Rival Hearts (Rival Love #2)

by Natalie Decker

  “No. That’s not it.” She looks at me with worry in her gaze. “Never mind.”

  “Say it,” I tell her.

  She sucks in a breath. “Well, it’s kind of bad.”

  “Spill it!” Sam and Mikia both yell at her.

  “I don’t think Danielle is really pregnant.” She covers her mouth as soon as the words come out.

  I give her a look. “Why would you say that? She obviously has a bump.”

  “Caleb has been begging to go to her appointments, and she keeps dodging him. It’s just weird.”

  The information hits me in the face. It shouldn’t haven’t been news to me, but it felt just as shocking. As far as I knew, Caleb didn’t want to have anything to do with the alleged child growing in Danielle’s belly. Now, it seems as if I’m wrong.

  It should make her happy that he’s attempting to be a good dad, making an effort, but it only makes my stomach knot. God, what if they’re like those people who don’t realize how much they like each other until they have a baby?

  “Sky?” Sam asks.

  I paste on a fake smile. “I’m fine. Dodging him is probably just her way of getting back at him for not being there in the beginning,” I suggest.

  Kayla shrugs and I need to get some air all of a sudden. It’s freezing outside, but I need it.

  ***

  In sixth period, Ms. Andres is talking about mixing components together and making some sort of anti-acid liquid. Honestly, I’m lost after the first couple steps. I wouldn’t be if I were listening, but I’m not. Instead, I keep drawing swirls and squiggles that end up spelling “Fletcher loves Morgan.”

  Ugh.

  I rip out the page and start to crumble it when I spot him walking into my classroom. He hands Ms. Andres a note, and she tells me to collect my things and stop by her desk. I shove everything into my bag, turn off my Bunsen burner, and go toward the large lab table at the front of the room. She hands me a note and shoos me out of the room. Caleb is silent the entire time.

  I feel like we should say something. I mean, since the incident at my last meet we’ve barely spoken.

  “So, what did I do this time?” I joke as I nudge him.

  “You’re not in trouble. We’re leaving early.”

  “Why? It’s not Thursday.” Today’s Wednesday. I didn’t have to be at State until Thursday evening.

  “I know.”

  He goes back to being silent, which drives me nuts. Why are we always doing this to each other? Push, pull together.

  When we reach the parking lot, he sighs. “Erin said you needed something before your meet tomorrow. She said it was tradition and since she couldn’t do this tomorrow before you left I said I’d do it. I know how much tradition means to you.”

  “Caleb. Are you taking me to Dave and Buster’s?”

  He nods.

  I squeeze him to me and kiss him. Then I pull back quickly and whisper, “I’m sorry.”

  He smiles. “Don’t be.”

  He tells me to follow him to the house. I do and then we take his car to Dave and Buster’s.

  After a few games of Guitar Hero, air hockey, and skee ball, I am no longer a ball of wound up nerves. Caleb stands next to me at the skee ball game. “I bet I can get a higher score than you.”

  We’ve been doing this ever since we strolled into Dave and Buster’s. My adrenaline surges. This is what I need. Someone who’s going to challenge me and push me. It’s like he knows this is what I need.

  “Ready?” he asks as he swipes his card and picks up a ball. He rolls it in his palm and it makes me laugh. Oh, this boy is going down.

  I swipe my card on the lane next to him and the balls come shooting down the tube. I grab one of the smooth, green, wooden balls and whip it up the lane. It hits the bump and sails to the back in the five-thousand marker.

  “Ooo, our lady can play,” he says with a cocky grin on his face.

  I stick my tongue out at him and continue to launch my balls into the markers. I hit the hundred-thousand marker and the fifty-thousand markers and keep racking up the points. Tickets are spilling on the floor. By the time I’m done, I’ve got over eight hundred thousand points.

  He only has ninety-five hundred points. Ha! I win. I do a little victory dance and then stop when I notice not only is he staring, but several others around us are staring. I drop my hands to my sides, grab my tickets, and march over to the table. Caleb slides into the booth with a grin.

