Players

by Rachel Cross

  Jared was the first person she saw. She couldn’t shake the unease from the scene in the kitchen, but when he looked at her and smiled, it was almost forgotten as warmth spread within her. She’d fallen in love with him, and hoped she wasn’t stupid for believing he loved her too. He wasn’t despicable enough to tell her such a hurtful lie. Was he?

  As handsome as he was in the silk peach shirt and tan slacks he’d worn, she wished he was wearing his customary basketball shorts and sleeveless t-shirt, and that they were sitting on his couch watching television instead of here. Surrounded by people who didn’t believe what they had was real.

  When his eyes met hers his smile faded, and he rushed over. “Are you okay?” He took her hand.

  She smiled and squeezed. “Yes. Perfect.”

  He didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? Was Kenyatta’s pasta salad that bad?”

  She laughed. She’d completely forgotten about the excuse Kenyatta had used to get her in the kitchen. “Let’s just say stay away from the pasta salad.”

  He continued to study her face and she looked toward the dance floor. “Let’s dance. I feel like dancing.”

  He hesitated for a second before smiling. “All right, let’s see what you got.”

  Chapter 26

  Jared spent the half hour since Tasha had disappeared with Kenyatta avoiding his brother and mother, while keeping an eye on Tasha. He’d known Kenyatta’s pasta salad excuse was just a way for her to get Tasha alone. When Malcolm followed them into the kitchen, and Tasha came out looking like a kid who’d just been told Santa wasn’t real, his suspicion was confirmed. She’d tried to act as if everything was okay, but the worry line in the middle of her forehead told a different story.

  He was tempted to grab his soon to be sister-in-law and find out what was up, but Malcolm would only follow. His brother followed Kenyatta around like a trained puppy. He would usually tease Malcolm about it, but he was doing the same thing with Tasha. His gaze followed her around the party and whenever she left his side, he was quick to follow. He’d deny it if anyone knew how attached he’d become. It wasn’t anyone’s business what was between him and Tasha.

  They were limited in the people they spoke with. He only wanted to talk to his father’s friends, but after a few conversations, he began to wonder if he’d entered the Twilight Zone. Most of his dad’s friends were happy about the match. Some even commented it wasn’t surprising his mom and Mr. Carter ended up together. With each well wish his stomach knotted up. His mom’s affair with Mr. Carter must have been well known.

  After they walked away from another of his dad’s friends, Tasha frowned at him. “Jared, I think there’s more to the story about your mom and Mr. Carter.”

  “Yeah, it sounds like they were together throughout my parents’ marriage.”

  Her frown deepened. “No, I don’t think everyone would be so happy if that were true. It seems like they’re happy she’s happy. I don’t know. Did your parents ever have problems?”

  “Not that I know of.” He pulled her to his side. “Obviously I was wrong.”

  She shrugged. “You’ll find out tomorrow when you talk to your family.”

  He didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to talk to his family and confirm his mother had been unhappy during her entire marriage. It would undermine everything he’d ever thought growing up. Knowing all of the smiles his mom had given to his father, the hugs and kisses they’d openly shared were all fake on her end would shatter the little bit of faith he was starting to have in relationships. He looked at Tasha who was watching the couples on the dance floor. Could she be that fake too?

  The music changed to the “Cha Cha Slide.” Tasha beamed up at him. “Come on, Jared. Let’s dance.”

  He began shaking his head before the last word was out of her mouth. “No, ma’am. I gave you one dance earlier and that’s it.”

  She pouted and immediately he wanted to take her lower lip into his mouth. Damn, she could turn him on with the simplest gestures. It had to be love.

  “Are you really gonna have me stand around all night?”

  He leaned over to kiss her cheek. “No, you can dance all you want.”

  “Fine. I’ve gotta have some fun tonight.”

  “You’ll have plenty of fun later.”

  She licked her lips and leaned toward him. His body tingled and he lowered his head for her kiss. Her eyes shifted to his left and she leaned back. “Later.”

