Page 19

Chapter 18

Keelan

" A nd then I told my publicist, there's absolutely no way I'm going back on that psycho's podcast. Do you know the kind of sexist, misogynistic things he said to me when the cameras weren't rolling and the mics were off?" Zara Blaise, pop star extraordinaire and my forced date for the night, continues her rant that's gone on for nearly twenty minutes now. She was also the person randomly calling and texting me earlier.

"Absolutely not. Never again."

She grabs her glass of wine and finishes it off, and I use the break to look around the restaurant for any sign of Rina and the devil's spawn—I mean—Redmond.

"Crazy, right?" The starlet says as she sets her now empty wine glass back on the table.

"So crazy. I'm so sorry you went through all that."

She shrugs. "Men tend to think that just because they've had rights longer, they somehow are entitled to have an opinion on women's bodies and what they should look like. Especially for those working in my industry."

I agree with her. I hate that any woman should feel belittled.

I just don't particularly wish to be here. But we're both at the mercy of our publicity teams and what they think is best for us.

"So anyways, when I left, I called him out on social media for the pig that he is. And apparently, he's really well-liked and—like—this untouchable figure—so his fans didn't like that very much. So, here I am. Hey, you're much quieter than I thought you would be."

I shift in my chair. So this must be what it's like to listen to me.

God, I need to shut up.

"Oh, sorry," I say. "I just thought that—"

"Sorry, sorry we're late," Rina says rushing over to the table behind the waiter. "We caught traffic on the way in. There's some kind of parade going on down the street, so the parking is crazy."

Redmond is behind her, pulling out her chair like a perfect gentleman. He has a shit-eating grin I'd really like to just wipe off his face.

I sit up. "It's ok. We haven't ordered yet, but I have a bottle of Dom coming for the table."

"Oh, none for me, mate. But thanks," Redmond says, taking the seat next to Rina.

The restaurant is one of those vibey places people come to for the atmosphere. Usually, it's one of my favorites, but being forced to partake in a controlled PR move here sort of takes away all the fun.

"What's wrong, Bonner? Your coach micromanaging your post-season?"

"Nah, it's a personal choice, Landry. Don't want to get slow. I like to stay virile." He looks over at Zara and smiles, extending a hand. "Hello, Redmond Bonner."

Zara returns the gesture. "Oh, I know who you are. So tell me, what's the story here?" She motions between the three of us.

"Well," Redmond begins. "This is my wife." He throws an arm around Rina.

"Ex-wife," Rina says, reaching for her water and maneuvering out from under him.

Atta-girl.

"Fun," Zara says, interlocking her fingers and resting her chin on them. "So you must be the boyfriend," she says casually, turning to me.

Rina nearly spits out her water.

"God, no. Rina is practically my boss. She makes sure I behave so I don't lose my job. Hence, why I'm here," I turn to her with a wide smile.

"But you two recently got into it about her, no?" Zara asks, finishing off the question with the hook from the viral song.

Rina shoots her a look.

"Oh come on, Rina. I won't tell anyone. I know how these things work." Zara motions to the corner of the restaurant where a photographer is not so discreetly shooting pictures of the four of us.

Redmond looks around at all of us. "I'm confused. Are you two not dating?" He motions to Zara and I.

Rina speaks up. "It's a PR setup," she says dryly.

Redmond smirks. "Of course, it is. I should've known."

"So… the fight heard around the world?" Zara asks again.

"We were just working things out," Redmond offers in his most civil voice.

Zara pouts and grabs the napkin off the table, placing it over her lap. "Fine. All I ask is for a little entertainment with my dinner."

"Entertainment. If you want entertainment, then you won't believe how we're all connected," I offer.

Zara perks up again, looking excited. "Ooh, do tell."

"Rina here, apart from being my boss, sort of, is also my sister's best friend."

"Oh wow," Zara says, intrigued.

"And my sister is now married to my best friend who was my roommate in college where I met Rina."

"Okay," Zara says, trying to follow. "Sounds like you've known each other quite some time.

"Oh, yeah. We met in college in Austin over a decade ago. She was my girlfriend's roommate at the time."

Zara shakes her head, trying to understand. "Wait, so, her best friend married your best friend who you met in college who she used to date?"

"No," Redmond and I both say.

Rina shakes her head, too, looking like she's ready to be done with this conversation.

"Her best friend is married to my best friend, who went to college with me when I met Rina. I was dating her roommate at the time."

"And now, that roommate is my colleague," Rina adds. The waiter brings by the champagne, and Rina gulps down her first glass without much thought.

Redmond watches her. "Easy there."

She shoots him a look that says, " You're not the boss of me ." And he backs off.

"And to top it all off, I went to the same college before I was drafted into the MLS my sophomore year. Could you imagine if we would've met back then?" He almost whispers to Rina.

Our eyes meet from across the table. It would've been totally possible that they would meet. I remember seeing Redmond a time or two around campus.

"Small world," Zara says, enthralled. "So this fight then… what was it all about?"

"Well," I say. "Redmond here is a soccer superstar. Very well known. Very popular with the fans—especially the ones that have breasts."

