Valentine (A Standalone Novel) (Bad Boy Romance Book) (9 page)

"Valentine, this guy is dangerous.
Where did you pick him up? He's not like us, baby." The guy tried to move
around me to get to her, and I grabbed his arm tightly.

He jerked it back, and Val moved in front
of me. She slapped the guy hard in the face before I could do anything more.

"Fuck off. I'm not interested in you.
I never was." She turned to me as tears filled her eyes. "Let's
go."

I expected them to stop us, but the guy
looked too shocked to do much of anything.

Looks
like the rich have the same problems as the rest of us. Drama.

Chapter 9

Val

"I'm so sorry." I got off Tate's
bike and tried to keep my emotions on lock down. It was almost as if Paul had
me on a tracking device. He'd been involved in my day too many times. It dawned
on me then that we did link up our phones to find each other just for safety
precautions. I'd have to right that wrong – soon.

"No worries. It looks like someone
fixed your tire for you, so you're all set to go." Tate handed me my keys
and gave me a sexy smile. "Thanks for the date."

"Was it a date?" I took a step
toward him and stopped. A confidence that didn't belong to me bubbled up inside
of me. I wanted to close the gap between us and run my hands up his chest,
testing out my theory that he had a hot swimmers body under his clothes. I
loved muscle as much as the next girl, but not so much the body builder type.

"I'd like to think so. I almost beat
up your ex-boyfriend. That sounds like a lot of my past dates." He
chuckled and slipped his hands into his pockets after I took the keys. "I
love your name, by the way. It's beautiful."

"Val?" I scrunched up my nose. I
hated my name.

"Yeah, but the fact that it's
actually Valentine is even better." He tilted his head as he studied me.
"Was that the jerk you went to the party to see the other night?"

"Yeah, and I found him upstairs
fucking one of my sorority sisters." I hadn't planned on putting my shitty
life on display, but lying to him wasn't going to fly either.

"Ouch. Well, I can't imagine anyone
being stupid enough to cheat on a pretty girl like you." He licked at his
lips. "So, when do I get to see you again?"

He was confident, if nothing else.

"Soon, maybe?" I hated the fact
that warmth had coated my cheeks and neck. I wasn't a high school girl being
asked to prom, but for some reason, everything felt uncomfortably new with
Tate. "I'll give you my number and you make that decision."

"Not the controlling type?" He
lifted his eyebrow as if surprised.

"Only when the urge overwhelms
me." I pulled out his card and texted the number on the back with my
number. Relief flooded me when his phone buzzed. I didn't know why, but some
part of me almost expected him to have given me someone else's number. It was
dumb seeing that I was standing in front of his shop, but something had to
give. The situation between us felt too good. Too right.

"That's hot." He winked and
pulled his phone out, checking it and taking a step back. "Thanks for
making my day. See you around?"

"I hope so." I walked to my side
of the car and got in without looking back at him. My heart was racing and
every cell of my being screamed for me to invite him out later that night, but
I didn't. I couldn't. I wasn't lamenting over Paul or worried about anything
other than falling for the handsome mechanic who was quick to steal my
thoughts. He was the polar opposite of what my parents would expect or approve
of, and though it shouldn't have mattered, it did. I couldn't figure out how to
get from underneath their oppression, but I knew that bringing home a guy like
Tate would only make matters worse.

My parents didn't care how good someone
was. They cared how he looked. What he did for a living or was setting himself
up to do. They cared about his status, his stature, his wealth.

All the things that I could care less
about.

*

I was working to get Paul off of my
contacts and turn off my tracking when he called later that afternoon. I
contemplated not answering the call, but I figured it would be a good chance to
tell him to back off for the last time. I wasn't the girl for him, and I never
had been.

"Val, before you say anything, just
let me talk. Please." His voice was tight with something between anger and
anxiety.

