I had hoped that after a hot shower and my favorite bowling themed tank top, I make pins disappear, what’s your superpower?, and a pair of cut-offs, I’d feel better. Sadly, I don’t.
I try focusing on the article again just as a knock sounds on my door. No one from the team knows which room I’m in, so it’s either my RA, Juliet, or the tennis player I met last week.
Sighing, I think about pretending I’m not in here, but whomever it is knocks again.
“Gray, let me in,” I hear Westin’s voice and I tense up for a second. “I know you’re in there. Juliet told me she saw you come out of the shower less than ten minutes ago, and your car is in the parking lot.”
“Shit,” I whisper and sit my laptop on the bed. I walk to the door and open it. “What are you doing here?”
“Wanna tell me what happened with Xander?” He asks, walking past me and into my room. “Nice place. Looks just like mine, only mine is less girly”
“Should have known you’d be in this dorm, too,” I respond and shake my head. Most freshmen are in this dorm. “I’ll ask again, what are you doing here?”
“They appointed me to come talk to you,” he answers with a shrug. “I’m the least threatening, or some shit like that.”
“Least threatening to who?” I ask with an arched eyebrow.
“Probably the guys who lust after you,” he answers and grins. “Wren’s words, and I quote, he’s the least likely of the guys to try getting in her pants.”
“Wow,” I say and chuckle softly. “Why were you sent to talk to me?”
“Xander,” he answers, all humor leaving his voice. “What did he say to you, Graycen?”
“Nothing,” I answer, but look over at my laptop.
“Bullshit,” Westin responds. “Coach called the bowling alley, and Mike told him what happened. Coach just wouldn’t tell us what Xander said.”
“It isn’t important.”
“It is if it’s making you miss practice on Wednesday,” he counters. “What did he say, Graycen?”
I sigh deeply as I walk to my bed and sit down. I grab the stuffed rabbit I’ve had since I was ten and hug it close before I close my eyes and start talking. I tell him about accidently leaving my phone inside and going back for it, about seeing how upset Xander was and trying to talk to him, then I told him exactly what Xander said to me. By the time I’m finished talking, tears are streaming down my cheeks, and Westin’s arms are wrapped around me.
“God, he’s an ass,” he mutters in a soothing voice.
“I never meant to make people feel like I think I’m better than them,” I say through the tears falling freely again.
“No one thinks that,” he tells me and pulls away a little. “And it was just a friendly bet. None of us were more than fractionally upset that you beat us. Hell, I expected you to kick my balls, figuratively of course.”
I chuckle at his comment and he reaches up to wipe my tears. “Why does Wren think you’re the least likely to try getting in my pants?” I ask. I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but I want him to tell me instead of me making that assumption.
“Because my boyfriend would be pissed if I tried getting with a girl,” he answers and grins.
“I knew it,” I say and chuckle a little.
“He’s on the swim team at UF,” he tells me, and I grin. “He’s the reason I signed with LPU, actually.”
“He’s close enough to have lunch with when you can,” I say, and he nods. “That’s great, Westin.”
“Gabe and I have been together for nearly two years,” he tells me and gets this look in his eyes that makes me slightly envious. “It was rough at first because neither of us were out when we met, but just after the start of his senior year, he told his parents and encouraged me to do the same. Now, we’re out, and open, and very happy together.”
I smile at him for a second, then sigh deeply. “What do I do about Xander?”
“Nothing,” he responds, and I narrow my eyes at him. “This is his problem, sweetie. He can’t handle you being better than he is, and he’s lashing out like a toddler who was told he couldn’t have a cookie before dinner. You can’t control how he behaves. All you can do is what you’re good at, and that’s bowling. Don’t let his temper tantrum keep you from doing what you love.”
“And you’re sure no one else on the team feels like he does?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Pretty sure all the guys are ready to kick his ass, actually,” he tells me, and I shake my head. “And Al may actually do it.”
