Players

by Rachel Cross

  “No.”

  “Oh.” A slight pause. “Fine, come on, girl. You can tell me the story when you get here.”

  “Thanks, girl. I’ll see you soon.”

  She hung up and looked out the window. “I can’t believe he lied to me,” she whispered.

  “Neither can I.”

  She turned toward Devin who glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Why would he say . . . what he said?”

  Devin shrugged. “That’s a new low, even for Jared. But sometimes I don’t think he understands himself.”

  Tasha rolled her eyes and turned away. “Spare me. I know he doesn’t trust women, doesn’t believe in love, and doesn’t believe in marriage. This is my fault.”

  Devin didn’t say anything and Tasha leaned her head against the seat rest. She closed her eyes and images of her time with Jared flashed in her mind. The way he looked at her, touched her, made love to her. It had all felt so right. They’d clicked, or at least she’d thought they had. But with the good images came the bad. He’d manipulated her to stay every time she’d tried to end it, starting in Charleston when she’d known he was too much for her to handle. She should have trusted her instincts then and walked away. Now she was broken hearted and . . . pregnant. She bit her lip to keep from sobbing. If Devin noticed, thankfully he didn’t say anything.

  Thirty minutes later the car stopped. She opened her eyes and stared at the front of the St. Regis hotel. She blinked several times as the valet attendant came over to open her door.

  “Thank you, Devin,” she said.

  “I’ll walk you in.”

  “There’s no need for that.”

  “I know, but it’s against my nature to drop you off at the door.”

  Tasha smiled. “Thanks.”

  He got out and told the attendant he’d be right back. They walked into the hotel and Shayla immediately ran up to Tasha. She looked flawless as usual in a sleeveless red dress that hugged her perfect figure and complemented her smooth brown skin.

  “Girl, you look like someone stole your dog.” She embraced her friend. “I told you it was time to break it off. I told you not to come here with him. But I also agreed you should sleep with him in the first place. Don’t listen to me when it comes to men.”

  Tasha sighed and pulled away. “Amen to that.”

  Shayla sucked her teeth before looking over Tasha’s shoulder and freezing. Her mouth fell open and she pulled at the top of her dress. Tasha turned to see what had stunned her friend. Devin wore a similar expression. His gaze ran over Shayla’s figure from the top of her perfectly flat-ironed shoulder-length brown hair to her pedicured feet in black peep toe heels.

  “Devin,” Shayla gasped, her almond-shaped eyes wide.

  Devin swallowed before answering. “Hello, Shayla.”

  Confused, Tasha looked between the two. She could light a match with the electricity firing between them. Shayla always had an effect on men, but she’d never seen Shayla reduced to staring.

  Tasha pointed from one to the other. “You two know each other?”

  Shayla cleared her throat and looked away from Devin. “Devin Jones,” she said. Tasha raised her eyebrows and shrugged. Shayla shook her head and said, “Devin Jones from high school.”

  Tasha’s eyes bulged and she looked back at Devin. “You’re Shayla’s Devin?”

  “I’m not Shayla’s Devin,” he answered.

  Shayla pointed at Devin. “You didn’t recognize him?”

  “I never met him. You two were at Helena High, I went to Airport, remember? He only dropped you off at my house once. You always kept Your Devin to yourself.”

  “I’m not her Devin. She was my teammate’s girlfriend.”

  Shayla stiffened. “That’s right. Remember, Tasha? Devin and I weren’t cool after I started dating Tony.”

  Tasha frowned. “You didn’t start dating Tony. That ass took advantage—”

  Shayla cut her off with a wave of the hand. “It doesn’t matter, that was years ago.”

  “Years ago,” Devin agreed.

  She didn’t like how Shayla had breezed over what she was about to say. Tony was a jerk who’d taken advantage of Shayla, but she respected her friend’s wish and left it alone.

  Tasha turned to Devin. “Thanks for the ride.”

  He opened his mouth to respond when a man approached. He walked with a swagger and an air of arrogance in his blue eyes. He presented Tasha and Devin with a large fake smile, before turning to Shayla. “I was able to get away for a minute. We can have that talk now.”

