Hail Mary (Playing For Keeps Duet Book 4), page 9
“Uh, I just started today and have to clean the workshops every day—”
“You’re the community service kid who is trying to get into my shop class?” I cringe and nod stiffly.
“Yep.” He looks me over not in a sexual way but in a way that shows me he’s trying to figure me out.
“How did you know about this?” he asks, motioning to the engine.
I shrug my shoulders. “Cars are kind of my thing.”
He nods. “Tell ya what, kid, I’ve been trying to get these knuckleheads to figure out that the chain was loose for a couple weeks and they couldn’t. If you fix this and explain to me what parts you are fixing and talk me through what’s wrong with it, I’ll make sure Barkley transfers you to my class as your community service time instead of cleaning every day.”
My eyes widen. “Seriously?”
He smiles kindly. “Yeah.”
“Why would you help me?” I ask skeptically.
He takes a deep breath before answering. “I’ve been where you are and I want to give you the same opportunity I was afforded.” That shocks the shit out of me. I nod my head and quickly race around the room grabbing the tools I need before going to work on the engine. As I get to work to fix the problems, he introduces himself and he and I talk as I start fixing the chain. He’s actually a really cool guy and knows a fuck load about cars. He tells me the seven guys in his class are shit at rebuilds and only want to work on Japanese imports. One of them was even dumb enough to suggest trying to put a wastegate in this classic project.
“What the hell?” I say with a laugh.
Shannon laughs and nods. “I joke you not. I wanted to slap him upside the head.” We both laugh at the stupidity of some people. Our laughter cuts off when the door opens to reveal an angry-looking Corvin. My eyes widen at the sight of him before I look to the clock on the wall and curse when I see the time. It’s nearly seven and I told him I would meet him at six. “Can I help you?” Shannon asks. Corvin doesn’t acknowledge him or even look toward him, just keeps his gaze on me. Rather than making a scene, I quickly put the tools down and step around Shannon heading for Corvin but stop a couple feet away to turn back.
“Thank you, I’m sorry for keeping you so late…” Regret blooms inside me, I never finished the task he set for me. “Thank you for the chance—”
Shannon cuts me off before I can finish. “Leave Barkley to me. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning.” My eyes widen in surprise.
“Really?” I can hear the hope in my own voice.
“Yeah, kid. You’re good and picked up a lot of shit I didn’t see. I’ll have your new class schedule waiting for you on my desk tomorrow.”
I beam at him before racing across the room and flinging myself at him. I wrap my arms around his neck, hugging. He tenses for a second before gently pushing me back and shooting a disapproving look that lacks heat. Oh fuck! Realization dawns on me and I want the floor to open up and swallow me whole when I realize I just hugged my teacher!
I blanch up at him. “I’m so sorry, I’m gonna go now before I do something else.” He laughs and I mentally facepalm myself. I turn and rush toward Corvin, he steps out of the way. I grab his hand and practically drag him from the building, needing to get the hell out of there so I can die of shame privately. The moment we step outside, Corvin rips his hand from mine and storms off toward the car, clearly pissed off. I roll my eyes and follow after him. I’m not going to let his sour mood dampen mine, because I’m on cloud fucking nine right now!
We both slip into the car and immediately the tension amps up—it’s so thick. I see how stiff he is out of the corner of my eye and I begin to wonder what the hell happened at practice for him to be this wound up. I’m about to ask him what’s wrong, but then I remember that I don’t care and it’s not my problem if he’s having a bad day. The ride home is tense and not a word is spoken the whole way. Even as we ride the elevator up to the penthouse, he says nothing and his mood is starting to fucking piss me off. The doors open and he practically runs to get away from me. I glare at his back refusing to comment. He goes straight upstairs, rolling my eyes I head for my room. I flick the lights on and gasp. All the new furniture litters the room, the bed even has new covers. I rush into the closet to see that the hordes of clothes he bought me have all now been hung up.
I go into the bathroom next and try the shower but no water comes out, I frown as a thought hits me. He has all the money in the world, pays for my school and dorm, gets me new clothes and new bedroom shit but can’t fix a shower?
