“No messing around! Go grab something to eat. Get all your shit ready for the morning and get your asses in bed early. Once you win tomorrow you have tomorrow and Sunday night to celebrate. But tonight it’s lights out before ten.”
Angel was still tired from the long flight and having gotten up so early that morning. Going back to the room taking a shower and talking to Sarah on the phone before calling it an early night would’ve been ideal. Instead, here he was at a hotel party, annoyed with himself for not just having walked back to his hotel. Just when he thought he couldn’t possibly get any more annoyed than he already was, he heard the same high-pitched squealing he’d heard earlier, only this time it was followed by his name.
“Angel!”
He was barely able to catch who it was that practically tackled him, throwing her arms around him. Dana pulled away, squealing as her friends stood there wearing smiles just as big and taking pictures. She squeezed him again, but he’d learned his lesson long ago. Subtlety didn’t work on Dana. Neither did being polite.
“Easy,” he said, bringing his arms between them awkwardly to get her off him.
If she was embarrassed by his rejection at all, she played it off, moving her squealing over to Alex. Alex was, as usual, a bit more appeasing when it came to this kind of shit. Angel could practically feel the heat rise up his stiff shoulders and neck now as she explained that she and her friends were hosting this party. Not only was he going to have to explain that his dumb ass had ended up at a hotel party to Sarah but that it was Dana’s party. With all the cameras flashing as she’d bombarded him, he knew the photos would be out there too.
Fuck!
When she was done rubbing herself shamelessly all over Alex, Dana glanced at Angel, biting her lower lip playfully. Then she turned to her friends and introduced them to Angel and the other guys. All Angel could think of was making a mad dash out of there and getting Sarah on the phone so he could explain before she heard about this from anyone else.
He had to wait until after Alex had posed with two girls on his lap to get his attention. As soon as he had it, he motioned to him that he was out. Alex frowned but nodded, indicating he’d see him later. Halfway to the door he felt a tug on his hand and turned just as Dana tried to slip her hand in his.
Feeling beyond annoyed, Angel stopped, snagging his hand back and away from hers. He didn’t give a shit if it was rude or not. This was Dana. Nothing short of being painfully blunt seemed to get across to her back in high school when she was such a pain in the ass, and apparently things hadn’t changed. Dana’s eyes opened wide as if his not wanting to hold her hand actually came as a shock to her.
“I was just gonna ask where you were going,” she said, shaking her head, bewildered by his reaction. “Are you mad?”
“No, I’m just—”
“Is this because I hugged your brother?”
“What?” If he weren’t so fucking irritated, he might’ve laughed at that.
“I hope you don’t think I was flirting with him or anything because—”
“Dana, I don’t give a shit . . .” He stopped himself and took a breath before he got too worked up. “I don’t care what you do with my brother or anyone else, okay? I’m in a hurry to get out of here because I’m anxious to talk to Sarah.” Just saying it out loud made him even more anxious to do so. “You remember her, right? My girlfriend?”
The change in her expression was immediate, and Angel almost wanted her to say even one thing negative about Sarah so he could let her have it. He was done playing nice.
A loud commotion got their attention, and he turned in time to see a scuffle and lots of bodies being pushed around over by where Alex had been standing, but he didn’t see Alex. Maybe he was one of the guys in the middle of it all.
“Shit!” he muttered, pushing himself back through the crowd.
He wasn’t worried about Alex getting hurt, but the last thing his brother needed was to end up in jail the night before the game. By the time he managed to make his way back, there were things breaking and so much screaming that security had already come through the door.
As it turned out, Alex hadn’t been in the scuffle, but he was one of the guys trying to hold back their teammate. There was too much being said all at once, but from what Angel could gather, one of stupid Dana’s friends had done some of the same shameless rubbing against Alex and his friends, and her ex-boyfriend, one of the players for Hawaii didn’t take too kindly to it. There were words, and then the shoving started and inevitably fists flew.
