Game of Love (8 page)

“Can you tell me about the class? What are the children like? Have most of them gone through the previous classes together, or do you have a high turnover rate in the classrooms?”

Principal Price opened her drawer and pulled out a spreadsheet. She slid it across the desk and Ellie looked it over.

“Our fifth-grade students scored above the national average in every area tested in the spring. Overall achievement was at the sixtieth percentile, ten points higher than the national average of fifty.” Principal Price continued rattling off statistics and milestones.

Ellie redirected the question and asked about the morale of the students, hoping to glean a little insight into the children themselves, their behavior, their attitude toward school.

Principal Price referred again to the statistics, reiterating that they had achieved above-average scores.

She tried one last time. “I understand the rankings and achievements, but I’d love to know about the children’s personalities, how they interact, if there are any children who need more attention than others. Anything that I should be aware of with regard to working with them in the most effective teaching manner possible?”

“Ellie, they’re children. They come to class to learn, and you’ll teach them the curriculum to ensure that they pass the state requirements. I’m sure whatever you did at your old school will be similar in practice to teaching here. The most important thing is that we meet the established milestones.”

By the time the interview ended, Ellie couldn’t get away from the building fast enough. She’d hoped to find a school that focused on the children as individuals rather than statistics, and Principal Price seemed more interested in the latter.

Her phone vibrated, and she pulled it out to read the text.

How’d it go?

Dex.
Of course
. He was so polite, and attentive, and…so Dex. Her lips lifted into a smile as she typed a response.
Fine, but I didn’t like it
.

She wished she could pick up a little something to thank Dex for letting her crash at his place, but buying a gift with his money didn’t cut it. The bank had said they’d overnight a new card to her and it should arrive at Dex’s place by tomorrow. She had two more interviews lined up this week, and she hoped something panned out. At least once she got her bank card back, she could find another place to stay and not impose on Dex anymore. The thought of staying someplace else left her feeling lonely.

Her phone vibrated again.
Sorry. The next one will be better.

Mr. Optimism. Dex had a way of always seeing the bright things in life.

She answered.
It’s fine. I have two more this week
.

When her phone vibrated, she expected it to be Dex again. It was Dina.

What happened last night? Jed said you took off in the middle of the night.

Ugh. She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to explain herself. She texted back quickly.

Couldn’t sleep. I left your key on the counter. Thanks for the place to crash.

Dina didn’t text back. Neither did Dex. By the time she reached his apartment building, it was one o’clock and she was starving. She noticed the decadence of the gabled and turreted building for the first time. Above her, intricately carved ceilings provided a beautiful canopy, and expensive floors inlaid with mahogany laid the path to the elevator. She felt nervous just walking across the floor. The building took her breath away and made her feel uncomfortable all at once. She pulled the key to his apartment from her pocket as she waited for the elevator and dropped it just as the elevator doors opened. A stunning dark-haired couple walked out.

“Hi,” the woman said as she stepped into the lobby, hesitating beside Ellie, who was still bent over, retrieving the key she’d dropped.

She felt her cheeks flush as she stood and dropped the key again. She groaned silently.

“Here, I’ve got it.” The woman picked up the key and handed it to her. “Are you staying here?”

“Yes, with Dex Remington.” She watched the couple exchange a glance. Their eyes softened as they turned their attention back to her.

“I’m Josh Braden, and this is my fiancée, Riley. Any friend of Dex’s is a friend of ours. If you ever need anything, we’re on the sixth floor. Just pop on up.”

Ellie shook their hands. “Thanks. I’m only here for a few days.”

Josh reached for Riley’s hand. “Well, nice to meet you.”

She rode the elevator up to Dex’s floor. Dex had given her a key to use, and she was surprised when she slid the key in and found it was already unlocked. Her heartbeat sped up. Was he home? She went inside, and the unique smell of him—fresh soap and sheer masculinity— surrounded her. She slipped out of her heels and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, I know.”

Ellie froze at the sound of Regina’s voice.

“She showed up here at like five in the morning.” Regina came down the hall wearing the same jeans she’d had on the evening before and the tank top she’d slept in. A Twizzler hung halfway out of her mouth as she spoke into a cell phone.

