I refrained from an eye roll.
“Anyway, he’ll be proud of you.”
I doubted that. “I’ve got to run. I will check on football tickets. I’ll make my dad pay for them.”
He laughed. “Oh, and if you do see Ryker, let him know about the principal?”
“Sure will,” I said on my way out.
Once I was at my car, my phone beeped with a text.
Vicki: Are you up for going to a party tonight?
It was Friday. I’d busted my butt all week on homework and studying. It was time to kick back.
Me: I’m in. Whose party?
Vicki: Lucas and Ryker.
Perfect… or maybe not. The last party at Ryker’s had caused trouble for me.
13
Ryker
I held the bottle of scotch in one hand, and the other rested on my bare stomach as I watched a sports channel pick apart all the college football games that had been played that afternoon, with Lakemont being one of them. Damn team didn’t win the game. We were now zero wins and two losses. I should have been getting my ass out of bed and in gear to play football, but I couldn’t muster up the energy to do anything.
A short brunette reporter stuck the mic at Coach Chapman. “Coach, can you tell us when Ryker James is returning to the game?”
Coach adjusted his ball cap. “I don’t have a date yet. Look, it’s been a rough road for our star quarterback. So myself, the team, and the university support him if and when he decides to return.”
Coach had stopped by midweek to discuss what my plans were or if I would be taking off the season. I didn’t have an answer for him, and he couldn’t exactly push me to play. After all, if I didn’t have my head in the game, then I would be worthless anyway. In fact, my head hadn’t been right since I’d left the cemetery five days ago. After Lucas and I had come back to my parents’ house, I’d stayed. I’d curled up in my brother’s bed and become a zombie. My aunt Kari kept trying to get me to eat, but I had no hunger for food. The only thing I craved was booze and drowning myself in it—anything to take away the thought of going on with everyday tasks, school, football, parties, and normal shit that people did.
I was lucky I got out of bed to take a piss. I’d only showered once since the funeral, and the way I was going, I would probably die in bed.
A soft knock sounded on the door before Aunt Kari came in. She scrunched her nose, piercing me with daggers. “Before long, your room will have rodents building homes alongside you. This place stinks.”
Like I give a shit.
Sinking her bare feet into the carpet as she crossed the room, she flicked strands of her dark hair off her forehead. “At least you had the decency to not stink up the other rooms in the house.”
She’d pried me from my brother’s bed three days prior. I’d been content to stay in his room and gaze at the Star Trek posters he had glued to the ceiling, as well as the pictures of space and planets. He’d been obsessed with anything Star Trek. I couldn’t blame him. I loved Star Trek too.
Aunt Kari opened the blinds, and the afternoon sun came rushing in.
I took a swig of scotch and squinted. “Did you have to?”
She eyed me with a forlorn look before cracking a window. “The room needs venting.”
I didn’t smell a thing.
She came over to my bed, wiping her hands on the apron wrapped around her waist. “Some of your teammates are here.”
I cocked a brow. I hadn’t heard anyone come in. Then again, I’d been drowning in my misery for days on end.
“Put on some clothes, splash water on your face, and become part of society again.” Her tone reminded me of my mom when Mom had been tired of my shit. “Seriously. You’re breaking my heart.”
I wasn’t trying to. I was however trying to mend mine.
She grabbed my hand, appraising me with her gray eyes, which reminded me so much of my mom’s. “You can’t live like this, Ryker. Do you think I’m not hurting? Do you think that I don’t cry every night?”
I knocked back more scotch. I’d drunk three-quarters of the bottle, and I wished I could say I was drunk, but I wasn’t. The alcohol wasn’t doing anything to take away the memories, the pain, or the depression that I couldn’t shake.
“What you’re doing isn’t healthy,” she said softly. “You haven’t even cried.” She swiped the bottle out of my hand. “This crap isn’t going to bring them back.” Her tone was stern.
I almost snatched it back from her, but I didn’t have the energy.
Voices sounded in hall. “Ryker!” Erik shouted. “We’re coming for your ass.”
