Blocked (38 page)

China was at Lucia’s match too, due to the large crowd, and I felt a stirring of disquiet in my gut.

“One more point and the game is ours,” Pete gloated. He cupped his hand around his ear. “What was that about you being unbeatable?”

When I didn’t respond, he gave me a strange look. “You okay?”

“Sorry, guys, game’s over.” Brad swept back into the kitchen. “My partner said the media presence is bigger than expected, and they need extra security at the game. Which means I gotta go to campus.”

“Which means you need to take me with you,” I added, attempting to sound disappointed.

Brad tilted his head. His nods started slowly then picked up speed. “Yesss, it does. Ain’t no way I’m leaving you alone after that stunt you pulled with the beer, jackhole.”

“
God, I looohhhvvve beer
.” Josh cracked a smile, then stood. “Well, this sucks. Will you kindly drive me to my abode, Petester?”

“Anything to get rid of you for the night.” As Pete pushed Josh toward the front door, he hollered over his shoulder, “I was
beating
you, Monroe!” Brad followed to let them out.

When he returned, he scowled at me. “It would be safer if we left you home, with the alarm set and agents doing drive-bys. You sure you want to go?”

“Lucia doesn’t have anyone there for her.”

Brad shook his head as he chuckled. “You’ve got pussyitis, my man.”

Yeah, I do
. “Keep that to yourself, jerkoff.”

“Get ready for the carnage, though.”

I cocked my head, confused, as he cocked his weapon.

“Bridgetown’s ahead two-nothing. Let’s roll.”

How was that possible? Highbanks had beaten Bridgetown three games to one in an away match earlier this season.

When we arrived at the gym, I stuck by Brad’s side as promised. A few media types snapped photos of me, but I was too absorbed in the play to notice. Bridgetown was beating the Cougars in game three as well, and I soon discovered why. Though the defense passed the ball right to Nina, she refused to set Lucia. Instead, set after set went to Maddie. Maddie was an all-conference hitter, but without the element of surprise for each set, Bridgetown blockers smothered each of her spikes.
Christ
, at one point they triple-blocked her!

Coach Holter’s face was fire-engine red. Why hadn’t he substituted in the backup setter for Nina? I scanned the Highbanks bench.
Oh
. Murphy’s bandaged foot rested on crutches in front of her chair. There
was
no backup setter.

I studied Lucia after she lunged to save a wayward pass. She looked on the verge of tears, and seeing her so upset clenched my hands into fists. I couldn’t imagine how frustrated she must be. I looked over at Nina’s pinched face.
I did this
. This was my fault.

When the merciful end of the match came, Brad said, “Let’s get you out of here.” Dejected Cougar fans spilled out of the stands and herded toward the exits.

“I need to talk to Nina.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“I need to talk to her!”

Brad frowned but relayed the info into his comm link. He paused as he likely listened to his earpiece. “Okay, but we should get you to a secure location. Follow me.”

We headed to the weight room, where China waited by the entrance. “Coach is blasting them in the locker room,” she told me. “But when he’s done, I’ll ask Nina to meet you here.”

“Thank you. And can you…?”

She scowled at yet another request.

“Could you, uh, try not to let Luz know I’m talking to Nina?”

“You’re not going to two-time Lucia, are you?”

“Absolutely not.” I then realized what she’d said. “Wait, are you standing up for Lucia now?”

She shrugged. “Allie likes her, that’s all.”

When she walked off, Brad and I exchanged a smirk.

Sometime later, Brad held the door open for Nina, then left us. My planned diatribe vanished from my mind once I saw her mascara-streaked face and her eyes glittering with tears. Instead, I blurted, “I’m sorry.”

She sniffed and looked away. Her uniform was rumpled, and she probably craved a shower. “Do
you
want to yell at me, too?”

“No, just want to talk. Thanks for being here.” I stuffed my hands in my jean pockets and lowered onto a bench. She remained standing. “You seemed, um, mad, when you saw me and Lucia together.”

She blew out a breath and folded her slender arms across her waist. “She asked me not to tell anyone about it.”

“I see.” I pressed my lips together. “
Do
you plan to tell anyone?”

“You can’t tell me what to do—we’re not together anymore. Why do you care, anyway?”

“You know why I care. The media are already crazy around here. And also, Adolf might castrate me if he finds out.” That drew a small smile from her. “Though I realize that would probably be quite okay with you.”

She rolled her eyes. After a beat, she sat on a bench across from me and fidgeted with the hem of her Spandex shorts.

“So…” I inhaled stale weight room air. “You told Lucia I
wanted
you to get an abortion.” Her hand stilled. “Is that how you saw it?”

“Of course you did. You didn’t want to be saddled with a baby.”

“You never gave me a
choice!”

When her eyes opened wide, I knew I’d been too forceful. I swallowed. “I mean, why’d you think I wanted the abortion, when you didn’t tell me until after it was over?”

“I was scared, and alone…My family doesn’t even know. And I was trying to make things easier…for you.”

“For
me?”
What the hell kind of logic was that?

“I knew you didn’t love me.” Her tears started anew.

