Hard Game

by Harper Lauren

  “Thanks,” I said with a smile. I knew I liked her from the very beginning. She was the only other girl (apart from me) who wasn’t wearing a tacky outfit. “It’s Armani,” I added.

  “Oh, my gosh!” the other girl Mel exclaimed. “Armani as in Giorgio Armani?!”

  Duh… I wanted to say with a roll of my eyes. But I just smiled and nodded.

  The other guys looked clueless. Ivan gave out a loud snort and just began chatting with another guy about something else, completely shutting me out.

  He was so cocky, probably annoyed that I was getting all the attention when he was supposed to be this sports superstar who was back from the city.

  Mel kept on interviewing me about how partying was like in Windfield. I gave her a rundown, which made her ooh and aah and sometimes open her mouth with a look of horror. I honestly wanted to take a snapshot and show it to Charlene.

  “You know, I can make you girls a dress like this,” I suddenly blurted out.

  They both looked at me in awe. “No way,” Jenny said.

  “Yes way,” I said. “But you’ve got to show me where I can buy sewing stuff and fabrics?”

  “The Craft Lady!” they both cried out at the same time.

  That made the men look at us in a strange way, which made us laugh. The other women were busy with a conversation of their own, mostly about kids. Yes, they were all moms already. I couldn’t imagine myself taking care of a baby or a toddler at this age. I could barely take care of myself!

  “We’ll bring you tomorrow, Cassy,” Jenny said excitedly. “You’re staying at Ellen Young’s, right? Oh, you must have gotten her flair for fashion. But well, she wasn’t exposed to the world of fashion you know.”

  There it was again, a hint on Aunt Ellen’s fashion inclination. I mentally took note of it, so I could ask her about it one of these days. Who knows? She might actually lend me some support and help me with my project. Or perhaps she could make Dad understand this passion of mine.

  After another hour of clean fun, Ivan said he should probably take me home. I groaned, feeling like a high school teen with a curfew. I had more freedom than this when I was sixteen!

  I saw the women nudge each other as we said goodbye. They were probably wondering if we had a thing. Glancing at Ivan’s delicious physique, I wouldn’t mind as long as he kept his mouth shut and stopped acting like the “king of the world”.

  “Put on your seatbelt,” he commanded once we were inside the car.

  “Yes, your highness,” I retorted in a mocking tone. I pulled at the seatbelt, but it had somehow got stuck. I pulled again.

  He gave me an exasperated look, but said nothing. Instead, he leaned forward across me to reach my seatbelt, making my heart beat twice as fast. He tugged on it, and how I wished it wouldn’t budge, so I could inhale his scent longer. I wasn’t lucky, though. The stupid seatbelt moved right away.

  As Ivan pulled back into his seat, his hand brushed against my bare leg, causing a wave of electric shock to spread out through my entire body. Holy shit.

  He was about to drive off when a dark-haired girl suddenly appeared in front of the hood. “Crap!” he shouted in surprise, hitting the breaks. The sudden movement appeared to have put him in pain. He tried not to show it, but he bent his leg quickly, his face growing white.

  “Hey, what’s happening?” I asked with concern.

  “I’m okay, I’m okay,” he said quickly. I remembered hearing him mention an injury he got in football during his conversation with Aunt Ellen. I had thought he was exaggerating it and trying to be all dramatic about it, but maybe it was really a serious condition.

  We didn’t have time to say anything else because there was a series of raps on his window. The dark-haired girl who was probably in her early twenties too was fuming. She had her hands on her waist and was shouting something at Ivan. I couldn’t quite understand what she was saying.

  Ivan pressed on a button to roll down the window. “Andrea?!” he said with disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

  “I drove all the way here for you because I was so worried!” she yelled accusingly. “And now I catch you with another girl! How dare you!”

  She began punching Ivan’s shoulder through the window. He tried to stop her with his hands, all the while wincing in pain because of his injury.

  “Stop it, Andrea,” he said impatiently. “We were never a couple! Why are you acting like a jealous girlfriend?”

  “You led me on! You said you loved me, and now you’re denying it? Is it because of her?” She tried to reach out to me in anger. I was about to get all bitchy if Ivan hadn’t butted in.

  “You’re freakin’ crazy!” Ivan answered. “I didn’t say that, or maybe I was drunk. I don’t know. Just go home, all right? It’s late!”

  “No!” Andrea screamed.

  I watched in half fascination and half annoyance. I was going to miss my curfew if I didn’t do something soon. So I gave Ivan a little push. “Go talk to your crazy girlfriend,” I told him. “I’ll drive this thing home before Aunt Ellen tells my dad I’ve gone missing. Just get it tomorrow.”

  “What?” he exclaimed.

  I opened the driver’s door for him and pushed him out. “Good night, Ivan! Andrea can drive you home. Bye!”

  I figured they had issues they needed to address, so it was better this way. I actually left him there with his mouth open in disbelief.

  So Mr. Superstar Athlete seemed to be afraid of commitment or perhaps he was just really a player when it came to women. Well, I shouldn’t have been surprised. I shouldn’t even care.