“That motherfucker!” I grit out. He isn’t fixing the shower on purpose, so I have no choice but to share his. Oh, you sneaky little bitch. You are going to pay for that, asshole. I decide to devise a plan to fuck with him one last time before I move out. A smile spreads across my face when an idea hits me. Oh, Reaper, you should never have given me the code for the elevator, now you are going to pay.
Corvin hasn’t spoken a word to me for nearly two days. It’s Friday and the vibe around campus is infectious as students make plans for their weekend. I hate that his silent treatment is bothering me when it shouldn’t. I hate him. I keep repeating that in my head as I walk around and hand out the flyers I printed this morning in the library. Random students rush over to grab a copy and I smile as I hand them all one telling them to spread the word. Part of me felt bad for thinking of doing this to him, then this morning when I woke up, I made a deal with myself. If he spoke to me then I would veto this idea but he didn’t, and now he will pay the price for this.
Once all the flyers have been handed out I make my way to Shannon’s class. True to his word, he managed to get Moss to change his mind. I have no idea how he did it and I didn’t question him, I’m just fucking grateful to be in his class and not have to do community service every fucking day. I’m also not stupid enough to think Corvin and his lawyer didn’t have a helping hand in this. Just as I enter the building and reach my class, my phone vibrates. I pull it out and roll my eyes at the sight of Jason’s name. I’ll never tell him or admit it, but I took Corvin’s advice and stopped replying to Jason’s texts and answering his calls. I fucking hate to admit it but he wasn’t wrong when he said Jason would never change. After the first day of ignoring him, the abusive voicemails and text messages started flooding in. I don’t even open the messages I just delete them all now.
My phone begins to ring and I’m about to hit ignore thinking it’s Jason but when I see Reaper appear on the screen, I answer it. “What do you want, Reaper?” I snap, annoyed as fuck that he won’t speak to me but thinks calling is okay?
“I’ll be late home tonight, got some shit to do after practice. I got you an Uber for after school.” I grit my teeth in annoyance, for the past two days I’ve had to wait for him to finish practice before going home. It’s not like I have a car to get home or money to pay for a cab.
“Cool, anything else?” I grit out.
“Yeah, there will be an envelope on the counter for you when you get home.” I tense.
“What is it?” Skepticism is clear in my tone.
“The keys to your dorm room, you move in on Monday. There is also a debit card in there for you as well. Got to go, jail bait.” He ends the call, not giving me a chance to say anything back. I mean really, what the fuck could I have said? I stand here for a minute reeling, he kept his word and really did get me my own dorm room and a bank account. I thought he was talking out his ass, honestly. I mean, no one does this shit for free. Ever since he came to find me on Tuesday night, he hasn’t said a word to me, not even when I walked out of his shower last night trying to get a reaction out of him. He did look me over and I saw the longing in his gaze, but the dead giveaway was the tent in the front of his sweats. I thought for sure he would come to my room last night after my show and fuck me, but he didn’t.
Why the fuck does the fact he won’t talk to me, or even acknowledge me, bother me so damn much? My eyes widen. Oh, fuck no. Nope, I’m not even going to think that because fuck that. After the surprise I have planned for him tonight, he will hate me and then I’ll be back on track and make sure the line between us doesn’t get blurred again—well, for me anyway.
Corvin
Making my way out to my car, I find myself smiling. I’m actually excited to see my sister and Darius and think it will be good having them here to break the tension between me and Alexa. After the revelation I came to the other day, I’ve made sure to keep my distance and my dick in my pants. I know my silent treatment is getting to her, and after her little fucking show last night I nearly caved. I had to talk myself out of marching my ass downstairs to her room and fucking her until we both blacked out. I managed to stop myself and I’m man enough to admit I jerked off to memories of her naked and riding me in the hallway.
