University Park Series Box Set: Books 1-3 (13 page)

Baseball.

“Did you forget how to bowl?” He eased
the ball from my hands, but I saw the discontent in the depths of his eyes.

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

 He gave me a slight smile and then slid
his fingers in the holes and approached the lane. “Stand back a few feet,” he
demonstrated while I watched carefully, “and then walk up to the foul line, but
be careful not to cross it. Swing your arm back, and then release it with a
flick of your wrist.”

The ball shot down the alley with speed,
crashing into the pins and knocking every one of them down.

“Strike!” I clapped as Collin walked
past me. “You make it seem so easy.” I trailed behind him, dying for some
attention.

“That’s because it is easy.”

“For you,” I added.

He turned around with a twelve-pound
ball in hand. “All you have to do is try.”

“I am. But I can’t help it if I don’t have
any coordination.” I stepped aside and watched him throw the ball with ease and
precision as if it were a baseball, earning another strike. Luke and Collin
were just alike. Skilled at almost any sport they played. I wondered how he
would fare on the football field. Although he was built like a lean running
machine, at five-foot-eleven and one-hundred and eighty pounds, he was smaller
than Raven and most football players. That’s why baseball suited him.

“Way to go!” I threw my arms around him,
but he stayed as stiff as a board, keeping the wall up between us. After a few
awkward seconds, I let go.

“Excuse me.” Collin flagged the
waitress. “Can you bring us a few drinks?”

“Sure.” The petite girl with blonde and
pink striped hair took our order and then jotted down Luke’s and Forbes’.

I sat on the sectional, facing the TV
and tugged on Collin’s hand. “Sit next to me.”

“Okay.” He eased to the plush sofa but
swiveled around, facing the back TV to watch the Rangers play. I crossed my
arms and sighed, keeping one eye on the TV and the other on my friends. Once
again, I was all alone.

After Jordan and Forbes bowled, Delaney
walked up to the return ramp. With her butt aimed at Luke, she leaned over and
huffed as she tried to reach her bowling ball. “Hey, Luke, do you think nine-pounds
is too light? Would I do better with a ten-pound ball?”

Luke watched her pensively before
getting up to help her. I elbowed Collin and motioned for him to watch, but he
rolled his eyes and returned his focus to the TV screen.

“Just keep using the nine-pound one.” He
winked at her. “You’re doing great.”

I wanted to say, ‘busted’, but when I
saw the way my brother looked at her, I let it go. Since we were all adults,
they could do whatever the hell they wanted. It still hurt that neither of them
felt like they could confide in me. And I wanted to know why.

 Several turns later, Delaney grabbed me
just as I was about to set my soda on the table. “Come with me to the
bathroom.”

“Oh, okay.”

“And bring your drink,” she whispered in
my ear as she swung her purse over her shoulder.

I thought about telling Collin I’d be
right back, but he was glued to the game. I followed her to the bathroom and
she pulled me into the handicap stall with her.

Before I could say anything, she handed
me her drink. “Here, hold this.” Then, she reached into her purse, pulling out
a plastic flask.

“Did you bring that from home?”

She nodded. “That’s why I had to go back
upstairs. I almost forgot it.”

Based on Luke’s comment, I wondered if
he asked her to bring it. The fruity smell filled the small space and it called
to me, tempting me to drown myself in the cool liquid that would take away all
my hurt. Then, I thought about what happened last Sunday. “That’s okay, I
better not.” I pulled my drink away from her.

“Oh, come on,” she hounded. “Just one
drink.”

“No, Collin will get mad.”

She glanced at me through her thick
lashes. “I see how miserable you are…sitting all by yourself while he watches
the baseball game.”

“I know,” I sighed. “But he wants to see
it.”

“Well, let him watch it.” She tossed her
long waves over her shoulder. “I doubt he’ll notice. Besides, you deserve to
have a good time tonight.”

She had a point, I did deserve to have a
good time, but drinking in front of Collin would be disastrous. “You’re wrong.
He’ll smell the liquor and when he does, he’ll be pissed. I better not.”

“Suit yourself.” Delaney poured two
capfuls of the sweet rum into her soda.

 “Dang, Delaney. Isn’t that too much?”

“Nah.” She mixed the drink with a red
straw and then tasted it. “Wow, it is a little strong but perfect for Luke.”

“Really?” Had she and Luke drank
together? She made it seem like it was a regular thing for him. I watched as
she tightened the cap on the flask, tossed it into her purse, and then zipped
it closed.