  That night, as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, I thought of him. I pictured his muscular built in a snug football ensemble, running across a giant field while being cheered on by fans. I recalled how he’d expertly worked with the animals in Aunt Ellen’s farm and had meticulously explained about the farm machinery and equipment. I imagined him cradling me in his strong arms on the haystack, his lips grazing my ear and his hand traveling across my body.

  Shutting my eyes abruptly, I tried to brush off all such thoughts. “What’s wrong with me?” I hissed in the dark. “He’s a jerk. I should not be attracted to him at all.”

  You always like the bad boys, an annoying little voice whispered in my head.

  I literally shook my head and forced myself to go to sleep. After minutes of twisting and turning, I heard a noise outside of my bedroom window. It made me jump, and I hated to admit that I was hoping he’d still come by. But of course it wasn’t him. It was just some farm truck passing by.

  He was probably in bed with that woman by now. I grumbled.

  I hated that picture in my head. And I hated myself even more for hating that picture in my head.

  Chapter 6

  Ivan

  I was up early, even though I hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night because of Andrea’s surprise visit and jealous-angry-possessive fit. I remembered how difficult it had been to calm her down, how I had to drive her car to the inn and check her in because she’d actually been expecting that I would let her sleep at my home.

  “Crazy, crazy,” I griped as I showered and brushed my teeth in a rush. My knee was a bit swollen, so I needed to have it checked. “Stupid girl.”

  I was furious at Andrea not only for making my knee injury act up again, but also for showing up and ruining a possibly good ending to the evening with Cassy.

  Andrea had actually tried to seduce me at the inn, and was of course enraged when I dodged her advances. Not that she wasn’t attractive, but I just wasn’t interested in her anymore. She may look like a supermodel, but she had never meant anything to me. We dated a few times and had sex a couple of times, but that was all. I’d stopped calling her and for more than a week, she hadn’t tried contacting me.

  “Are you okay, son?” Mom asked as we ate breakfast together.

  “I’m fine, thanks,” I said. I didn’t want to give her any worries.

  “You’re going over to Ellen
’s again?” she wanted to know. “How is that woman doing?”

  “Fine and dandy. She sends her regards to you.”

  Mom smiled. “That’s nice. You must invite her over one of these days so I can thank her myself for giving you a part-time job while you’re recovering. And you said her niece is staying with her? I would love to meet her too. I’ll cook up a delicious dinner.”

  I couldn’t help smiling. “That would be great. You sure you’re up to entertaining guests?”

  “Of course, Ivan,” she replied. “I’ve actually missed cooking for other people.”

  “Okay, I’ll let them know. I better get going now.” I tried not to limp to the door. Before I left, I turned back and said, “I’m bringing the truck.” I quickly got out before she could ask questions.

  I was late for work. All the other farm hands were already there.

  As I grabbed a hoe from the barn, I caught sight of Cassy. She was wearing a light-colored sweat suit. Her long blonde hair was up in a ponytail, dangling through the back hole of her sports cap. I almost laughed at the sight. There was no denying she looked hot, but her choice of clothes for working on a farm was just hilarious.

  She caught me staring at her. “Wipe that smirk off your face,” she demanded without even as much as a greeting. She started walking out of the barn, a hoe in her hand too. The outfit she had on covered almost every inch of her skin, but brought out her sexy curves. All sorts of indecent images flashed through my mind.

  “Cassy, wait!” I shouted, following her to the small area that was waiting to be tilled.

  She turned around with a blank expression on her face.

  “About Andrea, I---“

  She raised a hand to stop me. Laughing, she said, “Why are you explaining? I get it. I hope you straightened out your relationship.”

  “There’s no relationship.” I realized it was silly to go into the details. We weren’t even friends yet, were we? We’d barely gotten to know each other.

  “Okay,” Cassy said, shrugging and then facing the other way to start her work.

  “Cassy, this is how you hold a hoe,” I said, noticing that she was doing it all wrong.

  At least she paid attention and tried to imitate me. “Good,” I said in surprise as I watched her do it again. “You’re a fast learner.”

  “Of course,” she answered with confidence, then went back to work.

  All of a sudden, I heard the engine of a car approaching. The front parking area of the property wasn’t visible from where we were, but I had a sinking feeling about this. Soon enough, a familiar figure was walking across the field, her exposed long legs causing the other farm hands to do a double-take.

  Andrea went straight for us, looking like a bomb ready to explode. I silently groaned, knowing it was going to be a repeat of last night.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Cassy stand taller, looking a little self-conscious. Perhaps she was intimidated by the presence of another city girl who dressed the same way as she did and carried a Gucci purse.

  “I see you’re with the farm girl again,” Andrea drawled, giving Cassy a look of abhorrence. If she’d noticed that this was certainly no farm girl, she didn’t let on. She was trying to insult Cassy on purpose.

  This woman was really testing my patience. “Andrea, please,” I said. “Don’t make a scene.”

  “Go back to the city with me, Ivan,” she implored. “I’ll take care of you until you’re well enough to play again. You don’t belong here.”

