I slip into his car’s plush leather seat before he catches the dishonesty on my face, then attempt to fasten my seat belt. I say ‘attempt’ because I miss the latch several times in a row when I spot a steaming mad mixed-race American approaching me at the speed of a freight train.
“Cody… we need to leave. Like now!”
When Cody spots the same awe-inspiring image as me, he slides behind the steering wheel of his swanky car, pushes the key start button, then floors the gas.
We whizz out of the hotel’s loading bay with barely a second to spare, and even quicker than that, my eyes shift to the side mirror where they stay locked on Lennox until he gives up his pursuit almost two miles later.
18
Lennox
“Where is Cody’s party being held?”
Holden’s eyes lift to mine when I burst into his room without knocking. My feet are cut up and bleeding, the shirt I tossed on to ensure the hotel wouldn’t renege on their offer for Summer to stay with me free of charge the rest of summer break is clinging to my chest, and I’m angry.
Real. Fucking. Angry.
I didn’t think Summer had it in her. She’s never defied me like this—not even when she should. I honestly thought I’d just tell her she couldn’t go, and that would be it. I had no clue I’d have to chase her through the streets of Ravenshoe. If I had an inkling any of this would occur, I would have put on shoes in preparation.
“He said it was at his private residence, but not all of us are invited.” My final confirmation triples the tightness in my jaw. We’re meant to be a team, but men like Cody Larson still haven’t learned there’s no ‘I’ in team.
“I don’t think this is a good idea, Jamison. She clearly wants to go with him—”
“I don’t give a fuck what you think, Holden. I know Summer. She doesn’t want to be with someone like Cody Larson. She’s just too caught up in the hype of being wanted to see him for who he really is.”
“Do you blame her?” Desiree pipes up, her tone pitched and on edge. While glaring at me like I’m gum under a bleacher, she exits their bedroom with a curling iron in one hand and an angry sneer hardening her face. “You went down on her then pretended you didn’t. That would knock anyone’s ego, not to mention someone as humble and down-to-earth as Summer.”
When my eyes rocket to Holden, he holds his hands out in front of himself. “Hey, I’ve already told you anything you tell me is automatically shared with Desiree. It’s how a relationship works. You’d learn that if you stopped interfering in Summer’s life in a way she doesn’t want you to.”
“So, I should just sit back and watch her be hurt?”
“That’s not what we’re saying.”
I shift on my feet to face Desiree, the replier of my question. “Then what are you saying?”
“For one, you need to come clean on your lie. Summer deserves better.” I nod, wholeheartedly agreeing with her. “And two…” her pause kills me, “… trust her like she trusts you.”
“I do trust her.”
With a huff, Holden and Desiree shake their heads in sync.
“I do! She’s my best friend, so how could I not trust her?” My teeth grit when Desiree slings her eyes to a copy ofRavenshoe Newsspread across the side table in their room. It shows an article about the upcoming season, but instead of the focus being on the team, it’s on a man who can’t sink away from the limelight for even a second—it’s my father. “That’s different.”
“No, it isn’t,” Desiree denies before she joins Holden and me in their suite’s living room. “You can’t issue trust and remove it when it suits you, Lennox. You either trust her or you don’t. There’s no in-between.”
“I trust her…”It’s him who’s the issue.
I begin to wonder if Desiree can read minds when she stares at me for several long seconds to extract the truth from my eyes, but I learn only Summer has that skill when she breathes out with a sigh. “You can travel to the party with us.” After locking her eyes with Holden, she murmurs, “Then we can make sure he behaves.”
You wouldn’t know Coach benched almost half his team today with how happening Cody’s party is. Desiree is a girlie girl, so it took us longer to arrive than I’m happy about. Part of me thinks she took her time prepping her makeup to make me suffer. I didn’t realize how insensitive it was for me to act like nothing happened between Summer and me until the delay had me wondering how it would feel if the shoe was on the other foot.
In case you are wondering, I’d fucking hate it.
I dip my chin in greeting to a handful of girls standing in front of Cody’s residence. Their outfits are so skimpy, they have to huddle together to lessen the impact of the winds whipping off the coast.
Like all pompous men with small dicks, Cody’s house is an eyesore of metal and glass. It hangs off the cliffs of Bronte’s Peak and would easily have a price tag in the millions. More than just baseball fans fill the two-story property. I doubt hardly any of Cody’s underaged guests know who he is. He’s old news. All players who don’t retire once injured are.
When a group of girls approach me seeking an autograph, I shake my head. I’m usually all about the fans, but tonight, I can’t pretend their request for an autograph won’t extend to an invitation to their bed. Since I’m here for one girl and one girl only, and I’m not leaving without her, a random, meaningless hook-up isn’t on the agenda.
