Valentine (A Standalone Novel) (Bad Boy Romance Book) (12 page)

"Who's Tate?" My mother asked,
and it was as if she'd sucked all the air from the room.

"Just a guy who helped me fix my
tired that other night, Mom." I took a bite of the last cake, trying not
to get into a conversation with her over it.

"And, you got him a spot on the swim
team? Sounds quite self-sacrificing to me." Her tone was less than
friendly. Where I used to be embarrassed by the way she talked to me in front
of my friends, I was rather used to it now. There was no changing it.

"The first one is my favorite."
I glanced up at Allison and smiled.

"Valentine, I'm speaking to
you." My mother gripped the back of my arm.

My friends started to give their
recommendations to my sister as I turned to face my mom.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to stay
focused on Allison like you asked me to." I kept my tone steady and soft,
though I didn't want to.

"By talking about some heathen guy
that you're helping out at school? You have more important things to focus on
than becoming someone who just hands out random opportunity to charity cases.
Understood?" Her brow pulled in tight as she studied me with open
disapproval.

"Being nice is free, Mom. Tate's a
good guy, and I was happy to help him out as a repayment for helping me
first." I shrugged and pulled from her. "He's not open for
discussion."

That was obviously the wrong thing to say.
She spent the next twenty minutes berating me on my choices and lack of
ambition. Allison was kind enough to pull my friends into another room a few
minutes into the ass-chewing, but much to my horror, my father walked in at the
end of it.

I stood there in stony silence and went to
a happy place in my head where neither of them existed. It was the only way to
get through any of it. Screaming at my mother would have just made matters
worse, and knowing that her blood pressure was causing issues left me
defenseless against her. She'd keel over in front of me, and though I hated her
with every cell in my body, I loved her just as equally.

Too bad I was the only one that felt that
way between the two of us. She didn't care for me then, and I wasn't sure she
ever had.

"Do you hear me?" she screamed
in my face as I glanced over to my dad.

"See you guys later. Sorry I showed
up today." I turned on my heel, collected my friends, and got back in the
car as my teary-eyed older sister waved from the front door.

None of us spoke a word back to campus,
but then again, there really wasn't much to say.

Chapter 12

Tate

I should have called Val sometime during
the week, but between dealing with my mother, the cops over Daniel, work, and
school, I was beat. She was just a pretty girl who had learned a little about
kindness from me. Nothing more. It was better to just let things go between us.
Pushing it would only leave her in the awkward position of having to pretend
like my poverty didn't matter when she came face to face with it. I didn't care
what Jerry said. Rich people were still rich people.

After packing my swimsuit and a towel in
my backpack, I drove to the campus with a sense of trepidation sitting heavy on
me. Val might have sweet-talked some poor schmuck into giving me the chance to
try out, but there was no way they were going to let me on the team. It didn't
matter that I was better than most of them and equally gifted as the rest. I
was from the poor side of town and my tats were a sign of rebellion that the
rich kids didn't seemed to appreciate. Or at least the guys. Their girls would
spend hours tracing them if given the chance.

I parked the bike under the canopy at the natatorium
and walked in to the smell of chlorine and the sound of water lapping.

A large group of guys were running drills,
and their coach glanced up at me as I walked in with my torn jeans, leather
jacket, and shit-kickers. If he was judging me, I couldn't tell. His face was
rather expressionless.

Another guy about my size moved from the
group and extended his hand. "You must be Tate. I'm Martin, Val's
friend."

"Nice to meet you." I shook his
hand and glanced around the room. "There a locker room where I can
change?"

"Yeah." He turned and pointed to
the far side of the room. "Just over there, and that's Coach Dalmoth. He's
strict as shit, but a good swim coach."

"Great, thanks." I walked toward
the coach and extended my hand again, not quite sure what to expect.
"Thanks for the chance to try out today."

He shook my hand and gave me a tight
smile. "We'll see what you’ve got and go from there."

"Sounds good." I turned and
ignored the stares and mumblings about my clothes, my hair, who the fuck I was.
Guys were worse than girls at being judgmental.

After changing into my suit, I stopped by
the mirror and ran my hand over the shadow of my six-pack. I needed to get back
into the gym, but if I made the team, they would provide a routine of sorts,
anyway.

