“What’s going on with Dad?”
Mike bites the inside of his cheek and shoves his fingers through his hair, pushing it off his forehead. A beat passes, the air between us tense. “Dad should be the one to tell you.”
“No, tell me.” I jump up from my chair, staring Mike down from the other side of the table. “Now.”
He points at the stage at the center of the event center. “Dad’s giving his speech in five minutes.”
“What does that have to do with whatever you’re hiding?”
“He’s making a big announcement.”
I glare at Mike, irritated with his cold demeanor. “Just tell me. Why do I need to be the last person to know? Clearly, you, Grace, and Mom all know what’s going on.”
“Dad didn’t want to upset you,” Mike says, his voice low and even.
My nerves get the best of me, my body trembling from the energy shooting through my body. I hate surprises that involve major life changes.
What’s everyone hiding from me?
What could be so important that my dad’s afraid to tell me?
“C’mon.” Mike angles his body away from the table, gesturing for me to follow him. “We need to take our seats.”
Kevin steps on the stage, giving his usual spiel to welcome everyone to the conference. I sit in the front row next to Mike with Grace and my mom on his right. I glance at the open chair to my left, wondering why it hasn’t been filled until I see Cece approaching me.
She fills the chair next to me. “There’s my Spidey,” she lilts, flicking her long, black hair over her shoulder.
Cece has always called me that, knowing Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character, even though I hate it. But it beats JJ, another name she uses sometimes, mostly when she wants to piss me off. Which is often.
“I’m not your anything,” I growl, my voice low but deep.
“Oh, don’t be like that, JJ.” She runs her fingernails down the length of my arm causing me to freeze. “I’m your Mary Jane. You and I are supposed to be together. Everything’s finally falling into place.”
Her touch produces tiny bumps along my skin, my heart now pounding in my chest. My body reacts to her every time. I’ve never been able to shake Cece or my feelings for her.
“No, you are Gwen,” I counter, referring to Spider-Man’s first love.
She snickers. “Gwen dies.”
“Exactly,” I growl, ready to explode. “Now get off of me and fuck off.” I shake her hand off my arm and turn my body away from her.
“Ooh,” she whispers, leaning into my ear. “Be like that. I don’t care. Your anger only turns me on. Whether you like it or not, pretty soon my dad will own yours, and you will be mine. One way or another.”
What’s she talking about?
Her dad will never own mine.
I wish my heart could forget Cece. I’m with Shannon now. She treats me the way I’d always wished Cece would. And Shannon looks at me the way she should.
Sitting next to Cece, feeling so many emotions, I know I’m not worthy of Shannon. She’s too good for me. Shannon deserves better than half of my heart because that’s all I can give her until I get rid of Cece for good.
After Kevin Carmichael introduces my father, he appears from the right side of the stage dressed in his usual black slacks and button-down shirt. He looks casual, though I can see the worry on his face. Between Mike’s attitude and Cece’s comments, I’m dying with nervous anticipation. What’s my dad about to reveal to the world?
He gives his usual speech discussing why role-playing games are here to stay and how his new technology will take his company to the next level.
But then everything comes to a screeching halt at the end of his talk.
His words hit me like a sucker punch to the face. More like a jab to the kidney.
Kevin joins my father on the stage embracing my father like an old friend as they announce the merger of Foxy Developers, my dad’s company, with 10X Games.
My mouth falls open in shock.
I try to speak, unable to form words when I tap my brother on the arm. Mike’s eyes meet mine, and I can see the fear in them. Mine must mirror his because his expression says it all.
How is my dad smiling as he makes this ridiculous announcement?
Why is he merging with 10X?
I have a choice to make—hockey or video games. The decision’s just become clear. Until I understand why our world is collapsing around us, why my dad would do this to our family, I can’t tether my future to his company.
Cameramen appear on my left snapping pictures of our family. Cece taps me on the arm, and I ignore her. She does it a second and third time before I turn to tell her to stop. Before I can push her away, she grabs the side of my face and kisses me. I don’t kiss her back. A camera flash blinds me, forcing my eyes closed. Then, another flash followed by a few more.
Why did she do it?
What did I just do?
I push her away in a subtle manner, careful not to make a scene and grumble, “What the fuck is wrong with you, Cece?”
“I’m claiming what’s mine.”
Chapter Thirteen
Jamie
During the Christmas break, my relationship with Shannon suffers. Right after Cece kissed me I avoided Shannon because I didn’t know what to say or if I should tell her the truth. But now, she’s the one avoiding me. No matter how much I push, she pulls away. We haven’t spent much time alone. Even when I stop by her chapter house, she talks to me for a few minutes and then makes an excuse that she has to go.
Has she seen the pictures of Cece and me? Does she hate my guts over something I can’t control? She hasn’t said a word… at least she hasn’t yet.
I run across campus after stopping to see Shannon. Tucker waits for me outside the auditorium.
“How did it go?” he asks.
“Not great,” I mutter. “She’s acting weird.”
“She knows,” he shoots back.