  His shoulders slumped when she turned away and hurried to join the line of people dancing. He looked to his left and saw his mom. She shook her head and walked away. Jared cursed and turned back to the dance floor. Kenyatta joined Tasha in line. Tasha slid back until she was in line behind Kenyatta. What was that about?

  He looked back to where his mom had been standing. Malcolm marched toward him. Not in the mood to talk to his brother, he went in the opposite direction toward the door. His steps slowed when a large bald man dressed in all black entered. With a fierce scowl on his face, the man could easily pass for a club bouncer. Jared’s face broke out into a grin and he quickened his steps. “Uncle Bruce. What are you doing here?”

  The frown on his uncle’s face immediately dissolved into a huge grin that showed off the one gold tooth in a line of otherwise perfect white teeth. “What’s up, nephew? It’s good to see you, young blood.”

  They clasped hands and embraced before stepping back and sizing each other up. His uncle’s massive build was one of the reasons Jared had begun lifting weights in high school. But after watching his dad die of a heart attack, health and fitness had become more important that just being buff. His uncle was still a big man, but he was starting to get soft in the middle.

  “Looks like you’re staying out of the gym, Unc,” Jared teased.

  Bruce rubbed his rounding stomach. “Yeah, well, I still got the ladies all over me.”

  Jared laughed. “That’s because you own a strip club.”

  Bruce grinned. “Doesn’t matter why they’re on me, as long as they’re on me.”

  “So what are you doing here?”

  “Why do you think? To wish my sister well.”

  Jared scowled. “You must be losing your mind and your muscle. She was your sister-in-law.”

  Bruce shrugged. “Family is family. I’ll always be there for your mom. She knows that.”

  “Why, don’t you know she’s—”

  Bruce held up his hand. “Look, I know you and your mom haven’t been close since Mike died, but she deserves some happiness. Hell, I’m even happy it’s with Randall. He fought hard for your mom before Mike got her.”

  Jared snorted. “Dad knew about Mom and Mr. Carter?”

  Bruce laughed. “Knew about him, hell it was full on warfare to win your mom back in the day. Most of the guys on campus were trying to impress her, but only Randall and Mike had any real chance. I would say the old Patterson charm got her, but that wasn’t what did it.”

  Jared shook his head. “Then what did, because as far as I can tell, Dad wasn’t as lucky as he thought. Mom was cheating with Mr. Carter during their whole marriage.”

  Bruce’s frown returned with full force. “Hold up, young blood. I don’t know who’s been telling you lies, but your mom only had eyes for your dad.”

  “Then why is everyone saying this was meant to be? Why aren’t people surprised they’re together?” Uncle Bruce was the only family member he trusted to tell him the truth.

  “Jared, don’t you know how Gladys and Mike got together?”

  “They met in college.”

  “True, but why your mom chose him over Randall?”

  “She didn’t choose one over the other. She had her cake and ate it too.”

  Bruce’s scowl was so fierce Jared understood why lesser men cowered when faced with it. “You’re not going to talk about your mom like that to me. Your mom is the reason your dad survived college. Didn’t you know your daddy was a junkie?”

  The music became a dim thumping
in the background, the only sound his blood rushing through his veins as he tried to absorb his uncle’s words. He shook his head to clear it before responding. “What?”

  Bruce put his hand on Jared’s shoulder and pulled him to the side of the door. He lowered his voice and Jared had to lean close to hear. “Mike was hooked on heroin. He said it made him smarter. We all tried to get him off that stuff, but Gladys was the only one who could. She locked herself with him in his apartment for weeks. Threw out all his shit and fought him like a man when he tried to leave. We tried to convince her to let us in to help, but she refused. When the smoke cleared your dad went to rehab, got cleaned up, and they were joined at the hip forever. Randall knew he was out of the picture then, but they did remain friends. Hell, everyone cemented around them to keep Mike clean.”

  Jared shook his head. “What?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “That my dad was a fucking junkie? Hell no.” He rubbed his jaw. “It doesn’t change what I saw.”

