds and he seemed to get a kick out of smashing me. The first couple days, I thought he just played a physical game or maybe he wanted to make a point to the new girl, but now, I kind of thought it might be his own special brand of flirting.

  Gross.

  “Dude, what is your problem?” From out of nowhere, Asher skated full speed at Leo. They crashed into the wall. “You trying to get her injured before our first game?”

  Leo untangled himself from Asher with a smirk. “Got a thing for her, man?” he said, skating away backwards making an obscene gesture.

  Asher didn’t even glance my way before skating after him to join the game again.

  It started and ended so fast, no one else even noticed. Guys pushed each other around all the time. However, for the rest of practice, Asher made it his business to hit Leo any chance he got. By the end, other guys began to notice and run interference. I half expected Dad to step in, but he let them play. You had to be tough to play hockey. Fighting came with the territory.

  However, I didn’t need some new kid fighting my battles.

  I went to the locker room and changed to drive home like always, but instead of getting into my car, I waited beside his.

  Guys trickled out of the building. If any of them noticed me standing there, none of them said anything. I only hoped Joe would be the last guy out like usual. This conversation didn’t require any brotherly interference.

  I figured half the team had gone home before Asher came walking o
ut. My heart beat faster at the sight of him, which only made me angry. I didn’t want to be attracted to him.

  Asher caught sight of me, his eyes lighting at first, but then his brows pulled low. “What did I do now?” he asked.

  “I have three brothers. I don’t need another one.”

  “You think that was me being brotherly?”

  The way he said it made my cheeks flush. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t need you or anyone else protecting me. I can take care of myself.”

  Asher shook his head as he stepped around me to open the trunk of his car. He tossed his gear in the back with more force than necessary and slammed the trunk shut.

  I stood in front of the driver’s side door. Asher strode toward me, his jaw clenched. How did he manage to be so pretty and masculine all at the same time?

  “That guy was out of line.” Asher braced a hand on the roof of his car and leaned close.

  “My problem. Not yours.” He smelled good after his shower. With three brothers I’d become more familiar with masculine scents than I wanted, but Asher used something I’d never smelled before. I liked it.

  “You’re my teammate,” he countered.

  “So is Leo.”

  Asher frowned. “He’s not acting like it.”

  He might be right, but that didn’t change anything. “I don’t. Need. Your. Help.” I punctuated each word with a jab to his chest with my finger.

  His frown deepened. “Fine.”

  “Fine.”

  “Good.”

  It occurred to me how close we were. My hand still touched his chest. I brought it back as though he’d burned me.

  I nodded. “Good. I’m glad we cleared that up.”

  His lips twisted with the beginnings of a smile. “Me, too. Now, are you going to let me in my car or not?” He gestured to his door, the one I still blocked.

  Mustering as much dignity as I was capable of, I walked to my own car. It wasn’t until I started the ignition I noticed Asher hadn’t moved to get into his own car. Instead, he stood there, still watching me. I probably should have felt creeped out, but I didn’t. His eyes followed me out of the parking lot and I gasped at the wave of emotion passing over me from the heat of his stare.

  I didn’t want to like Asher, but no way could I deny my attraction.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I admonished myself out loud. We were teammates. And enemies. I couldn’t have a crush on Asher Sloan.

  No crush didn’t mean I couldn’t love his music. Over the next couple of weeks, it became my ritual to shower after dinner and sit under my open window in shorts and a sports bra while icing my shoulder while listening to Asher sing and play his guitar. He went outside every night. And after just a few weeks, I already dreaded the colder weather that would soon keep him from unwittingly serenading me.

  We still had another couple of weeks before our first game. Practices became more intense and so did the pressure to play well. Leo let up a little on the ice after Asher laid into him, but the look in his eye said we weren’t finished.

  Things weren’t only tense on the ice, they were rocky at home, too.

  “Jordan, take your plate up to your room,” Dad said one night as I went to sit down in my usual chair at the dinner table.

  “O-kay,” I murmured, backing away from the table. I hadn’t noticed earlier, but the air in the dining room felt thick with tension. My little brother sat with his head down, his hands in his lap. Dad’s jaw twitched and he fisted a napkin in his hand. Mom’s worried gaze flicked back and forth between father and son.

  Tempting as it might be to sit at the top of the stairs and listen to the drama unfold at the dinner table, I didn’t. Whatever was going on with Payton, I wished he’d figure it out. I hated seeing him get in trouble. And I didn’t know how much more my parents could take.

  I closed my bedroom door to block out the raised voices downstairs. I looked to my window, but doubted Asher would be outside this early. I didn’t think he’d realized we lived so close to each other yet. He definitely hadn’t caught me listening to him, but that could be because I didn’t sit there and stare at him through the window. I made sure to remain out of sight, content to hear him even if I couldn’t see him.

  Which said something about his singing, because not looking was a sacrifice. I’d never considered myself boy crazy before, but the boy next door had quickly become an obsession.

