Rival Love (13 page)

“Yeah. But he has a right to be mad. I was with him for two years and he didn’t get anything other than some heavy make-out sessions.”

He nods. “Still doesn’t make him right. The girl always has the say. Can’t lose sight of that fact. It’s your choice.”

“Wow, I never pegged you to be understanding or even a little sweet.”
Crap, did I say that out loud?
Yup. His smile is proving that. Crap. “Maybe you should take me back to my car. Which is probably trashed.”

“That would be a shame.” He starts the car with a devilish smirk and a wink.

Chapter 24

Caleb

When she threw herself between Kevin and me that day, this unexplainable need to protect her came over me. I was actually staring at him, waiting for him to touch her so I could beat the hell out of him. I thought this feeling would leave once we were somewhere else, but it hasn’t. In fact, I find myself wanting to kiss away her bruises more than ever, wanting to promise to protect her from any harm.

Being alone with her is suddenly awkward. Whatever this is, it needs to stop. In order to avoid any sort of feelings I refuse to be in the same room with her. Alone that is. I can never be in a room with just her, I don’t trust myself to keep from acting on this sudden want.

It’s been two weeks since her prank. We’ve played McKinley, Hartsville, and now we’re coming up on our first away game. I’ve been sitting inside the athletic director’s office for a little over ten minutes now. The side door opens and in walks Mr. Chamberlin and Coach Dillon. “How are you doing today, Caleb?” Mr. Chamberlin asks.

“Fine. Am I in trouble for something?”

Coach Dillon takes a seat next to me and clears his throat. “Not necessarily, but we’re concerned. Your math scores are a little low and you know how I feel about everyone having a 3.0 average. College scouts are looking for not only talent, but the grades to back it up. It’s come to my attention that if you don’t get a B or higher on your next math test, you won’t be eligible for the Richmond game.”

“Son, we don’t want to see this happen. Lucky for you, I’ve got a tutor lined up for you.” A knock comes at the door. Mr. Chamberlin welcomes Danielle Samson.
Oh, shit.
This isn’t good.

“Hello, Danielle, how are you?”

She smiles, flipping her long blond locks off her shoulder. “I’m great. So, I was told you needed me for something.”

Mr. Chamberlin nods. “Yes, Caleb needs a little extra help in his math class.”

She flicks her attention to me and smiles. “Oh, he does.”
Not good.
“Well, I’d love to help out the team any way I can. What time should I come over?”

“Come over? Uh…can’t we do this at the library?”

“We’ll let you two discuss this out in the hall. I’ve got another player and tutor waiting.” He shoos us out of his office and my eyes land on Skylar scowling in a leather chair in the waiting area.

Why is she here? I want to ask her, but Danielle is clinging to my arm. “Your place around seven. Sound good?”

Danielle needs to leave. So I agree to whatever she’s babbling about. Skylar glares at me and then sighs. “What’s your problem, freak?” Danielle says.

Skylar snorts and Danielle starts toward her, but Mr. Chamberlin opens his door again. “Ah, Skylar. Come on in.”

***

After practice, Lance elbows me. “Dude, you know that Skylar chick?”

“What about her?”

“Apparently she’s going to help me out in history.”

My eyes grow large. “History? Really.” My voice cracks a little.

Lance smacks my shoulder. “I know who she is, man.”

I feel my face draining of color.
Oh, hell.
He knows. “Look, it’s not…”

Lance laughs. “Dude, I don’t actually care. She’s helping me out. But you better not let the others near her. That shit won’t sit right with them. Know what I mean?”

We fist-bump. “Thanks, man. You’ve got no idea how crazy this has been.”

“Dude, you’ve got a former Bulldog living in your house, I can imagine how crazy it is. I’m coming over tonight for my tutor lesson. At first, she was completely against the idea, especially when I said, ‘Holy shit, you’re Liv.’ She started stammering and tried to deny it, but eventually she confessed. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I swear she was trying to protect you more than herself.”

I don’t want to smile, but it’s kind of hard not to. Skylar keeps trying to protect me, and it’s making me want to know her even more. What’s happening to me?

“So I’ll see ya later,” he says before running to his car.

When I get to my house, my stomach clenches with dread. In the driveway, there’s not only Skylar’s car, who I could have sworn would be at work, but Danielle is leaning against her parents’ Mercedes. It’s not even five thirty.

