The Handoff (Big Play #3)

by Jordan Ford

  “Ew! Stop touching that, you gross freak!” I march across to him and try to snatch it from his grasp, but he just holds it up and out of reach. I give up with a huff and glare at him. “Why are you stealing my underwear?”

  “Always thought you’d be a thong girl. Too bad you weren’t wearing them the night of the party, my naughty little Layla.” He makes this weird cat noise and scratches the air.

  I slap his curved fingers away from my face.

  He snickers and runs his eyes down my body. I shrink away from his gaze and shuffle back, putting the corner of my bed between us.

  “I’m not stealing them.” He throws them onto my bed, his dark eyes glinting. “I want you to plant them on my dad somehow. Make it look like he’s cheating on your mom.”

  “What?” I snatch the black fabric and scrunch it in my fist. “I’m not doing that.”

  “Oh, come on. I thought you’d be all about that. Hating our parents’ marriage is like the only thing we have in common.”

  My eyes narrow into the darkest glare I’ve ever given him. “I have nothing in common with you.”

  “Yeah, I’d beg to differ on that one.” He sniggers, pulling a phone out of his back pocket and tapping the screen. “Like my new phone? Your mom bought it for me. Yeah, when I told her it was stolen, she just felt so bad that she went out and bought me the latest iPhone. She’s the best, isn’t she?” His voice is dripping with so much mockery it’s an effort not to leap over the bed and start scratching his face to shreds. I could show him how a real feline behaves.

  My hands are vibrating as I resist the urge to lunge. If I were wearing more than just a towel, I swear I would.

  “Anyway, thank God for iCloud, right? I’ve managed to get all my data back on my phone and I’m good to go again. Hey, I’ve shown you these, right?” He holds out the phone to give me a decent view of his hand cupping my ass.

  My eyes burn as I look away from the offending image.

  “Oh, keep looking, there’s more.”

  “I don’t need to see them,” I grit out between clenched teeth.

  “Are you sure? Because I have a whole bunch of these beauties, and I just can’t wait to share them. I thought maybe I’d start with Nelson High students. I’ve got a few contacts at the school.”

  “Who?” I snap.

  “I know a guy.” His aloof shrug gives me nothing.

  “What’s his name?”

  “If you think my threat is empty, you’re wrong.” His teasing tone disappears behind his sharp words. “And if you think I’m giving up my source, you’re also mistaken. Your shit’s gonna be laid bare and you won’t have little ol’ New Zealand to escape to now, will you?”

  I gasp, my eyes bulging. “It was you?” I point at him. “You outed Kaija?”

  He snickers. “I wish.”

  “But you know who did.” The smarmy smirk on his face tells me so. “Who was it?”

  “Never gonna happen. Now, let’s get back to business, shall we? Black thong, make my dad look like a cheating asshole.”

  “No! I’m not going to tear up my mother’s marriage. She’s happy.”

  “Who gives a shit? We’re not! Come on, Layla. I’m starting you off with something easy. Now do what I want, or your slutty shame is going to be public news at Nelson High.”

  “Don’t you dare.” My voice is low with warning.

  “But you’re not doing what I’m asking…and we made a deal.”

  “Blackmailing someone is not making a deal!”

  “Shhh, Layla.” He presses a finger to his lips. “Do you want Mommy to come and find out what you’re shouting about? You know she’ll take my side.”

  “I hate you,” I seethe.

  “Yeah, we’ve established that. Now—”

  “Mack is going to kill you for this.”

  “Mack’s not going to find out, because you don’t have the guts to admit to anyone that you came on to me. How do you think people are going to look at you when they find out you played tonsil hockey with your brother’s greatest enemy? He’s a freaking hero at your school…and you’re nothing more than an easy little slut.”

  My lips tremble as I absorb his black words. They drown out Finn’s deep voice, slathering his sweet sentiments in mud.

  “So plant those panties before I come back next weekend, got it?” Derek smirks, sauntering around the bed and standing over me. “I’ll know if you haven’t, and I won’t be giving you a second chance.” He runs his finger between my collarbone and down to the edge of my towel.