“Delaney, I need to ask—”

“Let me in.” Jordan knocked on the
bathroom door.

I opened the door and Jordan scurried
in, soda in hand. “Let me guess, you need your drink flavored, too?”

“You bet, girl.” Jordan took a gulp of
her soda before holding it out for Delaney to spike.

“What about Forbes?” Delaney asked.

Jordan took a quick taste. “He got a
beer.”

“Oh, that’s right, he’s twenty-one.”

We scurried out of the bathroom and returned
to our seats. Luke had a beer in hand along with Forbes. Apparently, Forbes had
bought it for him since Luke wasn’t of age and Collin wasn’t twenty-one either.
As usual, Collin sipped on his water with lemon.

“I guess I’ll be drinking this one.”
Delaney lifted the glass intended for Luke and took a drink. Her mouth and eyes
twisted like she had swallowed hot coffee.

“A little strong?” Luke joked.

“Yeah, I made it for you.” Delaney
licked her lips and I rolled my eyes.

“Wanna trade?” Luke lifted up his bottle
of beer.

Delaney shook her head. “Um, no thanks.”

Forty-five minutes and several drinks
later, my friends were laughing and having a good time. Collin watched the
baseball game the entire night, only getting up when it was his turn to bowl.
Every now and then, he’d say something to me. I kept a watchful eye on the football
game, cheering every time we scored. Garnering bravery, I slipped my cell phone
from my pocket and texted Raven a message of good luck. Even though I knew he
wouldn’t see it until after the game was over, I wanted him to know I was
thinking about him.

“Get off your phone and hurry up!” Luke
tried to take Delaney’s phone away, but she jerked her hand away from him. “We
only have a few minutes left.”

“Okay, okay. I was just posting some
pics of us.” She shoved her phone into her back pocket and stumbled toward the
return rack. She turned around with Luke’s twelve-pound ball.

“She’s gonna do it!” Jordan cheered and
then pulled me to get up to watch her.

“Don’t fall!” I warned her as she
giggled.

“I won’t.” She waved her hand and nearly
lost her balance. “Whoa.” She turned around and gave us a thumbs up.

She tossed the ball and it wobbled down
the wood, veering to the left and then straightening as it hit the center.

“I almost got a strike!” Delaney danced
around.

“That’s great. Now quit jacking around,”
Luke scolded. “You still have another turn. Let’s see if we can all roll before
the time is up.”

“All right. All right,” she barked.

She retrieved the heavy ball and
scurried to the lane. Taking several steps back, she positioned herself,
clutching the ball to her chest as she eyed her prize.

One standing pin.

Delaney swung her arm back, took a few
steps forward, and went airborne. The twelve pounder flew from her hand as her
feet slipped against the slick floor. Her body crashed to the floor as she
landed on her butt.

Jordan leaped forward. “Laney!”

“Oh, shit!” Luke’s voice echoed in the
background.

“Oh my God!” I screamed, sliding across
the floor on my knees. “Are you okay?”

Luke and Forbes helped her sit up. “Did
you hurt yourself?” Luke checked her head, arms, and then her legs.

She rubbed her backside. “I busted my
ass, that’s all.”

“What the heck happened?” Collin hovered
behind me. “Delaney slipped and fell.”

“Better slow down on the drinks, missy,”
Forbes teased as he patted her back.

Collin humphed and then walked off.

With one hand behind her back and the
other around her hand, Luke helped Delaney stand.

“Oh man!” Delaney cried as she pulled
her phone from her back pocket. “My screen shattered.”

“Damn, that’s the second phone you’ve
had this year,” Luke complained.

“Well if you wouldn’t have been rushing
me, then this wouldn’t have happened!” Delaney yelled.

Luke took a step back. “Don’t blame it
on me. You’re the one that had too much to drink.”

With her hands on her hips, Delaney eyed
Luke. “I’m not—”

“I think you dropped your ball.” Riley
Stokes, one of the guys on the baseball team walked up to Luke and shoved it
into his chest.

Luke grunted, but kept a straight face.
“Whatever.” They stared at each other for a few seconds before Luke placed the
ball on the return ramp. He fisted his hands but kept them at his sides. Luke
usually didn’t get in to fights with guys, but for whatever reason, he and
Riley didn’t get along.

Riley smirked, then turned around and
started to walk off. He stopped and looked at Delaney. “Next time, you might
want to help your boyfriend find his ball.” He covered his mouth, trying to
hide his snickering.