With the bottle in her hand, Aunt Kari started for the door. “Maybe they can knock some sense into you.” She left, and I heard her say, “He’s all yours.”
Within seconds, Erik, Lucas, and Ajax sauntered in and surrounded my bed.
Before I could say a word, they lifted me in the air and carried me out of my room.
“What the fuck are you brutes doing?”
Trying to get free wouldn’t get me far since the three of them could keep a bear down.
Ajax laughed. “You need a wake-up call.”
“This better not be one of your brilliant plans to lock me into some chick’s bedroom.” Erik and Ajax had done that very thing to me last year. They thought getting me laid before a game would break the bad streak I’d been having on the football field when I’d thrown three interceptions in one game.
“Nah,” Lucas said with too much giddiness in his voice. “That would be too kind.”
Concern dug into the lining of my stomach, or maybe that was nausea, as the furniture in the living room whizzed by. Then my aunt opened the slider to the backyard. Thankfully, I had my boxer briefs on. Otherwise, my aunt would’ve gotten an eyeful.
Once outside, the guys walked around the pool. Then it hit me. They were going to throw me in. But I didn’t care. The pool water had to be about ninety or so degrees. That wouldn’t get me fired up.
But when they swung me and I hit the pool water belly-flop-style, I lost my fucking breath as I went under. The water had to be as cold as Antarctica.
I could hear them laughing as I broke the surface, gasping and coughing. If I had been drunk, I wasn’t now.
I swam over to the steps of the Olympic-sized pool, dodging large blocks of ice. “I’ll kill you guys.”
Lucas loomed over me, wearing swim trunks and a T-shirt. “You can’t kick my ass, and you know it.”
“Maybe not, but I’m willing to give it a try.” Then I grinned. “Nice touch with the ice.”
Ajax ponied up alongside Lucas. He, too, was wearing swim trunks but no shirt. He swiped a hand over the Celtic cross tattooed on the left side of his chest. “It’s time, dude, to get your ass back into the game.”
Erik shuffled over, wearing a ball cap backward over his shaggy hair. “We can’t keep losing games. Tank is okay as your backup, but he doesn’t have your arm.”
The three of them sat on the steps and slung their feet in the water.
“Shit,” Lucas said. “That is cold.”
My body didn’t feel cold anymore, and as hot as it was, the ice would be melted in no time.
“Your aunt is going out for the night,” Ajax said. “She’s given us the thumbs-up to have a few people over. She even bought steaks to grill out.”
I could eat, something I’d done very little of the last few days. On the other hand, I wasn’t in the mood to have blaring music or a house packed with people.
“Everybody was asking for you last night at the party,” Erik said.
I quickly dunked my head under water.
The three of them grinned like they knew a big secret I didn’t, which I was sure they did since I hadn’t been among the living.
“Haven was looking for you,” Lucas said, not losing his cheeky grin.
“I think you guys thawed me out,” I said mainly to Lucas since his prediction would be that Haven would thaw me out.
&n
bsp; I didn’t need her or any gal to bring me out of my funk, but hell if his comment didn’t get me thinking about the redhead all of a sudden.
“You know what I think?” Erik asked. “You need to get laid. I swear sticking my dick in a chick always sets me on a better path.”
I dragged a hand through my wet hair. “I told you. My dick doesn’t work.”
“Test it out with Haven,” Ajax offered. “See if she can get you fired up.”
“It doesn’t have to be Haven,” Lucas said. “I’m sure Beverly or any of her sorority sisters would help you out.”
I was sure Beverly would. Suddenly, her naked body popped into my stupid head. But the vision did nothing for my dick, and that was sad, worrisome, and pathetic. Normally, when I thought of a naked girl or fucking one, I had no problem getting the blood to rush south.
“So you guys are trying to pimp me out?” That was a first.
“Nah, but you’d better get out of your funk before we make you,” Erik said teasingly. Or maybe he wasn’t teasing. “Seriously, dude. We can’t imagine what you’re going through. But I bet getting your head back in the game will help.”
