Winning Streak

by Alice Ward

  The vibrations of my phone pulled me awake. I reached for it underneath me where it had slipped and saw Holly’s face on the screen. Surprised I’d fallen asleep, the last thing I remembered watching was a reality show about little people. I slid my finger across the screen to answer. “Hello?”

  “Hey, hooker. I’m here, you gonna buzz me up or what?” Holly’s voice was a welcomed and much needed symphony for my ears.

  “Yes, of course,” I said, jumping out of Calvin’s recliner that had swallowed me into sleep and pushed the button on the wall beside the front door. I gripped the knob and pulled the door open. The clicking of her heels on the steps made my heart race. I finally got a glimpse of her on the second flight and ran down the stairs to meet her. Her arms wrapped around me, she squeezed me hard and tight, and suddenly, all of my pain and anger was gone.

  “So… this place is nice,” Holly said in a tone I recognized as fake. I couldn’t stop my laughter. “This is where they placed him until he finds his own apartment,” I explained. I knew she was expecting some swanky high-rise with a doorman and amazing views of the city since Calvin was now officially a NY Beast. “He wanted to wait until I arrived to help pick out a place.”

  Holly pushed her blonde hair from her shoulder and gave me a concerned glance. “Sounds like he’s done plenty without waiting for you,” she snapped.

  “Calvin’s not like that,” I quickly said. Why was I defending him?

  “Well, it sounded pretty serious last night,” Holly reminded me.

  She pulled her large red designer suitcase into the apartment and left it by the door. It looked like she’d packed for a month. How long was she planning on staying?

  “I was just upset,” I said, downplaying the true hurt and anger I’d felt. And still did. I didn’t need Holly’s fangs coming out for blood, especially since I hadn’t even told Calvin she was coming.

  “So, how drunk was he?” she asked. She looked around the apartment with a judgmental glare at its lack of swank. After she asked the question, she didn’t wait for me to answer, she just moved towards the window in the living room and looked down towards the street. “Looks like a lovely neighborhood.” Sarcasm oozed from her lips.

  “He was pretty wasted.” I ignored her snobbish remark.

  “And who was he with?” she asked.

  I lifted a shoulder. “A couple guys from the team. Ace somebody. He kept going on and on about being out with him, and the owner of the team, I think.”

  “Ace Newman?” Holly asked, quickly turning to stare me in the eye. Her voice raised in pitch when she said his name and her excitement was easy to see.

  “Yes, that’s it, Ace Newman,” I agreed, wrinkling my nose.

  “Holy shit, he’s the hottest player in the league!” Holly squealed, suddenly not interested in Calvin’s bad behavior. “I didn’t know he was on his team.”

  “I think it was meant to be either a surprise or it was a last minute decision. His name wasn’t mentioned before Calvin came out here.” Her enthusiasm about Ace was starting to bug me. I wanted to focus on the true problem of Calvin getting a lap dance from a slutty blonde instead of rushing home to see me like I expected.

  “And you said the owner of the team was there too?” she asked.

  “Yes.” I was getting irritated at her lack of empathy for my situation.

  “What difference does any of that make?”

  Holly slowly sank into the recliner that had soothed me to sleep without warning and smiled. “Well, it was his first day, and Ace Newman is his hero, right?” she asked, and I nodded. “He would look like a little bitch if he took off to go home to his girl right then, especially in front of the owner.”

  “Yes, I get that, but that, that slut…” I sputtered.

  “Well, that was uncalled for, but I’d bet it was some weird male ritual to initiate him into the club, you know how guys are, always have their chests puffed out and their dicks swinging,” she added with a laugh. “Just don’t give him any for a while, make him suffer, and trust me, he won’t do it again.”

  Her big blue eyes locked onto mine, and I watched as her lips curled into a frown. “Whitney!” she exclaimed. “You gave him some after all that?”

  “This morning,” I admitted. My face flushed with heat, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands so I shoved them behind my back. “It had been so long, and he felt so good.”