Their eyes locked.

“Mitch, I gotta go. I’ll be in soon.” She ended the call and smiled at Ellie.

It wasn’t a feigned smile, like Principal Price’s, and Regina’s not-yet-made-up brown eyes looked much kinder than they had last night.

“Hey,” Regina said.

“Hi.” Ellie wondered why she was still there. “Is Dex here?”

“No. He’s at the office.” She narrowed her eyes. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry to have barged in last night. I just got into town and the girl I was supposed to stay with kind of blew me off, and things got a little nutty after that. But I’ll be gone soon.” She couldn’t help but stare at the tattoos that covered Regina’s arms and chest. She wondered what Regina was hiding from. She had read somewhere that people who had many tattoos were hiding behind the body art. She thought of Dex’s tattoos and wondered what that said about him.

Regina gnawed on her Twizzler. “Hungry?”

Regina was talking to her as if she were a friend. She didn’t know what she had expected, but the question took Ellie by surprise. “Kinda.”

“Come on. I’m a killer cook.” She walked past Ellie and headed into the large kitchen. She began taking items from the pantry and putting them on the counter. She definitely knew her way around Dex’s kitchen. “The kitchen is always stocked. Though I have no idea why. He never eats here.”

Do you?
Ellie wanted to ask but bit her tongue.

“So you grew up with Dex? What brings you back here?” Regina moved with grace as she mixed flour and other ingredients in a bowl, cracking eggs with one hand and tossing the shells in the sink.

“Work. I taught at an elementary school in Maryland, but…”
I found out my boyfriend was married and didn’t want to be known as a home wrecker; then he grabbed me and..
. “I wanted to come back home.”

Regina nodded. “I’ve moved so much that being in one place for a few years has been nice.”

Maybe she’d misjudged Regina. She was actually being nice. “Do you want some help?”

“Nah. Just chill.” Regina added fresh blueberries to the batter, then poured it onto a skillet.

Ellie was dying to know about Regina and Dex’s relationship. She’d believed Dex when he’d said they were just friends, but Dex was hot, and Regina had acted like she owned him the night before.

“You’re the girl in the picture, aren’t you?” Regina asked.

“Picture?” Ellie knew damn well which picture she was speaking of, but she was too nervous to admit it. Regina and Dex were obviously close friends. She tried to ignore the pang of jealousy that speared her when she thought about Regina in Dex’s bedroom.
Cut it out.
Part of Ellie wished she’d never run away four years ago. She could have been the one with Dex all this time. But they weren’t that type of friends.
But we could be. Maybe.
The thought took Ellie by surprise. The fact that she didn’t immediately discount the idea surprised her even more.
What the hell is going on with me?

Regina finished cooking the pancakes and set them on a plate. She took a Twizzler from inside a bread box on the counter and shoved it into her mouth. “The one on his dresser in his bedroom.”

They might not have been that type of friends, but then there was that picture.
In his bedroom, where any woman who accompanied him in there would see it.
She pushed away the need to figure out what it meant and played it off as if it were nothing. “Yeah. We were kids.”
Is it nothing? It doesn’t feel like nothing.

Regina nodded. “Eat while they’re hot.”

“Aren’t you having any?”
Or do you exist on Twizzlers and beer?

Regina smiled and held up her Twizzler. “The breakfast of champions. Real food slows me down.” They sat at the kitchen table together. Regina put her feet up on the chair next to her while Ellie wolfed down the amazingly delicious pancakes.

“What was Dex like as a kid?”

Ellie didn’t have to think for long to retrieve the right words to describe Dex. “He was the kid who always did the right thing even when he was trying to do the wrong thing. He was sweet and…chivalrous.” She smiled, remembering the way he’d gone after Siena for taking too many pictures of Ellie.

Regina looked away with a thoughtful expression in her eyes. “I can see that.”

“These are delicious. Thank you. I can barely boil water.” Ellie dragged the last piece through the thick syrup and popped it into her mouth. She wondered if the Dex she’d seen last night was different from the Dex everyone else saw. She hesitated before asking, “What’s Dex like now?”