“Screw you, Riley,” Delaney snapped.

Riley’s eyes swept over her and then a grin
spread across his face. “We already did, remember?”

“Asshole!” Luke leaped over the ball
return ramp and grabbed a fistful of Riley’s shirt, spinning him around. Luke
swung, landing a punch in the center of Riley’s face. Riley bowed, surprised
from the attack, but came back at Luke, throwing a left hook. Luke blocked
Riley’s arm and then swung again, this time hitting him in the stomach.

“Stop!” Delaney yelled.

Collin and Forbes rushed to pull Luke off
Riley. “Come on, guys!” Forbes yelled, trying to stop Luke from throwing
punches.

“Coach is going to be mad,” Collin
reminded Luke and Riley as he tried to separate the two.

Another baseball player, Winston,
latched on to Riley’s arms. “I’ll whip both your asses if you don’t stop!”

The six-foot-three player picked up
Riley like a rag doll. Riley flung his legs and landed a kick on the edge of
Luke’s chin, whipping his head to the side. Luke stumbled back, nearly crashing
into Delaney as he grasped his face. Delaney crouched down next to him. “Luke,
are you okay?”

“I’m good.” Luke shoved away from
Delaney.

“Get off me, Winston, I’m warning you!”
Riley yelled as his feet thrashed about, kicking anything that got in his way.
Collin ducked, but staggered back as Riley’s foot missed him by mere inches. I
rushed to his side, making sure he was okay.

 “Everyone, out of here now!” Two
security guards dressed in black from the front door yelled at us.

“We need to go, now.” Forbes rushed past
us with Jordan in tow.

Luke took Delaney by the hand as they
both kicked off the bowling shoes and grabbed their own shoes. He motioned for
us to follow him out the door.

Collin and I quickly changed our shoes,
leaving our bowling shoes with everyone else’s. “Here’s your purse and coat.”
Collin handed me my stuff and then shuffled us down the stairs. I looked behind
us to see Winston and Riley arguing with the guards. The front door flew open
and we bolted out on to the sidewalk. That night had officially gone to shit.

Σ

The weekend flashed by and I found
myself getting ready to go to the World Series game. Somehow, I had managed to
get through the meetings with the photographers, church, and lunch, sans the
Mimosas. Even though I had needed one badly. Seeing pictures of couples
displaying their blissfulness had pointed out one thing: Collin and I didn’t
have that level of happiness. When I looked at us, I didn’t see a spark or glow
coming from our faces, especially not mine. There was something missing in our
picture.

Love.

It made me more confident in my decision
to not marry him. Delaney was right. Our relationship existed on a friendship
level and we were only marrying out of expectancy. I wished Collin would’ve
seen that so it would’ve been a mutual break up. I could only hope that once I
mentioned it, he would agree. One thing was certain though, I was telling him
after the game.

The door to our suite opened and I heard
Delaney humming. I’d managed to ignore her for the past several days, but I
knew I couldn’t keep doing that. I really needed to talk to her about my
decision.

“Lexi?” Delaney knocked on the door as I
slipped on my boots.

“Yeah, come in.”

She partially opened the door and stood
in the doorway, hesitant to enter.

“Are you going to the game?”

I really didn’t want to go, but since
our parents were coming to watch the game, I knew that would be a bad move on
my part. They’d wonder why I wasn’t going and I didn’t feel like explaining
myself to them.

“What do you think?” I held out my arms,
showing her my purple sweater, which supported Collin’s team.

With a slight smile, she opened the door
further, showing me her white ruffled shirt. “I’m going too.”

“Supporting Luke?” I asked, already
knowing the answer.

She wrapped her arms around her body and
stared at the floor. I had never seen Delaney hang her head in shame. Maybe the
guilt had finally gotten to her.

“It’s okay, Delaney. You can quit
pretending now.” I approached her and moved the hair dangling in front of her
face to over her shoulder. “I know you and Luke have been seeing each other.”

She looked at me with eyes that begged
for forgiveness and there was no way I could hold on to the deceit. “Are you
mad?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Just
disappointed that you didn’t tell me.”

“I’m sorry.” She let out a big sigh. “I
wanted to, but Luke thought it was best if we just kept it between us.”

“Why? I don’t understand.”