I park my car and head to the front door. Danielle is gaining on my heels. In a moment of panic and weakness, I think about slamming the front door in her face. But as much as I hate this situation and what’s on the line, I need her help. Stopping at the top step of the porch, I turn to face her. She has an eyebrow raised and a smile on her face. “Keeping strange company aren’t we, Caleb?”

“I…”

She cuts me off. “Don’t play stupid. I saw Skylar.”

“My uncle…”

She cuts me off again. “I’m not interested in the reason. But if you want me to keep your little—or should I say big—secret you’re going to do me a few favors.”

I run my hand through my hair and snap, “Like what?” I don’t like her tone. Or her stare, which resembles that of a lion stalking its prey.

“You’re going to go out with me. You’re going to take me to homecoming, and the winter formal dance. You’ll pick me up every morning, and walk me to every one of my classes. Basically, you’re mine until graduation.”

I swallow hard. She has me, right by the balls, and if I don’t cave to her demands my senior year will be ruined. And then I can be sure to forget playing any more games because not only will my math grade go straight to the toilet, but my team will not want to play with me.

I nod and we go inside. She’s gloating but I’m definitely not happy. Footsteps pound down the steps and Skylar’s voice trails down. “Caleb? I swear…I just…” She reaches the bottom step and stops. “Oh…um. Okay then, I’m going to the kitchen. You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

“I’m allergic to dogs,” Danielle sneers.

Skylar scowls and rolls her eyes. “So original, but I wasn’t talking to you. Caleb, food allergies?”

Danielle steps in front of me, sizing up Skylar. “You plan on killing my man?”

“If I planned on killing anyone, do you think I’d be stupid enough to ask if they’re allergic to anything? And again, I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to him but if you want to be his speaking puppet then fine. Caleb, my mother asked me to make dinner since she’s got to put in another shift at the hospital and Brian is at some teachers’ meeting. So if you’re not allergic to anything in beef stew that’s what we’re having. M’kay?” She turns on her heels and huffs while her hands hit the kitchen door. “Someone should just shoot me.”

Danielle gapes at me. “Do you believe that little tramp? Who does she think she is? Go set her straight, she can’t talk to me or you like that.”

“Fine.” I walk away from Danielle and into the kitchen. Skylar is still fuming over the stove, slamming pots and pans onto the burners and placing bowls and ingredients on the countertop with such force that flour puffs out of the opening, dusting the kitchen. Skylar snarls at it, “At least you don’t have to deal with morons all day long or get ambushed after school. No, you my friend still have a purpose, unlike me, who’s got no clue what she’s supposed to do with her life anymore.” She pauses and shakes her head. “Snap out of it, Sky, you’re talking to a bag of flour for God’s sake.” She turns and spots me. Her eyes grow wide and her cheeks turn pink. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.” She moves toward the fridge and grabs two grocery bags then heads back to the counter. “Need some help?”

“I’ve got this. Go play with your girlfriend.” She glares at me.

I narrow my eyes. “It’s not like that.”

“Spare me. She told me. And you know what? You could have given me a heads-up. I mean, why would you put me in that kind of a situation? You switch your study times and now I get to endure harassment by your new slut of the week. I knew you were an ass and hated me, but I thought you had a little more respect for me than that. At least I told Lance I’d have to talk to you before springing a surprise on you. But it’s whatever. Have fun with the Barbie.”

I shake my head. “She was here. I told her at lunch that we should study at the library or at her house. And even if she did show up she was supposed to be here at seven.”

“Well, it's five thirty and you smell.”

“I’m leaving.” I head to the door and pause. “Oh, and beef stew sounds good. Not allergic to any foods, thanks for asking. And I’m sorry for everything.” She smiles and nods. And that’s when I exit.

Danielle isn’t in the living room. She’s not in the dining room either. I head upstairs hoping she’s not in any of the rooms. I open my own room and at first, it’s too dark to see if Danielle is in here or not. My fingers flip the switch and there’s Danielle, spread across my bed. Her shirt is unbuttoned exposing her lacy bra. She pats the empty spot on the bed and purrs. “Come here.”

Chapter 25

Skylar

My hate for both Caleb and his new girlfriend, Danielle, is about to unleash in a very ugly way. In order to contain composure, I escape to the kitchen. At least that will keep me from ripping Barbie’s eyes out of her brainless skull. And when that asshat appears in the kitchen with a smirk on his face, I want to scream at him, “That’s your type? Brainless and skankalous!” Instead, I just tell him to go play with her. And yes, I may have suggested it but I didn’t think he would do what I asked.