The more Angel thought about it, even as the cops arrived, the more ridiculous it was that they were even there to begin with. They’d all agreed to go to a party where members of the opposing team were sure to be. Add alcohol to the mix, and none of them thought something like this might happen? How stupid were they?
Seeing he had a missed call from Sarah just added to his already mounting frustration. Somehow Dana made her way through the crowd and was still trying to talk to Angel even while the cops were rounding people up.
“Will you take a picture with me?”
“No,” he said immediately, stepping away from her.
“Just a quick one,” she said, still on his tail. “I just wanna—”
“I know what you want,” Angel said as he spun around to face her, startling her in the process. His frustration had peaked to the point where he knew he’d be using every ounce of restraint in him not to blow up at her. Glad that it was still so loud in there he leaned into her ear. “I’m not gonna tell you to fuck off only because we’re not in high school anymore and I’d like to think I’ve matured a bit. But let me warn you, Dana. I know what you’re doing. It’s the same shit you did back in high school. Difference is I don’t have the patience for it anymore. If I’d had known you were gonna be here, I would’ve never come.” He saw the tears well up in her eyes, and he was done. “Oh for fuck’s sake!”
He stalked away and prayed her drama-queen ass wouldn’t come after him. Thankfully, it was about the only good thing that happened that night. But the night wasn’t over.
It was past midnight, and he and all the other idiots who’d decided to go that stupid party were waiting for their coach to pick them up in the lobby of the hotel. It was either they all got hauled off to jail like so many of the other non-football players who’d gotten hauled off or be released to their coaches. Alex said the cops knew exactly what they were doing. The drive back to the hotel with their pissed off coach would be worse than spending a few hours in jail. And getting up at seven? Forget about it. They’d likely be expected to be on the bus by five now. Tomorrow was going to be one long fucking day.
The coach arrived wearing the scowl of all scowls. He thanked the cops for not taking them in and apologized profusely to the hotel staff. Surprisingly, but even scarier, the coach had hardly said a word the whole way back to their hotel room. Another surprise was that their seven a.m. bus time still stood. Alex and Angel could only think he didn’t want them even more tired than they’d already be for the game tomorrow, but then he hit them with what hurt most.
“I hope tonight was worth it.” He looked around, eyeing each of them as he stood up when they reached their hotel. Angel could hardly stand to look the man in the eyes, but he didn’t look away. “I hope you guys at least got laid tonight because after the game tomorrow, win or lose, you’re mine. You don’t shower. You don’t head to the bus. You grab something to eat from the vending machine or wherever you can in that stadium, and then you meet me back on that field when the crowds are gone. We’re gonna run drills until you’re all puking your fucking lungs out. Then Sunday morning we do it again. Sunday afternoon—again.”
He slammed his hand against the bus ceiling then walked off the bus. All the players sat there, waiting to be dismissed, but they watched as the coach walked into the hotel and didn’t walk back out. The driver stood up and faced them with a disapproving but sympathetic expression. “I think you boys better get in bed
now.”
They all stood slowly and exited the bus with their tails between their legs. Angel was so mad he could almost roar, but there was no point. This whole weekend was fucked now. Even then he’d gladly take the drills and the two-a-days on Sunday. None of that was worse than having to explain this night to Sarah. Angel had to get to her before anyone else did. She’d get that he had no choice when all the guys in the shuttle started chanting, “Party! Party! Party!” They’d been supposed to be voting on going to the party or heading back to their hotel. Then when they got there he couldn’t just sit there in the shuttle and refuse to go up to the party. He’d actually considered staying in the shuttle and taking a nap. He figured if the guys took too long and the driver couldn’t wait he’d get a ride back to the hotel. That is until all the guys started busting his balls. Even Alex had told him not to be a pussy.
Now here he was at almost one in the morning, trying to log onto his Facebook using his phone with the dying battery and failing miserably. He couldn’t even remember when the last time was he’d logged in, so trying to remember his password was futile.
