For the Win (Playing for Keeps Book 1) (6 page)

She must’ve seen Cooper at my house. My face flamed. “There’s nothing to tell.”

Her head whipped around, her mouth falling open. “Nothing to tell? He was at your house!” She was doing that squealing thing she did when she got overly excited.

I cringed, kind of wishing I had ear plugs. “Remember I fell off my bike?” I pointed to my ankle. “Cooper happened to be driving by, and he stopped to help me.”

“Oh, how romantic.” Skyler clutched her chest, her eyes taking on a dreamy quality.

“It is not romantic,” I said. “It meant nothing.”

Skyler gave me a smug smile. “If he was only helping you get home, why did he stay so long?”

“Damn, you’re nosy,” I teased her.

“I wouldn’t have to be if you didn’t always hold out on me.” She winked.

“Yeah, because my life is full of secrets and intrigue.”

“Maybe not before, but now it seems like it is.” She nudged me in the side with her free arm. “C’mon. You spent the afternoon with Cooper Montgomery while I was at home helping Mom make a batch of tortillas and listening to my brothers play videogames. The least you could do is fill me in on the details.”

I chuckled at the picture she’d drawn. I’d often told her she could write a story. “Fine. He came over and iced my ankle.”

Skyler sighed, that weird wistful look on her face again. The school came into view, and I was grateful. Only another minute and then I could get out of this car, effectively ending this conversation.

“Then he asked why I was out riding my bike wearing my backpack, and I told him that I was on the way to the library to type up my article on him.”

“Why didn’t you come over to my house?” Skyler pulled into the school parking lot. It was practically empty with a few cars scattered here and there. By the time first period started, the whole lot would be crammed, but during zero period it was like a ghost town.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” I lied.

“You’re never a bother.” She smiled. “I would’ve welcomed the distraction from my family.”

I grinned, knowing she was right. “Anyway, he loaned me his laptop so I could type the article.”

“Shut up!” She said emphatically, slapping me in the shoulder.

“I wish you’d let me,” I mumbled.

She giggled. “You know what I mean.”

I nodded.
Yeah, I did.
She was surprised, and I totally got that. I had been a little shocked by his kind gesture too.

After Skyler parked, I yanked up my backpack and struggled to get out of the car. I was not looking forward to limping around campus all day. There was no way to go undetected with my ankle like this. Kids would notice, and that was something I dreaded.

“Sounds like he’s totally into you.” Skyler came around the car to meet me.

“He is not.” My chest tightened at her words. I knew she wasn’t correct, but there was a part of me that wanted so desperately to believe it. To grasp the words and hold them close, as if by doing so they would come true. But life wasn’t like that. I had learned that the hard way. Wanting something didn’t make it real. Wishes were nothing but unanswered prayers, fleeting thoughts we never saw come to fruition. They scarred you if you allowed them to, if you foolishly put your hopes in them.

And that was something I wouldn’t do again.

Cooper

I never made it to Calista’s last night. A fact which she couldn’t stop reminding me of today. Frankly, it was starting to piss me off. And it was the reason why I didn’t get involved in relationships. Once that happened, the girl became needy and suddenly demanded all my time and attention. I was a busy guy. I couldn’t spend all my time with some girl. Besides, I had baseball and school, and that required my focus right now. If I had any hope of getting into a good college, I couldn’t allow some chick to take over my life.

“I waited for you for hours.” Calista leaned her back against my locker, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout. It was sexy as hell, but it didn’t quell my irritation.

“Look, I told you, something came up, okay?”

“Hey, Coop,” Nate waved from his locker across the hall. When I lifted my hand to wave back, his gaze shifted to Calista, and he cocked an eyebrow.

I flashed him a knowing smile.

“What came up that was so important?” Calista asked, yanking my attention back to her. One thing that was clear was that she liked to be the center of attention. God, she was exhausting.

London floated into my mind. I remembered how helpless she appeared lying on the ground, blood on her hands. And then I recalled her open expression filled with sorrow when she told me about her mom. I knew that pain, and in that instant I felt connected to her. Felt like she was the one person on earth who understood me.