I lifted myself up and sat on the pool step with my body half in and half out of the water, not wanting to think past the next minute. “Hey, where’s Vin?”
Erik, Vin, and Ajax hardly went anywhere without each other.
“Family thing,” Erik said.
Lucas slapped me on the back. “Come on, bro. Let’s kick back. We’ve had a terrible day after that game earlier, and we need to unleash some pent-up energy. The sun is out. The pool water is perfect, and we’re all hungry.”
I could eat. I could also kick back with them. Maybe they were right. Maybe I did need to get laid.
“On one condition,” I said. “I don’t want a house full of drunken jerks.”
They all laughed.
“Sure, dude,” Ajax said, getting his phone out of his swim trunks. “You always say that.”
True. Maybe a party would do me good.
14
Haven
Vicki and I were sitting by the pool in comfy lounge chairs at a ranch owned by Ryker’s parents. I crossed one ankle over the other, sipping a fruity drink that had way too much alcohol in it.
Lucas had texted me earlier to see if Vicki and I were interested in coming out for dinner and drinks. He also knew I’d been wanting to talk to Ryker. I hadn’t told Lucas why, only because I wanted to make sure Ryker got the message, and part of me wanted to see the man. Hell, I couldn’t get him out of my darn head.
The night before, my roomie and I had gone to the party hosted by Lucas and, at the time, I’d thought, Ryker. But when I’d arrived, Ryker had been AWOL. According to Lucas, his best bud was recharging his battery.
The quarterback hadn’t played in the game that day, which had raised a lot of eyebrows around my dorm. Women were speculating that Ryker was dropping out of school, giving up football, or that he’d gone into hiding.
I believed the latter, at least for a short time. After all, he had to be depressed. He had to be a zombie. Now that I was actually looking at him from across the pool, he appeared frozen. He hadn’t even moved since I’d walked in over an hour ago.
For all I knew, he was staring at me through his dark sunglasses. That thought did perk up my lady parts, even more so as I checked out his tanned upper torso through my own dark sunglasses.
As I envisioned my hands exploring his hills and valleys and, of course, his happy trail, I decided it had been a bad idea to come there.
For one, I didn’t trust myself. And two, if my father found out, he might go off the deep end. As long as I stayed out of the media, I was golden. But I was gambling with my freedom. Sure, my father had told me to stay away from Ryker, but I’d interpreted his law to mean that I shouldn’t date Ryker. A one-night stand wasn’t dating.
Ryker doesn’t want you.
If that were true, then I guessed I didn’t have anything to worry about.
Vicki leaned in from her lounge chair. “It’s not polite to stare.”
“Says the girl who can’t keep her eyes off of Lucas.” He was at the outdoor kitchen area, which included a bar, grill, small fridge, and an island on one end with barstools.
She snorted. “Touché.”
The night before, Vicki had been dying to talk to Lucas, but he had been preoccupied with a girl that Vicki had wanted to make disappear.
I wasn’t one of those girls who got jealous, maybe because I hadn’t had a steady boyfriend. Sure, I ogled boys. I went out on dates. I had sex. But I’d never found that boy who wowed me or one that stole my breath away. I chalked that up to the all-girl boarding school.
One of the guys over at the kitchen area laughed loudly.
“Ryker, dude, get your ass over here,” Ajax said. “We’re doing shots.”
The girl beside Ryker leaned over, her boobs practically falling out of her swim top as she rubbed his leg with her hand. “Come on. You can do a shot off my chest.”
Suddenly, a twinge of something rifled through me, and I wanted to throw Blondie in the pool.
“Yes,” Erik shouted. “Get over here, Tab. I’ll go first.” I’d met Erik the night before along with Ajax and a few of the other football players. Erik reminded me of Julian Edelman from the New England Patriots, only his brown hair hung below his ears.
Ajax twisted his ball cap so the bill was behind him. “I’m next.” Ajax sported a military haircut, and where Erik was wide in the chest, Ajax was leaner.
