Tackled by the King: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (35 page)

“Must have slipped my mind,” said Honey without missing a beat. “With all the shit that's happened to me in the past, it's hard to keep track of anything anymore.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But anyway, so my aunt was just like – 'Honey, why you no have boyfriend yet? Pauline have many suitors always come visit her.'” Honey scrunched up a sour face as she did a mocking impression of her aunt's thick accent. “God, I can's stand her. But she is my mother's sister, after all. Frankly, I feel sorry for Pauline, now that I think about it. You know she locks Pauline up in a dog's cage when she messes up during harp practice, right? That woman is pure evil.”

“Whoa. Which aunt is this again?”

“Aunt Ji-Mei.”

“Ji-Mei?” I frowned, unable to hold my tongue. “Wasn't she the one who fell in a coma when she had that skiing accident a couple of days ago?”

“Huh?” said Honey tonelessly. She twirled the back of her skull earring. “Oh, no. That was my other Aunt – Aunt Zhi-Yi. You must have heard me wrong.”

“Oh, okay,” I said simply, not prying any further. I cleared my throat, eager to change the subject. “So what topic did you end up choosing for that Creative Writing essay?”

“I wrote about that summer when I was 13, visiting my grandparents in Shenzhen. Saw this horrible, fiery pile-up of cars, trucks – there was even this bus that was flipped over. Seeing all that blood and carnage at such a young age really molded me to who I am today, you know?”

“That's horrible. Was that before or after we went to camp that summer at Lake Meade?”

“After. My grandmother was dying of uh, breast cancer, so I had to go see her last minute before it was too late. So what did you write about?”

“I –”

“Daisy.”

As Honey's eyes floated over my shoulder, her face darkened.

Heeding the strange look on her face, I turned around warily. Malcolm Radley was leaning against the locker two spaces to my right. The kid whose locker it belonged to stood around awkwardly behind Malcolm. The freshman in a loud purple sweater vest and corduroys fumbled with his fingers, reminding me of a sweaty little mouse. He had to hem his throat three times before Malcolm even realized he was standing there.

“The hell do you want, fatty?”

“I – nothing. Sorry,” the kid squeaked, scurrying off in the other direction.

“Hey, wait –” I called out uselessly after the kid as he hobbled down the stairs and out of sight. Scowling, I looked back at Malcolm. “Oh, good job.”

“What did I do?” said Malcolm, actually looking dumbfounded.

“Never mind. What do you want?”

“I just thought I'd introduce myself – I'm Malcolm Radley. I just wanted to apologize for what –”

“I know who you are. And no, I don't need or want your apology. As for Derek – you should be begging him for forgiveness for the way you humiliated him in front of everyone –”

Malcolm's nostrils flared as his eyes fell down to the floor.

“I was having a bad morning. The kid got in my way, but if it makes you feel any –”

“I don't feel any type of way. I don't waste my thoughts on things that are irrelevant. Now if you'll excuse me. Thanks for playing,” I said to him dryly as I started to turn back to Honey. “But try again next time.”

“Daisy, hold on,” said Malcolm, placing a hand gently on my shoulder. He gave me a drawn-out, meaningful look. His intense, brooding eyes were even grayer up close.

“Get your hands off of her,” Honey snarled from behind me.

Malcolm jumped back as if he'd just been jolted by an electric fence.

“That wasn't the way I wanted to kick things off with you. You want the truth? I've had a crush on you since freshman year, but I've just never worked up the courage to talk to you. Thought you were out of my league.”

“You were right,” Honey pitched in, giggling.

“What?” I snorted, squinting at him. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“Do I look like I'm playing? I'd really like to take you out sometime.”

As I studied Malcolm, sweat started leaking out of my palms. He wasn't moving a muscle, and he was barely blinking. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was serious.