Rina kicks me under the table, and Redmond clenches his fist next to his water but doesn't say anything.

"Anyways." I grab my champagne and take a sip before I continue. "Redmond decides one day that marriage is hard, and he'd rather just live the life of a single man. So, he screws a girl that claims he got her pregnant, and instead of telling his wife, he filed for a divorce." I look directly at Redmond. "Does that about cover it?"

There's a deep growl that rumbles in Redmond’s chest. He hates me. Aw, isn't that cute?

Zara turns to Rina. "Is that true?"

"We should change the subject," Rina insists, pouring herself another glass of Dom before downing it just like the first.

"I will ruin you," Redmond says, low and menacingly.

Rina puts a hand on his arm. "No, you won't. And you, stop instigating. That's not what tonight is for," she says to me.

I shrug. "I was just telling her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," I say, holding up my fingers in a scout's honor.

"I'm sorry for prying. I don't mean to be this way. I'm just naturally curious," Zara explains. "But I promise you, it won't leave this table."

"Good, because it's not true," Redmond says.

I cock my head. "Oh, it isn't? That's funny because I'm pretty sure I have the video here of the girl that claims you got her pregnant and—"

" It. Wasn't. Me," Redmond growls out, with a fist slamming down on the table.

"Redmond. Stop," Rina says, eyes piercing the side of his face.

I pull up the video on my phone and show the table. On the screen is a young, very pregnant brunette. "And would you look at that… she lives in Austin. How convenient." I scroll through her photos.

Redmond reaches for my phone and snatches it out of my hand. "It wasn't me. I couldn't have gotten her pregnant. It's impossible."

"Because you didn't sleep with her? Or because you can't have babies?" I ask.

"Both!" He says, throwing my phone onto the table.

Rina looks at him. "What do you mean both?"

Zara and I exchange quick, worried glances.

Redmond's eyes go wide. "I-I didn't sleep with her," he says to Rina.

"And you can't have babies?" she asks.

"Rina—"

"You can't have babies," she says again. The realization hitting her. Her hands come up to her mouth. And she looks at him like he's lower than scum.

"Rina, I... fuck, " he mutters.

"I can't believe you," she says, her bottom lip quivering. She pushes her chair back and snatches her purse off the table. "I can't believe you," she repeats before turning on her heel and storming off. She nearly knocks our waiter over in her mad dash to leave.

Redmond throws his hands up and pushes back at the same time I do.

"I'll talk to her. I think you've done enough," I say to him, holding a hand up.

"'Fuck," he says again, but settles back down into his chair.

I grab my phone from where he tossed it onto the table and follow Rina out of the restaurant.

I catch up to her outside and put a hand on her shoulder. "Rina, wait!"

"Not now, Keelan." Her voice is shaky, and she drops her phone. I bend down to pick it up and see she's trying to request a rideshare.

When I hand it back to her, she stares off into the sky and shakes her head. "How did you know?"

"How did I know what?"

"To ask him if he couldn't have kids?"

I stare at her. "You should know something."

Keelan, 18 years old

" Hey, man. You wanna grab something to eat? I'm starved," Ryker says, tossing his gym bag onto his bed.

I'm opening a window next to my bed as he does. Two hockey players sharing a room does not a good smell make.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm studying with Rina tonight. Might just order some takeout."

He turns to look at me and crosses his arms.

"What?" I ask him.

"You're ‘studying’ with Rina?" He emphasizes the word with air quotes.

I flop onto my bed and look at him. "Yes, Ryker. Two people of the opposite sex can get together to study, you know. It's not a crime."

"But that's not what you guys are doing…"

I reach for my pillow and cover my face. He takes it and tosses it onto the floor.

"You're sleeping with your ex's roommate, aren't you?"

I groan.

"I fucking knew it!"

"Look," I say, sitting up. "It's not like what you think. When I was with Jenny, I was only with Jenny."

He's still looking at me like I'm a dog.

"Besides, Jenny is dating JR, and I have a lot of thoughts about that, but it's her life, and I'm not going to control who she sleeps with so what does it matter?"

"It matters because you look like a ho," Ryker says, picking up the pillow and slamming it onto my stomach. I buck forward at how furiously he did that.

"Damn, tell me how you really feel, why don't you!" I cough out. I toss the pillow at him, and he catches it with his super goalie-spidey senses.

"Just… don't be one of those guys," he insists.

"What guys?"

"The kind that plows through a group of friends like it's nothing and leaves a pile of broken hearts in their wake with no regard for the damage that causes."

I squint at him. "I'm not that guy, Ry. You know that."

"And I hope it stays that way. That's all I'm saying."

"It will," I vow.

"It better." He points a finger at me.

"Jeez, man. Who hurt you?" I ask, dropping my hand.

"Sorry, I just… my step-dad is just such an ass to my mom. She deserves so much better. I can't stand when guys act without thinking of who they hurt."

I sit up. "That's not me. I really like Rina. Which sucks because we're about to leave for training camp this summer, and I won't see her till next semester, but I'm hoping something can come from all this. Maybe I was supposed to meet Jenny, even if just to get to know Rina. You know?"