  The look in his eye gave Tasha the impression he was interested in more than talking.

  Shayla glanced briefly at Devin before pulling the man to the side. “Mark, my friend just got here and she’s upset. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Mark rubbed his chin, the light gleaming off the gold band on his left hand. He looked at Tasha quickly before turning back to Shayla. “I’m free tonight.”

  Shayla crossed her arms and stepped back. “Then we’ll talk another time.”

  Mark smirked. “Fine.” He ran a finger down her arm. “Tomorrow.” Without so much as a word to Tasha or Devin, he turned and walked away.

  Tasha didn’t like him. “Shayla?”

  Shayla held up her hand. “Don’t even start. We’ll talk about this after we talk about you.” She looked at Devin. “I guess I still disappoint you, huh?”

  Devin’s eyes were sad as he shook his head. “It’s not about disappointing me. You know what you’re worth.” Shayla stiffened and he sighed. “You look beautiful, Shayla,” he said before turning away.

  “Devin,” Tasha called. He turned to look at her. “Please don’t tell Jared where you brought me. I don’t want to talk to him.”

  He nodded and walked out. After he left, Tasha turned narrowed eyes on Shayla. “What was that all about? And who was that man?”

  Shayla crossed her arms. “Forget the man. I can’t believe you brought Devin Jones here. Ever since Tony he’s only found fault with me.”

  “Don’t yell at me. I didn’t know he was Your Devin. Maybe he wouldn’t find fault if you’d tell him the truth about Tony.”

  Shayla scoffed. “Doesn’t matter. That was years ago, and since I have no plans to move back to Helena, hopefully I’ll never see him again.” Tasha started to interrupt but Shayla shook her head. “No more talk about Devin Jones. I’ll get my stuff and you can tell me about Jared Patterson.” She turned to walk away.

  “I think I’m pregnant,” Tasha blurted out.

  Shayla spun around so fast Tasha was surprised she didn’t trip over her five inch heels. “No.”

  Tears burned the backs of her eyes but she wasn’t going to cry. This was her mess and she had to deal with it. “Yes.”

  “No, no, no, Tasha. This shit isn’t supposed to happen to you. This is the type of mess that happens to me,” Shayla said walking back to her.

  “Tell me about it,” Tasha said.

  Shayla laughed and Tasha joined in before they turned into sobs. Shayla pulled her into her arms. “Stop it. You don’t cry over a man, remember?”

  Tasha nodded and tried to stop the tears.

  Shayla put her hands on her shoulders and held her away. “Now you said you think you’re pregnant. Have you taken a test?”

  “No,” Tasha answered, wiping the tears from her face.

  Shayla nodded. “Okay, I have one at my house.”

  “Why?”

  Shayla shrugged. “You never know when you need one.”

  Tasha shook her head. “You’re a mess.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  They laughed again and Shayla squeezed her shoulders. “It’ll be okay.”

  “How am I going to tell my father?”

  “Daddy, I’m pregnant.”

  Tasha rolled her eyes. “It’s not that simple.”

  “I know. Preacher isn’t going to be too happy about this, but what can he do? If you are, you are. Unless you don’t want to
be.”

  Tasha knew what Shayla implied and she shook her head. She knew of at least one abortion Shayla had had years ago, but had never asked her friend if she’d done it again. Tasha couldn’t do it, no matter how hard it would be to have this child.

  Shayla’s lips rose in a small smile. “I didn’t think you would. Come on. No need to stand in this lobby looking like two lost souls. Let’s go to my house, take the test, and go from there, okay?”

  Tasha closed her eyes and took a reassuring breath. “Okay.”

  “Good. Now let me get my stuff.”

  Tasha nodded as Shayla walked off. She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer that everything would work out. She didn’t know how she’d face her father, but telling Jared scared her more. How could she face the man who lied about loving her that she was having his baby?

  Chapter 28

  Jared stood by the door of the banquet hall and checked his watch. An hour had passed since Devin and Tasha left.

