Unsaid Things (Players of Marycliff University #4)

by Jerica MacMillan

  They dried off and got dressed while still exchanging looks and little touches, the comfortable intimacy of being an established couple still leaving Lance feeling surprised and happy that this was his life. He still had Abby’s engagement ring hidden in the pocket of his suitcase where he’d stashed it after their Christmas trip. He thought about getting it, proposing now. But no, he wanted the moment to be special, planned out, not a post-sex afterthought. Something special to prove to her how much she meant to him.

  “So you had a good workout today?”

  Abby’s voice drew Lance out of his thoughts. He grinned at her and winked. “The post-workout session was pretty good, too.”

  She blushed, and he laughed. She’d gotten more forward when they were in the moment, but she still blushed like a virgin whenever he talked about sex any other time.

  Ignoring his laughter, she pulled her shirt over her head. “How’s Matt doing? I haven’t seen him in forever it seems like.”

  “Yeah, he’s pretty busy with his new girl.”

  Abby scrunched up her face. “It’s so hard for me to see Matt with a girlfriend.”

  Lance laughed out loud at that.

  “What’s so funny?”

  He shook his head, still chuckling. “It’s just funny that you accept Chris and I having girlfriends like it’s no big deal, but Matt with a girl is hard for you to imagine. He’s the only one that’s even had a relationship of the three of us.”

  Abby crossed her arms. “Maybe so, but I’ve only known you in a relationship.” She gave him a pointed look. “And I know that Chris was more of a manwhore than you, but I never really saw him in action. I’ve seen Matt hooking up at parties. I mean, I haven’t actually seen that, but you know, I’ve seen him hitting on chicks and then leaving with them. I assume they were hooking up.”

  Lance couldn’t help laughing at Abby’s flaming cheeks as she discussed Matt’s sex life. “Yeah. He wasn’t celibate between girlfriends, but he always preferred a relationship to random hookups. It’s been a while for him, though. I think this last time was the longest I’ve seen him between girlfriends. Over a year.”

  Abby thought that over as they continued getting ready to go to the store, the grocery shopping delayed but not forgotten. “Did he tell you anything about her? Megan mentioned that she’s met her, but doesn’t know much about her yet. At least she didn’t the last time we talked. You know Megan, though. That may have changed by now.”

  “Yeah. Hannah, Matt’s girlfriend, was over there today modeling for Megan. According to Chris, Megan was planning on cornering Hannah afterward today and dragging all the details about their relationship out of her since Matt won’t tell her anything. Matt told Coach he’d have to leave early today, desperate to get home and stop her. That’s why he ran us so hard. But Matt got his wish. I don’t know if that’ll do him much good, though.”

  “Yeah, Megan’ll try to drag information out of her whether Matt steps in or not. If not today, it’ll happen eventually.”

  Lance led the way out to the car. “Matt’s happier than I’ve seen him in a while, so I’m glad he’s found someone. Even if he won’t tell anyone anything about her.”

  “Not even you guys?”

  He shook his head. “Not really. He says they knew each other before. I guess they met a couple years ago over the summer when he was back home. And she’s a junior this year with a marketing major. That’s all I know.”

  “That’s more than I knew.”

  He glanced over at her as a streetlight illuminated her profile. “Hopefully we’ll get to meet her soon. He seems pretty serious about her.”

  “Yeah? Megan said she’d invite her to my birthday party if she seemed likely to stick around. If you can tell Matt’s serious about her, then I’m sure Megan can too. We’ll get to meet her in a couple weeks at least.”

  Lance raised an eyebrow. “That’s good, I guess. Are you okay with a random stranger at your tiny birthday party?”

  He caught her nod out of the corner of his eye as he turned into the store parking lot. “You sure?”

  She smiled at him while he parked. “Yeah. She’s important to Matt. It’s a good chance for us to meet her. Megan says she’s nice. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. But I can tell Megan not to invite her if you want me to.”