To be fair, from a purely aesthetic point of view, Malcolm Radley was a good-looking guy. His tough-guy bravado was evened out by his strikingly pretty eyes, pronounced cheekbones, and sharp chin. He never seemed to be hurting for girls, either. The hardcore rocker girls at school were drawn to him, and I'd seen him stumbling out of that pool place at 3
^rd
Street with different older women. Though his shitty worldview and ignorant vocabulary bank repulsed me to no end, I could kind of see why some girls dug that “bad boy” look. He wore a shaved head and a silver earring, and sported a daily uniform of muscle shirts and baggy jeans. Even with the superficiality that reigns
Stonewall
, some girls were enticed by his “I'm-too-cool-to-care” swagger. And though he was skinnier than most of the jocks at school, he looked like he could hold his own in a fight.

“So, what do you say? You down to let me take you out tomorrow night? I could get someone to cover me.”

“I – uh, I can't.”

My pink cheeks were burning in my mortification. I haven't been asked out once all senior year – now, I'm getting two in a row. What the hell was going on?

“Why not?”

“I've – I've got plans.”

“What? Who with?”

“I – I don't think that's any of your business.”

“Alright. You wanna play hard to get? That's cool, that's cool.” His thin lips split in a smile as he nodded, as if he'd figured something out. “What about next week –”

“I – I don't think it's a good idea.” I took a deep breath to rid the tremors from my voice. “Sorry, I'm just not interested.”

“But what –”

“Everything alright here?”

My shoulders loosened with relief at the sound of Ethan's voice. My brother crept up from behind me, slipping between Malcolm and me. But as quick as the relief came, my stomach jolted at the sight of him in the
Stonewall
hallways
.

“Hey, Daize. 'Sup, Radley?” Ethan clenched his jaw menacingly. “So what are we all talking about?”

“Hey, E-Boy,” said Malcolm gruffly. He slipped his hands into his pockets and pivoted his feet away from us. “Nothing. I was just leaving.”

“That's what I thought. Keep walking.”

Malcolm's eyes narrowed in his silent rage as he stalked off to the boys' room. He punched open the swinging door. An exiting sophomore paled as white as a sheet as he came face-to-face with Malcolm. The kid ducked out of the way, sprinting off in the other direction.

“What was that about?” said Ethan, relaxing. “That Radley dude giving you trouble?”

“He – don't worry about it. I can take care of myself,” I brushed it off quickly. I glanced over my shoulder at Honey. “Hey, Honey? Would you mind giving us a minute? I'll catch up with you in class.”

Honey stuck out her bottom lip indignantly, but she nodded.

“I'll save you a seat. Later, Daisy. Ethan.”

“Honey,” Ethan lowered his head at her brusquely as she went ahead without me. As soon as she was out of earshot, Ethan's face lit up in his amusement. “So how is Honey? Does she still have that pet tiger living in her backyard that no one else can see for some reason?”

“Come on. She was 11.”

“I don't know, Daize. I don't get why you insist on hanging around her all the time. Like I've always said – something ain't right with her.”

“You don't get it – and you don't know what you're talking about,” I snapped defensively. Noticing the prying looks kids were starting to send my way, I exhaled deeply to calm myself. “What are you even doing here, Ethan? How'd you even get in here? You're 21, and you've never even been to
Stonewall
!”

“I just told the security guard, Joe – nice guy, but kinda dumb. Told him I was some teacher here for my job interview. Chatted with me about a couple of his grandkids back home in Florida. Didn't ask for my ID, nothing – so the security system here might be cause for concern, but there ya have it.”

“I don't have time for this, Ethan. My free period's ending in ten minutes. What are you doing here?”

“What's up with you, Daize? Chill out – you're starting to sound like.
..them.
I was just dropping off some sick bike rims for this gamer kid. We worked out a deal on this online trading post last night – he was fixing to give me his gold-plated bike chain in return.”

As my eyes fell to Ethan's empty hands, the vein on my temple started throbbing.

“So, where's the chain at?”