“Cooper? Where were you last night?” Calista pressed.

There was no way I would tell her about being at London’s house. I didn’t plan on telling anyone. Besides, it didn’t matter. It’s not like I was planning to hang out with her again. We may have had one moment of connection, but it didn’t mean anything. When it passed, it was clear that she wanted me to leave as much as I wanted to get out of there. We weren’t compatible. We were total opposites. Plus, I wasn’t kidding when I said she had a major chip on her shoulder. She was like ice, she was so frigid. Anytime she started to thaw, to reveal a part of herself, she quickly closed back up, freezing me out. If I thought Calista was high maintenance, London was ten times worse. At least with Calista I knew what I was getting.

“Nothing. It was just a--” Clattering caught my attention. I turned my head in time to see London stumble over in the middle of the hallway. Maybe her ankle was worse than I thought.

A laugh bubbled from Calista’s throat. “What a loser.”

When I scanned the hallway, everyone was chuckling, pointing and whispering, but not one person was helping her. London placed her palms on the ground and pushed herself up. She held her head high, but I could see the struggle on her face as she fought against the embarrassment. Before I knew it, I was in front of her, holding out my hand. It’s like my body had a mind of its own, as if I couldn’t control it.

London looked as stunned as I felt when she peered up at me. But she took my hand in hers. When I closed my fingers around her palm, I smiled. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

She smiled wanly as I tugged on her arm. “I lost my balance.” Once she was upright, I released her hand and she looked downward. “Damn ankle.”

“That’s right. Let him have it.”

Her eyes found mine, and her lips curved upward. “Thanks for helping me.” She paused, her eyelashes fluttering. Normally when girls did that it was meant to be flirty, but I could tell that wasn’t her intention. Yet her innocence made it seem even more seductive. “Again.”

“Any time,” I said, and then quickly amended. “With your track record, maybe it was a mistake to say that.”

A small giggle escaped through her lips. She didn’t appear to laugh often, and it gave me a strange sense of satisfaction to know that I had elicited it. “Don’t worry. I’ll try to keep the accidents to a minimum as much as possible.”

“That would probably be a good thing,” I said.

“Well, I better get to class.” She cast her gaze downward.

“Do you need help?” I asked, and then immediately regretted it. When my gaze swept the halls, I saw the horrified stares from Nate and a few of the other guys. I hadn’t even thought about them when I came rushing over here like a damn knight in shining armor. Swallowing hard, I craned my neck in Calista’s direction. If I thought my friend’s faces were bad, they were nothing compared to Calista’s. She was practically shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

“I’m fine,” London said swiftly, and then hobbled around me.

I was ashamed at how relieved I was that she didn’t take me up on my offer. What was wrong with me? My emotions were so conflicted when I was around her. No one else had ever had this effect on me before.

“What was that about?” Calista sidled up next to me.

“She fell, and I helped her.”

“Why?”

My previous embarrassment turned to disgust. “The better question is, why didn’t you? Why didn’t anyone?” Running a hand over my head, I spun around and stormed away. I didn’t even stop when Nate called my name. Honestly, I was disgusted with all of them.

London was up ahead, limping slowly. She hadn’t made it very far, and it was clear she wouldn’t make it anywhere very fast. It only took a second to catch up to her. 

“I gotta be honest, you don’t seem fine,” I said, grinning.

“I look that bad, huh?” She wrinkled her button nose.

With her hair pulled back and no glasses on, her eyes appeared even wider than usual, the unique color even more striking. Her lips held a hint of shimmer, her skin was so pale it resembled snow.

“No, you don’t,” I breathed out the words.

She bit her lip. I hardly knew her and already I knew she did this when she felt nervous. Kids flew past us, all hurrying to class, but we were moving at a snail’s pace. I found myself wanting to put my arms around London and guide her to class. But I couldn’t do that. Not here. Besides, from the little I knew of her, I didn’t think she’d welcome it anyway.

