I ground my molars together at the thought. Arlene was in for a treat.
Vicki jabbed a finger at my phone. “This cannot hurt his election.”
“It’s not just about his election. If he has to explain my actions, then I’m in the wrong. And it’s the principle of his rules. I broke them as he sees it.”
“At least you and Ryker look like you’re in love.”
I snorted. “Love and Ryker don’t mix, at least when it comes to women he takes to bed.”
“Ryker just hasn’t found the right woman until now.”
I loved her. She was making me feel so much better, although a tiny part of my heart cried. Ryker and I were like oil and water. As much as we tried to mix together, we would always separate or come apart because of the forces we didn’t have control over. Case in point: Senator Eugene Hale, Beverly Sims, Tabitha Sims, and their mother.
My downtrodden state of mind morphed into anger, and I itched to give those women a piece of my mind.
Vicki handed my phone back to me. “‘Some of the girls on the floor heard the argument Ryker had with your dad. Would he really ruin Ryker’s career?”
I bobbed my head. “He has the clout to.”
She twisted her blond-and-brown-streaked hair up on her head then secured it with a band she had around her wrist. “So the fundraiser?”
“I’m still planning on being part of it.” I would fight my father hard on that one. I didn’t see him arguing too hard. After all, I’d already told the university paper that he would donate ten grand. It would look bad on him if he backed out of that donation.
She gave me a bear hug. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”
I hugged her back as though she were the only friend I had. “The light in all this is that Ryker wants me to live with him.”
She squealed so loud, I swore the building shook. “And you are just now telling me this?” She paced. “Oh, this is great news.”
I dropped down onto my mattress. “Not really. My father would disown me for sure.”
She stuck her hands on her hips and lifted one eyebrow higher than the other. “Then let him,” she said seriously. “Do you want to move in with Ryker?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know if either of us are ready for that.”
On one hand, I got the feeling that Ryker’s offer was made to irritate my father. On the other, I believed he was serious.
“Of course, if you did,” Vicki said. “I would be super jealous. That means you would see Lucas all the time.”
“If I did, then you would have to visit every day,” I teased.
All of a sudden, her mind started working as her big brown eyes glazed over.
I waved a hand in front of her face. “Hello. I’m not moving in with Ryker.”
She shook off her daydream. “A guy only asks you to live with him if he has feelings for you. You know that, right?”
I was pretty good at reading people. So I wasn’t going to argue the point. But at the moment, I had to take care of family business before I could even think about Ryker James.
29
Ryker
The locker room was somber as the guys changed out of their football uniforms. We’d lost the game, or I’d lost the game. My head hadn’t been screwed on since I’d left Haven’s dorm room three days ago.
Erik ambled up, wiping the sweat off his chest with a towel. “Don’t beat yourself up. All of us played like crap.”
The low chatter came to an abrupt halt.
Erik waved a hand around. “We did. Admit it. Defense sucked. I played like shit. I didn’t protect you like I should have.”
Guys nodded, and others verbally agreed with Erik. It was great to hear that I had their support, but I still felt like a loser.
I’d been sacked twice in the game. It wasn’t Erik’s fault or any of the guys. It was mine. I hadn’t released the ball quickly enough. My reflexes seemed to have frozen, my mind was on a hiatus from football, and my arm wasn’t working. Even when I had thrown a pass, I hadn’t fired it into Lucas’s hands, or anyone’s for that matter.
I grabbed the ends of my shirt and pulled it over my head. “Listen up. You guys have had my back, and you’ve been busting your ass every game. I’m the one who hasn’t shown up to play, and I’m sorry about that.”
“Man,” Vin yelled from the other side of the locker room. “You’re entitled to a bad day, or a couple.”
Ajax, who was stripping down next to Vin, shouted, “Give yourself a break, Ryker. You’ve had it rough this year.”
Everyone chimed in with the same sentiment.
Lucas strutted up, his sweat-soaked hair matted to his head. “It’s time to blow off some steam. You’ve been wound tight for the last couple of days.”
I nodded in agreement. I could use a bottle of scotch and a good fuck. But I didn’t want to be with any woman other than Haven, and that wasn’t going to happen as long as her old man was in the picture.
“Party at our house,” Lucas announced.
Shouts of “hell yeah” and “I’m there” erupted from the guys.
I was getting ready to jump in the shower when Coach Chapman blew in like a fucking tornado. “Ryker, in my office in ten,” his voice thundered.
The guys around me recoiled.
Lucas slammed his eyes shut briefly.
We knew what Coach wanted—to chew my ass until I had no meat left on my bones.
No one said a word as Coach left a huge wake of tension behind as he flew out of the room.
I didn’t waste any time showering and dressing. One thing everyone knew about Coach Chapman was that he should never be kept waiting. I’d already had him swearing like a sailor on the field. I imagined he would be doing the same when he had me alone in his office.
“Good luck,” Vin said at my back as I walked out.
“We’ll bring flowers to your funeral,” Erik teased.