  “So, what are we? Two to one?”

  I make a sound. “Psssh! More like I’ve won four rounds and you’ve beaten me twice.”

  “I’m taking it easy on you.”

  “The hell you are.”

  He smirks. “I might be.”

  I slap him. And move toward the open air hockey table. “Now.”

  He tilts his head and sighs. “As you wish.”

  We line up at each end of the table. I stare him down and grit my teeth, ready for him to make the first move. His puck will not make it past mine.

  At least this is what I chant to myself. Of course what I chant to myself and what actually happens are two completely different things. When that jerk slaps the green disk down to my end, I maneuver my blocker to stop it from reaching my goal but my hand isn’t quick enough and I overshoot, missing the puck. It slides right into my goal and the buzzer goes off. One to zip. UGH!

  I keep doing this, but after he scores his fourth goal I decide to play a little, shall we say, dirty. I slowly shed my sweater, revealing my very cute but low-cut tank top. Caleb’s eyes expand for a minute then a blush forms across his cheeks. I smile and he swallows, making a loud grunting sound.

  “Ready?” he rasps.

  “Sure.”

  The next one he misses, and I take full advantage of this, bending just low enough to let him get a peek of my cleavage—only to distract him. It works, too. Next five goals are mine. I’m on top and he’s scratching his head.

  “You’re not playing fair, Fletch! Using those as … Yeah.”

  “Using what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He bites down on his bottom lip as I bend forward again. I slap the disk and he groans. “This is completely unfair. You know exactly what you’re doing.”

  “All is fair in love and war.”

  “Don’t quote shit to me.”

  A hot guy with blue eyes and blond hair comes over to us. He nods at Caleb and then does a once-, twice-over on me. “Who’s winning?”

  “My girlfriend is,” Caleb growls.

  I glare at him. “I’m not his girlfriend.”

  Blondie smiles and leans closer to me. “Well, in that case, I’m Patrick.”

  “And she’s not interested.” Caleb locks onto my forearm and pulls me away.

  I snarl at him. “What’s wrong with you? He was just being friendly. And that was really rude!”

  “That guy is nothing but a dick. I know, because I know his kind. And he was eyeing you up like he was going to screw you right there on that table.”

  “So what? You can’t place claims on me.” I can’t believe him! How dare he get all jealous? It’s unfair. I can’t go around acting like this when Danielle is around, slinging her arms around him and resting her face all over his shoulders. Nope, I can’t do any of this to him so what gives him the right to do it to me? “WHY ARE YOU NOT LETTING ME GET OVER YOU?” I scream.

  He lets go of my arm and stares at me. We pause for what feels like forever. I can see his nostrils flaring. “Is that what you want? For us to be nothing?”

  “I want to be your friend. But if you can’t handle that then yeah, maybe we should be nothing.” My heart aches as soon as I say it.

  He nods but doesn’t speak for the rest of the day.

  Back to silent mode. Yay.

  Chapter 40

  Caleb

  I decide not to attend her meet. I decide not to talk to her when she returns. I also make a point to hang out with Danielle more. So far, all of those decisions
have lead to weeks of misery. I should talk to her, just get it over with, but I can’t.

  For very selfish reasons, I can’t. She basically told me if I couldn’t watch her move on then we shouldn’t be friends. And obviously I can’t do that. She’s mine. That’s terrible, I know, but it’s true. Skylar is the only girl for me, and I know deep down I’m the only one who really gets her, who can make her laugh and knows what she needs to feel normal and not all stressed out. No one else can do this. I’ve witnessed it firsthand with Alex. He’s been here more times than I care to count. He tries to bring Skylar out of her stormy mood, yet he fails every time.

  I’m on the verge of knocking him out. Especially when he comes to dinner. Talks with Erin. Laughs with Skylar. Places his damn hand on the small of her back. He shouldn’t be allowed to touch her, not around me. Not anytime!

  I corner Kayla at lunch. “What’s the deal with her and her boss? Is she trying to piss me off?”