  Abby climbed out of the car, shaking her head while Lance closed his own door, taking her hand as they walked into the store. “No. Don’t do that. Knowing Megan, she’s already invited her. It would be a million times worse to uninvite her.”

  “Okay.” Conversation moved onto what groceries they needed and arguing over Lance’s tendency to make spur of the moment food purchases. When it came time to check out, he expected Abby to divide up their groceries like she usually did so she could pay for what she considered her portion. He hated when she did that and always ground his teeth to keep himself from trying to insist on paying for everything for the millionth time. That always ended in a fight. Which involved make-up sex at some point, but he much preferred sex without having to fight first.

  Instead, she just piled everything on the conveyor belt together. No separating things. No divider between what she wanted to pay for and what he was buying. He shot her a surprised look, but she just smiled and didn’t say anything.

  He waited until they’d paid and loaded the groceries in the car before saying anything, his hand resting in its normal place on her thigh. “What was that back there?”

  “Hmm?”

  Of course she tried playing dumb. “You know what I’m talking about, Abby. You never let me pay for all the groceries when we’re together.”

  He kept a close eye on her in his peripheral vision while he waited for her to respond, so he caught her little shrug. “We live together. You keep saying I should let you pay for more things since you make more money. I guess I just figured that I’ll pay for stuff when I’m shopping by myself, but if we’re together or you go by yourself, then you can pay. At least for groceries.”

  More questions piled up, but he swallowed them down. This might seem like a baby step, but it was a major concession for Abby. If she was already heading this way, maybe it wouldn’t be such a fight to get her to agree to a joint account and not splitting the rent and utilities fifty-fifty anymore like roommates. He’d wait to push the issue until after they were engaged. Hell, maybe she’d come around even more before then, especially since he still didn’t know when that would be. But nothing could keep the smile off his face the rest of the way home.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I know. It’s frustrating. But you just have to memorize which verbs are stem changers. You’ll start to get a feel for it the more you practice.” Abby smiled encouragingly at Sarah, a freshman girl worried about her Spanish II grade.

  Sarah nodded, chewing on her lip, her brown eyes still concerned. Abby handed her back her latest assignment. “Just keep working. You’re doing good. Keep turning in your assignments and coming to lab, and you’ll be fine, okay?”

  “Okay.” Sarah took the paper and stuffed it in her backpack, slinging it over one shoulder on top of her gray Marycliff sweatshirt, tendrils of her messy bun falling down over her neck and around her face. Abby felt a strong pull of sympathy for the girl, like you might for a lost puppy. This was her third round of teaching the language labs in the foreign language department for Spanish I and II. She’d started over the summer and continued on through the school year. The freshman seemed to get younger every year, and some of them seemed so lost and alone in her class that she just wanted to adopt them and take them home and tell them that everything would be okay.

  Instead, she watched Sarah leave the room, then picked up the assignments she’d collected today and headed into the office across the hall to gather the rest of her things. She’d just finished the last lab on Friday, and she wanted to hurry up and get these grades entered into the computer so she could leave. It was her birthday weekend, and she knew Lance wanted
to do more than just the party that Megan had planned for tomorrow. He’d hinted at making it an extra special weekend, and she was excited to see what he might have planned. Even though she still didn’t like surprises in general, his surprises had grown on her. They were always sweet and thought out with her likes in mind—a little present, a romantic dinner, a night in with their favorite takeout and a movie. What would he have planned for tonight?

  Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t pay attention to where she was going, navigating the office space to get to her desk in the corner of Dr. Ramirez’s office more by memory and peripheral vision. So she was surprised when Dr. Ramirez called her name.

  Her head snapped up from the old computer she used for her grades. “Hmm? Did you need something?”

  Dr. Ramirez shook her head, peering at Abby over the top of her reading glasses. “No. I’m almost ready to leave for the day. But did you not see your visitor in the main office?” She inclined her dark head toward the door.