“Oh, Nina.” I blew out a breath. Unfortunately, she was right—we didn’t belong together. Most guys would call her beautiful, but I found her boring and kind of mean. And every time I looked at her now, I thought about my mistakes and her lies—hardly a turn-on. But if she’d given me the chance, would I have stepped up to the plate as her baby daddy? If I had, would the scandal have ruined my mom’s chance to become president? Nauseating guilt swirled in my belly as I realized the abortion
had
made things easier for me. “You still should have let me know,” I said softly.

“I want to be…with you.” Her lips trembled as she swiped her face. “But you don’t want me.”

I looked down. “I’m sorry.” I pressed my fingers into the lifting bench cushion. “There’s probably been too much history between us. But a lot of guys would kill to be your boyfriend. You deserve a guy who’s totally into you.”

“Like you’re into Lucia?”

I didn’t know what to say.

“How the hell can you want
her?”

Her superior tone churned my gut, splashing the walls of my stomach with acid.

“I mean
really
, Dane. She’s against everything you fight for. Her beliefs are ridiculous. Not to mention how big she is—”

“Shut
up
.” I fought the urge to spring to my feet and throttle her.
Anger’s just a feeling
, Dr. Valentine’s voice cooed in my head.
Breathe through it. Notice it without reacting
. “You lie to Lucia about me, then you dare insult her right to my face? Just because her beliefs differ from yours doesn’t make them wrong.”

“So you want Adolf to win?”

“Of course not! My mom’s the smartest person I know, and she’s clearly the best choice to lead the country.”

“But how can you be physically attracted to someone like Lucia?” Her tiny Barbie nose scrunched up with disgust. “She’s
huge
.”

What a bitch
. How had I once felt attracted to
Nina?
“Lucia’s strong,” I forced out through clenched teeth. “She’s got substance.” My hands twitched, remembering the feel of her curves in my caress. “She’s a beautiful athlete.”

She made a scoffing sound. “I don’t understand you.”

“And I don’t understand
you
. How could you let your petty vendetta against Lucia hurt the entire team?”

Her eyes flared, spitting fire at me. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Bullshit, Nina. You refused to set Lucia tonight. You alone lost the match.” I gritted my teeth. “
I’m
the one you’re mad at—not her. Don’t let my mistakes hurt Lucia and ruin the season for your whole team.”

She opened her mouth, probably to hurl more venom my way, but then pressed her lips together and looked down. She likely knew she couldn’t deny what she’d done, especially to me. As a setter, I knew what was what.

“You’re the leader of the team.” I tried to temper my tone. “The team lives and dies with your leadership. You owe it to them. You owe it to them to give your best, and you didn’t do that tonight. You let them down.”

She sniffed, and I wondered if she’d resumed crying. At first I let the silence extend between us—she was much nicer to be around when she wasn’t bitching at me. But then I worried Lucia might wonder where Nina had gone, so I spoke up.

“Do you ever think about our baby?”

Her head snapped up, revealing glassy eyes. A tear leaked out.

“
I
do.” My heavy heart thudded.

“I don’t want to think about him.” She swallowed and brushed at her cheek.

“Him? I always thought we’d have a girl.”

When the tiniest of smiles formed on her face, I felt my anger slip away like a puff of smoke. “I’m sorry you felt alone with this.”

Her eyes turned down, and more tears escaped. “I guess I should have told you I wasn’t on birth control.”

No shit!

“And I probably should have let you know about the baby.”

Yes, you should have
.

“Do you think…?” She blinked a few times. “Do you think God will forgive me?”

I exhaled. “Don’t know if we’ll be forgiven. Lucia’s praying for us, though.”

“She is?”

Nobody had ever prayed for me before. “Yep. I don’t deserve her.” I grimaced.

“I’m such a bitch.”

I barked out a laugh at her sudden confession.

“You’ve got an edge, and I thought…I thought you liked bitches.”

I paused. “I thought I did, too.” I stared at her. “But turns out I like sweethearts. Who knew, huh?” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I know I’m not good enough for Lucia. I can’t explain her attraction to me, or my attraction to
her
. It doesn’t make sense…but it’s powerful. It’s right. I can feel it. And I won’t stand for anyone hurting her. Got it?”

Somewhere in my little speech I’d risen to my full height, and Nina looked up at me with big eyes. She looked as if she were going to say something for a moment, but then she just nodded.

“You’re going to set her? Treat her like a teammate? Act like a
leader
out there?”

She pursed her lips. “Okay, okay. Geez! You’re not my coach.”

“Praise God for that.”

“He already had a shit fit about us losing tonight. Now we’re forced to play the first match of the conference tournament.”

“You’ll win it no problem, especially if you play like you’re capable of.” I reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. I took a deep breath. “Truce?”

She studied me for a moment. “I’ll try.”

“Good. Now go shower, stinky.”

“Asshole.”

I attempted not to smile as we walked out of the weight room. Nina turned toward the locker room, and I turned to Brad.

“Let’s get back to the greenhouse,” Brad said. He rubbed his belly. “Time for some birthday cake when Lucia gets home?”

“Sure.” I hadn’t envisioned celebrating my birthday by talking down the girl who’d almost had my baby. But, spending the rest of the evening with the girl who’d stolen my heart…yeah, that would more than make up for it.