“What are you doing?” Alex asked as he walked out of the bathroom, shirtless and ready for bed. “Don’t tell me you’re calling Sarah. It’s a two-hour difference, you know? So it’s close to three a.m. over there.”
Angel had thought about that. It’s why he hadn’t called or texted her. His only hope now was that, even if Dana and her damn friends had posted shit already, it’d be at least a few hours before Sarah was up to see any of it. As far as he knew, Dana wasn’t Facebook friends with Sarah. His only worry now was Valerie. She was the one who had told Sarah about all the shit Dana had posted before, and if she saw the photos of Alex, she was going to be on fire. Unlike Angel, Alex had no qualms about pulling the overzealous girls to him and posing body to body like the ham that he was.
“I wasn’t trying to call her,” Angel said, pulling his charger out of his bag. “I was just trying to check my Facebook to see if any photos from the party are up yet.”
“Oh, yeah.” Alex chuckled. “Sarah’s gonna love those especially the ones with Dana slathered all over you.”
“I pushed her away,” Angel muttered, clenching his jaw, annoyed that obviously Alex wasn’t worried about Valerie seeing the photos of him and all those chicks he hung out with and the ones where he’d even let them sit on his lap.
“Aren’t your worried about Valerie seeing them?”
He looked up just in time to see his brother’s face go hard. “I don’t ask her what she does when I’m not around.”
“Why is that?” Angel asked, even more exasperated now at how unfair it was that Alex didn’t seem as worried as Angel felt. “Because it sure as shit pisses you off to see her with other guys.”
Alex didn’t say anything; he just got in bed, pulling the blankets over him and shrugged. Angel would never get it. He’d never be able to deal with the possibility of Sarah hanging out with other guys when he wasn’t around in that type of atmosphere, especially if she was a flirt like Valerie. As much of a hothead as his brother was, Angel couldn’t for the life of him figure out how he did it.
“Doesn’t it bother you to think she might be with someone else when you’re not—?”
“I don’t ask because I don’t wanna know, all right?” Alex snapped suddenly, officially sounding as agitated as Angel felt. “Now shut off the lights and get your ass in bed. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long enough day as it is.”
The screen on Angel’s phone went black, and he sat down on the bed. Sarah had texted him once hours ago to say goodnight. He hadn’t even called her like he said he would. The whole time at the damn party he kept saying he’d wait until he got back to the quiet of his hotel room—no way was he calling her from the party—but he never got the chance.
Tossing and turning for a while, Angel thought about everything he’d be dealing with the next day: trying to get a hold of Sarah in the morning before anyone else did, the big game, and the drills until they puked. He wondered if he’d ever get to sleep.
~~~
“Get up!”
The whole bed shook violently as Angel’s eyes flew open. Alex had kicked the bed with his knee as he rushed past it and off toward the restroom.
“We slept in late,” he said. “Bus leaves in fifteen.”
Angel jumped out of bed and threw on his warm ups. Alex rushed back out of the restroom, and Angel went in after him. They brushed their teeth, grabbed their stuff, and rushed out of the room. They didn’t even wait for the elevator. Since they were only on the third floor, they ran down the stairs. It wasn’t until they were down in the lobby with the rest of the groggy team that Angel realized he’d left his phone plugged into the charger on the nightstand. Clenching his teeth, he turned to Alex, holding in the myriad of curse words that came to him. “Did you bring your phone?”
Alex patted the pocket on his sweatshirt then checked his bag, frowning. “I left it in the room.”
Gadamnit!
“You think I have time to run up and get mine?”
The coach walked out into the lobby, holding a coffee cup in one hand and a clipboard in the other. He pointed to the door with the clipboard. “Your asses should’ve been on the bus already. Let’s go.”