  “Actually, I think I’m enjoying my time here,” I said, the words just tumbling out of my mouth. Before I even knew what I was doing, I had placed an arm around Cassy’s shoulders and given her a peck on the cheek. Naturally, she was flabbergasted. But she tried to hide it.

  Andrea was infuriated. “Asshole!” she screamed.

  “If you don’t go right now, the press might just find out that their sweet little darling slept with the entire Windfield Warriors.” I insinuated. “That might not sit well with your dad’s precious untainted image.”

  “Now I know why she looks so familiar,” Cassy murmured. “She’s always splashed on all the society pages.”

  “Are you threatening me, Ivan?” Andrea yelled. “You’re going to regret it!” She stomped away then, making me feel relieved. It was a low blow, but I had no other choice.

  “Ooh, that was mean, even for you,” Cassy said, grinning. “Slutty bitch. Good riddance.”

  Suddenly I realized that my arm was still around Cassy. I stepped away then, muttering an apology. She looked awkward for a moment, then went back to work as if nothing had happened.

  I watched her for a short while as she seemed to become engrossed with tilling the soil. She put on a pair of earphones connected to her cellphone. As the minutes passed, she hummed softly to the music she was listening to.

  “Hey, Cassy,” I said loudly, waving at her face.

  She gave me an annoyed look before taking out her earphones. “Get out of my face, moron.”

  I chuckled. “I gotta go for a while.”

  “Shoo!” she said without blinking an eye.

  I was disappointed that she didn’t seem to mind and didn’t even ask for an explanation. I went off to the nearby clinic to have a knee x-ray so I could send a picture of it to my doctor in the city.

  “Not looking very good, Ivan,” Dr. Higgins said over the phone. “You ought to stay off that leg for a while. Just take things lightly if you want to get back on that football field within the year.”

  Those were the magic words. “All right, thanks,” I said. I had to do whatever it took to get well enough to play again. But what about my deal with Cassy’s dad? How was I supposed to get her to trust me if I couldn’t work on the farm anymore?

  The dilemma troubled me all the way back to Ellen Young’s. I explained my condition to the old woman who was very understanding. “Don’t worry, Ivan. You don’t have to do much work around here. Just keep training Cassy until she gets the hang of it. You can stay for just a few hours a day.”

  I nodded, even if that didn’t sound very encouraging. At least I could support my mom and brother’s needs and help pay off Dad’s remaining debts. Nonetheless, what got me so bothered was the fact that I wouldn’t be seeing Cassy as often.

  My heart began to race when I saw her running down the porch steps toward me, waving an envelope in her hand, her hair flying behind her. She was now in a plain white shirt and a denim skirt, but with a fancy-looking necklace around her neck.

  “Someone looks happy,” I said casually.

  “My first ever paycheck!” she said excitedly. “The only hard-earned money I’ve ever had.”

  She looked so proud of herself and I found myself feeling so happy for her too that I wanted to lift her up in the air. But instead I scoffed and shrugged nonchalantly. “Good for you,” was all I said.

  She frowned at me, but her eyes were still alight with eagerness. “You are not going to ruin my mood,” she declared, dragging me to my car. “But I need to borrow your car. I know you have that knee thing going, so I’ll drive.”

  With a big smile on her face, she opened her palm and extended it out to me. “Give me the keys.”

  It was actually amusing. I handed her the keys.

  “You can come if you like,” she added as she climbed behind the wheel. “I’m going shopping with Jenny and Mel, so you can just watch over our things while we do our stuff.”

  It was quite offensive, but I was too riveted by this woman. She was impossible. Or rather--- impossibly irresistible.

  Chapter 7

  Cassy

  I acted like he wasn’t there, but I found it sweet that he was tugging along even with his bad knee. He was certainly sending me mixed signals, and it was driving me crazy.

  “Are you sure you don’t need to curl up at home and rest?” I finally asked when we came back after an hour of window shopping. Yes, I didn’t buy anything because Ivan had actually made me promise or he would
double my farm chores. It was a good thing I didn’t really see anything I liked.

  He shook his head. “I’m fine here.”

  “You can go knit a sweater or something,” I said jokingly, trying to insult him on purpose. At the back of my mind, I could still remember how he’d made me feel when he had kissed me on the cheek out in the fields. My heart began to pound harder just thinking about it.

  He made a snorting sound as a reaction to my ego-wounding suggestion. I laughed.

  “You might run off with my car,” he said.

  “Haha, very funny!” I snapped. “Well, suit yourself. We’re going to The Craft Lady to do some real shopping now.”

  “Wait,” he said, grabbing my arm as I turned to leave.

  The sudden touch sent a tingle down my spine. I shook off his hand. “What now?”

  He opened his palm and gestured to my hand bag. “Give me half of your money.”

  “Why the hell would I do that?”

  “Because you need to learn how to budget,” he explained, sounding quite patient. “You might end up wasting your entire week’s salary.”

  “First of all, it’s my salary and you have no right telling me what to do with it,” I told him irritably. “Second, I’m not going to waste it because I’ll be buying supplies for my project.”