Regina sauntered to the bread box and snagged another Twizzler. She twirled it in the air before chomping down on it. “I think he’s probably a lot like he was as a kid.”

“He always had his nose in a book or his hands on electronics,” Ellie said. She used to love to sit with him while he tinkered with his computer. She remembered feeling like they never even needed to talk, that just being with Dex had made everything seem better.
Like last night.
A web of confusion tangled her thoughts. Why were all those feelings coming back so strongly?

“And did he used to get this glint in his eye when he had an idea?” Regina asked.

“Like this?” Ellie’s eyes widened and the right side of her lips lifted to a cockeyed smile; then she narrowed her eyes and drew her brows together.

Regina laughed. “Yes! That’s the one. See? He hasn’t changed. Did you graduate from high school together?”

Ellie felt sadness squeeze her heart. “No. I was a year younger than him, and I left before he graduated.” She had always wondered what would have happened if she’d stayed. She didn’t have grandiose dreams of going to the same college as Dex or anything as romantic, but she’d have liked to have had more time with him. Her stomach fluttered as she realized that the feelings she’d had for Dex when she’d run away four years ago weren’t buried as deeply as she’d thought. They were rising to the surface, and this time, she wasn’t in such a rush to push them away. She’d missed him. God, how she’d missed him.

“Did you two date?”

“No.” The answer fell from her lips so fast it took her by surprise.

“No?
Hm
.” Regina twirled her Twizzler.

“
Hm
what?”

“Nothing. It’s just. The way he reacted to you at NightCaps seemed…I don’t know. Like you two had been close.” Regina took Ellie’s plate to the sink.

Ellie cleared her throat. “We…”
Should have been? I wish we were? I was too scared?
“Were just good friends.”

“I guess that makes sense. Dex doesn’t date many women. He’s always working. We all are, really.”

All’s fair in love and war
. “Did you two date?” Ellie held her breath.

Regina looked over her shoulder, her hands busily scrubbing the dishes. “You’re kidding, right?”

Ellie shrugged. She’d already sunk her feet in deep; might as well see how much dirt she could get.

Regina turned back to the sink. “Nah. I crash here a lot, but he and I? We’re just friends. Dex is…” She dried her hands and came back to the table. “Dex Remington is a complicated man.”

“Really? That’s a change, then, because he never used to be. He was always easy to understand when he was younger. He didn’t have many needs. I mean, give him his books, a computer, and a quiet room, and he was happy.” She wondered how he’d changed.

Regina shrugged. “He’s still like that, but he’s pretty closed off. He protects himself. Which, given his social status, is probably not that bad of an idea.”

“His social status?” Ellie had seen Dex on enough magazines to know he was doing well, but he didn’t act like he’d changed very much on the social scale.

“Yeah, you know. Now that he earns millions, everyone wants a piece of him. It’s a good thing that he protects himself.”

It occurred to Ellie that Regina might think she was after Dex’s money.
Great
.
Now I’m a money-hungry vagrant?
“I didn’t realize...Do you mean like protecting himself from people trying to rip him off?”

“He protects his heart.” Regina held her gaze.

A direct reflection of my impact on him
. She cleared her throat, skipping over that comment altogether. “Listen, I know what it must look like. A girl from his past suddenly shows up out of nowhere. I’m not here for Dex’s money, or to take advantage of him or anything. It was a complete fluke that we even ran into each other.”

“Fluke? Or something else?” Regina leaned her elbows on the table again and stared at Ellie.

“What else?” Ellie sat back, too tired to deal with being accused of anything.

“Fate, maybe?”

Fate?
“I don’t believe in fate.”
If fate were real, that would mean I’ve been fated to a shitty life, making it from one moment to the next on a hope and a prayer.
“Besides, I’m not looking for a man, thank you, and I highly doubt Dex has any interest in that with me.” Then again, she’d felt an ocean of emotions coming from him. Her own feelings were coming in with the tide, too. Or maybe they’d always been there but she was finally allowing herself to feel them again. She just didn’t know if she was ready to swim.