They all followed him out, and Angel could only imagine the amount of ass he’d be kissing tonight when he finally got back to the room after not calling Sarah last night then keeping her in the dark all day. He’d finally be able to explain last night. She wasn’t the type who would make him kiss her ass, but he had every intention of doing so anyway.
~*~
Sarah
The French toast Sarah’s mom made her in a hurry that morning before rushing off to meet Aunt Norma was good. It was just as she remembered it when she was growing up. She should have cherished one of her mom’s favorite meals, but there was something off. All Sarah kept thinking was this wasn’t the French toast Angel made her with so much thought and love.
She still had that ugly feeling at the pit of her stomach too, and that likely had a lot to do with it. She’d texted Angel goodnight last night when she hadn’t heard from him and was ready to knock out. She waited a good hour, reading in bed in hopes of hearing her phone ding with a text from him but nothing.
After the unsatisfying breakfast, she walked back into her room, determined to not obsess about checking her phone all day. He had a big game today, and there were probably a lot of events going on that would keep him busy for the better part of the day.
Her heart did a little flutter when she saw the light blinking on her phone anyway. She clicked on it only to see it was a FaceTime request from Leonardo. She checked the time and saw it was sent less than five minutes ago. Since her laptop was already open, she clicked on it and saw he was on. She responded to the connect request, and the screen popped up to show him looking through his phone.
“Hey!” she said then laughed when his head jerked up in surprise.
“Hey, baby girl!” he said, laughing and holding his hand to his chest. “For a second there, I forgot I’d dialed anyone.”
It was the first time he’d called her that, and though it felt weird, she didn’t know how to respond to it, so she didn’t. Instead, she asked. “What’s up?”
“You look cute,” he said, smiling big, and it wasn’t until then she realized she was still in her pajama top and her hair was all crazy from having just gotten out of bed not long ago.
She smoothed her hair down a little and tried to come up with a witty response when her phone beeped and she grabbed it. She frowned when she saw it was a text from Valerie.
I’m curious. What’s his explanation? Because I won’t hold my breath to hear from Alex until he gets back. IF I’m lucky. Even then I seriously doubt he’ll be offering any explanations and I won’t be asking.
Confused, but a little nervous because she still had that bad feeling in her stomach, Sarah started to text back. She didn’t want to get caught u
p in Alex and Valerie’s drama, so she responded with nothing more than a question mark.
“Is that Angel?” Leonardo asked.
“No,” she shook her head, smiling and looking back up at the screen. “It’s my cousin, Valerie.”
“The one going to Havasu this weekend? Is she there already?
Sarah thought about it. Good question. Valerie hadn’t said when she was leaving. “I dunno. She didn’t say, but I’m pretty sure she’s still going if she’s not already there.”
Just then her phone dinged again, making Sarah’s stomach tighten a little.
You haven’t talked to Angel? So you don’t know about last night?
Oh God! Sarah frowned. Whatever it was she wasn’t letting Valerie get her all worked up. Sarah knew in her heart of hearts Angel would never do anything he knew would upset her. Still, she couldn’t help wondering why she hadn’t heard from him at all last night and still hadn’t this morning. She responded with three words.
No and No.
Instead of texting back, Valerie was calling now. Sarah asked Leonardo if he wanted to wait or if he’d rather call back, but she had to take the call. He opted to wait, so she picked up the phone and walked away from her desk.
“What’s up?” she asked cautiously, trying not to sound worried.
“Okay, from what I’m hearing, the whole team is in deep shit right now,” Valerie started without so much of a hello. “They were supposed to be in bed early last night, but instead they all decided to go to a hotel party thrown by someone on the Hawaii team. First of all, how stupid is that? Like there wouldn’t be an inevitable fight?”
“Was there a fight?” Sarah asked, already feeling alarmed.
“Of course!” Valerie huffed. “I don’t know who fought or what. All I know is the cops were called and the guys on the team were released to the coach so no one was arrested, but are you ready for this?”