Game On (21 page)

“Wait, you're just going to leave?” Jake asked, smiling. “What am I supposed to do?”

“I'd recommend a cold shower,” she said. “A few weeks' worth. 'Cause I'm going to be a little busy.”

Jake shook his head, but he also cracked a smile. “Can I get one more kiss before you leave to conquer the world?”

She kissed him. She kissed him again. Then she walked out.

It had already been a week. A week of Maya waking up before dawn; spending morning, noon, and night at the practice courts; and then crawling home by the light of the moon. She walked off the courts with bags of ice Saran-Wrapped to her body, she woke up sore, and she went right back out and did it all over again. And it felt amazing.

She was herself. She didn't spend any time getting ready, she didn't raid anyone's closet for the most buzzworthy outfit. She just brushed her teeth, put her hair up in a ponytail, and left. Kids still talked about her, but this time she was the crazy girl who spent every waking second a sweaty, grimy mess. Maya could deal with that.

Throughout it all, Jake was her cheerleader. He'd bring her lunch or dinner. But he wouldn't stay. His fee was a kiss, and then he was off to leave her be. He knew Maya enough to
know this was something she needed to do, and he wanted to support that. It made her appreciate him even more.

Even though she lived with Renee, she never saw her. In that rare moment Maya was at the villa, Renee was at the pool. She was on her own mission. An identical mission. But they were going it alone. Maya left messages for her on the villa iPad, she left voice messages and texts on her cell, but Renee never responded to them. Obviously, she was more than just busy; she was hurt, too. She just wasn't confrontational like Cleo was. Maya might have been suffering in the heat on the courts, but she was also in the middle of a deep, deep freeze.

There was one constant in Maya's life, someone she saw around the clock. That person was Nicole. She was prepping for a tournament coming up in Eastern Europe. It was lucky they were both in prep mode, since Nicole was a familiar face and proved to Maya that life was in fact still going on outside the courts. Nicole brought stories, which Maya gobbled up even more hungrily than the burgers Jake brought her.

“How's Renee?” Maya asked when Nicole showed up to the courts one night. She was in the middle of her third straight hour with the ball machine, which she'd become so skilled with she could teach a class.

“She's fine,” Nicole said. “She's around less than you are. I could rent out your rooms for extra cash.”

“Has she said anything about me?” Maya wondered. “She's still not talking to me. At least Cleo chewed me out. Renee just faded away.”

Nicole looked visibly annoyed.

“What?” Maya asked.

“Nothing,” Nicole said as she began her stretches.

“Tell me,” Maya said. “Is it about Renee? Or Cleo?”

“Maya,” Nicole finally said, “that's great that you're worried about them and all, but they need to get over it.”

“They need to get over …?” Maya was confused. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean,” Nicole said, “is you're living a different life from them. You're dating a Reed, agents and sponsors are starting to care about you, you're going to be on a plane to Hollywood. … Your life is bigger than theirs now. Decisions you make are going to have collateral damage. If they don't get it, they don't get it. Focus on your friends who do get it.”

Maya furrowed her brow. “Are you … jealous?”

“Jealous?” Nicole scoffed. “Jealous of what?”

“Of my friendship with Cleo and Renee,” Maya said. “Are you threatened by it, or …?”

Nicole clasped her hands behind her back and bent toward her toes with a flexibility that was insanely impressive. It also actively prevented Maya from seeing Nicole's face.

“I'm just saying, I understand, you know … we understand stuff.” Nicole was making no sense. And she seemed to know it. She bent back up.

“It's just …” Nicole searched for the words. “I'm surrounded by people every day. Tons of people. I have a bigger entourage than Beyoncé and Jay-Z. I've got agents, managers, lawyers, hangers-on. … But if I wasn't Nicole King, would they still be around?”

It was a rare moment of openness from Nicole. And Maya wasn't going to wreck it.

“I don't know,” Maya responded. “Would they?”

“I don't know,” Nicole said. “And how scary is that? I don't know who my friends are, or even if I can have any friends. I've been at this for so long I don't even know if I can trust anyone.” She paused, her next words caught in her throat. “I trust you.”