He shrugs. "Maybe. But how does any relationship fit into your goals come next year? You want to be picked up by a team—that's going to require your full focus."

"It is. I want that more than anything. And I gotta do it. For my dad. For my family."

"Me, too," Ryker says. "Which is why I'm worried about you, man. You know what having a girl can do to a career. It complicates things."

I nod. "But Rina has goals, too. She doesn't want to just settle down and start a family. She's a go-getter. We can just see where things go."

"I guess." He reaches for his wallet on the desk near the entrance. "Just… stay off my bed while you're seeing where things go."

I laugh and give him a salute. "You got it. Bed is off-limits, every other surface is up for the taking."

He mumbles, "So gross," as he opens the door to leave. But as he does, a practice puck falls to the floor and blocks the door from shutting behind him.

I get up to get it just as a group of guys down the hall are heading into one of the rooms.

"That's so cool, man. Sounds like you'll be getting pussy out the ying yang. No condoms needed," someone says.

I stop and open the door wider to see who's out there. It's a group of soccer guys still dressed in their practice uniforms.

"I mean, I'd still use a condom," one says with a thick Australian accent. "But at least I won't have to worry about mini-me's sucking up all my earnings when I go pro."

The group laughs as the first guy gets the door open and they all pour in, shutting the door behind them.

"Gross," I mumble, just like Ryker did. I swear we can be such idiotic assholes.

Just as I'm about to close the door, I hear someone call out my name. I poke my head out to see Jenny coming down the hall.

"Ah, shit."

She's dressed in a mini skirt and some sneakers, her hair in a ponytail swishing back and forth as she storms in my direction.

"Hey, Jenny. Everything ok?"

"Everything, ok? Are you seriously asking me that?"

I'm so confused. What's going on?

"Rina told me about what happened," she snaps.

Oh great. Great! Ryker was right. I'm that guy. The guy Ryker told me he didn't want to see me become.

"Listen, I—"

She stops me, her little purse pulled tightly onto her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me JR made a pass on Rina?!"

"He… wait, what?"

"At the party, Keelan. The one you stormed away from. He made a move on my friend and nobody told me. And then you let me date that son of a bitch. Seriously?"

"She… Rina told me not to say anything."

Her eyes widen. "Why? He should be freakin' expelled," she says loudly before pushing the door open to my dorm and making herself at home.

I watch the hall nervously to see if I catch a glimpse of the young woman with dark hair and hazel eyes. She isn't here yet.

"I had to hear it from him, of all people, and when I confronted Rina, she didn't want to say anything. She was too embarrassed."

"I told you I didn't like him," I say.

"Yes, but a little context would've helped. I broke things off with him, obviously."

"Well, good."

"Yeah," she sighs. "I just can't believe you knew and you didn't tell me."

I sit on Ryker's bed across from her.

"I'm sorry, Jenny. But you literally told me that you wanted to break things off with me because you had feelings for someone else. What was I supposed to do? Convince you not to go out with him? That was your choice to make. You broke it off with me for him."

She huffs. "Yeah, I know. And I guess I'm glad I found out now before something happened that I might regret. Imagine if I would've slept with that creep?! I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

She makes a face, and for the first time, I feel guilty about what's been happening with Rina. Because maybe it was too soon. Maybe I am that guy.

"I should've warned you about him. I'm sorry." I reach out and take her hand.

She squeezes it. "It's okay. At least we can still be friends, right?"

I swallow and say quietly, "Right."

She smiles, and I swear she's about to lean in and kiss me. I can see it in her eyes.

But there's a light knock on the door. And it breaks the moment.

Both our heads whip to the door as it opens and Rina walks in carrying a bag of Chinese food. "I figured we could work up an appe—"

She nearly drops the bag when she sees Jenny in my room. Her eyes land on our hands, still holding each other, and I quickly drop mine.

"Hey!" I say, jumping to my feet. "You made it."

"Uh… maybe I should come back later?" she asks.

Jenny looks at her hand as if it were burning. And she brings her eyes up to meet Rina's.

"Oh my god," Jenny says, barely above a whisper, then louder, she repeats, "Oh my god."

Rina and I exchange panicked glances.

"You two have been… oh my god," she says again with more disgust.

"That's why you were in my room that morning," she says to me, then she turns to Rina. "And you! I thought you were my friend. This whole time, you were…" She shakes her head, tears forming along her lash line.

Rina drops the bag of food on Ryker's desk. "It's nothing like that, Jenny."

Jenny cocks her head. "Please, don't patronize me, Rina. You two have been ogling each other for months. I should've seen it from day one when I saw you walking into class with his jersey. You two are… despicable. I can't believe I ever trusted either of you." She stands.

"Jenny—" I attempt to say something, but she cuts me off.

"No! I'm not an idiot. I have eyes, Keelan. So JR was what? A distraction? So you could get rid of me and hook up with my roommate? Is that it?"

She storms to the door and brushes past Rina. "I'm done with both of you. I'll have my things moved out in the morning," she says to Rina.

Rina's eyes are clouded with tears. "Jenny, I swear it wasn't like that."

But she's already gone.