  I slap his hand away. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because I never asked for my father to cheat on my mother.”

  “He didn’t. Your parents were separated before he met my mom.”

  “For like a day!” His dark eyes flash, and I catch a glimpse of unmasked emotion. “Your bitch of a mother moved in and stole him from us. I don’t want you and your perfect brother in my life. I’ve put up with your shit for three years now, but thanks to your slutty, drunken ass, I now have what I need to get you back. You two have ruined everything. I can’t seem to get rid of you, so I may as well have some fun making your life a living hell. Why should I be the only one to suffer?”

  He stalks out of my room, slamming the door behind him. I flinch at the harsh sound, then plunk onto my bed. Slowly unfurling my hand, I stare down at my scrunched-up thong and wonder if running away would have been the better option.

  #22:

  Sundar

  Finn

  I couldn’t sleep last night.

  I don’t know why. There were probably a hundred things keeping me awake. I couldn’t stop worrying about Layla. Not having her under the same roof sucked, and I hated the idea of her being in her big, sprawling house with no one to watch her back.

  I also couldn’t stop thinking about her proposition. Oh man, I would have loved to pick her up off the floor and lay her down on the bed, cover her body with mine, and experience something I never have before. But I couldn’t do it. The look in her eyes as she was asking me… There was just so much resigned expectation there. Like this is what you do. You kiss, you screw, and then he dumps your ass.

  I wasn’t going to be that guy. By the time we got around to doing it, we were both going to be so loved up it’d be the most natural thing in the world.

  Layla needs to feel safe right now. She needs to feel beautiful…worthy, and I don’t think sleeping with her is going to help that. We have to deal with all this Derek shit first, anyway.

  Colt picks me up on Monday morning. We don’t say much on the drive to school. My mind’s too busy thinking about Layla. I hope she stayed. I wouldn’t put it past her to change her mind halfway through the night and take off to the bus terminal.

  Colt pulls his truck into the parking lot. “It’s gonna be okay, man.”

  “You’ve said that already. It’s getting kind of irritating.”

  He throws me a dry look. “I know, you do it to me all the time.”

  I close my eyes with a sigh, then give my friend a sheepish grin. “I prefer being the voice of reason.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s my turn, so shut the hell up and take it. Liking a girl doesn’t always make you feel stronger, but it does make you a better man, so…” He shrugs. “It’s worth it.”

  As the car stops, I turn to look at my friend. I wait until he’s stopped the truck and glances at me before saying, “You really don’t think it’s weird that I’m liking Layla?”

  “Hell yeah, I think it’s weird. She’s the last girl I thought you’d ever fall for.” His right shoulder hitches. “But I saw the way you guys looked at each other yesterday. I don’t know exactly what went down between you over spring break, but…I know that look. If you’re starting to feel about her the way I feel about Tori then I get what you’re going through. I resisted Pix for way too long, worried about what others would think. I nearly lost her because of it.” His jaw works to the side. “If Layla’s gonna fall for anyone,
it should be a guy like you. You’re the best person I know. And if you tell any of the guys I said that, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

  I slap him on the shoulder, not sure how to respond to that kind of compliment. It’s kind of humbling.

  We step out of the truck together and I grin as Tori skips over from the bike rack. She jumps into Colt’s arms, her curls flying around his face as they share their standard morning kiss.

  I smile as I head into the building, wondering if I’ll get a little candy from Layla. We haven’t really talked about PDA or if we’re even a couple. I assume we are, but it’s never been said out loud or anything.

  Scratching the back of my neck, I head for her locker, the smile stretching wider across my face as I remind myself how I’m going to greet her. I came up with it at around four o’clock this morning and haven’t been back to sleep since.

  Pausing at the end of the hallway, I spot her legs first. She’s wearing tight jeans with high ankle boots that zip up the sides; they’re the same pale brown color as her leather jacket. The locker door is hiding her face from me, but I can tell her hair is down. I don’t think I’ll be able to resist sliding my hand over those glossy strands. I love the feel of that sweet-smelling silkiness against my palm.

