Aced (Blocked #2) (12 page)

“You need to leave.” Coach shook his head. “My practices are closed.”

“So no one can witness your intimidation,
¿sí?”

Coach glared at his assistant. “Brian, get him out of here.”

Brian nodded and jogged toward one end of the court, where a ramp led up to the stands. But Alejandro didn’t appear to be finished.

“I don’t know how your teams win with you bullying them at every turn.”

“
Out
of here!” Coach pointed to the door.

“You think you’re such a big man, Holter.”

“Ay, Dios mío,”
Lucia cried softly.

Coach yelled something back at Alejandro, but Kara’s appearance by my side distracted me from hearing it. “Hey, Maddie.” She cradled my elbow. “Coach asked you to leave. How ’bout you go now? Let Coach cool down a bit?”

I gasped. “Am I kicked off the team? But how will I train for camp?”

“I’m sure you’re not kicked off forever,” she said. I started breathing again. “But for now he’s about to blow, and I don’t want you here when he does.”

I glanced at Nina to make sure she wouldn’t gloat about my departure, but she was absorbed in the Coach-Alejandro soap opera like everyone else on the team. I looked back at Kara. “Okay, I’ll go.” As I walked on unsteady legs to the locker room, Lucia joined me.

“Oh my God. Alex has lost it.”

I looked up as Alejandro’s agents pushed him to the exit with Brian trailing behind. He kept yelling at Coach but had shifted to Spanish.

“Wow, your brother’s awesome. He’s really letting Coach have it.”

“Good thing Coach doesn’t speak Spanish. But I’m a dead woman. I bet Coach will boot me out next.”

“Don’t you get ejected on my behalf.”

She clutched my arm. “I can’t believe he’s making you leave instead of Nina. Why didn’t you cry? You told me Coach freaks out when we cry. It would’ve stopped him in his tracks, and he probably would’ve let you stay at practice.”

“I think I’m all cried out, Rez.” I frowned. “By the way, don’t let Nina get to you. She
wishes
she could be as strong as you. And she’s still jealous about Dane.”

Abruptly, Rez giggled. “Dane will be so mad he missed this!”

“Lucia!” Coach barked.

She jumped, then sprinted back to the court.

As I headed to the locker room, I noticed Tina standing by a wall with her arms folded across her chest.
Uh-oh
. I knew that appraising look; she’d obviously witnessed my meltdown. Her index finger curled toward her chest. Could I ignore her? I sighed. I knew she would hunt me down if I didn’t talk to her now. I changed course to follow her into the training room.

“What’s going on with you?” she asked.

The adrenaline from the altercation began to fade, replaced by shock.
I just got kicked out of practice the first time in my life. My serves have never sucked so bad. I told a teammate to fuck off, and then I almost punched her.
Fatigue weighed down my shoulders. “I’m—”

“And don’t tell me you’re fine, ’cause you’re so
not
fine, Maddie. I’ve never seen you act that way.”

I swallowed.

“Here.” She handed me a business card. “Call her.”

Carly Valentine, PhD
, the card read.
Highbanks Sport Psychologist
. “But it’s just a breakup.” My voice trembled, and my throat burned.
Don’t cry
.

“It’s more than that. You’re a hot mess.”

I wasn’t sure if the burst of air from my mouth was a laugh or a cry, but it certainly wasn’t a happy sound.

Tina patted my shoulder as she looked up into my eyes. “Talk to her, Maddie. Figure out what’s going on with you, okay? I miss your smile.”

I blinked quickly. I missed my smile, too.

Chapter Eight

“W
HAT
D
ID
I J
UST
D
O
?” I ran my hands through my hair as I crumpled back against the wall. The dim lighting of the arena hallway hopefully hid my embarrassment.

Frank approached and cupped my shoulder. “You got a little heated back there.”

“Oo-rah,” Brad said. He raised his palm for a high-five, and I gave it to him. Though I didn’t want to celebrate my eruption, I couldn’t leave him hanging.

China grinned. “I’ve been dying to castrate that jerk for how he treats these women.”

“I just kept thinking about how he told Lucia to lose weight last fall—and he dared to eject Maddie from practice? But I should never disrespect a coach like that.” I shook my head.

Allison’s eyebrows pulled together. “Coach Holter hasn’t exactly earned our respect. Maybe you could’ve been more tactful…”

“You
think?”
I clasped my head in my hands again.

“But he’s had that coming for a long time, like you said.” Allison smiled. “We’re just jealous you got to say it, not us.” She glanced at China. “We should head back up for Lucia. You coming?”

China’s smile actually looked shy. She pushed off the wall and walked to the stairs, drawing close to Allison’s side.

Watching two women together still jarred me. When I’d fallen under China and Brad’s protection the day after the election, Lucia had told me about China’s secret relationship with Allison.
“It was different for me at first,”
she’d said,
“just because I didn’t know any lesbian couples. But now I think they’re cute together.”

Cute
together? Nothing about China was cute. I still felt uncomfortable around her, and not just due to her overbearing nature. It was strange to me that she had zero use for men in her life. She certainly didn’t need a man’s protection, nor did she need a man for sex. And how did sex actually work without…?
Chin.
I sounded as naïve as Mateo.

Would
Maddie
want to be protected by a man? I sure hoped so, because I felt drawn to do just that. I couldn’t get the image of her facing off against Nina out of my mind. She’d stormed toward Nina like she’d wanted to flatten her, but I’d worried Maddie would be the one to get hurt. We’d both lost our cool.