Maya was shocked. But then she thought about it. She thought of everyone in Nicole's entourage, everyone she'd seen her with. And the person she hung out with more than anyone … was her. Maya Hart from Syracuse, New York, was Nicole King's best friend.

Maya smiled.

“I trust you, too,” Maya said. “And if you trust me, trust me when I say this: you may not have experience with friendships, but just because someone is friends with someone else, it doesn't mean they can't be friends with you, too. Or that they like you any less.”

Nicole scrunched her face. She clearly didn't like being emotionally exposed.

Just then, Travis walked by. Nicole exhaled. It was Maya's turn to tense.

“Travis,” Maya said uncomfortably. “Hi.”

Travis looked over, spotting her. He didn't rush over to her, but he didn't run away, either. Maya would take what she could get.

“I'll let you two talk,” Nicole said, picking up on the awkwardness. “I need to go get something out of my locker anyway.” She started off, but then Maya called after her.

“Nicole,” Maya said. When Nicole turned, Maya just smiled. Nicole smiled back, then left her and Travis alone.

Travis spoke first. “Sorry I haven't returned any of your calls.”

“It's okay,” Maya said. “I've been getting that a lot lately.”

“I was embarrassed,” he admitted. “I was hurt, and so I acted like a baby. Worse than a baby. I don't even know who that was under that pier.”

“I don't blame you at all,” she said, and she meant it. “Travis, I hope you know, I didn't mean for anything to happen with Jake.” She needed him to believe this. “I never sought him out, and he didn't seek me out, either. It just kind of …”

“I know,” he said. “I don't blame you, either, and I don't blame him. It happens, right? I mean, it never happens to me, but …”

She smiled. He was making an attempt at a joke. That was a good sign.

“Congratulations on the movie,” he said. “Or, you know, the tryout.”

“Does it bug you that your dad put me up for it?” Maya asked.

“Nah,” he said. Maya looked at him. “Okay, a little. But Nails Reed didn't build this Academy by letting emotions get in the way. He's always three plays ahead—that's what makes him great.”

“So … we're okay?” Maya asked.

“We're okay,” Travis said. He pulled Maya in for a hug. And then kissed her on the lips.

She pulled back quickly. Was this some movie moment where they have their tender good-bye? Or was it a friend kiss
that rich people did and she was suddenly weirded out for nothing?

“Sorry,” he said. “That was … I don't know what that was. Won't happen again.”

Maya was just relieved to put this whole thing behind them, so she decided not to make a big deal out of it.

“I better get back to practice,” Maya said.

“Okay,” Travis said. “See you later.”

As Travis walked on and Maya went back to her ball machine, she was ultimately pretty pleased. She had a new best friend in Nicole, and she'd smoothed things over with Travis. One broken relationship repaired. Two to go.

While Maya practiced her backhands and forehands, she also practiced stalking. If Cleo was going to ignore each and every call, text, and message in a bottle Maya sent her way, Maya was going to have to find a way to grovel in person. She showed up at her dorm. At the golf course. At the dining hall. But Cleo was crafty. If that's the way she wanted it, Maya thought, she'd just have to trap her where she couldn't hide. Class.

So Maya showed up for class diligently. Cleo, however, did not. After a week of her being AWOL, Maya became concerned. However mad Cleo was at Maya, she wouldn't jeopardize her scholarship by skipping this much school just to avoid her. Something had to be wrong. So when she saw Mr. Manjarrez outside just after history, she leaped on him to find out what was going on.

“Mr. Manjarrez,” she said, “is Cleo okay?”

Maya had jumped in so fast she didn't see he was already in the middle of another conversation. With Nails Reed.

“Oh,” she said. “Sorry, I didn't …” She still felt absolutely ill at ease around him. She knew how he'd treated her when she was a nobody, she knew how he treated his wife, and she knew how he treated his kids. Maybe Travis and Nails's legion of fans could ignore it, but she couldn't.

