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I look to Leanna, and she nods in encouragement.
I shrug like it’s no big deal. “We’re friends.”
Or we were, at least.
Eva laughs. “No, sweetie.” She points to the court in front of us. “Those guys don’t invite women here to be friends with them. They bring women like you here because they want you to see them look like gods. They want you to watch them on the court, listen to the adoring fans shouting their names, and fall head over heels.” She smiles sinisterly. “Ben wants you on your hands and knees, desperate for any little morsel of attention he’ll throw your way. That’s how this works.”
“Ben’s not like that,” Leanna says, speaking up for me.
Eva puffs out a laugh. “They’re all like that.”
Then she rolls her eyes and heads toward another cluster of chairs on the opposite side of the suite.
“Don’t listen to her,” Leanna says, leaning toward me. “Trey and Ben don’t do that kind of thing. I mean…Anthony, sure. He brings a new girl to this suite every week, trying to impress her, but Ben’s never invited a woman here since I’ve known him.”
“It’s okay, you know. You don’t have to assure me of anything. I know the score with Ben.”
She frowns.
“He and I aren’t together. I mean, we never were together,” I continue, trying to ensure she knows the truth.
She looks away. I assume the conversation is over, but I can’t help but feel like I’ve put her in a bad mood. I peer over at her, and her eyebrows are drawn together in anger. Then suddenly, she shakes her head before spinning to face me.
“God, are we really going to do this all over again?”
I rear back in surprise.
“He was in love with you. When we left Texas for the Games, he was a total wreck. You giving me that wrong number…I mean, I just don’t get it, Raelynn. Why are you here?”
“What?”
“Why are you here if you don’t feel the same way he does?”
My mouth hangs agape. I don’t have any words.
She takes in my horrified expression, squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, and then looks away. “Sorry. God, don’t listen to me…” We’re both looking out at the court as she continues, “He would kill me if he knew I said all that. It’s just…it’s hard seeing a friend struggle like he did. And now, you’re here, and I thought…” She lets her sentence dwindle before she shakes her head. “I don’t want him to have to go through all that again.”
“I struggled too,” I whisper, not quite courageous enough to say the words loudly.
I think she heard me. Even still, we both sit in silence for a while, content to let the noise from the other people in the suite blanket us. We watch the game, and I lean forward in my seat, mesmerized by Ben on the court as he shoots and scores a three-pointer, sending the entire stadium to their feet just as the halftime buzzer blares. Leanna nudges me with her shoulder and offers a half-smile, effectively waving a white flag.
“Come on, let’s get some food.”
They’ve set up a full buffet in the suite, but just like the last time I was watching Ben play, I don’t have much of an appetite. My stomach is tied up with nerves, but Leanna is eating and I don’t want to make her feel awkward, so I get a little salad and a fluffy white roll. I break off bits of it and take little bites, trying to ignore my shaking hand. This whole thing is overwhelming, and I feel like Leanna expects me to bolt at any second. It is tempting. The quiet of my room back at Caltech beckons me. My old life with everything lined up in a row, all my classes in order, my resume a mile long. Still, I stay.
Unfortunately, Eva finds us again while we’re eating. She comes over to our chairs carrying a champagne flute and perches right on the edge of the low coffee table in front of us, blocking my view of the court and the dancers entertaining the fans during halftime.
“So, you and Ben, huh? Will you be traveling with him the rest of the season?” She looks to Leanna for a moment. “The team goes to New York on Sunday, right? For a game on Monday?”
Leanna nods but stays silent.
“And then on to Oklahoma City after?” Eva shrugs. “I forget. It’s hard to keep up.”
Realizing I’m still shredding my bread into little pieces, I immediately stop. “I’ll stay in California.”
Her brows arch. “Oh yeah? Not serious then?”
“Eva,” Leanna warns.
Eva groans. “What? Jesus. Is blondie here incapable of speaking for herself?”
“My name is Raelynn,” I correct her with a hard tone.
“Rae-lynn, holy smokes. Where did you get a name like that?” She peruses me from top to bottom as she speaks then holds up her hand once she lands on my cowboy boots. “Wait, wait. Don’t tell me—”
