by Nana Malone
Becker checked the clock and winced. “Oh no, I need to get back to my room. I have a tutoring session with another student in about an hour, and I want to take some time to familiarize myself with their coursework.”
“I'm glad you got so many other tutoring jobs.”
“Yeah, it definitely helps make things easier.” Becker grabbed her stuff and gave Avery a hug before heading back across campus to her room. She was almost at her dorm, when she heard a familiar voice.
“Becker?”
She froze. “Daniel.”
She forced herself to keep walking. “What do you want?”
“I'm just trying to have a conversation with you. Why do you always have to be so hostile?” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don't know, I thought we'd get to college, you'd lose your attitude, and the two of us could at the very least be friends. But you keep acting like this around me, and I'll have to take you off my friends list.”
“Newsflash, asshole, I was never on your friends list. After what you did, we are not friends. I loathe you. I only deal with you out of politeness, and genuine admiration for your father. I think you, on the other hand, are a turd.” She stuffed her earphones back in, and waited for him to head off in the direction of his own dorm, but he didn't budge.
“Fuck, have you always been such a bitch? I'm trying to be nice to you. I mean, considering what you've done to me? Humiliating me, acting like a whore with Coulter?”
“Shut up. My relationship with Gage is none of your business.”
“Oh, yes, it is. When you're nearly screwing him against a wall at a party, that is my business. Did you know I could see you? Don't you have any respect? When I bother to give you a little time and attention, you act like I'm some kind of monster.”
She turned on him. “You are a monster. You know what you did.”
He glared down at her. “Still going with that story, I see. You're forgetting the part where you wanted it. You practically begged me to touch you. And when I did, you lay there like a cold fish.”
“I didn't want that. I didn't want you touching me. I was drunk.”
He sneered at her. “Then next time, don't drink so much.”
Bile rose in her throat. All the words she could've considered uttering evaporated. She concentrated on not vomiting all over herself.
“You think you've got protection because of Coulter right now? How is he going to feel when he finds out you're a whore?”
She shook as she stared at him. “No one's going to believe that.”
“Oh, he'll believe it, because I'll tell them all about us. You know what else I'll tell them? That you're Coulter's tutor. The famous Gage Coulter couldn't keep his grades up, so he hired a tutor who used all kinds of methods to help him concentrate.”
“That is not true.”
He shrugged. “It doesn't have to be true. It's all about what people believe.”
“What makes you think I tutor him?”
His grin was evil. “You forget, Dad insisted I needed a job to give me a sense of responsibility. I work in the office of academic excellence. I have access to everyone's grades. Especially the ones that are flagged as academically weak. Like your new boyfriend.”
The bile threatened to take over. The fear threatened to paralyze her. She loudly huffed out a breath. The new Becker wasn't doing that anymore. She refused to be afraid of Daniel. Refused to hide herself. She wasn't going to let what happened three years ago hold her prisoner any longer.
“Do whatever you like. Are you going to tell someone that Gage asked his girlfriend to help him study? Big deal. Matter of fact, last I checked, you could use some of that, too. There's no point in saying anything to anyone. Because the moment you open your mouth, you look like exactly what you are—a jealous, small, coward.” She tightened her hand on her backpack straps and walked away from him. She kept her head held high, and didn’t turn back to look at him. She refused to be afraid of him any longer.
Becker tossed in her bed. No matter how she tried to force the memories down, they started playing on an endless loop in her head. She didn't want to remember. But there it was. The night that changed everything.
“Come on, Becker. What’s your problem?”
Becker giggled. Daniel Sanchez was so damn cute. All of her friends were jealous. The moment she'd walked into her junior prom with him, everyone turned to stare. At first, when her father had suggested she go with someone he could trust, she'd been against it.
She was barely even allowed to date. But as it was her prom, her father had made concessions. Becker was pretty sure he made those concessions because her mother was gone. But she was getting to go to prom, so she didn't care about the reason. She was just so happy to get to participate in something with her friends.
Daniel went to a different private school up in Santa Barbara. Given that his father was now working for her father, he was likely to transfer to her school, or St. John's, the all-boys private school a few miles away. Becker couldn't believe her luck. Every girl in the place wanted to be with him.
He'd been the perfect date. Danced with her, went to get her drinks. Even snuck vodka from one of the seniors. “Come on, it’s called lady punch.”
“I don't think I'm supposed to drink.”
“Come on, your father trusts me. You think he would've let me bring you here, if I wasn't trustworthy?”
He had a point, there. “Of course not. I just can't be drunk when I get home. He'll flip out.”
“Don't worry. We're going to the after-party. It's only one drink now. You'll have plenty of time to sober up before we go.”
Back then, she'd cared about fitting in. Cared if people liked her. Wanted to make a good impression. “Okay. Bottoms up.” Unfortunately, that hadn't been her only drink that night. Even though she only had two, she had absolutely zero tolerance. By the time they reached the after-party at Avery's house, she wasn't feeling great.
She remembered the look of concern on Avery's face. “Jesus, Sanchez, how much did she have to drink?”