“Rico needs to stay out of it,” I say and sigh. “When Gav and I were in seventh grade there was this boy who liked to tease me because of my freckles. He was in ninth grade with Rico and was hideous to me. One day he cornered me outside the school by the bleachers. I was so scared that he was going to hurt me, but then Rico was there, and the other boy wasn’t. Rico was suspended for three days following that fight.”
“Al likes you, Gray,” he tells me, and I shrug. “I don’t mean like I like you, either.”
“I know, but Rico and I can never be together,” I say quietly.
“Because of your sister?” He asks and I nod. “You know that’s bullshit, right? She’d want you both to be happy, and if being together makes you happy then she’d want you to be together.”
Instead of answering him, I look down at the tattoo on the top of my right foot and wiggle my toes. “I got this when I was sixteen,” I tell him when I’m sure he’s looking at my foot too. The tattoo is a small pair of angel wings with a “G” in the middle of them and a halo above the “G”. “My parents don’t even know I have it, that’s how alone I was at the time. Uncle James took me to the guy who did his ink and signed for me to get it.”
“Why haven’t you showed your parents?” He asks, and I look up at him and shrug before looking back at my tattoo.
“Dad wouldn’t say anything, but at the time, he wasn’t around. But Mom, she’d have flipped out, or been completely indifferent, and at the time I couldn’t handle either emotion.”
“Maybe you should show her now,” he suggests and raises his head. “When my dad died, I got a tattoo, too. I didn’t show my mom until after I turned eighteen though.”
“When did your dad die?” I ask, laying my hand on his shoulder.
“About nine months ago,” he answers then turns around and raises his shirt. On his back is a Celtic knot with a name above it and a birth date and death date below it. “He was diagnosed with cancer a little over two years ago. He had surgery and chemo, but it didn’t work. They were trying a new treatment when he contracted staff. They got the infection cleared up, but he was very weak. He came to one of my tournaments, and a few days later he was back in the hospital. He never came back home.”
“I’m sorry, Westin,” I say and hug him gently. His arms wrap around me, and I can feel his body shaking with emotion.
“Dad was the first one I told when I came out,” he says as we stand there holding each other. “He told me he figured it out when I was nine but waited for me to tell him. He supported me. Do you have any idea how rare that is?”
“I do,” I answer and lean back from him so I can see his face. “Why don’t we stop talking about all the sad stuff and I go buy you a burger?”
“Well, you did make me miss out on the perfect pizza,” he says and grins. I don’t comment on the tears in his eyes, and he doesn’t comment on the tears in mine. “But what are you going to eat, Miss Vegetarian?”
“This place has amazing veggie burgers, too,” I answer with a grin. “I discovered it last week while applying for a job.”
“Where is it?” He asks.
“A little place called Marco’s,” I answer, and he grins. “From the look on your face you know it.”
“I know it well,” he answers, and his grin grows. “Marco is my uncle.”
“No shit?” I ask, and it’s my turn to grin. “This is awesome.”
“Still want a job there?” He asks
with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah,” I respond. “I need a job before I deplete my savings trying to survive.”
“I’ll talk to Uncle Marco,” he says and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “But for now, you owe me a burger.”
“Let’s go,” I say and grab my phone and keys from my desk then slide my feet into my flip-flops. As we walk out, I grab a t-shirt from the basket beside the door and slip it over my tank-top. It’s another bowling themed shirt, and Westin grins when he sees it.
“Split happens,” he mutters as he reads it. “You should wear that one to practice Wednesday.”
“Nah,” I say then grab the one under it and show it to him. “This is the one I’m wearing to practice Wednesday.”
“Bowling: for that balls deep experience,” he reads and bursts out laughing. “Gabe is going to love your personality.”
“Oh, am I meeting Gabe?”
“Yep,” he answers and pulls his phone from his pocket. “You need a night out, and I know Gabe will want to join us.”
“Thanks, Westin,” I say, and he grins at me.
“Call me Wes,” he tells me. “It’s what all my friends call me.”
