Page 3

Chapter 3

Ricki

I let the thoughts that haunt my mind fall away as my body slices through the water. No dead dad. No deceiving mom. No estranged brother. No hot cop. My mind focuses only on the feeling of the water rippling around me and the burn in my muscles.

When I push myself out of the pool, I’m met with the shaking head of my coach. “The pool is closed, Erica.”

“Ricki,” I correct her. “ Please don’t call me Erica.”

“Ricki.” She nods. “Your form is beautiful. I can’t wait to see where you go when you start really training.”

“Thanks, Coach,” I tell her as I grab my towel and wrap it around me. “That means so much coming from you. I hope you’re not disappointed when I beat your record in the Olympics this summer.”

“Nothing would make me prouder.” She gives me a bright smile before her face sobers. “But that will be hard to do if you get yourself into trouble for trespassing.”

I take in her lean form adorned in a swimsuit before raising a brow. “You just want the pool to yourself, huh?”

My coach and I have met at the pool a few times this past week. We hit it off immediately, having the same drive to be the best. She is everything I hope to be someday, and I remind her of herself when she was training. It’s a connection not many can achieve, but we just click.

“You caught me,” she admits with a grin. “But in all seriousness, if you want access to the pool after hours, please let me know. You really would get into trouble if you were caught here without a pass. Montgomery Walsh is the Dean of Students, and he is not very forgiving. There wouldn’t be much I could do after the fact.”

“Yes, Coach,” I say. “It won’t happen again.”

“Go enjoy your last free weekend before practices officially start.” She lets out a sinister laugh. “You’ll need it.”

I nod before heading to the locker room to shower and dress for a night out. I’ve heard rumblings around town this week of a party up the mountain, but I don’t know anyone here yet and I don’t feel like being the loner freshman at the back-to-school bash.

So, once I’m dressed, I Google sports bars in Thorngrove and find out that Ball Busters is the chosen venue for college athletes. I pull up the directions as I get into my Ford Escape and make my way to the address in less than five minutes.

I walk into Ball Busters expecting to see a variety of athletes and fans, but I’m disappointed to see that it’s nearly empty. Besides the lone bartender, I only see a middle-aged guy at the end of the bar and a girl around my age, looking way out of place in her bright pink dress.

She spins around on her stool as the door chime announces my entrance and smiles brightly before turning back to the bartender. “Look, bad boy. You’ve got another customer.”

The bartender looks up and sighs before turning his attention to the girl in front of him. “She’s a freshman. I won’t even get to serve her a real drink, pretty girl.”

“Don’t be a grump like Tony,” she scolds before hopping off her stool and running up to me. “Hey, I’m Livvy. Don’t let my boyfriend run you off. He’s just salty that he got stuck working when all of our friends at are the back-to-school party.”

“I’m Ricki.” I smile as I take her offered hand. It’s unusual for me to be so friendly with a stranger, but I can’t help it. Her excitement is contagious.

“I hope you didn’t come in to gawk at the athletes.” She leans in like we’re sharing a secret. “They’re all at the party, too.”

“I don’t make a habit of gawking at my own kind,” I tell her with a wink.

“Oh! You are an athlete.” She giggles. “That explains how Cory knows you’re a freshman. He studies the rosters for TU.” When my brows pull together in confusion, she laughs. “It’s how he knows who not to serve alcohol without checking everyone’s ID.”

Great. So much for tricking a bartender into serving me a real drink tonight, I think as Livvy drags me to the bar. Maybe I should have gone to that party after all.

“Erica Hargrove. Swimmer. Likely to compete in the next summer Olympics. What can I get you?” The bartender smirks before it falls away at my glare. “I’m sorry. Occupational hazard.” When my glare doesn’t wane, he leans toward Livvy to mock whisper, “She reminds me of your sister.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. My apologies are as rare as my friendliness, but I’m not trying to make enemies here either. “Just call me Ricki, please. I’ll have…”

“A Pretty Girl Special!” Livvy exclaims, cutting off my request before turning toward me with a conspiratorial grin. “And I’ll have another one, too, bad boy.”

“ Liv, ” Cory says in an admonishing tone. “You’re gonna get me in trouble.”

“You can punish me later, bay boy. Just make our drinks.” She shrugs before turning back to me. “I hope you like cherries.”

After discovering that a “Pretty Girl Special” is basically the same thing as a Dirty Shirley, I decide that Livvy is my new best friend. We sip our vodka laden mock-tails as I learn that she and Cory—who’s ten years older than her and her sister’s ex-fling—are happily in love. Cory is sliding my third drink across the bar when the doorbell chimes and he pulls the drink back with a curse.

I turn to see the same deputy that’s haunted my thoughts for the past week stride in with a gin as his eyes land on me.

Tyler

I stroll into Ball Busters, knowing how dead it’s sure to be since most of their patrons are at Tracey’s party tonight. I pause when my eyes land on the clear green stare that hasn’t left my mind this past week for only a second before they shift to Cory.

“Looks like my cousin is taking all your business tonight,” I tell Cory with a smirk. “Want me to go bust up the party so you can get some of your customers back?”

Cory laughs, knowing that I’m only joking. Even if I don’t attend the parties, there’s no way in hell I’d be the one to break them up. I’d be the town pariah in under a second.

“How’s it going, Livvy?” I ask as I step up to the bar, drawing her gaze away from my infatuation sitting at her other side. “Ready to get rid of this old man and spend some time with someone your own age?” I bounce my eyebrows playfully, ignoring Cory’s growl from behind the bar.

“You’re a mess, Tyler.” Livvy giggles as she shoves my shoulder playfully. “My whole college experience is a dull place without you in it. Especially since you’d be in the same year as me.”

“Hands off my girl, Sheppard,” Cory barks when my hand comes up to cover hers on my shoulder.

“You’re as grumpy as Tony these days.” I throw my hands up in mock surrender as I mention the owner of the other college bar—TG’s Happy Hour—before walking around to the barstool on the opposite side of the girl I really want to be next to anyway.

“Ha!” Livvy laughs as she points at Cory. “I’m not the only one who’s noticed.”

“It’s a bartender thing,” Cory says with a grin. “We need to send those ‘don’t talk to me’ vibes unless we want to hear the life story of everyone who orders a drink.”

“Didn’t want to join the hottest party in Thorngrove tonight, Erica?” I ask when the girl I wish wasn’t invading my thoughts turns my way.

“I hate that name,” she blurts out. When I raise a brow in question, she sighs. “I prefer Ricki.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ricki,” I say with a wide smile as I offer my hand. “I’m Tyler.”

She glares at my hand for a second before taking it with a surprisingly firm grip. I try to ignore the sparks that ignite with her touch since I know that her existence could rock the worlds of those I care about. But when her gaze meets mine, I realize that she’s already rocked mine. I just hope her intentions aren’t to destroy my family. Because if they are…I may be her accomplice.

“It’s nice to meet you out of uniform, Tyler ,” she purrs my name.

When my gaze connects with hers and I notice how glassy her eyes are, my focus shifts to Cory. I avoided Tracey’s party so I wasn’t conflicted about underage drinking only to walk into a bigger conflict here.