  Abby followed the motion, leaning back in her chair to look out the open doorway. In a chair against the wall across from the receptionist’s desk slouched her brother, his knees spread wide, taking up as much space as possible, his hands folded across his stomach, his head leaning back against the wall with his scuffed and faded hat pushed down over his face.

  She sighed. What was he doing here? He’d come to her apartment before. Why not go there again? Unless he was trying to avoid Lance? Hmm. Maybe so.

  “He says he’s your brother.” Dr. Ramirez peered at Abby over the top of her reading glasses from where she sat going over papers at her scarred wooden desk. Her brows were drawn down, and the corners of her eyes creased with concern.

  “He is.” Abby had told her professor a little about her family background. She was sure Dr. Ramirez remembered that her brother had left just before she’d started college. She’d been a brand new freshman, struggling to make everything work between taking care of her mom, going to classes, and trying to work part time to cover additional expenses. Dr. Ramirez had taken Abby under her wing like the little orphaned puppy the student she’d been helping earlier reminded her of.

  “I didn’t realize that you were in contact with your brother.”

  “I wasn’t. He showed up a couple days before Christmas. He’s been staying with my mom.”

  Dr. Ramirez moved closer to Abby, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay with him being here? You don’t seem happy to see him.”

  Abby shook her head. “I’m not. I don’t know why he’s back in town. He wants something, but won’t tell me what. Or how long he’s planning on staying.”

  “If you feel unsafe I can call campus police, or …”

  Dr. Ramirez trailed off as Abby shook her head again. “No. That won’t be necessary. I’ll talk to him. He has a reason for coming here, but I won’t find out what it is unless I talk to him. I’m sorry he’s here disrupting everything.”

  With a dismissive sound, Dr. Ramirez waved away Abby’s apology. “Don’t apologize, Abby. You couldn’t have predicted this.” She paused, looking thoughtful before continuing. “I want you to know that you can come to me if you need help. With anything.”

  Abby nodded. “Okay.” But she said it more to pacify her professor than because she had any intention of taking her up on her offer. She could handle this on her own. And even though Dr. Ramirez had taken her in, Abby wasn’t like that scared little freshman. She was stronger than that. More independent. She’d been taking care of herself since long before she turned eighteen. She’d handle her brother and find out what he thought showing up here would do. Without anyone’s help.

  She stood and moved toward the door, aware of Dr. Ramirez staring after her. Her brother shifted in his seat as she approached, straightening up and pushing his hat back onto his head. She’d figured he’d been feigning sleep. He’d probably been trying to listen in on her conversation with Dr. Ramirez. With the door open, he’d might’ve caught some of it, though they’d kept their voices down, so she couldn’t be sure how much carried out here. Not that it mattered. Standing before him with crossed arms broadcasted that she wasn’t happy to see him. She saw no point in hiding her feelings. So if he’d overheard their conversation, who cared?

  “Why are you here, Aaron?”

  He tsked. “So harsh, Abby. Can’t a guy come visit his sister?”

  “Not when that guy is you, no.”

  He looked up at her and stood, his habitual smirk in place, his blue eyes calculating. She knew that look. He’d worn it almost constantly by the time he left. A far different person than the brother she’d grown up with, the one who’d fixed her lunches until she was old enough to do it herself. Who’d put Band-Aids on her knees and comforted her when their mother was too wrapped up in her own problems to deal with theirs. He’d hardened as he’d gotten older, growing more calculating, trying to get everything he could out of anyone who offered, and many who didn’t.

  Very different from her. She tried not to take anything from anyone if she could help it. She worked hard to make her own way and stand on her own feet, not relying on anyone else to be there for her, having learned the hard way that she couldn’t trust people.

  Aware of the open office doors and the receptionist sitting feet away, working on her computer, but also listening to their every word, Abby gestured toward the door. “Let’s go across the hall to the empty classroom. We can talk there.”

