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  The guy who was packing the bags leaned against the car. “You would probably be way more comfortable. Harrison has a small backseat.”

  My stomach turned. It’s not like I had anything against Ryan, but I didn’t really know him.

  Clare handed the bag to me. “It will be okay, Rox. We’ll meet you at the country club. We’re still sharing a room.”

  I was a big girl, so I accepted the bag without question. She was right. I’d see her soon. The trip would only be around three hours. I could get over that. I looked around for a guy with dreads. “Where is Ryan?”

  Chip, the guy I discerned was packing the bags, closed the trunk. “Over there by the red number.” He pointed. “An Audi.”

  And yet another flashy car.

  I waved my friend off and headed over to the car. Ryan was there with a pair of sunglasses on as he packed the trunk. “Hey, Ryan. You have some room for me?”

  He pushed his glasses up into his dreads. “So you are riding with us then?” he asked, smiling as he put his hand out for the bag.

  I gave it to him. “Looks like it. Who are we riding with?”

  Griffin

  My breath left me as I approached Ryan’s car.

  Roxie was in the front seat.

  She was staring straight at me, and the clear frown on her face let me know she wasn’t happy about seeing me. She was riding with Ryan? I just assumed she’d go with her friend, Clare.

  Shit.

  She looked away from my gaze. Leaning on her palm, she stared out the open window to her side. My vision finally broke from her and the person in the backseat finally caught my attention. No one but Tanya had hair that blonde. What did she think she was doing riding with Ryan and me? I told her to stay the hell away from me during this trip. I didn’t care how she was getting to the country club, but I made it clear it wasn’t with me when she asked. I shouldn’t have been surprised she was doing this. She probably figured if she was already in the car I wouldn’t dare kick her out of it, and now that Roxie was in the car, I wouldn’t dare cause a scene.

  Is this really my life right now? Really?

  Shaking my head, I threw my bag on my back, trying to mentally prepare myself for what was about to happen when I got into that car. The woman I wanted and the woman I didn’t want anything to do with sharing the same oxygen. Fuck if I couldn’t get a break. Tanya had already figured something was off when I left to go after Roxie, but I also went to talk to Clare so she didn’t give me a hard time about it. Not that I would have answered any questions she had. She wasn’t in my life anymore. I didn’t owe her anything. I still didn’t want her knowing about Roxie. Tanya could be a real kind of evil when she wanted to be, and I was a fool for putting up with her as long as I did. It was best I kept things with Roxie quiet. I didn’t want Tanya hassling her since she was still clearly not over me. Roxie was so sweet. She shouldn’t have to deal with my ex’s bullshit. Staying away also gave Roxie what she wanted. Her space from me. I told her I’d wait, and God, I’d do the best I could. Holding out was damn hard though.

  I made it to the back of the car where Ryan was, arranging the luggage we all had. There was a single purple bag with a black Venomous Vixens patch stitched on it. I had to smile at that one. The poor little bag was surrounded by brown bags that had Louis Vuitton “L’s” and “V’s” stamped all over it, suffocating it with all its high maintenance. Ryan, with his brow wrinkled in, was doing all he could to make it fit properly in the trunk. My eyes lifted to the heavens at Tanya and her ridiculousness. We were only going to this place for two nights for fuck’s sake.

  Ryan saw me, giving me a shake before taking my bag.

  “What’s Tanya doing here?” I asked him. “I thought D and his date were riding with us?” Ryan knew I was avoiding Tanya.

  He managed to find room in the back for my bag and closed the trunk. “Roxie needed a ride, then out of nowhere came Tanya saying she needed one, too. She was doing that tongue-clicking thing she does when I told her no. Before I knew it, she was in my car. By then there was no room left. D is riding with some of the other guys.”

  She forced her way in. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Still, I didn’t have to talk to her, and I didn’t as I got inside the car. The small area reeked of perfume I knew too well, the wearer of which turned my way, flashing a grin.

