Sacked (The Alpha Ballers#2) (2 page)

Clearly, she thought I was having second thoughts and wanted to assure me that I had no chance with her anymore.

“Yeah, man,” I said, looking back to my buddy and whispering to him. “She’s all yours, hope you have better luck than I do.”

He patted me on the back of the shoulder. “Thanks, man.” We tapped drinks together and he stepped in the blonde’s direction. I saluted him with my glass as he disappeared into the crowd of people, this time with much more feeling behind it. Good luck, buddy. I hoped she was as forthcoming with him as she was with me.

I lost track of him just after that and I turned to see the rest of my buddies, looking like they had done pretty well for themselves, girl-wise. Occasionally, I had played up my minor fame just to help them meet girls, but that was only when they were really having trouble.

Not tonight. It looked like tonight I would be the only one leaving alone. Not a problem. I was sure I could persuade that blonde to give me a ride home. I laughed to myself.

A few minutes passed, and I watched people meet and talk to each other, such as it was, and it occurred to me that I was short-changing myself a little bit on my last night out. If I was really going to cut out all the partying and drinking and sex from my life for almost half a year, if things went our way, then I really owed it to myself to enjoy my last night as a free man.

Fine, fine, Lance, we’ll find you a girl. But just remember this - it could only be for one night. Make it clear to her that it’ll be a one time thing, and let her decide from there. If she’s not down with it, no harm, no foul. After that, you disappear, you’ve never heard of her, and hopefully she’s never heard of you. Got it?

Got it.

Alright. I relaxed, shaking out all the tension that I had noticed was building up in my neck and shoulders. I took a couple deep breaths and leaned back against the wall, on the lookout.

Then she appeared. No, not the blonde, I had already forgotten about her.

This was another girl. No, this was a woman. The very essence of woman, calling out to me from across the club. It was as if the seas of faceless revelers parted and she stood there on the other side of the murky club, bathed in light.

Tonight, of all nights, I didn’t want to meet anyone that I would want to spend more than one night with. But I couldn’t help but need to meet this woman. I would never be able to forgive myself if I didn’t at least talk to her.

If things didn’t go well, well, talking would have been enough, she was that striking. She had long dark brown hair, almost black in the low light of the club, cascading down her shoulders, and when she turned her head, it flowed around her like a halo.

I was mesmerized. The way she walked, those curves in that dark dress, I had to take another sip of my ginger ale just to make sure I was still awake.

I had to meet her. I downed my drink for strength, because ginger ale is known to impart strength in stressful romantic situations, and dropped my glass on the nearest clear space. My buddies were all occupied with girls or amongst themselves.

She was standing with a drink in her hand, looking around like she was more than a little lost, but when our eyes locked together I felt like the club had suddenly gone silent. I wanted to shake my head, rattle the old ears out to make sure that it really hadn’t, but for the life of me I couldn’t break eye contact with her as I started walking toward her.

When I stopped in front of her all I could do was say the simplest thing I knew.

“Hi.”

CHAPTER 02 - CHARLOTTE

“Hi yourself.”

I had to look up. Way up. He was tall, more than six inches taller than me despite the gravity-defying heels I was wearing. And that short black hair, those dark eyes. And those muscles, barely contained in that collared shirt of his? Yikes. He looked like a mountain, a mountain that I would not need any special gear, or even clothing, to climb. Not too shabby for my first night in Massachusetts.

I looked down and smoothed my dark blue dress, clinging to my curves, before making eye contact with him again. It wasn’t easy. Even in the darkness of the obnoxiously loud club, he was almost difficult to look at, he was so beautiful, so chiseled.

Wait. How did I get here? How did I get to the point where the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen was talking to me? What was going on here?

OK, pause for a moment. Before we figure out what to do about this impossibly sexy man and come up with a new language we can use to reply to him and not sound like a crazed lunatic who has lost the use of her tongue, let’s rewind and figure out just how we got here.

I landed at Logan Airport in Boston a few hours earlier. This was only my second time in town, first since the interview, but I managed to find my way to the exit area by remembering the path I had taken last time. Sandy was waiting for me there, bouncing up and down nearly to the point of vibrating in place, a huge smile plastered on her face. “I’m so glad you’re finally here!” she shouted as we pulled each other in close for a long hug. “It’s been so long! Oh, I’ve missed you!”

Sandy and I were friends from college, thick as thieves back then, but after she moved to Massachusetts we didn’t see very much of each other. That was all about to change, though. Sandy, definitely plotting all the while to get us closer together again and relive some of those college days, but this time with big-girl jobs and lives, had helped me get a job here.

It was a long way from Wichita, where I’d been staying with my parents, working at local gyms and hospitals part time, studying for certifications and trying to find something more substantial after finishing up nursing school.

When Sandy had emailed me the link a few months ago to a job posting near where she was, I had jumped at the chance. At first the idea of moving to New England seemed a little weird to me, but I very quickly ‘warmed’ up to the notion as I looked around and found very few long term prospects in Wichita.

So, I interviewed, mostly by phone and Skype at first before they flew me in for a weekend at the facility, and just a couple months ago I had found out that I got the job!

So here I was, my first day in Massachusetts, breathing in heavy the pine smell in the air. It smelled fresh and clean, and I couldn’t wait to get to work.

The first thing after we had left the airport was to drive to my new apartment. Sandy had done me a solid there too, helping me find a place in her apartment building. The rent was a little steep, but my new job was such a big jump in pay over the part time work I was getting before back in Wichita that I really didn’t think twice about it.

Plus, Sandy and I would be neighbors! It would be just like back in the dorms at school, how could I refuse? In fact, I knew for a fact that Sandy wouldn’t have let me refuse even if I wanted to. I knew that because she said so.