  “You mean when Robert kissed your mom before his heart attack?”

  Jared froze. “You know about that?”

  “I spoke to both of them after it happened. Mike had started using again. Randall came to tell her and, like a fool, kissed her. Mike saw it, but the only thing he did was ask Randall why he’d ratted on him before clutching his chest and falling. I know you saw it, your mom told me, but I thought you knew the whole story.”

  Jared looked away. There were too many emotions running through him to deal with before an audience. He patted Bruce on the shoulder. “Now I know. Excuse me.”

  He went around his uncle into the entryway and around the corner of the lobby where the lights were dimmer and it was quieter. He braced his hands on the wall and closed his eyes. His dad had been a junkie? His mind raced back to that last day. They’d gone fishing. His dad had been fidgety and distracted. Stress at work was what he’d said when Jared mentioned it. That was the only weird thing about that day. They’d caught fish, laughed, talked. Had his dad been craving a hit the entire time?

  He hit the wall and cursed. Why hadn’t anyone told him? His dad had been a deacon in the church, always telling him and Malcolm to do right and keep their noses clean. He’d spent the past fifteen years thinking his dad was perfect when he’d been a drug addict!

  “Jared, Uncle Bruce said I needed to check on you.”

  Malcolm’s footsteps were hesitant and he approached. Jared shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me about dad?”

  Malcolm sighed. “You thought he was perfect, I didn’t want to take that from you.”

  He kept his head down. “You don’t keep something like that from me.”

  “We both know you were dad’s favorite. I’m not upset about it, he loved me too, but let’s face, it you were more like him than I was. You idolized him, I lost that when I found out he struggled with his addiction.”

  He looked up. “When did you find out?”

  Malcolm leaned his back against the wall next to Jared. “High school. He caught me smoking a joint and told me his story. You should have seen him, man. It was difficult for him to even throw away the joint. It was hard on him, and it hurt to see him so weak. You wouldn’t have wanted to see that.”

  “So you’ve been lying to me since high school?”

  “I didn’t lie.”

  “We can argue that later. When did he start using again?”

  Malcolm rubbed his face and sighed. “I don’t know. Mom called me in college to say Dad was having a hard time, but I didn’t ask with what. I didn’t want to know, but I suspected. There was heroin in his system when they did the autopsy.”

  “Hell no!” Jared pushed away from the wall. “I was with him all day. He didn’t do anything when we were out.”

  “Were you with him every minute of that day?”

  He opened his mouth to say yes but stopped. He remembered his dad rushing into the house when they’d gotten back. He’d stayed out and put up the fishing equipment. Could he have gone in to get a hit?

  “Just as I thought,” Malcolm said.

  Frustrated, Jared rubbed his eyes. “This is some bullshit. I’m gonna grab Tasha and we’re out of here.”

  Malcolm pushed away from the wall. “You can’t keep running from difficult situations. That’s why I didn’t tell you in the first place.”

  “I don’t run from situations.”

  “Yes, you do. Anytime a conversation is too tough or too serious you bail. You shake your head, say you don’t have time for it, and haul ass out the door. Randall’s right, it’s time for you to grow the fuck up.”

  “You and Randall can kiss my ass.”

  Malcolm shook his head. “That’s real mature. Face it, Jared, you’re still a kid. You ran after Dad died instead of facing mom. You ran from California when Cassandra started wanting more than a business relationship. And you lied to Tasha to get her here so you wouldn’t have to face your family. The first two only hurt you, but this shit with Tasha is messed up.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  Malcolm got in Jared’s face. “You told her you loved her? Come on, Jared, I could see it in your face that day in my office—you wanted to make her fall for you. You were supposed to end it before that.”

  “No, you assumed I would,” Jared said, pointing a finger in Malcolm’s chest.

  Malcolm scowled. “Tasha’s a nice girl. I know you like running game on women, but this is low even for you.”