  “Hey, Griffin,” Tanya said, giving me a wink. “Why aren’t you driving today? Your Escalade has more room. It’s so much nicer, more cozy and comfortable.”

  Yeah, and it also was a gas-guzzler. Ryan driving was more economical. I lived off my scholarships and grants and didn’t have money for the damn thing. I should have thought about that before I accepted it. I never used it anyway. I always used the bus or got rides from my friends when I needed to get around town. I was more used to that. It reminded me of what I came from.

  I looked in the side mirror and watched Roxie roll her eyes and shake her head. I could only gather it was because of Tanya. She probably found her off putting, and I didn’t blame her. It couldn’t have made me look very good that I dated Tanya and that I was still tied to her because of this fucking event.

  I turned my head from Tanya, not bothering to answer her.

  Ryan started the car and turned on his radio, blasting hip hop, before he moved his Audi with the line of cars out of the parking lot.

  We’d been driving for only a moment before Tanya spoke to me again.

  “So am I getting the silent treatment now?” she asked.

  Despite myself, I turned my head to her. “What do you think you’re doing, Tanya?”

  She feigned confusion, flashing blonde lashes. “What do you mean?”

  My stare went cold, hard. “I think you know exactly what I mean. Inviting yourself to ride with us and showing up all unannounced. I know what game you’re playing, Tanya, and you need to back off.”

  She simply folded her arms, crossing one long leg over the other with a smile. “This is always how it’s starts, Griffin. The same old thing every time. ‘We break up,’” she paused, air quoting. “But then we somehow always fall back into old times. Opportunities always seem to present themselves. Things like this weekend start innocent enough, but then one thing leads to another, and well, you know how it goes. Am I to blame for just trying to make it easier this time? For opening the door?”

  She pushed her hand along the seat toward my knee.

  I jerked it from within her reach, my nostrils flaring. I decided I had no other option but to be blunt with her. If I didn’t, I’d be dealing with bullshit all weekend and she needed to know once and for all my stance on us. Absolutely nothing was going to happen with her. She obviously needed a reality check.

  I leaned in to her. “I’m going to say this once, so I hope you’re listening this time. Don’t delude yourself, Tanya, because this, us, is not happening. Not now. Not ever again. So don’t think us going to this thing tomorrow night means anything. We are finished. We are through. I expect you to keep yourself in check this weekend.”

  Any other girl might have blanched, be hurt by such bluntness, but not Tanya. She merely smirked in response. Shaking her head, she looked away from me and gazed out the window.

  Letting out a breath, I looked out mine. That’s when I saw Roxie. She was looking in her side mirror, green eyes on me.

  I pushed my window down, not wanting the tinted glass to distract from my vision of her. She didn’t look away, but instead watched my face as I watched hers. I knew I only had a moment, a second of her attention, before she most likely took it from me. So with that, I took advantage.

  Lifting my fingers just slightly from the windowsill, I waved and mouthed a single word to her. “Hi.”

  I didn’t expect her to greet me back. I didn’t expect her to do anything at all, so when a small smile formed on the corner of her lips and she mouthed, “Hey,” my mind was still trying to process what happened long after she closed her eyes and fell asleep on the open windowsill.


  There was one thing I realized very quickly, though. That simple, inaudible word managed to increase the pace of my heart.

  Chapter Ten

  Roxie

  Myself and the other dates of the basketball players were pretty much on our own after we arrived at the Midwestern country club. The players had practice in the club’s gym shortly after we arrived and were whisked away not long after checking-in. From what I heard, that practice was hardcore and mandatory for their normal five-day a week training schedule. The next morning, they had another practice at six a.m. That one was a mock game for the alumni and some other powerful folks in the community to watch them play. The girls and myself were allowed at this one, but I chose not to go. That was just too damn early and it felt silly. I thought this masquerade dance was to thank the guys for their hard work, yet they couldn’t even get the weekend off to relax. It just sounded off, weird to me, but maybe this was perfectly normal. I mean, I only played an intermural. Roller derby was very much about having fun, not so much about winning or impressing alumni.