“At least let me hold your bag,” I offered.

She hesitated. Then a slow smile crept across her face. “Okay.”

I carefully removed her backpack and held it in my fingers. My arm lowered from the weight of it. “Damn, what do you have in here?”

“Books. What else?” She took a step forward, dragging her maimed foot.

“You know we have lockers for a reason, right?”

Darkness fell like a curtain over her eyes, but she recovered quickly. “Oh, is that what they’re for? For our books? I’ll have to try that out sometime.”

There was more to this, but I didn’t want to pry. It wasn’t my business. I was merely helping her to class. “Where are we headed?”

“Mr. Humphrey’s.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.” I nodded knowingly, and she chuckled. Mr. Humphrey was known for being a hard ass. Plus, he taught math, so it was bad on all counts.

“He’s all right.” She shrugged. We neared the classroom. A few more students passed us, vanishing into the classrooms lining the walls. One of the girls bumped into London and she teetered on the balls of her feet. Reaching out my arm, I steadied her. She wore a sheepish expression. “The teachers I can handle.”

I swiveled my head in the direction of the girl who bumped London. That’s when I recognized her as one of Calista’s friends. She flashed London a smug look before disappearing around the corner. Clearly the bump wasn’t an accident. It made me wonder if London’s locker aversion had anything to do with bullying, and that thought turned my stomach. It’s not that I didn’t know bullying took place. I guess it was something I didn’t think much about. My focus was always on my schoolwork and baseball. Everything else had become white noise.

“Thanks for walking me to class.” London reached for her backpack, plucking it from my fingers. Then she flung it over her shoulder.

“Hey,” I stopped her before she could turn around. “I read the article. It was really good.” I was surprised that she hadn’t mentioned my grandparents or Calista. She could’ve really smeared me or delved into my personal life, but she didn’t. She stuck to baseball and the facts like a real reporter, like a professional. Obviously she took writing seriously, the same way I took baseball. It seemed I was always finding similarities between the two of us.

“Thanks.” She smiled. “I hope John likes it. I haven’t heard from him yet.”

“I’m sure he will.”

“If so, it will come out in next week’s edition.” The bell pealed, and her eyes widened. “Thanks again. I have to go.”

While she slipped into Mr. Humphrey’s classroom, I hurried down the hallway toward my science class, cursing myself for spending so much time talking to London. I’d never been late to class before.
What the hell had gotten into me today?

“So what’s the deal with you and the newspaper chick?” Nate asked while we walked toward the bus carrying our team to the away game.

“Nothing.” I shifted the bag on my shoulder.

“Rumor is that you flaked on Calista to go to newspaper chick’s house,” Nate continued.

My body went hot, and I glanced around to see if anyone else was listening in. Brandon and Alec were the closest to us, but they were too busy laughing at something on Alec’s phone. Who had told people about me being at London’s? The memory flickered of the dark haired girl from next door. She looked familiar. I was sure she went to school here. Had she told people? I had a feeling London would be as unhappy about this as I was.

“Is it true, man?” Nate asked.

We reached the bus and I climbed up the steps. “Yeah, but it’s not what you’re thinking. Trust me.”

“Hey, it’s not me you’ve gotta convince.”

As if on cue, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Stomach sinking, I dug it out.

Calista: Now I know what your big “emergency” was.

Shaking my head, I shoved the phone back into my pocket. That was it. I’d been nice to Calista long enough. That chick had to go.

“She’s pretty upset, dude,” Nate said.

“I don’t care,” I said harshly, finding an empty seat and dropping into it. “It’s not like she’s my girlfriend. We hooked up once.”

“Hey, I get it, man.” Nate slid in next to me. “Really I do. But you know Calista. She’s pissed, and when she gets pissed, she gets even.”

“What are you saying?” Dread sank into my gut.

“I’m saying that if you’re not into newspaper chick, you better make sure Calista knows it or else Calista’s going to make the girl’s life a living hell.”

Shit. I knew hooking up with Calista was a mistake.