I grabbed my towel from my bag and walked
back into the larger room with my shoulders pulled back a little. I knew I was
going to catch some shit over my tats, but it was what it was. They each had an
assigned meaning, and I loved the way they looked and made me feel.

"Tate, over there." Martin waved
me over with a worried look on his face. "Coach is going to let you try
out and then we'll start practice. The guys aren't too thrilled you're here,
but I'm sure you're perceptive enough to pick that up."

I rolled my shoulders and nodded.
"Yep."

"Tate, what's your last name,
son?" The coach motioned for me to move to the front of the group of guys
that hovered around the edge of the pool. It was a good damn thing it was warm
in the room, or I wouldn't have been much for sporting nothing more than my
swim trunks.

"Phillips." I tossed my towel
onto a nearby chair and stepped up beside him as my insides turned to mush. I'd
been swimming my whole life in the lakes surrounding our small town, but having
these guys watch me intently left me unnerved. No one would be the wiser over
my internal struggles, but they were there, nevertheless.

"Alright. Let's see what you’ve got,
then. I'll time your full lap. You beat more than half the team's times, and
you're on." He patted my back. "Take a few warm up laps and tell me
when you're ready."

The grumbling got worse around the room,
but Coach Dalmoth glanced around and gave everyone a warning look, which shut
them all up. It was almost humorous.

"I don't need a warm up, but thank
you." I jumped off the side down into the pool and glanced up. "Let's
do this so you guys can get back to your practice."

"You sure?" His incredulous look
caused my stomach to relax a little. He was being sincere, which was good. The
last coach the swim team had was a total dick and wouldn't even look me in the
eye.

"Yep. Ready?" I turned and
positioned myself. Either I was going to beat the time, or I wasn't.

"I'll hit the timer when you
start."

I didn't wait another second before
submerging myself in the warm water and pushing off. Thoughts of Valentine
filled my mind. I let my desire to reach out and pull her into my fucked up
life push me harder. The want to take her to my bed and touch every part of her
raced over my skin as I kicked and worked my arms with efficiency. I needed to
call her. I wasn't going to shake her as easily as I had hoped to. It was
fucking selfish, which was something that I rarely – if ever – was, but this
time I wanted something for myself.

Her.

I came up at the end of the pool after
swimming the length of it twice and took a deep breath.

The coach was smiling, which seemed to be
a good sign. "Incredible, kid. Martin here is our best swimmer, and you just
matched his time. Welcome to the team."

I took the coac’s hand and pulled myself
out of the pool with his help.

"No way. I say do it
again.
There's no way this guy just smashed all of our
records. Look at him." A tall redhead beside me gave the coach a scathing
look.

I turned and shook Martin's hand as he
offered it. "Impressive."

The coach took on the horde of angry guys
as I walked back to the locker room with Martin beside me.

"Thanks. Just doing what I love to
do." I dried my hair and tried to let the warmth of finally proving myself
to someone that could help me get on the team wash over me.

"You do it well. There's a party
tonight out at Ben Thatcher's place. He's a jerk and a half, but you're on the
team, so you're invited. You're not gonna fit in, but you knew that. These guys
are assholes, but they chill out some after you step on their dicks a few
hundred times."

I laughed and rolled my shoulders.
"Thanks for the invite. I'm not sure about my schedule with work and all,
but I'll give you my number, and you can text me the information."

"Sounds good. If you come, just hang
out with Val. Everyone loves that girl. They aren't going to start anything
with you if she's beside you." He gave me a cheeky grin. “Don’t worry
about practice today. Coach won’t require you here until you’ve signed all the
forms and been officially added to the roster.”

I nodded and gave him my number. “Sounds
good.”

A party later that night with Val beside
me sounded like heaven. I couldn't stop thinking about her, which was hazardous
to my health.

After dressing, I grabbed my stuff and
headed for the exit. Several guys stopped me by the front door and crowded
around me as if I was easily intimidated. None of them said a word, which was
almost too comical to hide.

I moved past them and glanced over my
shoulder as I pushed the door open. "Alright, girls. Have a nice
day."

*

"You did what?" Sam paced the
floor in my living room later that day, his hands running through his hair over
and over. "They're going to find you in a back alley and kick your
ass."

"Dude. They're swimmers. They're not
going to do anything." I chuckled and took another drink of my beer.

"Maybe, but you didn't have to show
off to that extent." He turned and pinned me with a hard stare.