“I swear, she only had two.”
Avery hadn't been convinced. “Are you sure? Are you messing with me? It doesn't look like she just had two.” Either way, Avery directed her and Daniel to one of the spare rooms.
Avery's parents travelled a lot. The moment she hit sixteen, they started gallivanting around the world. And for someone like Avery, that meant a lot of house parties, and very little parental supervision.
It was the next part of the memory that had Becker tossing and turning in her bed. It was a horrible nightmare she couldn't wake up from, no matter how many times she pinched herself. It was as if she had to complete the reel before she could be released from the horror.
She lay in bed, her head spinning, Daniel lay behind her, wrapping an arm around her. “It's okay. You feel better soon. I’ll just hold you for a while.”
It felt nice. The way he cocooned her, spooning her, and keeping her protected. She hadn't even minded when the kisses started. He was good-looking, and sweet.
She didn't really feel anything. But maybe she just needed to get used to him. He started kissing her neck. And then, his hands didn't stay on her belly. They wandered up to cup her breasts. Again, she didn't feel anything. Mostly, she still felt dizzy and a little nauseated. Finally, when she was worried she might throw up, she stopped him. “Daniel, I really don't feel good.”
“Stop pretending, Becker. I didn't give you much.”
She frowned. “What? I—I don't understand.”
“You had a couple of drinks, and I dropped in a little ecstasy. Shit, I only gave you half of one. The stupid pill got crushed in the limo. You're fine. Stop acting like you don't want this.”
Oh God, he'd given her ecstasy? “I didn't want ecstasy, Daniel.”
“Oh, shut up. You need loosening up. You act all fun and outgoing, but I knew at this point, you'd try and act like the good girl you pretend to be.”
Becker shuddered. She remembe
red the way his rough hands had shoved up the tulle of her dress. How he fought with the undergarments that she had to wear underneath to keep the lines of it, finally ripping them to shreds. How he planted his lips on her, and shoved his fingers inside of her. She was dry, unprepared, and not at all aroused.
She tore her lips away from his. “Stop. You're hurting me. I don't want to do this.”
“Shut up. Fuck, you're so tight. And not wet at all. What the hell is wrong with you? You should be into this by now.”
What? She wasn't into this. She didn't want this. It hurt. He was hurting her. He took her lips again, hard. Bruising them. She tried to fight and get away, but his body was a lead weight on top of her, and with every movement she just felt sicker and sicker. He kept jamming fingers into her, trying to force a response out of her. But her body simply shut down, as if to protect her.
“Fuck it, there has to be some lube in here somewhere.”
Becker tried to roll away when he reached for his belt buckle. “No. No. No. No.” She had to get out. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
“Becker? Are you okay, sweetie?”
Avery. Becker opened her mouth to shout out, but Daniel was there, with his hand clamped over her lips. He answered for her. “She's fine. She's just resting.”
But thank God for Avery. She never did take answers at face value. “If she's so fine, then I need to hear her say it.” He'd locked the door, but this was Avery's house. If she wanted to, she was getting in.
Daniel leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Nothing happened. If you tell anyone, no one will believe you. You just drank too much, and thought you could tease your date.”
He let her go, and she collapsed against the bed. When he strode to the door and yanked it open, Avery was on the other side, with hairpins stuck in the lock. She stood.
“What did you do to my friend?”
Daniel's voice was harsh, as he replied, “Nothing she didn't want me to.”
Just like always, when the reel finished, she woke up with a start, covered in sweat. Becker wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth. All she wanted to do was forget that night. Why the hell couldn't she?
Twenty-Two
For the next couple of weeks, Becker and Gage were more faithful to the spirit of the challenge, as he continued to chip away at the points.
She was at every home game, video-chatting with his parents so they could watch him play.
“I'm sorry the video quality isn't better,” Becker apologized during one video chat.
“I wouldn't have it any other way,” his father insisted from his position at the edge of the frame. “The way you film them now really makes it feel like we're there.”
“You mean, you can't hear what's going on, and you keep getting jostled by everyone else in the stands?” Becker asked, laughing.
“Exactly,” his father grinned. Gage loved the fact that they liked Becker so much. It would certainly make bringing her home a hell of a lot easier. That was still a while away, but he had to prep for the Gramps effect as much as possible.
“So, has your coach even tried starting that other point guard yet? You've started in every game Becker has filmed for us,” his mother asked.
“Daniel started one of the games we were on the road for, and did fine,” Gage said generously. He knew better than to badmouth his teammates in front of his parents; his dad had always been particular on that point. You never know who might be listening, and there's nothing that can eat away at a team like distrust amongst its players.
Not that what he had to say about Daniel was anything that wasn't true, the guy simply wasn't as good during the high pressure of a game as he was, and Coach Patterson's preference for him as a starter wasn't likely to encourage anything but resentment and jealousy from Daniel. Which none of them needed.
For the most part, Gage had kept his mouth shut on the topic, unless Daniel brought it up. A little friendly competition was encouraged, but they were a team and had to stay that way. “We lost that game, and it wasn't Daniel's fault at all, but we've been doing so well lately, everyone's gotten a bit superstitious about things, even Coach.”