Fuck, for the past few days I have tried to keep my distance, not speak to her or even be in the same room as her for more than five minutes, with the exclusion of the ride to and from school. That shit is pure fucking torture! Being that close to her where I can brush against her arm, smell her shampoo and just fucking breathe her in is pure fucking hell. I know I’m fucked up. This whole situation is fucked up. Thing is, I know I should feel guilty for all of this and at the start I did, but now, I crave her. She hasn’t done anything or gone out of her way to make me feel anything other than disdain, but what she doesn’t know is her mere presence and constant snarky remarks are helping me heal and push forward from the loss we have both suffered.
I had to switch my car out at lunch today and pick up the new Range Rover I just bought so I would have enough seats to pick Leah and Darius up. The whole way to the airport I can’t keep the smile off my face. I’m looking forward to Alexa finally being able to meet Leah. She thinks I have no idea that she has been messaging my sister and the others, but Leah told me. I’m glad that she has been talking to them. I know she doesn’t have any friends, if she did she would have called them to bail her crazy ass out of jail and not me.
“I’m so glad we could surprise you,” Leah says from her seat beside me. I shake my head and shoot her a smile. She isn’t wrong, they got me fucking good I’ll give them that. Not only did Darius and Leah fly out, Crue, Saint and Beck came as well. I was fucking blown away when I pulled up to the pick-up lane and saw the five of them standing there. Thank fuck I got a car with seven seats or two of them would be catching an Uber.
“You all got me good, ya fuckers,” I say while looking at my boys in the rearview mirror.
“Bitch, please, no way were we letting Darius fly out here and get a front-row seat to experience the cray cray you live with without us.” Rolling my eyes I shoot Saint a glare in the mirror which just causes him to laugh.
“Stop it. Lexi is cool and I’m excited to finally meet her,” Leah says. I shoot her a grateful smile for her support of Alexa.
“Goldie, you love everyone, so your vote doesn’t count.” My sister peers around her seat to glare at her boyfriend.
“Explains why I like you then, huh?” Everyone bursts out laughing, we all know that remark is going to piss Darius off. The guy is so overdramatic when it comes to my sister.
“Say that shit again, I dare you,” D taunts.
Leah smiles wickedly. “Babe, you left yourself wide open for that one. But I don’t just like you, I love you.” I make a gagging sound, earning a laugh from Beck and the duo in back.
“Damn fucking right you do, Now, tell Becky you don’t love him.” Beckett snorts and shoves Darius in the arm.
“Don’t bring me into your shit, asshole. I’m just here to make sure that Corvin doesn’t get murdered by the underage captive he has locked in his tower.” They all laugh at my expense. I grit my teeth and choose not to comment on that remark, or I risk showing my true feelings.
We pull onto my street and I frown at all the cars parked along the sidewalk. I pull into the underground garage, not overthinking it too much. I help carry the bags as we make our way to the elevator. We make small talk on the ride up but everyone falls silent as we near the penthouse as the bass of loud music can be heard through the metal doors. Dread pools inside me. She wouldn’t, would she? The moment the doors open I get my answer.
Yes, yes she fucking would.
“Oh fuck,” I hear Leah mutter from beside me. Gritting my teeth, I step out of the lift and force my fucking way through the crowd of people I’ve never fucking seen before. As I look around trying to find the girl who’s neck I’m about to fucking wring, I suddenly notice some familiar faces. Vince and Austin raise their beers bottles in greeting. My new fucking team mates are here partying in my fucking house! I look to the left and spot the sound system someone must have brought over just in front of the windows in the living room. I drop the bags in my hands and storm over to it, grip the cord and rip it out of the socket.
The moment the music cuts out, choruses of what the fuck and who the fuck did that ring out. I march over to the coffee table in the center of the living room and hop on it. All eyes are on me and that’s when I spot the little shit sitting on the counter in the kitchen, directly across from me with a shit eating smile on her face.
“All of you have two fucking minutes to get the fuck out of my house, now!” I roar. The dumb fucks just stand there, looking at me like I've lost my fucking mind. My boys come to stand on either side of the table folding their arms over their chests. “Fucking move!” I yell. They all begin to race toward the elevator. Austin and a couple other guys from the team stop in front of me, I look down my nose at them.