"Yeah, I did. I wouldn't have been
put on the team, otherwise. I'm sure Val had to do something to get me that
tryout, I just pray it wasn't anything I'd not be happy to find out
about." I ran my hand over my chest as an image of her played along my
mind's eye. "I hope she's there tonight."

"Me, too. I want to meet this chick
that has you getting that far-away look in your eye." He laughed and
worked to get his coat on. "Did you text her to see if she was
going?"

"No, I'd rather surprise her." I
got up, finished the beer, and grabbed my coat. "Take your truck and I'll
take my bike. I wanna have it in case she agrees to let me take her somewhere
for the night."

"You bringing her back here?"
Sam stiffened beside me. He was my best friend and knew my concerns about other
people knowing my situation.

"I'm not sure." I shrugged and
pulled open the door as the icy winter wind smacked into me. "Fuck. It's
going to be a rough ride tonight."

"Just get in the damn truck with me.
Your mother would be upset to know you're riding that bike, anyway." He
closed the door behind us. "Speaking of...how is she?"

"She's good. Better. She's at work
tonight, and yes, she's taking something for her cough. They checked it out in
the hospital and hooked her up." I pulled on my helmet and nodded at him
before starting the bike and riding toward the party.

My first hope was that Val was going to be
there tonight, but my second was that she'd let me take her out to the lake for
a little while. It was incredible out there, and even though it was far too
cold to be out and about, we wouldn't stay long. I just loved how beautiful it
was up there and had yet to get the chance to share it with anyone.

I owed her something for helping me with
the swim tryouts – or maybe I didn't.

Either way, I wanted to do something nice
for her. It was a bit self-serving seeing that my true desire was to drag her
in deep and see her again. The plan was to take it slow and let her warm up to
me before I unleashed just how badly I wanted her in my bed – and maybe in my
life, as well.

That part would be up to her.

Chapter 13

Val

"I'm really not in the mood to do
this," I mumbled as I worked hard to pull myself from the brinks of
depression. I shouldn't have taken my friends to my mother's earlier that day.
It had all of us in a shitty mood as we headed out to Ben Thatcher's party. It
was sure to be a lot of fun, but being in our current state, it was going to
take more than some handsome guys and good beer to pull us through.

"Me, either, but we're not letting
your mother win." Katelyn reached over and squeezed my arm. She was riding
shotgun and my other two friends were in the back, chattering about something.

"True. I just wish I had something to
look forward to." I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled into the half-frozen
field in front of Ben's house.

"Maybe that cute football player will
be here tonight." Katelyn lifted her eyebrows at me.

"Kade? No, thanks. He's a good guy,
but I'm going to butter him up for Amy back there." I smirked and turned
the car off.

"I'd love you forever and a day if
you could do it." Amy squeezed my shoulders from behind me before we all
piled out of the car. "Something tells me that you're much more his type
than me, though."

"You never know." I wrapped an
arm around her shoulders and let out a long breath and started to chant,
"I'm going to have fun. I'm going to have fun."

"Yes, we all are." Lucinda moved
up on my other side as we approached the large house ahead of us. All the
lights were on and music was blaring from the open front door. Seeing that we
were halfway out in the country, there was nothing to be concerned with, nor
anyone to really bother. Ben's nearest neighbors were a mile back toward town.

"Woohoo, more pretty girls."
Some random guy greeted us at the door and lifted his beer toward us. "The
liquor is in the kitchen and condoms in the bathroom. We're sure glad you girls
are here."

"Brother." I rolled my eyes as I
slipped past him and tried to settle myself. I might be hanging over the edge
of a shitty mood, but the party would help. I didn't mind mingling so much, and
there were plenty of people in the room that I didn't know.

"There she is!" Dill reached out
and grabbed my hand, pulling me into a group of basketball guys. "She
totally scored the first three points. Tell them, Val. They don't believe
me."

I shrugged. "No clue what this guy is
talking about. I'm head of the homemaking group at UMN."

He laughed loudly as I turned to find my
friends again.

Katelyn was wrapped around Martin in a far
corner of the living room. A twinge of jealousy raced through me. I didn't want
a perfect match by any means, but it would have been bliss to simply find a guy
that I could spend my time with, maybe invest in a little.

"Here you go, my friend." Amy
handed me a glass of blue punch. "Bottoms up. This night is sure to get
better after we have a few of these."