Ryker didn’t move as Tab tried to coax him by whispering something in his ear.
Kill the bitch.
I clutched the glass I was holding a little too tightly.
I want nothing to do with Ryker James. He wants nothing to do with you.
So why was I feeling like I wanted to send the blonde packing?
When Tab struck out and sauntered over to Erik and Ajax, I sighed.
The rest of the guests scattered around the pool, veranda, and kitchen area watched what was about to unfold.
Tab settled in front of Erik, squeezing her boobs together and at the same time lifting them up to create a way to capture the liquor. “Pour.”
“I would never do that,” Vicki mumbled as she sipped the fruity drink Lucas had made her.
“You would if you were alone with a guy,” I added. “Say...Lucas.”
She let out a dreamy sigh. I swore my roomie was going to combust if she didn’t get her hands on Lucas soon.
Ajax drizzled the alcohol down her chest as Tab leaned back slightly. Then like a thirsty dog, Erik lapped up every drop of liquid as he tried to capture one of her nipples in his mouth.
But Tab was quicker than him. She tittered, adjusting her swim top. “If you want this, then you’ll have to work harder than that.” Then she let Ajax do the same, licking the alcohol off her.
The other guys at the small gathering didn’t jump on that train. Some of the girls in the pool shook their heads.
From what I could see, Ryker didn’t even look at what his buddies were doing with Tab. I got the feeling he was either still looking at me, or maybe he was sleeping. Either way, he seemed bored out of his mind.
The party was chill compared to the one the previous night. Even the music was tame with a soft beat and low volume.
The Tab scene wore off quickly as she disappeared into the house.
I needed to get back to the dorm and do some studying, but I knew Vicki wouldn’t want to leave yet.
“I feel like I’m at a tropical resort,” Vicki said. “You wouldn’t find a place like this in Maine.”
I didn’t know anything about Maine except it got cold or stayed cold most of the year in that neck of the country. No, thank you. I’d had my fill of that kind of weather going to school in Michigan.
I relaxed into the cushioned lounger, the alcohol beginning to affect me. Maybe Ryker had the best idea. A nap by the pool seemed like something I could get into.
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Lazily, I scanned the property. Nice shrubs, colorful flowers, ceramic frogs and turtles, and other planting pots decorated the landscape around the yard. In the distance, a handful of trees stood tall. Lucas had called the place a ranch, but when I pictured a ranch, I thought of horses and other farm animals. The James’s property had lots of land, an expansive one-story home, a small pool house that sat behind Ryker, and an Olympic-sized pool but no horses or animals.
“How’s your head?” Vicki asked.
“Headache is gone finally.” We’d both slept in. “But I’m going to the bathroom.” Pushing my sunglasses up on my nose, I rose then slipped my feet into my flip-flops.
Lucas had told me to wear my bathing suit and to dress casual. So Vicki and I had. I had on my swim top, jean shorts, and a sheer cover-up that fell to my waistline.
“I think I’ll talk to Lucas,” Vicki said.
Just as I stood, Beverly walked out of the house with Tab on her heels. I swung my gaze between the two and realized that they had to be related. I would guess Tab was younger. Both had blond hair, blue eyes, and were similar in size. But that wasn’t why I thought they were related. Their rounded faces, thick lips, and even the shape of their eyes said they came from the same parents.
“Is that Beverly’s sister?” I asked Vicki.
She shrugged. “Not sure. But I would say yes.”
I suddenly felt the need to leave. I didn’t need Beverly taking pictures of me and sending them to my father, especially since I was innocent and nowhere near Ryker.
“I’m still curious if she’s working for my dad,” I muttered. I knew she would deny it if I asked. And right now, I didn’t care. I had to use the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”
Vicki hopped up. “Ryker’s head is turning our way.”
I doubted it was because of me. He was probably looking because Beverly had just come in. Still, I stuck out my chest. I had a small frame, but my boobs weren’t small at all. I bordered on a D cup, and frankly, I didn’t like that my breasts were big. I’d always thought they didn’t match my size-four body.
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