  The guys being busy allowed the girls free time to do whatever we wished. I hung out with Clare and Destiny for some of the time, touring the area. We couldn’t do much outside since it was still chilly this time of the year, but the landscape was fabulous. Well-trimmed hedges and evergreen-colored grasses. One thing that sucked was that Destiny was friends with most of the player’s dates, Tanya being one of them. They all wanted to play indoor tennis or hang out by the indoor pool. I wasn’t into it, so I stayed in the room I shared with Clare. She wasn’t into what they were doing either, but she felt obligated to mingle since she was dating Destiny. The two stayed friendly in public considering the “arrangement” they had with Chip and Harrison, but when it was just the three of us, they took every moment they had to hold hands or lean into one another. I found that great, but it did increase my loneliness and made me want to keep to myself more by hiding in the room. Tanya being around made the urge to stay locked up brew even more. I didn’t want anything to do with Griffin’s ex, so I made my best efforts to avoid the girl. I didn’t have a choice in the late afternoon, though. Literally all the girls decided at breakfast this morning that they were going to get their nails done before the masquerade, and Clare pleaded with me to go with her. She never was a girlie girl, so I decided to be there for her by just biting the bullet and going.

  We all went down to the salon and some of the girls were already there. I decided to get a pedicure along with a manicure since my shoes for tonight were open-toed. I was opening a magazine when a voice caused the hairs on my neck to rise up. I didn’t even bother looking at Tanya and simply turned the page on my magazine.

  “Here. Use this. I don’t like using salon polishes. I heard you people dilute polishes to make them last.”

  Despite myself, I looked up in time to see the blonde shaking a bottle of nail polish at her pedicurist. The small Asian woman managed to take the red lacquer from her client without snarling, and I had to give her credit. I wouldn’t have been so civil. The woman asked Tanya how she was liking her stay as she started her basin of water for her feet.

  “Honestly, I remember the upkeep of the land being a lot better last year,” she said, dipping her small feet into the bath. “I didn’t get to see much of it though because of the weather. Too cold and all that.”

  The girl sure wasn’t shy about being honest.

  “I wish the event I’m here for was someplace warmer.” Tanya grabbed a magazine and began thumbing through it. “Some place like Cancun. My boyfriend, Griffin, and I stayed there during spring break one year. Beautiful land and so warm.”

  I almost smirked, biting my lip to contain it. The girl was obviously in some kind of denial. I didn’t want to listen in on what Griffin told her in the car; I’d been trying to keep to myself the minute I found out the two of us would be riding up here together. But I couldn’t help listening to him telling her off, putting her in check. He really was serious about not wanting to be with her, which made me think he was serious about waiting for me. Maybe his feelings for me were deep; perhaps deep enough where I wouldn’t have to worry about him finding out about certain things. Certain things about me.

  “Oh, and when we went to Hawaii two summers ago,” Tanya crooned, waving her hand, “the place was simply stunning. Some of the cleanest air you can find anywhere. So worth the cost. Though I didn’t have to worry about that. My boyfriend treated.”

  I did smirk that time and it came out with a snort that I regretted immediately. Everyone looked my way.

  Including Tanya.

  She crossed her arms, cocking her head. “Did I say something funny?”

  Biting my lip, I knew I had to say something. She prompted me to speak, but I couldn’t admit her lie to the crowd. That seemed skivvy and cruel, and I didn’t play like that. I decided to go with something else I found funny.

  I placed the magazine on my lap. “It’s just that you said you paid for clean air. You could just go camping. The air is free.”

  Clare slapped her hand over her mouth to silence her laugh, and the other ladies had a chuckle at what I said as well. The tension of the room broke, and I allowed myself a light laugh, too. I gazed at Tanya, but she was the only one not laughing. Looking at the group, she offered a single smile before looking at me. Her expression went hard and cold before she picked up her magazine again.