"Who's designated driver? I thought I
was?" I accepted her offer and took a quick sip. The tangy punch was
delicious, and I could see myself taking out a pitcher of it all on my own.

"Lucinda is going to take your turn.
You need tonight more than the rest of us." Amy brushed my hair with her
fingers as her eyes moved across me. "Did you invite Tate tonight?"

"No, but I wonder if he went through
with the try outs today." I turned to find Martin and Katelyn taking a
momentary break from their make-out session and decided to go straight to the
source. "Let's go find out."

"You do that. I'm starving. I'll
catch up with you in a minute." Amy smiled before heading back into the kitchen,
where I assumed Lucinda was.

"It's my lucky day." Kade moved
in front of me as I started to walk toward Martin.

"Oh, hey." I took a tentative
step back and smiled at the handsome football player.

"Hey, yourself. You look damn good
tonight." His eyes moved over my face and surprisingly enough, stayed
there. "You wanna dance?"

"I do, but let me touch base with
some friends first. Find me in a little bit after I've had too many of these to
refuse you." I lifted my glass, and he chuckled.

"I'll hold you to it." He moved
out of my way, and I continued to forge a path through the large crowd of
people milling about in the living room.

"Hey, guys." I stopped beside
Katelyn and turned to see where Kade walked off to. He was a cute guy and would
fit into my life quite well from what I could tell, but I wasn't crazy about
him. I wasn't sure I was
crazy
about
Tate, either, but the warm desire that filled me when I thought about him and
his unruly tats and dark eyes left my heart beating a little too fast.

"Hey." Martin pulled me into a
quick hug. "Great choice on Tate. He killed it this morning. Tied my
fucking score, and I'm the best swimmer on the team. I love it."

"Really?" Excitement pumped
through me as I laughed. "That's great news!"

"He didn't text you?" Katelyn's
smile faded. "That's not cool."

"No, it's okay. Really. We're just
friends and barely that. I didn't get him the try out to get anything in return
for it. I was paying him back for being so good to me the other night when I
was stranded." I took a long drink of my drink, hoping that my friends
wouldn't be able to see just how disappointed I was that Tate hadn't told me
the good news himself.

Probably
for the better.

"He's supposed to be here tonight. I
told him you would be here, too." Martin shrugged and lifted to his toes
to look around.

My heart leapt into my chest, and it was
hard to breathe all of a sudden. I forced myself to stay focused on them
instead of turning and searching the crowd manically like I wanted to.

"Awesome. Well, I'm sure I'll run
into him, then. Thanks again for letting him try out." I moved in beside
Katelyn and let my eyes scan the crowd slowly until I found Amy and Lucinda.
"Alright... I've been relieved of my designated driver duties, so I'm off
to find something stronger. I'd like to forget today happened."

"No shit, right?" Katelyn rubbed
my back softly. "You deserve a great guy that makes you forget your last
name is Scott."

"Another shitty day with your
folks?" Martin asked with sincere concern on his face.

"Yep. Every day is a shitty day with
my parents." I forced a smile and moved away from them. I couldn't help
but notice that Kade was talking with a pretty girl in the corner of the room.
Some part of me wanted to be jealous over it, but it was for the better. I
didn't want to date someone that left me lukewarm. I wanted my next boyfriend
to be the first one that made me soar high just by watching him walk into the
room.

Tate.

A loud group in the corner of the living
room was cutting up and having entirely too much fun. Carolyn was in the middle
of it, and her laughter sent a nasty shiver down my spine. I hated the fact
that wherever I was, that bitch was, too. There was no getting rid of her, and
honestly, the one way to really get back at her for being so horrible was to
take the presidency away. I didn't want to run the Gammas, but between needing
to prove to her that she wasn't queen and wanting to shut my mother up, I was
going to have to grab the leadership role in May.

"Should have done it last weekend
when she was getting stoned to death in the kitchen," I mumbled and moved
up to the edge of the crowd. A cute boy with dark-rimmed glasses and a crooked
smile glanced over at me.

"Oh. Hi." His mouth lifted
farther.

"Hi there." I turned as I
realized that the guy who was currently the center of attention in Carolyn's
crowd was Tate. I touched his back, tapping lightly until he turned.

His eyes lit up in a way that stole my
breath. He might not have texted, but he was glad to see me.

"Val, what a great surprise." He
moved toward me and pulled me into an unexpected hug.