“Yeah. I think she wants to break up, but she hasn’t outright said it.”
“She probably wants you to make the first move.”
“But I want to be with her. I don’t want Cece.”
“She doesn’t know that,” Tucker points out.
“Maybe I should say something.”
Tucker shrugs as we enter the classroom. “I’m not having much luck with women lately, so I might not be the best person to ask for relationship advice.”
I laugh at his comment. “You’re the last person I would ask.”
Instead of taking our usual seats in the back row, he strolls down the center aisle toward the professor. He never interacts with professors unless he’s begging for a handout. It’s the first day of class, so he has no reason to grovel so soon.
Tuck barely passes his classes. Somehow he has managed to con enough girls and professors to help him out over the years. Last semester, he roped Trent into his mess and got both of them suspended for two games. I’m sure this semester he thinks he’ll cheat off me… if I let him.
Tucker exchanges a few words with the pretty blonde who must be the teaching assistant. She looks familiar. I think I’ve seen her on campus before. After she hands him our syllabus, he passes one of the papers to me, and we head back to our usual row.
Once we’re seated, I elbow him in the side. “Do you know the TA?”
Uncrossing his arms from my chest, he lowers his legs to the floor and snaps his head in my direction. “Yeah, she’s the girl who wouldn’t tutor me last semester.”
I laugh. “You fucked your teacher.”
“Teaching assistant,” he corrects.
“Same difference. She’s the one who’s grading our tests and assignments. You better hope she doesn’t take her anger out on you.”
His nose wrinkles in disgust. “I doubt she’ll do that.”
My cell phone dings with a message from Shannon. Staring down at the screen, I type back a response. “I hope not.”
I’m in the middle of talking to Shannon when a few cell phones in the room beep at the same time. I know the sound all too well. Everyone knows what it means.
The Queen is back.
Tucker removes his phone from his pocket and sucks in a deep breath. He’s been the prime target of The Queen. Last month, she called out Drake for sending dick pics to girls on campus which took the focus off the rest of us. But with January comes a new month and a new year of humiliation.
“Wow,” Tucker mutters. He shoves his phone in front of my face for me to read. “You need to see this.”
Dethroned
January Edition
New Year’s resolutions… everyone makes them, and few people stick to them. Take Jamie O’Connor’s promise to be faithful, for example. He’s been playing house with his Kappa Delta sorostitute for the last two months, and yet he was spotted with another girl. The newspapers don’t lie, Jamie. Fess up and tell her what you did, you dirty boy. A picture is worth a thousand words…
You, Jamie O’Connor, have been dethroned.
XO,
The Queen
Irritated, I take the phone from his hand, reading it several times in horror. Shannon will kill me. She may never speak to me again.
Letting out the breath of air I hadn’t realized I was holding, I hand the phone back to Tucker. “I have to narrow down her location. The signal is somewhere in the city, but that doesn’t help. She could be anyone working from anywhere.”
“You’ll find her,” he says, more confident than me. “Or maybe we need to give her a new target.”
I shake my head. “We need to shut her down, not feed her ego. She wants power over us. We have to take it away from her.”
“How do you suggest we do that?”
“I’ll find out who she is, and when I do, we’re taking her down.”
He smirks. “I like the way you think.”
I wink and then go back to texting Shannon, hoping she’ll meet me later for coffee. I have to explain this post before she breaks up with me. Nothing happened with Cece. But the pictures on the Dethroned website prove otherwise.
Me: Meet me at Broad Street Beans at 4
Shannon: Not sure if I can leave the chapter house. We’re working on decorations for the date party.
Me: I need to tell you something
Shannon: Tell me
Me: In person
A few minutes pass without a response from Shannon, and then the message bubble appears on my screen.
Shannon: Why would you do this to me?
I stare at the picture she sends where my lips are pressed to Cece’s wondering how I’ll talk my way out of this situation.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“What’s up?” Tucker asks, leaning over the arm of my chair.
“Shannon just sent me the picture of Cece kissing me over Christmas break.”
“Fuuuck…” he whispers. “What are you gonna do?”
I roll my shoulders against the wooden chair. “Hell if I know. She has a pic of me kissing another woman. What can I say?”
“She kissed you,” Tucker challenges. “Not the other way around. Just explain to Shannon that Cece’s a jealous bitch, and that she has nothing to worry about.”
“Shannon won’t see it that way.”
My phone buzzes in my hand, and I’m afraid to look at the message from Shannon. But I do. Because I need to salvage our relationship and repair whatever damage Cece has done.
Shannon: You have a lot of explaining to do…
Me: Give me 5 mins. Meet me at Broad Street Beans. Please.
Shannon: Fine. Don’t be late.
I snicker at her text. When am I ever late for anything? Five minutes isn’t enough to state my case, but I have to try. I don’t want to lose Shannon. Not when I finally found someone who’s good for my life. Someone I’m starting not to want to live without.