  She shook her head but wasn’t able to contain a smirk. I’d missed her so badly. Even though it was only a couple days since I saw her last, it felt like months.

  She calmed me down with the realization that it was probably the guys prodding Calvin to drink shot after shot. He did tell me last night that he was trying to leave, but I didn’t want to hear it. Her advice about holding out was good advice and would have given me some leverage, but it was a little too late. So, now what do I do?

  “You’re not gonna leave him over this, are ya?” she asked. “I mean, if ya wanna come home, I can get us two tickets right now.”

  “No, of course not,” I said. “Besides, if we left now, neither of us would have seen New York City.”

  “You mean you haven’t been exploring the city yet?” she asked as she rose to her feet and placed her hands on her perfectly tiny waist.

  “I walked down to the pizza place last night, and well, I got to see inside the club for a few minutes.” I laughed, feeling better already.

  “Oh, honey, we have to do New York in style,” she said. “Central Park, Rockefeller Center, shopping, some of the best spas in the country, and of course more shopping!” Holly squealed.

  She looked so at ease, and here I was sheltering myself in the apartment fearful of venturing out on my own. I reached onto the table and picked up the gold card Calvin had given me.

  “I have this,” I said, showing her the card.

  Holly’s eyes widened. “Oh hell, yeah. Calvin deserves to pay for some fun after the stunt he pulled.”

  It didn’t take her any time at all to dig through her bag for a new outfit and then change. Her excitement level was exactly what I needed. She was always the wild one, the more adventurous one, while I preferred to play everything safe. I couldn’t imagine where I’d be without her. She was fearless, and I’d been afraid of my own shadow before we became best friends in grade school. She was the one who pushed me to talk to Calvin when she found out I had a crush on him, and in high school when he wanted to go all the way, and I was afraid, she was the one who told me to go for it.

  “Okay, let’s go!” Holly urged as she tugged at my arm and headed towards the front door. She hailed a cab like a native New Yorker and told the driver to take us to Fifth Avenue without any hesitation. He didn’t even ask for an exact address, pegging us for tourists who wanted to shop and the taxi zoomed off into traffic.

  My face was glued to the cab’s windows, staring out at all the ads flashing on screens that appeared to float from the tall buildings. This must be Times Square! It was just like the movies and my heart fluttered. The cab finally stopped and we stepped out onto iconic Fifth Avenue. Yeah, he’d pegged us alright as I looked up to see we were in front of Saks Fifth Avenue.

  Holly didn’t flinch at the price tags on the sexy dresses we tried on at Gucci, and when we entered Jimmy Choo, I lost all worry about cost and fell in love with the Romy pumps that perfectly matched my new dress as well as the Rebel Soft Mini bag to complete my ensemble. As I handed over Calvin’s credit card to the snobbish blonde sales lady, I felt a sense of empowerment that was deliciously new.

  “Now, didn’t that feel good?” Holly asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder as we walked out the door. It did feel good, but it just wasn’t me. I suddenly felt guilty for splurging on Calvin’s card and wanted to see him.

  “You wanna check out their practice?” I asked.

  “Snoresville. Don’t ya wanna do some more shopping? I mean, he kinda deserves more punishment than this,” she said with a smirk.

  “Ac
e Newman will be there,” I said with a smile and a wink. I knew that was all it would take to change her mind.

  “Okay, you twisted my arm.” She giggled and gripped my wrist. I hailed a cab and gave him instructions on where to go. I was beginning to feel like a real New Yorker myself.

  My nerves were getting the better of me as we pulled up in front of the stadium. “Do you need me to wait?” the cabby asked. I shook my head, swiped Cal’s credit card, my eyes going wide at how much it cost to get us here, and got out of the car. I hadn’t told Calvin about Holly’s visit yet, and I couldn’t imagine he would be very happy about seeing her walking into the stadium by my side.

  “This is incredible.” Holly looked up and twirled in a circle as she took in the large stadium’s presence. “I can’t believe he’s actually playing in the majors!” she exclaimed.