I returned the favor and wrapped my arms
around him, squeezing him softly before moving back a little and letting out a
laugh. "Congratulations, you ass. You couldn't text me that you go on the
team?"

"I told him to." The boy beside
me moved closer to us and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm Sam,
Tate's best friend."

"Oh." I turned to Sam.
"Nice to meet you."

"You, as well." Sam lifted his
eyebrow and glanced over to Tate, who stood in silence. "You weren't
lying. She is breathtaking."

"Right?" Tate released me and
took my hand, instead. "Come on. Let's get you something good to drink.
That's glorified Kool-Aid."

"Sam, come meet my friends." I
grabbed his hand with my free one as Tate moved us toward the kitchen. I
couldn't help but feel a moment of victory as I caught the look on Carolyn's
face. I wanted to tell her that I was sure her beloved would show up soon, but
I let it go. No need to rub salt in her wounds, though she would do so to me
without another thought. I almost enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to react
to her or anyone else if I didn't want to. I could just be me.

"You look incredible." Tate
glanced back. His light brown hair was disheveled and his eyes a tad glossy. I
didn't look incredible, but he sure as fuck did. His lips were dark pink, and I
couldn't help but wonder how good they would feel against mine or what his
tongue might taste like.

"So do you, but you always
do.
" I squeezed his hand and released both his and
Sam's grasp as I stopped in front of Amy and Lucinda.

My friends turned to me and both gave me
their own form of a questioning look.

"Guys, this is Tate and his friend
Sam." I motioned toward each of the guys as I introduced them. "Boys,
this is Lucinda and Amy."

They all took turns shaking hands and
getting to know each other as I moved to the snack table and picked up a few
pretzels. Tate moved up beside me and bumped his shoulder against mine.

"I'm sorry." His smile was
beautiful and stole my breath. He was the most rugged, unruly-looking guy I'd
entertained the idea of dating, and yet there was something about him that left
me thinking he was a sensitive, good-guy type.

"No need to be. I was just kidding. I
know you’re busy." I shrugged and turned to find him staring intently at
me.

"No, I'm just worried." He
shrugged and picked up a beer from the big bucket filled with them just beside
us.

"Worried? About what?" I took a
step closer to him as he turned and touched the side of my face.

"A lot of things." His eyes
moved around my face as if he were trying to memorize me.

"Well, stop worrying." I lifted
to my toes and started to move in for a kiss, but two hands grabbed me and
pulled be back. Dill.

"Come on, lover girl. It's beer bong
time. You're such a fucking hot shot on the courts...let's see how you handle
these
balls." He laughed and
grabbed Tate, too. "Come on, man. No need to let this one out of your
sights. Half the fucking room is hoping for her attention."

"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes
and smiled over at Tate as we were half dragged through the room. "You
don't have to do this."

"If you're doing it, I'm in." He
reached for my hand and squeezed my fingers softly. "After this, we're
getting out of here."

"Yes. Please." I turned as we
were shoved into the middle of the crowd where the beer pong table was. I
didn't usually participate in stupid drinking games, but the energy in the
crowd was too much to deny anyone anything.

We played for a bit, laughing as the other
had to drink until I was having a hard time staying on my feet. Tate grabbed me
and pulled off to the side with a large smile on his lips.

"You're drunk." He smirked.

"Yep. You're not." I slid my
hands up his chest and moved a little closer. "You feel good."

"Good. Let's get out of here. I'm
still good to drive. Let me see if we can take Sam's truck. The bike is going
to leave us half frozen." He ran his hands over my shoulders, and I wanted
to move in for another try at a kiss, but it wasn't the time. Besides, I
figured I should give him the chance to lean in for the first kiss. But if he
didn't, I would, and soon.

"Sounds good." I walked to the
kitchen and told Amy about leaving with Tate. She didn't seem too thrilled, but
I promised to text her before walking toward the side door where Tate stood
waiting for me.

"You ready? I wanted to take you up
to the frozen lake by my place. That sound okay?" He bit at his lip as he
watched me.

"Yeah. I'd love to get to know you a
little better, but if you're an axe murderer, tell me now. I'm in no mood to
defend myself tonight." I smirked as he chuckled. I grabbed my coat from
the pile on the floor by the door and waited for him to do the same.

"Why do you have to be so damn
cute?" He opened the door and touched the small of my back as I walked out
into the night.