  Approaching her on soft feet, I peek my head around her locker and whisper, “Morning, Sundar.”

  She freezes for a beat, then slowly looks over her shoulder at me. She looks tired, like her body’s still making up for shutting down on her last week. I don’t miss the pale purple bags under her eyes. She probably slept about as well as I did.

  “What did you just call me?”

  “Sundar. It’s your new name.”

  Her forehead wrinkles with confusion and I’m forced to explain.

  I brush my fingers over my lips, feeling suddenly awkward for some reason. “When you were sick, you told me how much you hated your name and I promised to find you a new one.”

  “I know,” she whispers. “I just can’t believe you actually did.”

  Her dreamy expression makes my chest restrict. I move around beside her so I can get a better look at her face.

  Those luscious lips I tasted only yesterday tip at the corners. “So, why that particular name?”

  Leaning my shoulder against the lockers, I cross my ankles and hope my voice doesn’t tremble as I tell her the truth. “Well, I looked up the word lovely in every language I could think of, and I liked the Hindi version best.”

  “Sundar.” She repeats the word, even rolling the r like she’s supposed to.

  “Yeah.” I smile down at her. “It’s the perfect name for you.”

  Stepping back, she shuts her locker door and hitches her bag up onto her shoulder. “How do you figure?”

  “Because lovely is what you are.” I run my finger down her cheek, unable to resist touching her, then whisper, “My lovely Layla.”

  Her eyes fill with tears and she steps into my space, gently tugging on my jacket collar and pulling me down to meet her lips. I cup her face as we kiss, brushing my thumb over her tears. Thankfully, there are only a few, and she ends up stepping back with a sweet smile before throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing the hell out of me.

  I lift her off the ground and chuckle when she presses her lips into my neck. I want to keep holding her for the rest of the day, but the hallways are filling and the bell’s gonna ring soon. Placing her back on her feet, I bend low for one last morning kiss.

  “Well, someone had a good vacation.” Roxy’s voice rips us apart.

  Uncomfortable jitters swamp me as Layla turns to face the school’s gossip queen. Thankfully, Michelle’s not with her, but Tyler is right there, smirking at me with a surprised look in his eyes.

  Layla’s luscious hair presses against my chest as she leans back and acts as though us touching is commonplace. I can’t see her face right now, but I’m guessing she’s put up that confident shield she always wears at school, the one that makes people think nothing can affect her.

  “Hey guys, how was spring break?” Her old voice is back, the upbeat, slightly surly one. It makes me sad that she feels like she has to use it, but having seen behind the façade, I guess I understand why she needs her defense mechanism. It’s too bad; the world’s missing out on something gorgeous.

  Roxy looks down at her shiny pink nail polish and shrugs, her glossy lips making this bored kind of frown. “LA was just, you know. Whatever.”

  Tyler rests his arm against the locker behind her, leaning in as if they might be a couple. They’re not, but he’s going to keep trying for it anyway. “Boarding was good, although it looks like things were more exciting here.” His eyebrows wriggle.

  Roxy snickers and smirks, but her icy blue eyes are saying something else. She’s staring at Layla with this expectant look on her face.

  “Just chill, Roxy. I couldn’t update you because I lost my phone, okay? I’m getting a new one after school.” Layla moves away from me. “Why don’t you walk me to class and I can fill you in.”

  My body tenses. I hate the idea of Roxy knowing Layla’s shame. Sure, they’re best friends, but I’ve never one hundred percent trusted the head cheerleader. She’s the bitchiest one of them all.

  Layla eases my nerves by glancing over her shoulder as she walks away and giving me a small wink. I hope my interpretation is correct. Layla’s not giving away any of the Derek stuff to her friend, and will come up with some lie about how we had no one else to hang out with over spring break and just kind of fell for each other as the days passed.

  Days. Pfft. It was a week.

  One full-on, intense week…that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

  I keep my eyes on Layla until she’s turned the corner, then glance up to find Tyler grinning at me. His smile is so wide it takes over his entire face.