  I’d never doubted Calvin would make it; his accuracy and velocity were always impressive, even back in high school. College had excelled him into a league of his own, and now he was finally where he belonged. We were finally where we belonged.

  I wasn’t pleased about the droves of women who lined the fence near the dugout, but I was pleasantly surprised to find Calvin nowhere near them. He was practicing his fast ball while the coach clocked him. Ace, on the other hand, was hanging over the fence chatting with one of the bustier blondes that had come to watch the new team.

  “Why the Beasts?” Holly whispered in my ear as we neared the dugout.

  “The owner has an energy drink company. Ya know, the Release the Beast?” I did my best impression of the overly exaggerated commercial for the drink.

  “Is that him?” she asked, pushing into my side with her pointy fingernail.

  “Yes, that’s him.”

  His weathered good looks were rugged, and he did ooze a certain amount of sexuality without even saying a word. I got it, women loved him, and it was obvious why. But, my stomach didn’t get butterflies when I saw him. No, sir. That was the man who corrupted my Calvin. The one who dumped shots down his throat and tried to teach him his own whorish ways. I was sick just looking at the man.

  “Whitney!” Calvin waved as he ran towards the dugout.

  I watched his expression change as Holly stepped out from behind me as we neared the fence. “I’m glad you made it,” Calvin said, leaning over the fence to give me a kiss. “What’s Holly doing here?” he asked with caution in his voice.

  Yeah, you better tread lightly, party boy.

  “I just wanted to see New York,” Holly answered for me.

  “I hear Netflix has all the Sex and the City seasons. Isn’t that aired in New York?” he said with a snarkiness that was unbecoming.

  Holly didn’t seem to mind; she was already focusing on Ace. Calvin gripped my arm and gently pulled me towards the dugout. “Seriously, Whitney, what is she doing here?” he practically growled into my ear.

  “She came to check on me,” I said quickly. “I called her last night.”

  “Oh my God! Why would you call her?” he asked, his tone rising, but the volume staying low enough to not be overheard. “This is not what we need. You just got here.”

  “Yes, and what were you doing when I arrived?” I planted my hand on my hip and shifted my weight to one leg as I glared at the man I loved, the one who was making me so damn angry right now. Silence, nothing but a dumbfounded look was given for a reply to my comment. “Exactly… that’s why she’s here,” I said.

  Ace came running up to Calvin, throwing his arm over his shoulder like they were already old pals. “Who’s this lovely lady?” His eyes took me in, slowly and a little too dramatically for my liking.

  “This is Whitney. Whitney, this is Ace Newman,” Calvin said proudly.

  “Of course.” He drawled out the words. I stared at him with a fake tight smile and empty eyes. He knew exactly who I was. He’d seen me storm into the club and break up his party.

  “I’d like to apologize for last night,” he said smoothly. “The owner was out, and he’s rarely a fixture when it’s just us players. Calvin tried to leave several times, but you know it’s always best to schmooze with the boss so I may have fed him a few too many drinks.” He paused, offered up his charming smile and a quick wink in my direction. “I was just looking out for him; it’s never good for a rookie to decline a drink with the boss man.”

  Yeah, if you were looking out for him, you would have sent him home…

  Damn, he was charming, and even though I could smell the bullshit falling from his lips, it was still hard to ignore. Holly was pushed up next to me, her arm intertwined with mine. She pinched me as a warning to introduce her.

  “I’m Holly,” she blurted out, pushing her hand towards his before I had the chance. I watched in horror as their hands touched and my best friend’s face lit up with excitement. I’d seen that look before; prom night when Kevin Harper, the star quarterback, asked her to dance. She left her date, spun around the dance floor with Kevin and then ended the night with her panties in the floorboard of Kevin’s Camaro. I wasn’t ready for another Kevin Harper incident. When he didn’t call her the next day and acted as if he didn’t know her at school afterwards, she was a mess, a train wreck really. Ace made that boy look like Mr. Rogers. This couldn’t happen!