Nine minutes later, I was closing the door behind me in Coach Chapman’s office.
He sat behind his desk amid the stacks of folders piled high around him. I could barely see his computer monitor, which he was fixated on.
I stood with my hands cupped in front of me. “I’m sorry.” I had no other words. Coach didn’t want to hear my excuses on why I’d played like crap.
He groaned as he leaned back in his chair, swiping fat fingers over his bald head. “For what? Losing the game? You didn’t lose it—the team did. All of you sucked.”
“Why am I here, then?” My grades were good thanks to the help I’d gotten from my tutor. I hadn’t missed practice. I’d been working out. I’d even finished my campus community service like a good boy.
He gnawed on the inside of his cheek. “What’s going on in your head?”
I flinched. Our relationship had always been professional. I could count on one hand how many times Coach had asked me where my mind was. Of course, one time had been after the recent deaths of my family. But the only other time had been when I’d first joined the team. He’d been worried about my nerves and wanted to know where my head was at.
“I know,” he said. “It’s going to take time for you to heal. You have been through fucking hell. But you’ve been doing well for the last three games. All of a sudden, you can’t seem to throw a pass.”
“Just a bad day.” I couldn’t seem to catch a break. I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself, or maybe I was. I’d found a woman who I wanted to be with. But as it turned out, I couldn’t because of her father.
Everyone had been taken away from me—Ellie, the girl who had captured my heart in high school, my family, and now Haven.
He swiveled his monitor around so I could see it. “Have you seen the news?”
I could feel my forehead creasing. I’d skirted the reporters after the game and run into the locker room. I knew once I left the building, there would be reporters waiting, though.
I inched closer and scanned the screen to find a picture of Haven and me locked in that heated k
iss at the Marriott well over two weeks ago.
Coach hated bad press, but me kissing a girl wasn’t bad press. Sure, it wasn’t about football. If we were going to be in front of cameras, Coach wanted it to be because of football and not much else.
“Do you think this is the cause of my poor performance?”
His eyes became pinpricks. “Senator Hale’s daughter? Really?”
I cocked my head. “Are you asking or telling?”
His calm tone switched suddenly. “Don’t get smart with me.”
“It’s a fucking kiss. Surely that has nothing to do with football.”
He flew forward and slammed his meaty palms on the desk. The sound ricocheted in the messy office. “The problem is the phone call I just got from Senator Hale. You know, the man who donates tons of money to this school. The same one who is the father of the girl you’re about to fuck.”
No “about to fuck” there. I already had, but that wasn’t for public knowledge and never would be. “Coach, calm down. That picture happened over two weeks ago, and there’s nothing going on between her and me.”
“Calm down, he says.” Coach’s face was turning ten shades of red.
“My personal life has nothing to do with football.”
He stabbed a finger at the screen. “Tell the press that, Ryker.” His hard tone softened a tiny bit. “Fuck any other girl other than the senator’s daughter.”
Anger, hot and sticky, crept up to make me clench my teeth. I was tired of people telling me to stay away from Haven. “I have been the model player, doing everything I’m supposed to do. Two years of busting my ass with one championship in the mix. Two years of giving a hundred and fifty percent of my time and me to this school and team. I haven’t had much time to myself.”
He opened his mouth, but I held up my hand. It was my turn to let him know how I felt. “With all due respect, Coach, my love life is off limits to you, to the senator, and to anyone who tries to come between me and whoever it is I’m going to date or settle down with.” The only people I wanted to care weren’t on earth anymore.
His thick, bushy eyebrows twitched. “Are you saying you’re dating Haven? And are you saying you have feelings for her?” Concern etched his tone.
I inhaled then exhaled. “What I’m saying is leave her and me alone. There won’t be any more pictures of us like that. The only media coverage I’ll get other than football stuff is at the fundraiser next weekend, and you’ll be there anyway.” Even though I had an extremely strong urge to strangle the senator, I didn’t want to put Haven in the line of fire with her old man.
I started for the door. If Coach wasn’t going to rip me a new one for my performance on the field, then we were done.
“Ryker, I’m on your side. I know how it feels to want someone you can’t have. Some advice?”
I hiked a shoulder. “Why not.”
“Make sure she wants you as much as you want her. Then fight like a motherfucker.”
That got a laugh out of me and nearly made my eyeballs pop out of my head. “Thank you.” I meant it sincerely.
After I left Coach’s office, I found Lucas perched against my car. “I was worried you wouldn’t have a head or an ass when you left his office.”
For shits and giggles, I tried to look at my ass. “I think it’s still there.”
“So talk.”
I sidled up next to him. “The senator is sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Lucas tucked his hands into his jeans pockets. “Haven is the reason you’ve been brooding for the last three days.” It was a statement, not a question.
I swallowed thickly. “Remember Ellie? Remember how she stole the breath from my lungs?”
“That bad?”
I got my keys out of my pocket. “Worse.”
“Do you think Haven feels the same way?”
“Ninety percent of me does. But even so, she’s made her decision.”