  He looked across the room at his mom and Uncle Bruce dancing. Pain and anger sliced through him. Why didn’t they tell him about his dad? He’d replayed every encounter he’d had with his dad, trying to find signs of addiction. After Malcolm left for college his dad had been busier, working later, and was easily frustrated and distracted. He’d blamed it on his job, but it must have been more. Around that same time, his parents started spending less and less time together. It wasn’t anything drastic; his mom started going to church and family functions by herself a lot more because of his dad’s schedule. Had his dad been out getting a fix instead of working? Had his mom known the entire time what was going on?

  He tapped his toe, checked his watch, and rubbed his jaw before looking out the door toward the entrance. Where in the hell was Devin? He wasn’t concerned about getting Tasha back once he explained, but he needed to talk to her. He needed her soothing voice and soft touch to ease his anxiety. He needed to explain to her how his family’s lies were tearing him apart.

  He stopped his fidgeting and froze. She had to come back to their hotel room. Her clothes were there, and she needed a ride back to South Carolina. His shoulders relaxed and he breathed easier for the first time since she’d walked out the door.

  Mildly comforted by these thoughts, he still jumped and hurried toward the entrance when he saw Devin approach.

  Devin was shaking his head before Jared even spoke. “Don’t ask me where I took her, she doesn’t want you to know.”

  Jared scowled. “You can’t be serious. Just tell me where she’s at so I can go get her.”

  “Why? Do you love her?”

  Jared tapped his foot and looked away. “Just tell me where she is.”

  Devin scoffed. “You can’t admit it to me, can you? You’d rather keep up the appearance that you’re some kind of player than admit you fell for her.”

  Jared waved dismissively. “You know what? Keep your secret. She has to come back to our room. I’ll wait for her there.”

  He turned to walk out, but Devin stopped him. “She’s with a friend and she doesn’t have to come back to your room. Do you really think she’s going to face seeing you again when you lied to her like that?”

  The truth of Devin’s statement twisted his gut. Tasha wouldn’t leave a friend to come back and face him. He clenched his jaw; she would probably go back to South Carolina without talking to him first.

  He gave Devin a hard stare. “She’ll be back.”

  Devin shook his head. “I don’t know. She seemed pretty hurt.”

  “She knows me.”

  Devin grinned. “So she knows you’re an asshole?”

  Jared glared at him. “Whatever.” He looked around the room, but he didn’t see Malcolm or his mom. “Tell Malcolm I’m leaving. I’ll call him tomorrow.”

  He brushed past Devin and headed for the lobby. Anxiety fueled his urgency as he absently waved goodbye to people. His mind went over everything she’d said over the past few weeks. She must have mentioned a friend in Atlanta before.

  He stopped abruptly. His mother stood at the glass doors leading out of the building. She stared at him, her eyes calm and assessing. “I knew you would sneak out without talking to me. Bruce told me he filled you in on what happened.”

  He opened his mouth, but no words came out. What was there too say? They hadn’t talked in years, now a jumble of emotions bounced around within him fighting for release. The dominant one was hurt. Hurt no one trusted him enough to tell him the truth about his dad. He’d royally screwed up by not telling Tasha how he felt and letting her walk out of the door. He could use her hand in his, and her soft voice telling him things would be okay.

  “Can we talk about this tomorrow?” He moved toward the door.

  She didn’t move out of his way. “We’ll talk now.”

  “I need to go.”

  She scowled. “Where, to find that girl you brought here tonight?”

  Jared stepped back. “That girl has a name. Tasha.”

  His mom waved her hand. “What does it matter, Jared? You only brought her here to bother me. I know the type of women you date, so I know she isn’t worth you walking out on this discussion.”

  “You don’t know what type of woman I date.”

  She pushed away from the door and reached for him. “That’s because you haven’t spoken to me in years.”

  He stepped back, avoiding her touch. “You should have told me about Dad.”

  She dropped her hand. “You didn’t give me a chance. After it happened, you were so upset.”