  I watched Ace’s tongue glide out of his mouth and rest on his bottom lip as his eyebrows rose high to his forehead. “Hello, Holly, what a beautiful name,” his words spit like venom. Both his hands clamped over hers, and I watched as his fingers caressed her palm and she began to melt in his presence. “You have the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen,” he said sweetly. She giggled. Oh God, she giggled, that’s it, she’s done for…

  I glared at Calvin, trying desperately for him to read my thoughts. No, don’t let this happen, he’s a snake!

  “Why don’t we all go out for dinner later?” Calvin asked. Good job, dumbass, that was not what I was thinking!

  Holly lit up like a Christmas tree. Her breasts bounced as she hopped in place. Calm down girl, wow.

  “That sounds like an excellent plan,” Ace said as he pulled Holly’s hand towards his lips. Calvin smiled proudly, for what I have no idea. Holly melted and let out a sigh as Ace puckered his weathered lips against her soft tan skin. I knew I rolled my eyes, but no one seemed to notice or care. “It’s a date.” Ace winked at Holly as he released her hand.

  She looked like her bones had turned to rubber. Her shoulders slouched, and her head cocked to the side. It was like the marionette I had as a child when it wasn’t in use.

  “Seriously?” I asked after he walked away, not even trying to hide my sarcasm.

  “What?” Calvin asked. He seemed cautiously aware that he had messed up yet again, but wasn’t sure how or why.

  “He’s a player,” I snapped.

  “He can play me anytime he wants,” Holly said, almost as a sigh.

  Calvin frowned. “You need to get to know him. He isn’t all bad. Give him a chance.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Calvin

  The double date was planned, and even though Whitney wasn’t entirely onboard, I thought it would be a great way to smooth over the bad feelings from last night. As Ace pushed for details about Holly, I started to rethink my carelessness and knew that she may be out of his league. “So, this Holly chick, she looks like a wild fire in bed,” Ace spat. “Any inside information?”

  “No, I’ve never slept with Holly,” I deadpanned.

  His question offended me, but in Ace’s world, monogamy didn’t exist, so I decided to let it roll off my back.

  “She has a hot little ass,” he hissed.

  My tension increased at the comments Ace made about Whitney’s best friend. She had always been a pain in my ass, but I looked at her like a sister, not my favorite sister, but a sister nonetheless.

  “She’s a good girl, Ace, not one of your typical groupies,” I warned.

  I could tell that my comments fell on deaf ears as Ace continued his ranting about the size of Hol
ly’s breasts, wondering if they would fit in his mouth. “You’re a sick fuck,” I scoffed.

  His smile widened, and it was obvious he took that as a compliment. What had I done?

  I arrived back at the apartment to find both Holly and Whitney in my bedroom. Clothes were strewn all over the room. They were fussing with their hair, their makeup, and their clothes, not exactly the fantasy I had as a teenage boy about having two women in my bedroom.

  “How does this look?” Whitney asked. She stood in front of me wearing a shiny blue dress, low cut, making her breasts look amazing. It was new, the tag hung from under her arm; I leaned in, lifted the tag and turned it so I could see the price. Holy shit!

  “You look stunning,” I said, not mentioning the outrageous price though my brain still felt slightly numb.

  “It’s too much,” she pouted.

  “No, it’s beautiful,” I insisted instead of agreeing that, yes, it was way too much. It was more than I paid for my first car.

  “Thank you,” she said sweetly and then tiptoed to reach me with her lips.

  “I have to get a shower,” I announced, hoping that would clear out my bedroom. No such luck. Holly was leaning over the bathroom sink, smearing makeup all over her face. It was so thick I almost offered her a spackle but knew that would only upset Whitney. I’d done enough upsetting her already to last a lifetime.

  “Can you use the other bathroom?” Whitney questioned, again sweetly.

  “Sure.” I reached into my shower and grabbed my body wash and took it to the other bathroom. It was much smaller, the water pressure wasn’t as good, and none of my stuff was readily available in there. I hated using that shower. How long was Holly planning on staying?