I wondered how Maddie felt about me yelling at her coach. She probably wouldn’t want anything to do with a hothead like me.

“Alejandro,” Brad said, and I looked up. “Want to wait here at the gym for Luce, or head to the greenhouse?”

I glanced at my watch. “She has a half hour left of practice?”

“About that,” Frank said.

“Uh, how about…” My voice faded when Maddie rounded the corner. She stopped short once she saw me, and her rapid blinks couldn’t hide her tears.
Damn, she’s beautiful.

She threw her hand in the air as she shook her head. “Great! You catch me crying once again. You must think that’s all I do.”

I wished she didn’t feel embarrassed. Her tears didn’t make me judge her—they made me want her. The contrast between her emotional softness and her athletic toughness allured me.

I noticed Frank and Brad slinking away, giving us some privacy. I looked back at Maddie. “Of course you’re crying—that was a rough one out there. It’s not every day you get thrown out of practice.”

She winced. “That’s my first time ever.”

I took that in and considered all the practices of my baseball career. “Me too, actually.”

A smile appeared, then a giggle leaked out. “What the hell got into you, boy?”

“I bought a one-way ticket to loco, I guess.” Her smirk captivated me, and pretty soon I laughed too. “I don’t know what came over me.” I straightened. “Are you upset with me?”

“
What?
You’re like the team’s hero now. Everyone loved how you went off on Coach.” She tensed, then turned to look down the hallway, but all was clear. “Everyone besides Nina, that is.”

“That girl’s got problems.” My vision narrowed. “What did she say to my sister? Lucy looked really hurt.”

Maddie bit her full bottom lip. “Definitely not worth repeating.” Her hand fluttered away from her body like she was nervous.

I noticed she clutched a business card in that hand. “What’s that?”

“Nothing.” She swept the card inside her Spandex shorts. I saw a patch of toned abs when she hiked up her shirt, and I kept staring at the rectangular outline pressing against her Spandex. I wouldn’t mind being that business card.

“What a great birthday this turned out to be.” She sighed.

I inhaled. “It’s your birthday?”

“Yesterday.”

“Happy belated twenty-second, then.”

She smiled, seeming pleased.

“I hope you have a celebration lined up—something better than that awful practice.”

“I celebrated with my family at home this weekend.” Her smile faded as she looked down. “But Rez and Dane are taking me to dinner tonight.”

“Oh.” I felt deflated—I’d hoped to spend some time with her. “I know you’ll have a great time.”

“You’re not coming with?”

I shook my head. “I shouldn’t crash another dinner with your friends. Besides, Lucy didn’t know I was visiting. She’ll launch a protest if I try to tag along.”

“Why
are
you visiting?”

Because I can’t stop thinking about you.
“Dad wanted me to check in on Lucy. And our professor canceled class tomorrow, so I figured this was a good time.”

“Well, I bet Rez will let you go with us to dinner.”

“She isn’t furious with me for screaming at your coach?”

Maddie grinned. “She said she was glad Coach doesn’t speak Spanish. What exactly did you say?”

My mouth closed. “Shouldn’t repeat it around a lady.”

“Oh Lord, you think I’m a lady?” She chuckled.

I think you’re exquisite.

“Keep talking like that, and I’ll be sure to get you to come to dinner with us.” Her eyes glimmered, but she’d stopped crying a while ago. “In fact, I insist you join us. It’s
my
birthday—I get to do what I want.” She gave a definitive nod.

“Well, okay then,” I said. “I’ll go, if you insist.” I pretended I was reluctant.

“Good. But first, the lady has to shower.” She curtsied in her Spandex.

How freaking cute is that?

“
Señor
.” She bowed her head before peeking up at me with a grin.

“
Señorita bonita
.” I swept my gaze up her long legs to her lean torso, then up to her radiant face.

Her grin faded as she watched me. A spark lit in her eyes, then began to smolder as she stared at me.

I felt myself growing hard, and my chest tightened as I struggled for air. I looked from her eyes to her lips. When she licked her lower lip, my heart seized. God, I wanted to kiss that pretty mouth!

When she started, I jerked back. I could see she’d felt it, too. The connection. The turn-on.

She swallowed. “Gotta shower.”

When she darted past me, I almost lunged to grab her, to press her to me so I could maul her with kisses. But she was too fast. She left me with just the sight of her lithe body disappearing into the locker room.

I closed my eyes and noticed my galloping heartbeat. I felt like I’d just hit a single and sprinted to first base. But we hadn’t made it to first base…yet. Would she want me to kiss her? Touch her soft skin? Do things to her body I’d only imagined before?

“Damn it!” Dane thumped his fist on the table when we finished telling him about Coach ejecting Maddie and me from practice. “Why’d I have to miss it? So unfair. I’ve wanted to go bitchcakes on Holter’s ass for over a year.”

Lucia grinned as she leaned closer to Dane. Over a black turtleneck she wore a black T-shirt with two cartoon hot peppers wearing sombreros and tossing volleyballs in the air. The caption read
Wanna Pepper?

My sister hadn’t seemed so jovial after practice. On her way to the locker room, she’d found me in the hallway. As expected, she’d scowled with her hands on her hips when I mentioned dinner plans, even after I explained that Maddie had invited me. When I promised not to spy on her or boss her around, she’d finally relented. Maddie hadn’t emerged from the locker room yet, so I’d shared my birthday gift idea with my sister. Lucy’s demeanor had changed in an instant: she’d actually clapped and grinned.