“It’s complicated.” Her eyes traveled to
the floor and then back up at me. “We’re not together, together…”

I sat down. In a weird, girlie way, I
kind of understood why she didn’t tell me. She probably didn’t want me to get
upset since it was my brother she was messing around with and not just another
one of her ‘pick of the day’ guys. It had taken a lot of nerve for me to tell
her about Raven and she didn’t even know him.

 
It’s definitely harder when you know
the person
.

“So you’re more like friends with
benefits?”

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “I guess you can
say that.”

“I know you’re not the type that sticks
with one guy, but all I ask is that you treat Luke right and not hurt him.

“I like Luke, I really do.” She
collapsed on the bed, next to me. “I’m just not ready to settle down, not yet.”
She stared at me, waiting for me to say something.

“Don’t look to me for advice.” I shot
her a quick glance. “I can’t even find the nerve to tell Collin I don’t want to
marry him.”

She stayed silent for a moment and then
said, “So you’re one-hundred percent sure that’s what you want?”

My throat tightened and my eyes watered.
I pressed my lips together and nodded. Despite wanting that, it didn’t make it
any easier. Delaney wrapped her arm around me and I closed my eyes. Tears
streamed down my cheeks and I wiped them away. “I can’t get through to him. No
matter what I do or say, he won’t change. It’s like he’s wearing a shield that
protects his emotions and a vice that surrounds his heart. Apparently I don’t
have the power to penetrate that combination lock.”

“Some guys just don’t get it.” She shook
her head.

“Sad, but true.” I glanced at her
through wet lashes. “I know now that our relationship exists on a friendship
level. I can’t marry him knowing that we aren’t madly in love with one
another.”

“And you’re not doing this in hopes of
being with Raven?”

“Seriously?” I pushed away from her.
“You really think I’m leaving Collin to be with Raven?”

She recoiled against the wall and then
wrapped her arms around her legs. “I don’t know. I mean you’ve told me the way
you feel about him and I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Delaney was right. I was attracted to
Raven and I really did enjoy being around him. He had brought out a part of me
that I didn’t even know existed. When I was with him, I had a fire that burned
bright inside of me, making me feel alive to the point he moved me like no one
else could. I had had to keep that fire contained, so that I knew I was making
the right decision to not marry Collin. Even though a part of me wanted to run
back to him and let him light that fire once again.

“Look, I might like him, but I promise
you, I’m not doing this so I can be with him.”

“Okay. I believe you.”

I relaxed and leaned against the wall,
next to her. “I even canceled my session with him yesterday. And I’m not sure
I’ll continue tutoring him.” Not to mention, I had refused to respond to his
text messages on Friday night when he said he was downstairs waiting to take me
to the party. That was the hardest thing I had ever done. Knowing that all I
had to do was go six floors down and let him show me the time of my life.

She leaned her head against mine. “Then
you’re doing the right thing and shouldn’t feel guilty. It’ll be hard, but in
the end, you’ll be glad you did this.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Me, too.” Silence filled the space
between us and then she said, “When are you going to tell him?”

“Tonight, after the game.” I checked my
phone. Every minute seemed to pass in thirty second increments, bringing me
closer to what I had to do. “I can’t keep going on like this. I’m miserable.”

“I know. I’m here for you,” she squeezed
my hand, “no matter what.”

Relief settled the nausea in my stomach
and the fear entwined in my mind. “Thanks, Delaney. I appreciate that.”

A few minutes later, my phone rang. I
glanced at the screen before answering it. “Crap, it’s my mom.”

“Hello?”

“Hey, Lexi, we’re down the street. Do
you need a ride to the stadium?”

“Yeah, sure. Can you give Delaney a
ride, too?”

“Of course. See you in a minute.”

I hung up the phone. “My parents are
picking us up in a few minutes.”

“Okay, good.” Delaney got up and then
pulled me to my feet. “C’mon. You can do this.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “If
you say so.”

We put on our jackets and headed
downstairs to my parents’ car.

“Hi, girls. How’s your week so far?” Mom
turned around, giving us a quick glance.

Horrible.
I
shrugged, not responding.

“Busy,” Delaney replied and clicked her
seat belt.

“Good to see you both.” Dad smiled
through the rearview mirror. I managed to smile back.

“I have good news, Lexi.” Mom’s voice
lilted and I cringed.

“What’s that?”

“I was able to schedule an appointment
with the photographer the Gilford’s recommended for next Saturday.”