"Fine. Talk." I dropped back on
my bed and closed my eyes, praying that the conversation would be over quickly.
I needed to get to the courts within an hour to play in a scrimmage that some
of the intramural teams were hosting. Coach wouldn't be too thrilled to hear
that I'd played when we were in a bye week ourselves, but I didn't care. I
wanted to get rid of some unwanted energy and basketball was the most
productive way to do it. Sleeping with Tate, of course, was riding high on the
list, too.

"I understand that you're pissed, and
you should be. I got drunk at the party, and if I hadn't been drinking, I swear
on my grandmother's grave that I wouldn't have touched Carolyn. Not ever."
He let out a short sigh. "I know you and I haven't been doing spectacular
lately, but I see you in my future...like forever."

A laugh and resounding snort left me.
"Is this a joke? Am I being punked?"

"What? No, I'm being serious. You're
the kind of woman I want by my side. You're classy and smart, you're going
places in life, and you have a great family."

A
great family? Oh...a wealthy family.

"Right, well, I spoke to my mom and
dad about what happened, and neither of them are comfortable with me dating you
anymore. My father, especially." I lied, not caring about my guilty
conscience. The asshole on the phone was only focused on preserving our
relationship to stay connected to the great Scotts. My stomach turned at the
thought, and for the millionth time in my life, I honestly wished I were from a
poor family on the shitty side of town. It would have been so much easier to
just be me in a different family. I didn't fit into the wealth I was born into,
nor would I ever care to.

"What? Why would you do that? You're
not even close to your family," he growled. "Look, just send me your
father's number and I'll call him. I can patch this up for you and then we'll
just get on with our relationship."

For
me?

"If you want to impress my father,
you're going to have to do far better than simply dating me, Paul. You're going
to have to graduate at the top of your class, debt free. Then after that,
you'll need to start a company from scratch and push it to the top within a few
years. They'll be impressed with two and a half kids that have rosy cheeks,
blond hair, and are extremely well behaved. Oh, and don't laugh at anything
until someone else does because chances are your humor isn't at all like theirs.
And don't complain – ever. Don't sneeze, or smack, or yawn, and for fuck’s
sake, don't you ever cry." Tears burned my eyes as he sat quietly on the
other end of the phone. "Get it? You don't, do you? No, no one does. Do me
a favor and lose my number. I'm not interested in marrying a man who wants
anything to do with my family. Not ever."

I threw the phone across the room as a cry
left me. He was no different than they were. That he thought he could sleep
with the one girl who hated me most and then call and apologize so that we
could move on was sickening. These people had no clue who I was, at all.

After drying my face, I got up and tore
through my clothes, looking for a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I
laced up my shoes, grabbed my gym bag, and walked out into the hallway. Several
of the girls in the house called after me or waved as I walked by. I responded
with a curt nod for each of them. Opening my mouth was dangerous and wouldn't
do any good. I wasn't willing to shoot arrows and leave useless wounds.

"Get your coat." Katelyn stopped
by the front door and stood in front of me. "Please."

"Fine." I turned and grabbed my
long winter coat from the closet before pulling it on and walking out into the
chilly night’s air.

"You okay?" she called after me.

"I will be soon. Just going to shoot
hoops." I tried to steady my voice, but it didn't help much. Hopefully,
the poor people playing against me would blame my shaking on being cold and not
furious. I was sick of sitting back and letting life take me for ride after
ride – especially, seeing that I'd not signed up for any of the fucked up
adventures I'd been on as of late.

I picked up my walk to a jog as my phone
buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it, not wanting to talk with anyone just yet.
I'd call them back after the game, maybe.

The gym was brightly lit up, and the sight
of it offered me an odd sense of peace. I ran toward it and tugged off my coat
as I approached. The dark-skinned girl at the door gave me a bright smile as I
stopped in front of her.

"Scott, we were hoping you would show
up. Some of the guys from the next county over came in tonight to play. We need
a strong player on the blue team. It's mostly guys, but we figured you'd be
down." She lifted her eyebrow. "Could get ugly."