We drove along the darkened streets as the drizzling rain pooled around us. “Is it always like this?”

“Nah, there’s been a little more rain than usual this year, but it’s not too bad.” She chuckled. “In a couple months the snow begins, you’ll love that.”

“I have lived in snow before, Sandy, I am from Wichita.”

Sandy threw her head back and roared with laughter. “You call that snow? You get maybe a foot per year…total? We get that in a single night here on the regular. You may think you know snow, but try waking up covered in it and having to dig your way out through the front door, or sometimes a window.”

“This apartment you got me is on the…third floor, right? If that’s gonna happen to me, this is worse than I thought.”

“Nah, you’ll be fine, it was a figure of speech.”

“Whew.” I hadn’t actually seen the apartment complex yet besides in the pictures Sandy had sent me. I trusted her implicitly, and I was really happy we’d be living so close by again. I had missed her a lot.

The rain had stopped by the time we pulled up into the Pinewood Apartments - the name still made me smile at how completely unimaginative it was. Still, the place looked big and friendly even in the low light of the evening. It was late August, so we still had longer days, but the evenings were starting to get a little colder. I pulled my jacket a little tighter as I got out of Sandy’s car and pulled the couple bags I had brought with me out of her trunk.

I had decided to pack super light at first, just in case things didn’t work out here. Same with the apartment, I had a month to month lease so I could get out of things without too much hassle or lost money. It wasn’t that I didn’t think things at the new job or state would work out, but I just liked to be a little cautious with these things.

You never knew what might happen.
I might hate the new job, or hate living in New England, despite all the wonderful things I had heard about it, mostly from Sandy. For whatever reason, if I wanted to be able to run back to Wichita, it was good to know that was a possibility.

Not that I was the type to run away when things got tough, mind you. I knew how to grit my teeth and get things done when necessary. But I also didn't believe in continuing to throw myself into worthless causes, not when there were so many beautiful and wonderful things to see out there.

Sandy led me into the complex, and to the third floor. It was bare and not too exciting, but for the amount I was paying, that was A-OK with me. Despite the salary increase, I definitely wasn’t trying to live in luxury yet. Maybe someday, but certainly not now, now was for roughing it and figuring out just how tough I was.

We came to unit #307 and Sandy presented the door with a flourish, striking a pose. “Welcome to your new home, Charlotte! You’re gonna love it here.” I fumbled for a second, getting the keys out of the envelope before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

The apartment was much like the outer areas in tone - drab and impossible to recognize or remember, but clean and cozy all the same. And, as a bonus, it was already furnished, which was perfect for me, considering I came halfway across the country with very little furniture stuffed into my two suitcases.

It was a small studio, just the way I liked it. There was a small kitchenette off to the right, and a little alcove with a table and chairs. On the left side was a bed, closet, and the door to the bathroom.

There wasn’t much space, but for the next few months I really didn’t anticipate spending too much time here. I plopped myself down on the bed to take in the entire thing, such as it was, you know, get used to my new home. New home. That had a funny sound to it.

Sandy stood near the fridge, watching me, her hands on her hips, expectantly. “Yes?” I asked, smiling, already knowing where this was going. “Can I help you?”

“You ‘may’ help me, yes, indeed. Get up and get ready.”

I furrowed my brow. “Where are we going? I just got here.”

“You’re not going to spend your first night here moping about at home.”

I got indignant. “Excuse me!? I do not mope!” There was a smile on my face, and I knew I would cave. This was a game Sandy and I had played many times before, I wanted to stay in and relax, get used to the place, and she wanted to do something wild.

“You brought a dress, right?”

“More than one, yes.” I had a weakness for dresses - I couldn’t wear them to work, but aside from that, I would rather be wearing one.

“Good.” She stepped toward the door. “We’re going to a club. More of a lounge, really. Dress appropriately. I’ll be back in 45 minutes to get you, yeah?”

“You know I have work tomorrow, right? First day and all? I can’t stay out too late.”

Sandy sighed, exasperated. “I know, I know, it’s all you’ve talked about for months now! You’re gonna be working hard for the next few months so I need to make sure you have at least a little fun before you go and do that thing you do.”

“What thing I do?”

“Oh, honey, you know how it is, something at school or work comes up and you just go heads down, oblivious to the world again. I’m gonna make sure you have at least a little bit of a social life, OK?”

I withered and caved in, like I knew I would. It wasn’t that I was weak, it was just that Sandy was really good at making sense, occasionally, and this was definitely one of those times. “I can’t stay out too late, you know. I have to be at the facility pretty early tomorrow morning.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure you get back here with enough time to sleep it off. 45 minutes?”

“Fine, fine. I’ll be ready. Also, I hate you.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” Sandy opened the door, but turned back to me first. “It’s really good having you here, Charlotte. I missed you lots.”

I beamed back at her. “Likewise, babe, this is gonna be so fun!”

“See you soon.” She closed the door behind her and I was alone in my new place for the first time, thousands of miles away from home.

I looked around again and sighed before standing up and lifting my suitcases onto the bed. I didn’t have time to unpack, just enough to get my clothing and makeup out.
 

Now was as good a time as any to investigate the shower, but I had better be quick about it if I was going to be ready to go out in less than 45 minutes.

I wondered about this lounge Sandy was taking me to. Did she expect me to meet someone on the first night? Of course, that might be nice, but also it would be way too much too fast. I mean, I had just gotten here, and I was about to start a new job tomorrow!

I gathered the dress I was going to wear and started to get ready.

…And THAT is how I found myself at the club. It wasn’t at all like a lounge and Sandy was a dirty liar and I hated her. Of course I didn’t really hate her - how could I hate one of my best friends when she was so clearly having such a good time?

At the same time, though, this place was almost impossible to move around in. And that was even before you tried to talk to someone.