“It's okay, Maya.” Nails smiled. It wasn't a phony smile. He seemed to genuinely like her. Which made the whole thing even more confounding.

“Didn't Cleo tell you?” Mr. Manjarrez asked. “I thought you were thick as thieves.”

“Tell me what?” Maya asked.

“She transferred to another class,” he informed her. “Suited her practice time better or something.”

“Oh,” Maya said. “So she's not gone. That's … good.” She tried not to show how disappointed she was, but it was obvious. Cleo had rearranged her entire schedule to get away from her. This wasn't going to be a couple of weeks of cold shoulder. This was a long-term thing.

The bell rang. “No rest for the wicked,” Mr. Manjarrez said, and before Maya knew it, she was alone with Nails.

“You fly to LA on Friday,” Nails said, oblivious to any weirdness.

She managed a smile. “Thank you,” she said. “You know, for choosing me. And all that.”

“Just represent me well,” he said. “Travis tells me you've been practicing hard.”

Nails mentioning Travis's name stirred something in her. Feelings she was struggling to keep down. But they were coming to the surface here and now, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

“He loves you, you know,” she said, compelled. “Travis.”

“I know,” he said.

“More than anyone or anything,” she continued. “More than Jake. More than football. Travis loves you. So does Jake. Whatever's gone down between you two, whatever problems you have with each other, it's the truth. He'd never tell you that, but …”

Nails eyed her. Maya felt the weight of it.

“You have to be real careful with the people who love you,” she said.

“Are you giving me some kind of life lesson, Maya?” he asked. Normally she would've been unsettled by a question like that, especially coming from him.
Normally
.

“You're Nails Reed,” she said. “What could I have to teach you?” She slung her bag over her shoulder and poised to leave. “I'm just saying. When someone cares about you that much, you have a responsibility to them. To love them, to protect them. To protect their feelings. If you don't, if you're careless, well … you could lose them. I learned that the hard way. I just … I just wouldn't want anyone else to go through that.”

He studied her.

“Well,” she said. “Bye.” She turned around and walked off. She had no idea if her words landed with him. But she felt better having said them.

.   .   .

Since Maya and Nicole were both leaving for trips the next day, they helped each other pack. For Maya, that meant taking things out of Nicole's luggage that she would certainly not need for a tennis tournament in Eastern Europe. For Nicole that meant cramming so much extra junk in Maya's suitcase that the zipper threatened to burst at any moment. Maya was going to Los Angeles, and she needed to look good.

“Take these,” Nicole said, tossing a pair of Jimmy Choos in her bag. “I know you're dressing down and all that, but that doesn't mean you can hit the clubs in sneakers.”

Maya took the shoes out. “I'm not hitting the clubs. I'm in LA for one night. And I'm going to need that night to rest up for the tryout.”

“But you've never been!” Nicole just didn't get it.

“But think of how many times I could return if I scored this part,” Maya said.

As Maya went back to her closet, Nicole sneaked the shoes into Maya's carry-on. “What's Jake going to do without you here to brood over?”

“He's coming with me,” Maya said.

Nicole sat up. “Jake is flying out to Los Angeles with you?”

“For moral support,” Maya said.

“Maya,” Nicole said.

Maya looked at her. “What?” Clearly, Nicole had something on her mind.

“ ‘What'?” Nicole repeated. “You. Jake. Away for the weekend together on a romantic getaway …”

“This isn't romantic,” Maya said. “This is work.”

“Why can't it be both?”

“I mean, it'll be romantic because we're together,” Maya said, fumbling. “We're flying there together, too, so … there's that. …”

“You've come close to sealing the deal a couple times, right?” Nicole asked.

“ ‘Sealing the deal'?” Maya asked. But they both knew she knew what Nicole meant.

“If you've been waiting for the right opportunity with Jake,” Nicole said. “I'm just saying.”

Nicole wasn't just saying anything Maya hadn't already been thinking about. Nonstop, in fact. Minus his quick trips to the courts to bring her rations, she'd barely seen Jake over the last few weeks. And that time apart had shown her how much she really cared about him.