  She led the way to the classroom she’d just vacated, Aaron following behind her. Once inside, she shut and locked the door so they wouldn’t be interrupted. When she turned around, Aaron had propped himself on the corner of a desk, one foot dangling, the other still on the floor. She maintained her distance, crossing her arms again. “So tell me why you’re here, Aaron. I’d like to get this over with so I can leave.”

  His eyebrows went up. “Big plans tonight?”

  “Not that you’re likely to remember, but my birthday is tomorrow. So yes. I have plans. But even if I didn’t, I’d still rather keep this short.”

  “That’s right. Happy birthday, Abs.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  His smirk turned into a grin. He liked that he was getting to her. She needed to rein in her reactions to him, quit giving anything away. She’d grown used to being free with her thoughts and feelings living with Megan, then with Lance. Her friends and boyfriend didn’t try to use her feelings to manipulate her. Aaron would. It had been a while since she’d had to adopt this carefully controlled facade to try to stay on even footing.

  “Aw, come on, Abs. I’m your big brother. I was the first one to ever call you that.”

  He sounded so proud of that fact. She let out a deep sigh. “Seriously, Aaron, can we just cut the crap? Why are you here?”

  He looked down and cleared his throat, taking his hat off and running a hand over his short blond hair. “Uh, well, I need some money.”

  “So you came to me?”

  He shrugged and looked at her. “Your boy gave me a couple hundred last time. Figured you were a good place to start.”

  “Why?” Abby made sure to hide her surprise at the amount Lance had given him. She hadn’t realized he’d had so much on him.

  “Because he’d give you money if you asked, not me.”

  She clenched her jaw at that and shook her head. “No. Why do you need money?”

  “Oh, ah, well …” He looked away again, licking his lips. “I owe money to some guys.”

  “For what?”

  He looked her over, trying to gauge her response. “Well, I put some money on a game last week. Seemed like a sure thing, easy way to get some cash, but I lost it.”

  “Why don’t you get a job?”

  Swallowing hard, he shook his head. “I don’t have time to wait for a job to come through. These guys’ll hurt me if they don’t get their money. Soon.”

  “How soon?”

  “Next week”

  Shit. This was bad. “Is that why you l
eft Arizona?”

  His eyes darted around, and he nodded.

  “But the money you need from me is for the guys up here. Not down there.” He didn’t respond, but she took that as confirmation. “Why not just leave again?”

  No response.

  “Ah, I see. You don’t even have enough money for that.” She paused and studied him. His eyes had turned pleading, his habitual smirk gone now. He was desperate. “If I give you money, are you going to actually pay these guys? Or are you just going to take off again?”

  He rubbed his palms on his thighs. “So you’ll help me?”

  “I didn’t say that. Just asking a question.”

  No answer. No surprise there. She figured he hadn’t decided yet if he’d stay or go either.

  “How much?” When he maintained his silence, she let out a frustrated sigh. “How can I give you any money if you won’t tell me how much you need?”

  “Four thousand dollars.”

  She huffed out a laugh. “You think that I,” she pointed to the center of her chest, “have four thousand dollars just lying around to give you?” She did, actually. There was about that much left from her student loan disbursement. She had it earmarked to pay for rent and utilities for the semester. She used what she made teaching the language labs to cover food and fun money. Lance had gotten angry with her for insisting on getting the disbursement since he could’ve covered their rent and utilities easily, and she wouldn’t have had to take on as much debt. But she had a hard time letting Lance pay for her stuff. What if he left? Then she wouldn’t have any money or a way to pay for rent. But could she part with that money, that security, for the sake of her brother? She didn’t know.

  He shrugged. “Well, not really. I kind of figured you could ask your boyfriend. I thought he might have that available. He gave me the money before without even flinching.”

  Abby’s eyes bugged out of her head, but she quickly brought her expression back to normal. “You seriously want me to ask my boyfriend for money for you.”