“Kid's a little scatterbrained – he left it at home. I'm swinging by homeboy's house later today to pick it up.” The easy grin on Ethan's face faltered. “All we're missing now are some cuffs, a cold table, and a lamp you can shine in my face. Yo, what's with the third degree?”

“And you think Honey's dramatic. They're just a couple of questions.”

“Why don't you see for yourself – there goes the kid now.”

I looked behind me, aiming my line of vision with Ethan's. Darren Winters, a junior, was walking to his locker stationed across the hall. He was the typical gamer kid, with a mop of greasy hair and an oversized shirt that looked like he'd slept in it all night. My eyes zoomed in on the pair of green-edged platinum rims he proceeded to stuff into his locker.

But the evidence of the rims didn't put me at ease in the slightest. Apart from his obsession with his
GameCube
, everyone at school knew Darren Winters was a junkie. He would smoke, snort, huff, and inject himself with anything he could get his hands on. Rumor has it that his problem started when he was 11, when he got hooked to huffing aerosol products and paint cans in his garage.

Without thinking, I grabbed Ethan's wrists and yanked up the sleeves of his hoodie. I pulled his arms towards me, my eyes scouring every inch of his tatted arms. When I failed to spot any fresh needle marks or bruising, my eyes welled up with tears. Ethan pulled his arms away from me slowly, rolling his sleeves back down.

“Jesus, Daize.” Ethan's voice was gentle. “Mom and Dad already don't trust me – are you gonna start doing me like that, too? I told you guys I'm clean –”

“Yeah, now,” I replied coldly as I blinked back the waterworks. “Says the guy who got kicked out of high school his sophomore year to serve three years for trafficking and distribution. And you're faulting Mom and Dad for having trust issues with you?”

“I didn't mean it like that. Look, Daize. Even if I was still slangin' on the side, you know I've only ever sold it to men that were much older than I was. I would never sell to minors and fuck up some kid's life. You know me better than that.”

“Yeah, but you were sure fine with fucking up your own.”

“Yo, Daize, that's low –”

The rest of Ethan's words were interrupted by the ringing of his cellphone. He flipped his phone open, staring hard at the number on the screen. The second he looked up at me, he was saved by the bell.

“Sorry, Daize. I gotta take this –”

“Whatever. I gotta get to class anyway. Bye.”

“Alright. Daize? Congrats again on getting into
Northwestern.
I really am proud of you.”

“Yup,” was all I said to my brother before hurrying off to class.

Chapter Five: Miles

“Damn it, Miles. Will you turn that thing down? I've been rereading the same paragraph for over ten minutes now and I'm not absorbing anything, like, at all, thanks to you.”

Allison was sprawled out on my bed with her study guide in front of her and her lacy socks swinging in the air.

“Yes, Ma'am.” My eyes were still glued to the game on my desktop, but I reached for my speakers to turn down the volume.

“I'd give anything to stand in your shoes and experience the utter absence of fucks in your world. You're not planning on doing another one of your all-nighter cram sessions, are you? How are you not more concerned about the midterms?”

“Because I always wing it and average about 80 every time,” I replied smoothly in between clicks of my mouse.

“That's the kind of nonsense arrogance that's gonna get your butt in trouble one of these days,” said Allison bitterly, selecting a passage with her highlighter. “Where is Big Rob, anyway? Wait, don't tell me – late as usual –”

“
Yo. I'm right here,”
came Big Rob's faint voice from the computer speakers.

“Yeah, he's been here the whole time,” I informed Allison, dragging another hut into empty patch of land with my mouse.

“Unbelievable. Have you been there this whole time? Thought you bailed out on our study group 'cause you had a thing you couldn't get out of. Was this the 'thing'?!”

“
Oh. You were serious about that? My bad. Well, yeah – in my defense, Miles and I made plans to play Age of Empires III together on its release date months ago. We're already a day late – it came out yesterday.
”