  “Shut up.” I wince.

  “Come on, dude.” He smacks my chest with the back of his hand. “Don’t leave me hanging. What’s up with you and Lay-Lay? You see some action this break?”

  I smack his chest right back, harder than I usually would. He stops short, giving me enough time to really drill him with a warning look.

  “Okay.” He nods. “So, this is kind of serious then.”

  They don’t call him Flash just because he’s fast on the field. Thankfully for his sake, the guy isn’t bad at picking up on facial cues. His constant humor ducks behind a sincere smile. It’s fleeting and will be the best I get, but I’ll take it. Not many people got to see the real Ty.

  The bell rings and we head to homeroom. We’re in the same area of school, so we stick together until we reach the stairwell that splits us.

  Tyler puts his foot on the first step, then pulls me up short with an innocent-enough query. “Hey, does Mack know about this?”

  “Mack’s in New Zealand,” I retort in a flat kind of voice.

  Tyler snickers, poking his tongue into the side of his cheek before raising his eyebrows with a pitying kind of smile. “Well, he’s back on Saturday, so at least you can tell him then, right?”

  With a wink and a click, Tyler races up the stairs two at a time while I shuffle to class like I’m carrying an anvil in each hand.

  Shit. Telling Mack is going to be so incredibly hard.

  Not just because of what I’ve done this spring break, but also what I couldn’t protect Layla from on the worst night of her life.

  #23:

  Marriage Subterfuge

  Layla

  I managed to weave a pretty believable story to Roxy throughout the day. When Finn helped me buy my new phone this afternoon, I gave him the rundown on all the details, so we could keep our stories the same. Thankfully, guys don’t talk the way girls do, so we didn’t have any cross information going on.

  I have to say, it’s kind of weird and adorable…and highly addictive having Finn as a boyfriend. Can I call him that? It’s kind of soon, although the way we walked around the mall hand in hand and were kissing at my locker this morning tells
a different story. We’re totally acting like boyfriend and girlfriend, so I guess we kind of are.

  It’s just… well, I’m the one-night, party fling kind of girl. I’ve had a few steady boyfriends, but they’ve never lasted more than a few weeks. This thing with Finn… It feels different. Is it gonna be long-term? The idea of it not being long-term kind of freaks me out, but then I feel like it’s way too soon to be thinking that.

  This is crazy! You can’t fall in love in a week!

  I mean, can you?

  I think about the stories Mom used to tell me about Dad, and even the way Mack spoke about Kaija. Love at first sight is possible, but that’s not Finn and me. If anything, we used to avoid looking at each other because he didn’t like me and I thought he was kind of full of himself.

  “Things change,” I murmur with a smile, and my insides melt as I think about him calling me Sundar.

  New name. New life. New start.

  This could all be so amazing.

  Dumping my bag on the bedroom floor, I start fiddling with my phone—setting up all my apps, typing in my passwords and usernames. My email starts to clear as I kick off my boots and sit down on my bed.

  A text message comes through.

  This is just me finding an excuse to stay in touch with you. Is it weird that I only said goodbye thirty minutes ago and I already kind of miss you? Oh, man, please don’t tell ANYONE I said that. The guys will never let me live it down.

  I giggle and type back.

  Your secret is safe with me, you big romantic. Thanks for making my heart dance today. Things are easier when you’re around.

  I only have to wait twenty seconds for a reply.

  I’ll always be around, Sundar xxx

  Kisses. He sent me kisses. I press the phone to my lips and kiss the screen before sending back a couple of kissing emoticons. I like the little yellow face that blows out the heart the best.

  My heart continues to twirl in my chest as I bring up my email and catch up on my messages. Not much came through while I was away. There are a few from Mack. While I was at Finn’s place, I called him once. I used Skype because it’s like only two cents a minute or something, but I made sure to call his phone as I didn’t want him to see me. I hoped it would be enough for him not to worry about me. I put on my best voice and went for bright and breezy. Finn told me I almost overdid it, but from the tone of Mack’s emails, I mustn’t have been too bad.