Becker's cell phone rang, so she excused herself and took the call outside in the hallway.
“Could you go grab me a snack from the kitchen, Jules?” his father asked his mom. “I can take that while you're gone,” he insisted, indicating the computer.
As soon as it was just the two of them on the video chat, his father dropped his voice and adopted a serious tone.
“I like this one,” he said, referring to Becker. “She's good for you, so whatever you do, don't screw it up.”
Gage laughed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. And so you know, I'm doing my best. She's…she's great. Her father hates me, but…it's nothing I can't handle.”
“Don’t worry about him, just focus on her. And your studies and practice, of course. You're dong okay balancing things this semester?” He settled back a bit, and grabbed his water bottle, sipping from it.
“Yeah, Becks is a demon with the study sessions,” he said. “You should see her, with her color-coded folders and study guides. She's no-nonsense with the school stuff. If I want to see her, I study. And I put in extra practices before the semester really started, but haven't had as much time for that in the last few weeks.”
“Seems to have been enough for the coach to take notice and start you,” Brent pointed out. “And the numbers you're posting are impressive; eighty-four points already.”
Gage knew he was flushing again, and silently lamented the fact that he wasn't better at hiding his embarrassment. “Yup,” he responded, with suppressed enthusiasm.
“I'm proud of you, Gage,” Brent said quietly, catching his son's attention. “You're going to be all right. I was worried for a bit there that we—that I—might have…I don't know, coddled you too much…or put too much pressure on you with basketball and school.”
“I'm not sure how I can be both coddled and under too much pressure,” Gage said, trying to turn the mood back toward the lighthearted.
“You're the youngest, and you take after me more than your brothers or Echo do, in more ways than you realize. I guess I couldn't help worrying about you more than I worried about them. But I'm not worried now. I'm assuming you'll be bringing Becker to Dax and Asha's wedding this summer? Or maybe the holidays? I look forward to meeting her in person.”
He wanted to. But he didn't want to push. “Yeah, I have to talk with her about it, but I'm pretty sure she'll be my plus one.”
Gage's mother reappeared on the screen, with one of his dad's protein shakes, as well as a plate of crackers with peanut butter.
“You're talking about the wedding?” she inquired, as she encouraged his father to eat. “Becker's coming, isn't she? I know everyone else is excited to have the chance to meet her.”
“Yeah, that's what Dad and I were just talking about. Everything going well in New York?”
His father nodded. “Yeah, I'm hoping to convince your aunt to come out for the wedding. She's family, she should be there.”
Gage shook his head. “This whole thing is so crazy. You know Gramps is gonna freak, right?”
His father set his jaw. “I don't really care what your grandfather does. He'll have to deal. He can't hide forever.”
Gage had never seen his father like this before. Mostly everyone tolerated Gramps. But now, Gage didn’t know. Thanksgiving was going to be awkward, to say the least. “You guys are busy, and I should check on Becker, she likes having an excuse to get off the phone with her dad,” he explained.
“She'll do that video thing for your game this weekend?” his mother asked, as she reached to disconnect the call.
“Yup, it's a night game, so I hope it's not too late for you guys with the time difference, if you're still in New York.”
“I'll be sure to take a nap in the afternoon,” his father promised, sipping on the protein shake and wrinkling his nose
at the taste.
“Perfect. I'll talk to you then.”
Going into the next game, Gage was determined to hit a hundred points. Three other guys on the team had already hit their totals, all primarily defensive position players, and though he didn't want to make a big deal of it with Becker, he wanted to be done with the points bullshit. Yeah, he wanted to be with Becker, but mostly, it was just another distraction he didn't want to have to think about. And he sure as shit didn't like the way it put pressure on their first time. She hadn't said anything, but he got the impression that she didn't have a lot of experience. The first time they made love should be special, and not arbitrary.
It turned out to be a difficult game for him. The sixteen points wouldn't have been so difficult if he wasn't so focused on getting there. He knew he was getting sloppy towards the end of the first half. There were times he shot when he knew he should have passed, and his teammates and Coach Patterson were all giving him grief about it. He spent the break with a towel over his head, so he could block everyone else out. It was his father's voice he always heard lecturing him when he knew he needed it, even if he provided the words for it himself. Thinking about how Becker was in the stands chatting with his parents and remembering that they were watching him was enough to snap him out of the funk.
“Coach, I think you should start Daniel for the second half,” he said quietly to Coach Patterson, as they were mulling about the locker room before heading back out.
“You feeling all right?” Coach Patterson asked, with narrowed eyes.
“Yeah,” Gage answered dismissively. “I'm just…I feel like I'm doing more harm than good right now, and—”
“You're doing fine, and the fact you're aware of what you're doing wrong means you're going to go out there and fix it, so no, you're starting the second half, too,” Coach Patterson insisted with a nod, before moving off to speak with one of his assistant coaches. Gage caught sight of Daniel watching, turning away as he rolled his eyes.