  Letting out a breath, I grabbed my magazine again as well.

  “That was really funny by the way,” said the girl in the basin next to me. She gazed over at Tanya before lowering her head to me. “And she’s bullshitting about Griffin paying for all that stuff. None of the guys do.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Like tonight. The guys get free stuff all the time. Perks under the table for being good players. Trips, gift cards. Heck, my boyfriend, Chris, got a car.”

  I blinked. “Cars?” Suddenly all those nice rides the boys rode up in made more sense. People actually gave them stuff for playing basketball? I moved in to whisper to the girl. “Is that legal?”

  Leaning back, she shrugged. “Probably not. The guys get ‘gifts’ all the time for a job well done, but they’d be foolish to think it’s not for something in return. They’re playing for the people giving them stuff, and that’s definitely understood by both parties.”

  What she said reminded me of a conversation I had with someone before. A conversation I just as soon wanted to forget. Candie told me at the party that some corporate people paid her to service the guys for a job well done, just like this girl said. This girl said the guys understood what they were getting into when accepting these gifts.

  What was going on with the basketball players was definitely not ethical. They were essentially being… bribed.

  Griffin

  There was a lot of tie loosening and breaths of relief when us guys left the conference room. This weekend had been nothing but work, work, work. The latest job being a meet and greet with the alumni and some corporate people. They eyed us over as they did this morning at our mock practice, but this time they got to ask us questions, see what we were about, and figure out what made us tick. The press was invited and my eyes were still adjusting from the flashes of their cameras. I was asked the most questions as captain, which was to be expected. Everyone knew what this weekend was really about, what it had always been about every year. The powerful people behind the team wanted to know what they were paying for, where their donated tax dollars to the athletic program were going, and I didn’t blame them. I’d probably be the same way. What I didn’t like about the whole thing was that the event left us susceptible to temptations. Gifts were very much un-allowed, but that didn’t stop one of the team’s benefactors from approaching an innocent freshman, drawing him in.

  I had a meeting with the guys just this morning before practice. They all groaned about having to be up earlier, but the meeting was necessary. These people we met with this weekend could be
real predators. Ones I wish the team’s former leadership and upperclassman would have tried harder to protect myself and many others on the team from. I felt it was my job to at least give these guys a fighting chance by warning them. Once you accepted that first gift, whether it be an extravagant trip or something as simple as concert tickets, it only led to more. True, taking them was high risk as they could get a player kicked off the team, but they also had another consequence. They made you a slave. The people who gave those things to a player owned them, and they knew it. It took me a while to realize that, but I was happy to say I had.

  At least with all the work done, the guys and myself could finally rest easy. The masquerade dance part of this weekend was actually for the team. No one but the team and our dates were allowed. I found myself actually excited for it, which is something I’d never been able to say coming to one of these before. Roxie would be there. Though I was supposed to give her space, I might be able to convince a dance out of her.

  The thought actually had me grinning as I walked down the hall with my teammates. We were coming up on the club’s salon when a bunch of the girls came out of it. In fact, I’d say nearly all of them since there were so many. I wasn’t prepared to see Roxie so suddenly, but then again, I never was. She wore a navy dress today, which hugged her curvy figure, with her hair down and flowing. She had on flip flops and those funny little pink things that girls put on their toes at nail salons that separate their toes. They caused her to waddle a bit when she walked, but I only found that cute.

  The hallway got pretty congested as the players all grabbed their girls. I decided to use that to my advantage.

  Roxie was making a beeline in the opposite direction of the mass, but I caught up to her tiny strides, grabbing her elbow gently. When I did, her dark skin beaded, rising into goose bumps.

  She turned, a small smile gracing her smooth lips. “Griffin. Hi.”

  I really loved it when this girl said my name. I knew it was something small, trivial, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. “Hey. How are you?”