“Alright, Wes,” I respond and smile at him again.
“Oh, and I’m driving,” he says and motions to his car, which is parked close to mine.
“Nice ride,” I say and look at his classic Mustang.
“Thanks,” he says and smiles. “It was my dad’s. He left it to me when he passed. Mom had it restored with some of the insurance money, and now it’s in top condition.”
“It’s beautiful,” I say and grin as I climb into the passenger seat. He lets the top down, and I pull the scrunchy from my wrist and twist my hair into a messy bun before we leave the parking lot. Tonight I’m not going to worry about Xander and his bullshit attitude, or Rico and Ryder or options, or anything else for that matter. Tonight, I’m going to hang out with new friends, and just be an eighteen year old college student.
Chapter Sixteen
Rico
“Hey, Al,” Westin says into the phone after I answer it. He left the pizza place nearly two hours ago, and I was starting wonder if something had happened between him and Gray.
“What’s going on, man?” I ask, trying to keep my voice calm.
“I talked to Gray,” he answers softly. I can hear noise in the background and try to figure out where he’s calling from. “She told me what Xander said to her.”
“And?” I ask. I want him to tell me what that shithead said to upset Gray.
“Gray wants you to stay out of it,” he tells me, and I sigh.
“Of course she does,” I respond and shake my head. “What did he say to her, Westin?”
“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to do anything to get thrown off the team, or thrown in jail,” he says, and I stiffen. It must be really bad for him to tell me that. “I’m serious, Al. Gray doesn’t want you to get involved in this.”
“Fine,” I snap out. What Gray doesn’t know won’t hurt her.
He relays what Gray told him, and I feel my anger rising. “Al, Coach knows what was said. Let him handle this.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” I mutter. “Where’s Gray now?”
“She’s with me,” he answers, and I have to stop myself from saying something. “And before you get all territorial and shit, my boyfriend is with us. Gray needed to get out and stop sitting in her room overthinking things.”
“What kind of things?” I ask.
“Things like the rest of the team thinks the same things Xander does,” he answers, and I nearly growl in frustration.
“That’s bullshit,” I tell him even though he already knows. “None of us feel that way.”
“I know that, and she does too, but she’s not you and I, Al. She's a hell of a lot more fragile than she’d want anyone to think.”
“What do you mean?”
“The loss of her sister broke her,” he tells me, and I drop my gaze to the floor. “But she never allowed herself to truly grieve because of her mother. She’s been the strong one, the responsible one, the adult; since she was fourteen.”
“Shit. How do we help her?”
“We don’t,” he answers. and I tense. “I do. You need to give her time to be the girl you knew again.”
“Yeah,” I say and sigh. “Is she coming to practice Wednesday?”
“Yes, but she’s probably going to want to be left alone,” he says, and I shake my head. I don’t want to leave her alone, but I will of that’s what she needs.
“I can do that,” I say but my words don’t convince me.
“Good,” he says, and I hear his name being called from the background. “I gotta go. I’ll see you Wednesday. Don’t forget to call the others and let them know she’s okay.”
“I’ll call them, and Westin, thanks for helping her.”
“I was happy to. She’s a great girl, and I have a feeling she and I are going to be good friends.”
“Just look out for her.”
“Gabe and I won’t let anything happen to her,” he responds then ends the call.
I grip my phone for a second before I relax back on my pillows and pull up Ryder’s number.
“Hey,” he answers quietly. “Any word on Gray?”
“She’s out somewhere with Westin and his boyfriend,” I answer and sigh. “Mind if I come over? I need to get out of my head.”
“Sure, man. You know you’re always welcome here. Micah just walked in with two twelve packs, so there’s more than enough to share.”
“Be there in ten,” I respond and end the call. I hop off the bed and slide my feet into my flip flops before I snag my keys off the desk and walk out of the room. I don’t drink often, but tonight is definitely a night to have a couple with the guys.