I slam a red pepper onto the cutting board and start chopping away. It’s not helping me take my mind off of what Caleb and Danielle are doing to each other right now.
Agh! What’s wrong with me?
Why do I care about some typical male whore? And why am I mad that he just stood there, staring at me while his new toy of the week tried to insult me?

I set the knife down, and check on the stick of butter in the pan. After I stir it around a bit I go up to my room to retrieve my book bag. But once I reach the top of the stairs I hear her moans, and my stomach instantly knots while my heart twists. I snatch up my bag and hurry back into the kitchen.

My bag slips from my shoulder and drops to the floor near the island. I lower my gaze at the vegetables on the counter. I pick up a potato and start cutting away, hoping it will keep me from thinking about what I just heard seconds ago.

There are not enough vegetables to keep my mind occupied. I mince the garlic and save the onion for last because they’re the devil of all vegetables. Making people cry is just mean and wrong in my opinion and that’s exactly what those damn things do. As the knife slices into the layers, my eyes instantly release a boatload of stinging tears. And I’m not sure if it all has to do with the onion, or what’s currently going on upstairs. I shouldn’t care. I really shouldn’t.

The sleeves on my shirt serve as my current supply of tissue, but it’s not helping. The damn tears don’t seem to stop.

Taking the large bowl that holds all the chopped peppers, carrots, garlic, onions, and potatoes over to the stove, I dump it into the hot pot. Now on to injecting the meat with some marinade. At least this is what I plan on doing, but the doorbell rings. I check the clock; it’s only six thirty so this can’t be Lance.

The doorbell rings again and I yell, “Caleb! You might want to get the door!”

A few minutes pass, the doorbell continues to ring, and I’m about to scream for Caleb again when finally I hear the front door open. “Hey, Lance. She’s in the kitchen.”

The kitchen door swings open, and Lance smiles. “Uh, I thought you knew I’m having trouble in history—not cooking. Whatcha making over there?” he teases.

“Bobcat stew.” He frowns and I laugh. “Joking. It’s beef stew.”

“So I take it we can’t really study until you get this finished up?”

“We can study.” I point at the empty barstool and clear off the island. “Set up right here.”

He sets down his books and walks over to me. Rolling up his sleeves he asks, “All right, Bulldog, tell me what you need help with.”

I smile. “Stir the vegetables, please. I’ll start on the other stuff.” Lance nods and we get to work. For the first time inside this house, I actually don’t feel like an enemy. Maybe it’s just how Lance is talking to me instead of attacking me. Or the fact he’s helping me. Either way it’s nice.

I chew on my lower lip while preparing the beef.

“In Chamberlin’s office, you said you had stuff to do on Thursdays, so we can’t study on those days right?” Lance asks.

“Yeah, is that going to be an issue? We can double up times on another day if you need all the extra help you can get. It’s just I’ve got a commitment on those days.”

I’m not going to tell him what it is I do on Thursdays. Not that it’s anything terrible, but some people, like my friends, don’t really understand my need to volunteer at the local youth center. Or on Sundays when I go to the local soup kitchens and help out. It’s not considered “cool,” but I don’t do it to be cool. I do it because I love helping out people in need. I think that’s part of the reason I agreed to these tutoring sessions.

Lance smiles. “It’s fine. We’ve got late practices on Thursdays.” He places his spoon off to the side. “How come you haven’t outed Caleb yet?”

I shrug. “I’ve thought about it, but there’s no point. Outing Caleb means losing my safety zone. I’m stuck here.”

“You know I’d probably get my ass kicked for admitting this but you aren’t so bad, Bulldog. I actually admire you for protecting Caleb.”

Caleb…ugh. The last thing I want to talk about is him or what he’s currently dating. I’m not even sure why it bothers me so much that he’s attracted to such God-awful girls, but seriously, it’s like if they’ve got tits and no brains he’s all over it. So again, why does the very thought of him getting intimate with Danielle or someone equally as stupid make me so ticked off? “I’m not doing any of this for him.” A part of me knows this is not exactly true. But I’m also protecting him because I believe in fair competition. If I were to out Caleb, his team would turn on him, and the season would be over. And Harris Academy wouldn’t win because of wits and speed, a thing every game should be. “Those vegetables starting to soften?”