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Two
No Distractions
Vannah
“I got them all, Felix, Abel, De La Hoya and even that Beast guy.” Vannah spoke into her earpiece as she hurried to get her clothes out of the washer and into the dryer. “I didn’t bother with the other athletes. Most were Dodgers, Lakers and even a few Raider players but I figured he wouldn’t really be into any of them. And no lie, Nena we were there for over four hours. I was exhausted and starving by the time we were done.”
“Well, at least you got the most important ones.” Nena chirped happily. “His collection will be complete now. But let’s get to the most important part. Were the guys there as hot as I’ve heard they are?”
Slowing her pace, Vannah bit her bottom lip feeling her face warm when she remembered the hot guy with thedelicioussmile, she’d caught staring at her. “Yes,” she said softly even as her sister squealed.
This had Vannah giggling despite her keeping to herself how she’d totally blown it at the sight of that gorgeous smile aimed directly at her. As usual she’d frozen on the spot and glanced away as soon as she’d been able to gather her wits instead of smiling back. She’d save herself the lecture because she knew her sister would be all over her being so shy and attempting to be more approachable and how a simple smile went such a long way. Vannah knew this already and smiling was hardly an issue for her, but she just couldn’t help freeze up when she was nervous or taken by surprise like she had been that day.
She didn’t tell her sister aboutthatguy specifically, but she did fill her in on the amount of eye candy they’d seen that day. “I knew it. Aside from all the hot boxers, Tricia was telling me ever since that model Kara what’s-her-face was discovered there by the owner of that modeling agency who was there being trained by their world-famous trainers, the place is just crawling now with aspiring models and actors looking to get discovered.”
That had Vannah thinking of that perfect smile. Shedidspot him talking casually with the Beast boxer. Maybe he was famous too? But he hadn’t been mobbed like some of the other athletes there who even when they were on a break from the signings could hardly get a moment’s peace. He’d walked out of there as quietly as any of the other non-famous people. Vannah knew this for a fact, because her eyes had followed him until he was out of sight.
She sighed even as her sister went on in her usual excited tone. “I’m so going in there the next time I’m in Los Angeles. I heard you can get a one-time free week pass.”
“Youcan,” Vannah confirmed. “We all got one and I’m seriously considering just getting a regular pass.”
She explained about how you didn’t have to sign a contract. You could do it month to month and the student discount made it very reasonable. Something she was counting on since she wasn’t sure how long it’d be before the novelty of being a member of the famous 5thStreet gym would dwindle.
Once off the phone with her sister and all the laundry she wouldn’t be hanging was in the dryer, she tapped her phone screen, and headed back to her dorm room with her basket of clothes. She started hanging the stuff she never put in the dryer on hangers around her dorm room.
While her parents had insisted on paying for a bigger fancier apartment that would’ve been far more expensive than her dorm, Vannah wasn’t having it. Her parents were paying enough for her tuition since she hadn’t qualified for any tuition aide and despite the scholarship she’d earned, it didn’t cover everything. Besides, she’d always known her mom had met her lifelong best friend in college when they’d been assigned to the same dorm. Her mother had agreed this might be a missed opportunity. Worst case scenario if she got stuck with a roomie who she was just too incompatible with, she could always request a change. “Give it a chance though, baby,” her mom had encouraged. “It’ll take some time to get used to living with a total stranger. I almost didn’t last we were so different, but I’m so glad I did.”
In the end they did spring for the larger dorm, though it wasn’t much bigger than a two-bedroom apartment, it was still much bigger than some of the ones she’d been privy to when she first took the orientation tour.
So far, it appeared she’d lucked out with her roomie. At first when Vannah had seen the name of her roommate on her paperwork for the dorm, she’d almost fainted. Xochitl Eztli.What in the world?Vannah had never heard of either first or last name and she hadn’t the faintest how to pronounce both. She had no idea what nationality the roomie she’d be paired up with was, but the school being in the heart of Los Angeles she’d assumed the likelihood it’d be someone Hispanic like herself. Though after doing a quick google search she found out it was an Aztec name which meant she was most likely Hispanic, and how to pronounce the first name—Soh-chee. She practiced quite a bit before that first introduction and held her breath when she responded to Xochitl’s first question as she reached out her hand that first day they met at the dorm. “Yes, I’m Vannah. You must beSoh-chee.”
Her timid roommate smiled big nodding as if surprised Vannah had gotten it right. Later that evening after both pairs of their overbearing parents had finally left their dorm, they’d laughed about their parents being so similarly over-the-top when it came to them. Like Vannah, Xochitl was the first of her brood to leave for college and was also far more reserved and timid than most other girls on campus seemed to be.
Xochitl’s first impression of Vannah? “I figured you were Hispanic because of your last name but if I’d had to go just based on your looks and blonde hair, I would’ve thought you definitely had somegüerain you.”
Vannah had laughed and explained her whole life she and her sister had gotten similar comments. Especially growing up in southern California and spending so much time on the beach. In the summer their naturally light highlights would get so light they often surprised people who didn’t know any better when they explained they were one-hundred percent Mexican American.
She was just explaining to Xochitl how she’d finally mastered the laundromat app and how cool it was, when her roommate got a text that had her gasping and bringing her hand over her mouth.
“What is it?” Vannah asked alarmed.
Xochitl looked up shaking her head and softening her expression. “Just gossip but it’s juicy. Ms.Thangdown at the lab. I told you she was doing more than just flirting with that guy she’s always flipping her hair for and batting her lashes at.”
Vannah’s eyes went wide as she rushed over and peered over her friend’s shoulder. Ms.Thangwas actuallyMrs. Diaz one of the administrators who ran the study lab on campus. She was married but forever flirting outrageously with one of the students in particular. Xochitl was convinced they were having an affair.
“So, what happened?”
“It’s from Annette,” Xochitl glanced up at Vannah all wide eyed before reading the text out loud to Vannah. “Mrs. Diaz’s husband showed up and they had a near screaming match in the parking lot. It got so bad security was called and her husband was asked to leave before they called the cops.”
Vannah’s jaw dropped. “He must be on to her.”
Holding a finger up Xochitl nodded looking even more excited as she read more. “I got it on video, but my phone keeps saying it’s too big to send I’m gonna try to send it in parts. It got pretty crazy. I wonder how he found out.” Tapping away quickly Xochitl text something back then looked up at Vannah and shook her head. “I can’t believe she’d be so blatant about it. I mean we’ve all noticed. How did she think it’d not get back to her husband? That’s just asking for it.”
She explained it’s what she’d responded to Annette. “My mom’s always said, you’re messing with fire if you decide to sneak around like that,” Vannah said in full agreement with Xochitl. “No matter how easygoing a man is you just never know how he’ll react to something like that. I’ve seen the photo of them on her desk and he looks almost nerdy. Tall, skinny and wears glasses.”
“Those are the worst kind,” Xochitl chuckled. “The ones that look all innocent.”
They were still in the middle of discussing it when another text with the first part of the video came through. Vannah quickly huddled around her roomie. It wasn’t a very good quality video. It was dark and taken from a far. You could barely tell it was a man and a woman arguing and despite them being loud, you couldn’t make out much of what they were saying.