Chapter Fourteen
Shannon
My eyes must be tricking me. There’s no way Jamie would do this to me. I stare down at my cell phone, confused where I went wrong. Where we went wrong.
“Maybe it’s a misunderstanding,” Jordan says, rubbing my arm. “Jamie’s one of the good ones.”
I glance up from the screen, my mouth still open wide in shock. “I thought so, too.” Holding the phone in front of Jordan’s face, I say, “Who’s this? Do you know her? I’ve never seen her before.”
“It says her name is Cecelia Carmichael.” Jordan shrugs against the headboard we’re leaning against. “Never heard of her.”
This morning Jamie stopped by the house, and I pushed him away for no reason. He’s been acting differently since we came back from the Christmas break. There’s awkwardness between us that I didn’t understand until now. Jamie has been standoffish, and the feeling of closeness we had before the holidays is no longer there. At least now I know why.
Cecelia Carmichael is to blame.
I screen capture the picture of Jamie kissing her and send it to him as a text. We go back and forth, my anger seething through me until I agree to meet him this afternoon at Broad Street Beans. I don’t even want to give him the five minutes I agree to. But I might as well hear him out.
A single tear falls from my eye, and I swat it away. Jordan notices and pulls me into her arms, running her fingernails down my back to soothe me.
“It’ll be okay,” she assures me. “For your sake, I want to believe Jamie is a good guy. I’ve always liked him.”
“Me, too,” I confess. “You want to know the worst part? I think I’m in love with him. Or at least, I thought I was falling for him. Now, I don’t know how I feel. My heart feels like it’s split in two.”
“My sister just went through this drama with the Kane twins. Everything turned out okay for her once she heard Trent out. Hear Jamie out. It might not be what you think.”
Jordan’s never been the understanding type. In fact, I had expected her to say I should tell Jamie to fuck off. Instead, she’s on his side. She might be right. The picture of Jamie kissing that girl could be a misunderstanding. But I have a hard time believing he fell onto her lips.
Slipping out of her arms, I slide off the mattress and fix the cranberry sweater dress I borrowed from Jordan along with a pair of Ugg boots. At least I could afford the black tights I have on underneath.
I’m sure the girl in the picture with Jamie doesn’t have to borrow clothes from her friends. She looks like a million bucks with huge diamonds dangling from her ears. How can I possibly compete with her? She’s clearly part of his world. Why else would she have attended the conference with him? Were they together? It sure looks like it from the pictures The Queen posted on her website.
What The Queen said about me hurts most. She called me a sorostitute, a derogatory term for a sorority girl who sleeps around. I’m far from one. This bitch thinks she knows me. At one point, Jamie said he was looking for her. I might be angry with him, but maybe he has a lead on her identity.
I want to destroy her.
Now that she’s ruined my life, I have an ax to grind.
* * *
Two hours later, I find Jamie in the back of Broad Street Beans alone with his elbows propped up on the table. A sad expression crosses his adorable face as he stares out the window to his left. He looks so handsome, so peaceful all by himself.
I pull out the chair across from him, the legs scraping against the tile floor.
He turns to face me, his eyes wide and full of sadness. “You’re here.” Jamie sighs. “Thanks for coming.”
I cross one leg over the other, keeping my hand on my knee to calm my nerves. “How could you, Jamie? I trusted you.”
“I know how it looks, but I didn’t kiss her.”
“Don’t lie,” I shout without meaning to, now lowering my voice to a normal volume. “I saw dozens of pictures of you and her. Did you accidentally kiss her?”
“No, she kissed me. But it’s not like that, I pulled away from her. You didn’t get to see tha
t part. She used a moment of weakness for my family to take advantage of me.”
I tilt my head back and laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Jamie. She took advantage of you? Really? C’mon, do you hear yourself right now?”
He leans forward, his elbows on the small wooden table. “It’s the truth, Shan. You have to believe me.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” I snap, so mad I could spit. “I know what I saw. You know what you did. And The Queen obviously knows the truth. Why else would she make fun of me and call you out at the same time?”
“She’s a trouble maker. So is Cece.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Cece? So you’re close to her.”
“I’ve known her for most of my life,” he hisses. “Her dad and my dad are friends. There’s nothing between us. Just give me a chance to show you how much you mean to me. You’re the one I want. I choose you, Shannon. Don’t let that picture come between us. Nothing happened.”
“I want to believe you, Jamie. But it’ll take a lot more than a few words for me to trust you again.”
He stretches his hand across the table, holding his palm up for me to place my hand in his. Hesitant, I do what he wants. Heat skates along my skin, his warmth rushing up my arm. I feel safe when I’m with Jamie. No matter how mad I am at him, I want this to work.
“Just give me a chance,” he says, his voice low and pleading. “Don’t give up on me yet.”
I squeeze his hand, forcing a smile. “I like you a lot, so you get one pass. But don’t make a fool of me, Jamie.”
His eyes burn a hole through mine. “I promise. You have my word. Nothing happened and nothing ever will.”
Jocking Jameson: Face-Off Legacy #4 Page 9