“Sorry, bro, we had no idea this was your spot,” Austin says.
“Well, now you do,” I snap. I’m being a dick but right now I don’t give a fuck. I just need them all gone so I can deal with the little shit that is still smiling at me. I keep my eyes on her the whole fucking time as we wait for every single one of the fuckers to get the fuck out—it takes close to twenty fucking minutes for the last lot to leave. The moment they do, I jump down off the table. Alexa swings around on the counter so her legs dangle over the side facing me. I have to step over bottles, plastic cups and who knows what the fuck else to get to her. The moment I’m within reach she opens her legs wide enough for me to slip in between, we’re eye level and I make sure she can see the anger in my gaze.
The dirty little temptress places her hands on top of my shoulders and quirks a brow. “You seem upset, Reaper, want me to rub you better?” she says in the sweetest tone. I grind my teeth so fucking hard my jaw begins to ache.
“Fuck, she really is crazy,” I hear Crue say behind me. She doesn’t acknowledge him or remove her eyes from mine. I place my hands on the tops of her bare thighs—I know she is only wearing a pair of denim cut-offs and a crop top to fuck with me. Alexa doesn’t wear shit like this, she’s more of a shirt and jeans type of girl. I feel a shiver roll through her at my touch. A smug sense of satisfaction courses through me, knowing I affect her as much as she does me.
“Jail bait, if you thought throwing a party with all the random fucks you don’t even know from school was going to get me to fuck you senseless,” her eyes harden and her jaw locks, “you were fucking wrong. If you wanted my attention, you should have said instead of acting like a spoilt little shit who didn’t get their favorite toy from Toys’R’Us.” She tries to shove me away, but I stand firm and lean forward until my lips ghost over hers, loving the way her pupils dilate. “I told you before, do whatever you want to make yourself feel better but come Monday when you move into your dorm that option is off the table.” I pause making sure I have her full attention as I continue. “The moment that option is off the table, you’re going to see a side of me that no one else ever has.”
Her eyes widen as she flicks her eyes between mine searching for a clue of what I mean. “What side?”
I smirk cockily. “A side that acts like a jealous boyfriend when I have no right to.” Her face drops. I expect her to curse me out and promise to maim me, but what I don’t expect is for her to slap me across the face. Gasps sound out around the room from the others. I’m too shocked to move or say a thing.
“How fucking dare you!” I hear my sister scream. I hear a scuffle coming from behind but don’t look.
“Goldie, stay out of this one, baby. He made his bed now he needs to lay in it.” I slowly turn back toward Alexa to see tears in her blue eyes, her bottom lip begins to wobble as she stares at me.
“You don’t ever get to say that shit to me!” she screams in my face, tears beginning to leak from her eyes and I’m stunned by the sight of it. “You stand here and act like your fucking commitment issues aren’t the reason my sister fucking died, but you think you can call yourself my boyfriend?” she scoffs. I never said that, so clearly she misunderstood what I meant, but I don’t correct her. “I fucking hate you.” I flinch, she sniffs and swipes the tears away but they keep falling. “You know what’s worse?” She doesn’t give me a chance to answer. “I see it in your eyes, the way you look at me, the way you watch me and my suspicions were confirmed when you saw me with Ash and Shannon.” I frown and slowly take a step back. She smiles slyly at me and that’s when things click into place.
“You played me,” I whisper. She slips off the counter and stands in front of me with her neck craned back so she can meet my gaze.
“You bet your fucking ass I did. This was my Hail Mary pass, quarter back, and from the look on your face, I managed to catch you offside and score the touchdown without you seeing me in your blindside.” Pain begins to bloom in my chest. “I won the endgame.”
I stare down at her in a whole new light. I knew she was up to something from the moment she started being nice and called this little truce between us. This, this feeling that I feel right now is the reason I don’t commit. Catching feelings for someone gives them power over you and you can never take it back.
“Congratulations, jail bait,” I whisper, a small frown marring her face but she quickly schools her features trying to act indifferent. “You managed to succeed in doing what your sister couldn’t.”