He clapped a hand on my back. “Then maybe it’s time to tell her how you feel. Maybe then, she can decide what team she wants to bat for.”
“I asked her to move in with us. She said no. So I know how she feels.”
He jerked his head toward me, his light-brown eyes glinting in the late-afternoon sun. “You left that part out.”
I’d told him everything that had gone down in Haven’s dorm room except that. “I didn’t think it was relevant because she said no.”
“Just because she said no to moving in doesn’t mean she doesn’t have feelings for you. Fuck her father. Fight. That’s who you are. Since when do you give up?”
Since my heart was on the line.
30
Haven
Arlene greeted me at the door before I could even open it. I swore she must have been looking out the floor-to-ceiling window in the formal living room in anticipation of my arrival.
“Haven.” Her cold and clinical voice matched the atmosphere in the mansion.
There was nothing warm about the house, especially with her in it.
“Arlene,” I returned in a snarky tone.
She stuck out her fake boobs and wiped the scowl off her face. “Nice to have you home.”
I dropped my suitcase in the foyer and set my purse on top of it. “Not nice to be here.”
“Now. Now. We need to get along. Roya is cooking dinner. We eat at six.”
I trudged up the spiral staircase, stomping my feet like a child. “Not hungry.”
“You will eat with us,” she said at my back, talking to me as though she were my mother.
Rage bristled across my skin as I whirled around, holding on to the shiny mahogany bannister. “You don’t tell me what to do.”
“I beg to differ,” she said in a tone as cool as ice. “You’re living here. So you will follow my rules.”
I snickered, albeit sarcastically. “Your rules? You can’t tell me what to do. Oh, and I’m not staying long.”
One side of her maroon-colored lips turned up as though she knew a secret. “You’re right. After this semester, your father is enrolling you in a small quaint college in Washington.” Her enjoyment in delivering that news was written all over her heavily made-up face.
I marched down the five steps, scuffing the heels of my sandals on the stairs, hoping to bore deep scratches in the waxed wooden steps. “Hide me away so I don’t embarrass him?” I tapped my finger on my lips. “That’s not it. He doesn’t want me going to the same school as Ryker James.”
She flinched ever so slightly.
I’d hit the nail on the head, although that didn’t shock me.
I placed one hand on my hip. “So, Arlene, tell me. Why does Father Dearest hate the quarterback so much? I’m guessing you know.”
Her blue eyes narrowed to pinpricks. “He’s your father. He worries about you.”
That was a big, fat lie. “The only thing my father worries about is his reputation. Where is he?” He and I were going to have a serious talk.
He won’t talk or tell you the truth.
“He’s indisposed. You can talk to him at dinner.”
My lips thinned out, debating whether to continue sparring with the woman who made my skin crawl. I brushed past her, bumping her shoulder. “I’ll find him, even if he’s in the bathroom.”
Click. Click. Click.
The sound of her slingback heels echoed as she hurried to catch up with me. “He asked not to be disturbed.” The poor thing sounded worried. To a fault, I couldn’t blame her. Anytime anyone interrupted my father, they got their head sliced off. But I wasn’t just anyone.
I stopped in the large archway that led to two spacious rooms overlooking the veranda and the backyard. I could usually find my father on the veranda by the pool or in his office, which was located in another wing of the house.
Baxter, Arlene’s prized possession, wagged his tail as he jumped down from one of the sofas.
I squatted down to pet the Maltese. “Hey, boy.” At least someone in the house greeted me w
ith happiness.
Arlene picked up Baxter. “Haven, why are you so rebellious?”
I straightened and rolled back my shoulders. “I haven’t done anything of the sort unless you call liking a guy rebellious. You were a teenager once. What did you do when you liked a boy?” I wasn’t mocking her. I was asking her a serious question.
She sighed, smoothing a hand over her blond updo. “Okay. I get it. But Ryker is only going to break your heart. I had a Ryker James when I was growing up. The only thing to come out of falling for a boy like him is heartbreak.”
I wondered if she knew about my father’s affair. If she did, she was handling it well.
Baxter wiggled in her arms, so she put him down. The dog scrambled back to his spot on the couch.
“I’ll be the judge of my love life. Neither you nor my father will have a say in that whenever I fall in love.”
“Seems to me you’re in love,” she said nicely.
“How would you know?”
“Haven, please. Have you examined the picture that’s all over the news of you and Ryker locking lips?”
I didn’t need to look at the picture again. I’d already studied it over and over again and reminisced about how tingly that kiss had felt.
A smugness blanketed her face. “And the news outlets are raving about how Ryker snagged a senator’s daughter.”
I wish it were true.
It is true. You just haven’t admitted it to yourself.
I spun on my heel and padded through the opulent mansion, passing expensive paintings on the walls, artifacts that my father had brought back from many of his overseas trips, and crystal vases filled with fresh flowers.
When I passed the gourmet kitchen, a spicy aroma floated out. It smelled like the burritos or tamales that Roya was famous for. Maybe dinner wouldn’t be so bad after all.
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