  “Caleb, look, I like you. I really do. But Sky’s my best friend and she needs this. She’s miserable without you. Has been since the whole baby thing. And now that Danielle is hanging out even more at your house, what did you expect to happen?” She sighs. “Alex is just helping her get back to being her. They aren’t romantic yet, but if it happens, it happens. She’s trying Caleb. I shouldn’t tell you this, but maybe you’ll understand. She’s not over you, but she’s trying to have a life without you.”

  “But she doesn’t have to have one without me.”

  “Yeah she does. Your uncle is making you marry Danielle. Where does Sky fit in there? As a friend? Because she tried that and you kept giving her grief over any guy who came near her. In this situation, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too, Caleb. You just can’t. And I’m sorry, because I know how much this sucks for you.” Kayla looks over at Sky’s table and says, “But it sucks just as much for her. Watching the person she loves be with someone she hates. She has to be the bigger person and she really hates it. And then that one person she counted on being there for everything doesn’t even come to see her swim at State.”

  “Her dad didn’t come?”

  “No, I was talking about you. You weren’t there. You threw a stupid tantrum and didn’t come. Do you even know how devastated she was? She was going to call you and apologize, but we had to talk her out of it. She didn’t do anything wrong. You did.”

  Man, I feel like shit. She wanted me there and I should have been there. It’s too late now. It’s already over with and, honestly, I have no clue how she did.

  “She won,” Kayla says. “In every event she had. Just so you know.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Yeah. But she didn’t get her best times. I don’t know why you two can’t figure things out, but you should. Sooner rather than later. You know, before she moves away. She got a full ride to Duke. You know that, right?”

  “What? Duke?” I’m shocked. Nobody told me. “Really? When?”

  “After State. They came, talked to her, and they made her an offer.”

  I want to go running over to her table, pick her up, spin her around, and kiss her while yelling, “You did it!” But I don’t. I won’t. Because going over there will still mean I have to accept what’s happening. She’s moving away and moving on without me.

  ***

  “There he is!” Derrick shouts, holding a big bottle of rum as he and five people I don’t know enter my uncle’s house. “Party of the century is about to commence.”

  I smile. It’s a tradition of mine. Every year, I’m allowed to throw one kick-ass party. Uncle Bri lets me do this if I promise to get straight A’s and not cause trouble. Which I have, minus the whole baby thing.

  I should be happy, should be all smiles, but truth is, I’m completely wasted. I can’t tell which way is up or down, let alone what’s going on. I know my uncle has decided to let me have this Saturday as my party bash. I had to promise a few things. One, no breaking anything. Two, no loud music that will get the cops called. Three, no hookups of any kind going on in any of the bedrooms, especially his. Four, no disturbing Skylar if she planned on staying. Which she did, but that’s beside the point. Five, no letting anyone drink and then drive. I have to take keys and give them to Skylar to hide. Six, I must clean up every inch of the place afterward. Top to bottom.

  Of course I agreed to all of that because I need this.

  I’ve been collecting keys at the door and handing them off to Sky, who keeps giving me the evil eye with each set I hand over. She moves past me now, snatching up a ring of keys, and shouts at me, “No more! We can’t physically hold any more people hostage here. Where are they all going to sleep? The backyard?”

  “Oh, lighten up. Everything is fine.” I slur all of this so it probably sounds more like, “Oh lie up, ev’r thin’ fin’.”

  She shakes her head and walks over to the front door. She opens it and shouts at the people making their way from the lawn to the porch, “Party is officially closed! Go back home! Invite only. Sorry.” Then she slams the door and locks it. She turns back to me. “If this door becomes unlocked I’m chopping your hands off. Got it?”

  “Jeez! Who shit on your parade? Go get a drink. And talk to me when the bitch in you has left.”

  “Talk to you! TALK TO YOU! Are you kidding me right now?” She slams her hands into my chest, shoving me so hard I fall on my ass and scoot down the hall into the decorative table Erin just bought. The vase filled with flowers and rocks is about to tip. I catch it just in time—before it hits the floor.