  Jared wasn’t about to tell Malcolm he was in love with Tasha. It wasn’t any of his damn business anyway. What they had was working, and until he was used to the idea of loving, and trusting her, no one needed to know what was going on. “You think I care what you think? She’s here, isn’t she? Tasha’s happy and that’s all you need to worry about.”

  “Is that why you told me you loved me? Because you wanted me here?” Tasha’s voice hit him like a ton of bricks.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned away from Malcolm to face her. “Tasha, don’t listen to Malcolm.”

  She waved her hand as she approached him. Her face a mask of pain and confusion. “No, I think I should listen to him. I should have listened to him, my sister, Kenyatta, and everyone else who told me I was in over my head.”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  “Isn’t it? I break it off with you, told you why, and you still . . . ” She broke off and held up her hand. “You know what, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Tasha . . . ”

  Devin strolled up beside Tasha. “Malcolm, Jared, Kenyatta’s looking for you. It’s time to cut the cake.” He looked from one face to the other and frowned. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Tasha said, turning to Devin. “Can you give me a ride somewhere?”

  “Where?” Jared asked.

  She whipped around to glare at him. Her usually warm honey eyes were cold. “That’s none of your damn business.” She turned back to Devin. “Please. It’ll only take a minute.”

  Devin looked from Tasha to Jared, who shook his head, then to Malcolm, who nodded. When he looked back at Tasha, he nodded. “I will.”

  She sighed. “Thank you.”

  Jared stepped up. “Wait a minute.”

  She pointed at him. “No, you wait a minute. I’m tired of this. I thought I knew what I was doing, but it was wrong. From the start, it was wrong. I shouldn’t even be mad at you for doing what you do. That’s why I picked you in the first place. But right now, I am mad and if I have to look at you any longer I’ll say something I’ll regret.”

  Tell her you love her, screamed his brain. He opened his mouth then closed it. Devin watched expectantly. Malcolm glowered as if he would choke him if he didn’t say it. He couldn’t say it with everyone standing there. He wouldn’t beg in front of Devin and Malcolm. He would talk to Tasha when she wasn’t so angry and they didn’t have an audience.

  He swallowed before forcing out the words, “Maybe
you should go.”

  The pain that flashed in her eyes was like a knife in his chest. He would have expected hysterics or crying from any other woman. Her ability to be strong when things hit her hard was one of the things he loved about her. His hands flexed with the need to grab her and kiss her, but instead he stepped back.

  Devin shook his head and glared at Jared. “Let’s go, Tasha.”

  She nodded and turned. Jared bit the inside of his jaw to keep from calling her back. Devin gave him a scathing look before turning and following Tasha. It was a bad scene, but he would get her back. When they were alone, and he wasn’t pressed by Malcolm and Devin to pour his heart out, he’d talk to her and get her back.

  Chapter 27

  “So where are we going?” Devin asked as they buckled their seatbelts in his black Ford F-150.

  Tasha blinked back the tears that threatened to spill the moment Jared admitted he’d lied about loving her. She’d suspected it, even accused him of it, but stupidly let him convince her otherwise.

  “My friend is at a party at the St. Regis hotel in Buckhead, can you take me there?”

  He nodded. “Sure.”

  Tasha thanked him and pulled out her cell phone to call Shayla. She hadn’t told her friend she was coming to Atlanta with Jared. It had been such a whirlwind decision she hadn’t told anybody. It would be a miracle if Kenyatta didn’t tell Angie as soon as she left the party.

  Shayla answered after a few rings, the sounds of laughter and talking were in the background. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to call me after avoiding my calls all day. You better not be wrapped up with Jared somewhere and coming up for air just to tell me you’re not coming to my party. I could have figured that out myself.”

  Despite her crushed spirits, Tasha mustered a small laugh. “You’re a fool. No, I’m calling to tell you I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”

  “Are you serious? It’s after . . . ten. And you don’t leave the house that late.”

  “Unusual circumstances.”

  “You came with him, didn’t you? Is he coming too?”