  I even found myself watching for him in the halls between classes, before and after school in the parking lot, and I’d cast enough glances his way during lunch to have drawn the attention of my two best friends.

  Not that it mattered. I would never date Asher Sloane. Even if he wasn’t completely out of my league as far as looks went, we were teammates. I needed to think of him as the enemy. I’d been paying attention during practice. Asher played with effortless determination, his movements graceful and efficient. He played intuitively, anticipating his opponent’s next move. I hated to admit it, but he played better than me.

  But that just made me want it more! And I knew I’d made the right decision to join my dad’s team. They played at a higher level, forcing me to up my own intensity. Everyday I improved my skills, learned something knew, or performed in a way I didn’t know I could.

  Voices rose from downstairs again and then nothing. I held my breath, waiting until Payton’s feet pounded on the steps, before opening my door.

  Payton’s shoulders hunched as he stomped down the hall toward his room. I reached out, stopping short of touching him as he passed me.

  “Pay-”

  “Leave me alone, Jord.” My heart broke at the defeated tone in his voice.

  He turned into his room while I watched, wishing I knew what to do with my little brother to make him stop breaking our parent’s hearts.

  “Love you,” I called out, just as he slammed his door shut behind him.

  No longer hungry, I abandoned my dinner in favor of a shower. I should honestly shower before dinner, but Mom knew how hungry we all were as soon as we got home and always had dinner on the table. The boys showered at the rink, so I was the only sweaty one most nights or I don’t think she’d have been okay with me waiting. One stinky person she could handle, four of us would have been overwhelming.

  I took my shower and returned to my room to get dressed. As I pulled on a pair of gym shorts and an over-sized t-shirt that once belonged to one of my older brothers, I debated if I should keep eavesdropping on Asher.

  Who did it hurt? He didn’t know anyone listened. Would he care if he knew? Maybe he should stay inside if he didn’t want anyone to hear. Right?

  Unable to resist, I grabbed my government textbook and lifted the window before sitting on the beanbag chair I’d hauled up from the basement just for this purpose.

  Like clockwork, Asher’s voice floated through my open window. For the last few days, he’d been working on the same song. I’d come to the conclusion what I heard every night was him in the actual process of writing songs. Even though he repeated snippets of the same song over and over again, I never seemed to tire of hearing him sing.

  Tonight, however, he started something new. A haunting melody coupled with powerful lyrics about misunderstandings, lost dreams, and wishes on stars.

  My government book lay unopened on my lap as Asher’s song slipped through my open window and wrapped itself around my heart.

  I might be determined not to like the boy, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t love his song.

  Asher

  By the start of the third week of school, I’d begun to feel better about moving. My classes running smooth. I’d made a few friends. Joined a band. And I hadn’t had any negative interaction with Jordan. In fact, I hadn’t had any interaction with Jordan. And if I were being honest, that lack represented the only blemish on an otherwise bright outlook.

  Jarom talked to Ms. Jackson about practicing during lunch and advising twice a week which ironically we had with Ms. Jackson who fully supported our desire
to spend the period working in a practice room.

  Until Friday when she called me over to her desk.

  “Hey, Asher. I’ve been looking over your transcript and realized we need to go over a few things. Why don’t you pull a chair around so you can see the computer screen?”

  I did as she asked, rolling a chair from the bottom tier around to sit a couple of feet away from her behind her desk.

  “So, here’s a copy of your transcript.” A table appeared on the screen with my name at the top. She scrolled down to the end of the table and stopped. “This list at the bottom is everything you still need to do to graduate. You can see you still needed a math class, language arts, government, and science.”

  “Looks about right. Is there a problem?” Glancing away from the list on the screen, I caught Ms. Jackson staring at me. I smiled and she looked away, clearing her throat. I tried not to let it go to my head when her cheeks turned pink. She wasn’t the first teacher to blush in front of me.

  Not wanting to embarrass her any further, I focused on the screen, giving her a chance to collect herself.

  She cleared her throat again. “Yes, actually.”

  Great.

  “What is it?”

  Mr. Jackson smiled, firmly back in teacher mode. “You see, Lakeview participates in a program in conjunction with a non-profit organization that strives to teach students more than just academics. I talked with Mr. Allen, the principal, about the requirements for you since you’re already a senior and everyone else has been working on this since freshman year. He agreed to let you complete this packet,” she handed me a stapled sheaf of papers.

  I flipped through it.

  “Don’t worry. None it is graded. You just have to do it. And it shouldn’t be hard, but if you do have any trouble I can help you or any of your other teachers. All your classmates have had to do them as well, so you can get help from them if you need it.”

  Time consuming busy work. Perfect. I didn’t have much of a choice, though.

  “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll work on it. Is there a due date?”

  Ms. Jackson shook her head. “No, just as long as it’s done by graduation. But I wouldn’t put it off. Chances are you really won’t be in the mood to work on it this spring.”