  Skylar glares at me. “I’ve had enough! You weren’t there for me. You, of all people, knew how much I needed you there and you decided to bail on me! I hate you so much right now I can barely look at you. And did you even try to apologize or ask me how I did? No! You decided that if I couldn’t be your little thing on the side of your fucked up life then we couldn’t be anything! You’re so messed up. This isn’t you. Community college? Throwing away your dreams? This isn’t you, and you know what? I feel sick for you.”

  Unsteadily, I climb to my feet. “Not everyone can be perfect and never have sex like you! Yes, I got her pregnant, and believe me, I didn’t mean to, but shit happens. This is me dealing with it. I’m working. I’m going to community college until she graduates. Then we’ve got to get married. I’m sorry, Sky! I am fucking sorry.”

  “You should be! Oh, and by the way, I am having sex! Yeah, lots and lots of sex with Alex. But thanks for being your usual dick self and trying to make me feel like shit!” She turns on her heel and runs upstairs. I hear the thud from her door echo down to where I sit, stunned by her words. She’s having sex?

  I stagger up the stairs and pound on her door. She screams at me to piss off and go to hell. I keep pounding. I even threaten to kick her door in. It’s a terrible attempt to get her to open it. She seems to know it, too. I can barely stand upright, let alone slam myself into a door.

  “Go away, Caleb.”

  “I want to talk about this! You’re fucking that asshole?”

  “He’s not an asshole. He’s nice and we’re having sex, not fucking.” Her voice sounds annoyed and filled with something … sarcasm? Maybe. Hell if I know, I’m trashed and pissed off.

  “I’m going to kill him. The next time I see him he’s dead!”

  “Caleb, go get smashed and hang out with your drunk friends.”

  I sit down beside her door. “I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because. We’re fighting. I hate that we keep doing this.”

  “Caleb, we’ve fought since the moment we laid eyes on each other. It’s fine. Just go away.”

  It might be fine for her but not for me. “Sky, it’s eleven eleven. I’m making my wish now.”

  She opens her door. “Caleb.”

  I stand up and look at her. I push back a strand of her hair and wipe a stray tear. I kiss her lips. Lightly, and then hard. I stumble us into her room and shut the door with my foot. She kisses me back, twisting o
ur tongues against one another, and then she sucks on my bottom lip. I moan and lead us to her bed. Without breaking our kiss, I somehow manage to lift her onto her bed and ease her beneath me. She moans and presses against me.

  I let my fingers glide up her shirt, reaching her bra. She wraps her legs around me and pulls me down to her. Next thing I know we’re shedding clothes and down to each other’s pants. I start to unbutton hers when she pushes me off of her.

  “Stop! I can’t. Oh God.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t do this.”

  I’m confused. “Because of that jackass?”

  “No. And he has a name.” She gathers up her tank top and whips it back on. She tosses me my shirt and points to the door. “Just go.”

  “Damn it, Sky! I don’t get you. You want me one minute and the next you’re shoving me out the door. What did I do wrong?”

  She looks at me with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “Forget it! And forget you.” I walk out of her room.

  In my own room, all I think about is her lips. Her delicious smell. Her smile. Her laugh. God, the list goes on and on. But then there is something pulling me back to reality. She’s no longer mine. She’s someone else’s and now, I have to be the better person and deal with it.

  I groan against my mattress as my wasted state makes my head feel like it’s floating on an island somewhere. I sit up, probably too quickly for my body, and stare at my door. I should probably head back downstairs and get some more Jack or Captain in me.

  Walking past my dresser I notice an envelope that I swear wasn’t there before but, hell, could have been there for weeks and I’m just now seeing it. Inside is a pair of baseball tickets with a note that says, “Thanks for being my hero.”

  Just when the girl makes me so pissed I think I can be done with her forever she does this. Something I don’t deserve at all. I place everything back in the envelope, sigh, and go back downstairs. Because as much as I might want to thank Sky, she’s probably not in the mood to see me. So for once, I’m going to be smart and give her some space.