Eight minutes later, I pull into the driveway of the house Ryder’s dad rented for them. I sigh in relief when I don’t see Xander's bike or Joy’s car. I don’t think I could see Xander right now without punching him, and I promised I wouldn’t do anything to get thrown off the team or into jail.
“Hey Al,” Brennon greets me from the open door.
“Hey Bro,” I return the greeting and hold out my first. Brennon and I are as close as brothers, and he’s one of the few people I completely trust. “Anyone other than you four here?”
“Nah,” he answers as we walk inside. “Xan is not welcome here at the moment.”
“What about Joy?” I ask. Her and Micah have been together for nearly two years, and I know she’s not going to like her brother not being welcome in her boyfriend’s house.
“Joy can come whenever she wants, but Ryder said Xan isn’t allowed here until he seriously apologizes to Gray.”
“Speaking of Gray, I found out what Xan said to her,” I say as we walk out the back door. Micah, Ryder, and Jaylen are sitting on the patio, each holding a Corona.
“How bad am I going to have to kick his ass?” Ryder asks then takes a long pull from his beer.
“You’re not. None of us are,” I say, and he narrows his eyes at me. “Graycen doesn’t want any of us to do anything to get kicked off the team or thrown in jail.”
“Smart girl,” Jaylen says and shakes his head. “What did he say to her?”
“He called her a know-it-all, and a show-off who thinks she’s better than the rest of us because she’s gotten lucky a few times,” I tell them and sigh. Micah hands me a beer and I sit down before I tell them the rest. “Then he told her that she needed to just go because we didn’t need people like her on the team.”
“And she believes him?” Brennon asks, and I shake my head.
“I don’t know what she believes, but she’ll be at practice on Wednesday. Westin has her out right now. They’re with his boyfriend, and from the background noise, it sounded like a restaurant,” I say then take a drink from my bottle. “She is worried the rest of us feel like Xan.”
“Well, we don’t,” Brennon says, and I gri
n at him. “Pretty sure we’re all in awe of her, actually.”
“She’s a hell of a bowler, but far from a show-off,” Micah adds. “As for the know-it-all comment, he’s just pissed that she’s a better bowler than he is.”
“Hell, she’s a better bowler than me,” I say and shake my head again. “She always has been.”
“Coach wouldn’t have signed her if he didn’t feel she’d help the team,” Ryder says, and I nod in agreement. “We all bring something to the team. Our strengths and weaknesses make us who we are. She’s a strong bowler but lacks the confidence in other aspects of life to put herself out there. She put herself out there with Xan and look what happened. She may never trust him again, and that will make things tense within the team.”
“I don’t think so,” I say and all four of them look at me. “Gray knows how to shove the shit aside and focus on bowling. How do you think she won state as a sophomore?”
“That is pretty uncommon,” Micah says and grabs another beer. “Not trying to defend Xan, but we all know how he is. He was pissed that he was off today, and he lashed out on the easiest target. Now that he’s calmed down, I bet he regrets it. I agree he needs to apologize to her, and he may never earn her trust back, but he is part of this team, same as she is, and we need to not shun him because of this.”
“Micah, we have been bowling together for four years, you’re my best friend, and I love you like a brother, but Xander needs his ass kicked for what he said to her,” Ryder says, and I happen to agree with him.
“Think with the head on your shoulders and not the one in your pants,” Micah says and Ryder pushes from the table.
“What did you say?” He asks as he rises to his feet.
“Calm down, guys,” I say and stand up between them. “Though I agree with Ryder, I also agree with Micah. Xan is an ass, there’s no question there, but he is also part of this team. As much as it bothers me to say this, I think we should do as Gray asks and stay out of it.”
“I agree with Al,” Jaylen says, and Brennon nods his agreement.
“Graycen would be more upset if we kick Xan’s ass then she was about what he said,” I say, and Ryder sits back down and leans back in his chair. His face looks defeated, and I get the feeling his feelings for Gray are stronger than he’s let on.
Changing Lanes (Lake Park University Book 1) Page 9