  “I had a right to be upset.” His voice was loud, and a few people in the lobby turned to face them. He lowered his voice. “My dad dropped dead from a heart attack after seeing my mom kissing another man. You should have told me.”

  His mom closed her eyes and crossed her arms. When she looked at Jared again her eyes glistened with tears. “Jared, you wouldn’t even look at me in the hospital. You were so angry, if I would have tried to explain, you wouldn’t have listened. Then you started college and ran to South Carolina, then Los Angeles.”

  “That’s no excuse. You could have called . . . ”

  “For what? I’ve had to talk to you through Malcolm ever since.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell Malcolm?”

  “I’d always assumed you told him, and that he was too principled to say anything to me,” she said. “Why didn’t you say anything? You hated me so much. I would have expected you to want your brother to hate me as well.”

  Jared sighed and looked away. “I never hated you. I hated myself because I couldn’t. Do you know how hard it is to still care for your mother, even when you think she’s the reason your father died? I didn’t want Malcolm to feel the same.”

  His mom gasped and reached out to touch him. Again he stepped back. Pain flashed in her eyes. Eyes the same color as his. She balled her outstretched hand into a fist and put it over her chest. “I’m glad to know you never hated me. Because I’ve always loved you, Jared.”

  He hadn’t heard his mom say she loved him in years. A rush of emotion hit him, and he didn’t know how to take it. He didn’t deserve his mother’s love. Not after the way he’d treated her. He didn’t deserve Tasha’s love, either. But he wanted both.

  Jared rubbed his hand over his jaw and looked away from him mom. “Look, I’ve gotta go find Tasha. She’s not like the others, she’s . . . she’s my rock.”

  He glanced at his mom who nodded. Saying no more, he brushed past her and left the building.

  • • •

  Jared arrived at his hotel in record time. He burst through the door of his room and called out Tasha’s name. There was no answer, but still he checked the bedroom and bathroom. He pulled out his cell and called her number. It went straight to voice mail.

  “Think, Jared, think,” he murmured to himself. Where would she be? Who would she run to? He thought about the friends she’d mentioned over the past few weeks. He snapped his fingers—there was a friend in Atlanta. A fe
male friend, but he couldn’t remember her name. That had to be who she’d gone to.

  He went into the bedroom and rummaged through her bag. He knew it was useless. No one carried address books anymore. Any contacts she had would be in her cell phone. She might have a card or contact information in her wallet, but that would be with her. He froze in the middle of pulling out her clothes and turned to look at his bag. Her wallet was with him.

  He folded his hands in front of him and looked up. “Thank you.” When they’d stopped for gas, she’d gotten out her wallet to buy some chips and he told her not to worry about it. She’d thrown her wallet in his bag on the backseat of the car instead of putting it back in her purse. Smiling, he pulled clothes out of his bag. He had to remove everything before finding it. He reached for it and stopped with he saw the silver tip of a condom wrapper sticking out of the panel in the bottom of his duffle bag.

  His smile softened as he pulled it out. It had to be left over from the Charleston trip; he’d brought gold condoms to Atlanta. He’d thought they’d used all of them in Charleston. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall. Charleston seemed like it happened yesterday, but so much had changed. He never would have imagined he’d fall in love with Tasha. Or that he’d be racking his brain trying to find her when she left.

  He rubbed the wrapper with his thumb. He’d have to use this one when they made up. Kind of a tribute to their beginning. He frowned. The wrapper wasn’t smooth. Instead it was rough, irregular. He lifted it and took a better look. Tiny pin marks broke the surface. He flipped it over; the same thing was on the other side.

  A vision of Tasha going through his bag in the middle of the night when they were in Charleston flashed through his mind. He’d believed her when she said she was looking for something to eat, and instead she’d been poking holes in his condoms!

  Betrayal pierced his heart like an arrow. She’d played him. She’d been trying to trap him from the start. All of her talk about losing her virginity to find a good man had never sat right with him. He should have known she was up to something more. She was trying to get pregnant, trying to catch him. He stood and balled the spoiled condom in his fist.