"Excellent. Sounds like my kinda
game. Just don't tell Coach on me, or I'll have hell to pay for real." I
tugged my bag up higher on my shoulder and opened the door. "Give me a
heads up if Coach shows up. Okay?"

"Yep, I got your back." She
patted my shoulder just before I disappeared down the long dark hallway that
led to the main gym. The sound of shouting and cheers left my blood racing. I
loved the feeling of being important and needed, just like everyone else did,
and basketball allowed for that reward.

I pushed open the door and moved to drop
my bag next to the large group of guys in blue shirts. They glanced over at me
with a bit of confusion on their faces, but Dill, their captain, walked toward
me and tossed me a shirt.

"Scott, I'm glad you're here. We need
one female on the team tonight. That you?" His dark eyes moved around my
face as a smile lifted his lips.

"Nope,
It's
you, but I'm happy to play captain." I winked at him, finding myself like
I always did with the shiny wooden floor beneath me.

"How about point guard, instead?
Pretty close." He reached out and squeezed my shoulder.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't
try." I dropped my bags and tugged off my t-shirt with far too many eyes
focused on me. My sports bra covered me well, but boys would be boys. I pulled
the blue shirt over my head and ignored them as I started to stretch.

"We're going up against Waller in
fifteen minutes. You're going to be a starter." Dill moved up beside me
before addressing everyone. "Guys, this is Val. We call her Scott. She's
the captain of the girls’ basketball team here, but she wasn't here with us
tonight, okay? Her coach is a bitch and a half about the girls playing out of
season or on other leagues. Mum’s the word. Yeah?"

They all yelled their agreement, some of
them a little more enthusiastic than others.

A familiar voice pulled me from my
thoughts. It was Katelyn's boyfriend, Martin.

"Hey, I thought you guys were having
some game night bullshit thing at the Gamma house?" He stopped in front of
me as a look of concern moved across his face.

An idea burst inside of me, and I went
with it before getting cold feet.

"They're all playing games tonight,
but you know I don't like that girly stuff." I rolled my shoulders.
"I need a favor."

His eyebrow lifted. "Yeah, sure.
What's up?"

"I got stranded on the side of the
road last night-"

"Shit, Val. In that storm?" His
expression tightened.

"Yeah, but I'm good." I
stretched my arms up to the ceiling and twisted. "This guy stopped and
helped me, then he changed my tire for free today. He was a godsend."

"Okay. Where do I come into all of
this?"

"He's a swimmer, and a damn good one.
He's a student here, but he's not exactly the traditional type of guy that is
on the swim team." I smirked at the incredulous look that moved across
Martin's handsome face.

"Meaning?"

"He's got tats, lots of them, and he
drives a bike, but he's a great guy. Looks can be a little deceiving." I
shrugged and clasped my hands behind my back, pulling into a deep stretch.

"Have you seen him swim?" He
crossed his arms over his chest.

"Nope, but I'm not asking you to let
him on the team. Just give him a chance to try out. I know the try outs are
closed, but you know Coach Dalmoth. Open it back up for him. You'll not be
disappointed." I turned to see Dill motion for us to join him on the
courts. It was our turn to play.

"You score the first three points in
this game and I'll do it." He smirked, playing with me like he always did.
He was a great guy, and Katelyn was lucky, but then again, so was he.

"Consider it done." I extended
my hand and shook his before jogging out onto the court. I moved back into
place as the tip off happened and jumped as hard as I could as the ball flew
back toward me. I wanted to give Tate a chance at one of this dreams or at
least crack open the door. Part of it was to say thank you for being so good to
me the night before, but part of it was me starting to like him as a person. He
was going to defend me at the burger place earlier that day even though there
were four guys who were all bigger than him.

He didn't seem to care.

I turned and moved down the court,
twisting and using every dribbling move I had to out maneuver the large guys
that tried to take the ball from me. It wasn't going to be easy to get a
three-pointer by any means. A layup, no problem, but having to stop on the
outer rim while everyone was racing toward me?