“Great,” I said, not caring if I sounded
disappointed. Mom had asked one of the couples that joined us for lunch on
Sunday about their daughter’s photographer. She had recently married and mom
had quickly become engrossed with the details of their wedding. I had played
along, once again, acting like I cared when I really didn’t.

Mom turned around. “What’s wrong?”

I quickly averted my eyes and stared out
the window. “Nothing.”

“Are you sure? You sound a little down.”

“I’m fine.” Riding in the car with them
was more trouble than it was worth. Walking in the cool temperatures would have
been better than the interrogation.

“Well, I wasn’t going to tell you this,
but what the heck.” My head snapped in her direction.

Oh, please don’t tell me anything else
about the wedding!

“Your dad and I went to the bridal shop
and guess what?”

My stomach did a somersault and I had to
hold the vomit threatening to purge from me.

She continued, even though I didn’t
respond. “We bought you that wedding dress!” She clapped her hands and I wanted
to jump out of the car into incoming traffic.

“The one she didn’t like?” Delaney
blurted.

Could my life get any worse?

“What?” Mom sounded surprised by
Delaney’s response. “That dress is perfect.”

“The dress is really pretty, Lexi,” Dad
spoke up. “Is there a reason you didn’t like it?” I was shocked that Mom
allowed him to have input about the wedding and what she wanted me to wear.

“If you like being covered up to your
neck in lace,” I huffed.

Delaney motioned for me to stay calm. I
had to bite my tongue before I announced that the wedding was off. I took a
deep breath and prayed for strength.

“Mom showed me the other dress—”

“The strapless one?” Dad’s comment
quickly caught my attention.

“Yes.” His voice thickened and I slumped
in my chair. “That wasn’t appropriate and you know it.”

Please kill me now, because I can’t take
one more minute of this shit!

I don’t know why I let it bother me
since I wasn’t planning on getting married, but it did. Maybe it was because
reality had hit. After that night, I wouldn’t be Collin’s fiancée. He’d never
see me wearing that wedding dress, even though it was ugly as hell. Or maybe it
was another reminder of how my parents controlled my life. My head and my heart
were a convoluted mess of emotions.

The car stopped and I opened the door,
gasping for air. I couldn’t breathe and the weight of the stress was consuming
my body. I darted across the grass parking lot and headed toward the stadium,
even though that was the last place I wanted to go.

“Lexi, what’s the problem?” Dad yelled,
following me.

With a sigh, I stopped. “Nothing. Just
forget about it.” I tracked in a circle, holding on to my head as I prayed for
God to make me an emotionless person like Collin. It would have been so much
easier to not feel the hurt and lack of love that I needed.

“Why are you so upset? What’s going on?”
Mom’s hounding raked over my skin.

Delaney stood behind them, instructing
me to stay quiet. She was right. I had to tell Collin before I told my parents.
It wouldn’t be fair to him.

“I’ve had a rough week and the wedding
is stressing me out.” I crossed my arms and shuffled my feet. “Can we please
not talk about it anymore tonight?”

“Okay. Just calm down.” Dad slipped his
arm around me and I leaned into him, feeling some of the stress melt away. “We
won’t say another word.” He turned and gave Mom his typical pleading eyes
stare. I doubted she’d do as he said, since she always got her way.

With Dad’s arm firmly wrapped around me,
we walked to the stadium. It took all of my effort to keep the waterworks from
releasing. I really wanted to confide in him and tell him what was going on in
my life, but I knew he would side with my mom. He’d tell me I was being
irrational; that the stress was getting to me and I’d regret my decision. I
knew what I had to do, though. I was only waiting for the right time.  

***

We headed to the usual pizza place the
baseball team went to after the game. The smell of dough wafted through the air.
Normally my stomach would have welcomed several slices of their house special
stacked with Applewood smoked bacon, but food was the last thing I wanted.
Delaney, Jordan, and I sat in an oversized booth while my parents gathered with
Collin’s family.

“Way to go!” Several people chanted and
whistled as a few baseball players wearing purple entered the restaurant.
Cheers continued to follow as more of the team filed in. I kept a watchful eye,
waiting for Collin to enter.

Riley and Winston walked in and Delaney
shifted in her seat. “Great. Why did they have to come?” They immediately
spotted us and headed in our direction.

“Just ignore them.” I rolled my eyes at
Riley when his stare turned annoyingly smug. They passed our booth and sat at a
table with some other players near the back.

“Don’t worry.” Jordan patted Delaney on
the hand. “Surely they aren’t stupid enough to try something with everyone
here.”