Page 55 of UnWholly Angels (Crestview Cardinals #1)

Chapter Thirty-One

Maya

S taring into the mirror, I applied the last of the lip gloss to my lips, listening to the constant dripping of the water from the showerhead.

The house was filled with so many people that I had to get away for some time to escape the noise.

Elizabeth ended up calling to make plans, so joining the three of us would be Chloe and her kids, along with Elizabeth and her son.

Normally, I wouldn’t use makeup but everyone coming gave me an excuse to get out of my pajamas.

Facing my reflection, I stared longingly, remembering all the times I was forced to cover up a bruise or scratch.

All the times it had to be worn to be appealing for Rocco.

For once, I just wanted to wear it and not feel like such a dirty whore.

NO.

Tears welled in my eyes, and I wiped at my face to wipe the makeup off, but only succeeded in smearing it across my face. Great, now I looked worse. A bunch of laughter and chattering could be heard on the other side of the door, and now I looked like I got into a fight and lost.

“Ohhhh, Maya,” Chloe sang from the other side. “We need you before the hockey game.”

She kept knocking, and it was driving me absolutely fucking insane. I didn’t expect to be more irritable than usual today, but everything was slowly starting to creep up on me. Maybe venting with the others wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I needed the girl time.

Moving toward the door, I gripped the handle and pulled it open to see three grown ass women with face masks on and smiling widely at me. Now, I’m glad for the little spiral I had earlier.

“We were just telling Charlotte you needed to relax,” Elizabeth said with childlike excitement.

You could easily tell none of us ever went out, but maybe that could change.

I was thankful Riley loved that I yearned to become my own person and to make these connections, ones I’d wanted for so long.

Riley had the team, a brotherhood, but having kick-ass women by your side was just as important.

“And she showed us the beauty of pampering ourselves. It’s your turn, please let us make you feel nice and somber. ”

A smile crept its way across my face as I placed a hand in Chloe’s, then Lizzie’s, and let them lead me to the bed. Sitting down, they each went to work on various parts of my body, and I half thought about asking Elizabeth to do my nails going forward. She was amazing, and oh so gentle.

“So, I need to know things,” Charlotte said curiously. “How did you and Riley meet? Please don’t take this offensively, from an outsider, you are complete opposites.”

I mulled over my answer for a few minutes.

Did we really look like we shouldn’t be together?

To other people, I mean? Slowly, I pulled my hands from Lizzie’s grip and sat against the pillows.

Chloe had turned on the game, playing at low volume as we all spoke.

I stared down at the jersey with the number thirty-two—a number I’d been wearing my whole life—well, what felt like my whole life.

Riley was with me, just as I was each time he wore the necklace, almost as if somehow I knew when his fingers grazed it, when he needed me.

Quite frankly, I didn’t really care what other people thought, or if we ‘looked’ like we belonged together.

Charlotte meant no harm, so maybe I could give my new friends just a bit of background.

The sound of the referee’s whistle brought our attention to the screen, and Riley’s stats and photo showed across the bottom of the screen.

He’d spun around to skate to the area where the face-off would be.

He seemed so in his element, chewing on his mouthguard as he leaned forward to prepare for the puck to drop.

The silver that adorned his neck gleamed, and heat spread across my cheeks.

“Hey, Chloe, do you remember the homecoming dress I wore Junior year?”

Her eyes were soft as she nodded, crossing her legs over each other, getting ready to listen. She had always asked me where I had gotten it, and I didn’t learn how Riley managed to get it until a couple of months after the dance.

Prom. The most important night of anyone’s high school life.

For most of the people I knew, they equated it to their wedding day.

Most parents spent thousands to make the day perfect.

Not me, though, I’d gathered up as much money as possible from tutoring and had it go to that.

Some of the others had talked me into going, but who wanted to go to something so…

big, this important event with no date. I’d settled for going with a few people I wasn’t close to.

I’d never told anyone my story, so they must have just assumed I was poor.

Perusing the shelves of dresses, I pulled a few out, determined to be able to afford one I really liked.

I had my eye on someone, hoping he would ask me, but I’d probably end up having to go with my friends; it would still be an amazing time, though.

I let out a breathy sigh before asking the attendant for a room.

I just wanted to look and feel beautiful, and if I could at least get a dress and maybe some accessories for my hair, the rest would work itself out.

I’d tried on at least a dozen dresses, settling on a sparkly green one.

It had spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline.

It was so beautiful while still allowing my body to breathe, flaying out at the bottom for optimal twirling.

Yeah…I would look so beautiful in this. I would be stunning, and confident.

Once I was dressed again, I placed the others back and took the dress to the counter, luckily it was on sale, sitting beautifully on the clearance rack, and I had just enough money to get it.

“What a beautiful pick, honey. You will be the most beautiful one there,” she encouraged.

“Thank you,” I replied anxiously. I never took compliments well, but I wanted to believe them.

I knew better, though. The price came up on the digital screen that faced me, my eye bulging at the number.

“Excuse me, I think there’s a mistake, that dress was on the clearance rack over there,” I said, pointing over to the circular rack that said seventy-five dollars and lower. ”

She searched around the dress, I’d imagine, for a pricing sticker, or anything that could help, to no avail, and she shook her head sadly. Reiterating the price of the dress. My shoulders deflated, and the tears of embarrassment quickly fell down my face.

Without so much as a glance, I sped out of the store and straight out of the mall, making the forty-five-minute walk back to what I had to call home.

Clearly, I’d missed dinner because most of the kids were outside, some playing basketball or hide and seek.

However, Rocco manned the door, watching everybody, keeping everyone in line.

Trying to squeeze past him and Lorenzo to get into the door, he’d stopped me. “Where have you been. There was nobody to dish out dinner tonight.”

I swallowed thickly, thinking of a million lies in my head, but decided to tell the truth. “I was trying on dresses for homecoming. I was invited by some of the girls in school whom I tutor.”

I kept my eyes down, focusing on the ground. Rocco’s foot tapped impatiently on the concrete step, and I flinched when his hand rested on my back. One word gave me the permission I needed. “Fine.”

Yeah, fine, because he had no choice. I was invited by people from the outside, but I still acted grateful. “Thank you, Rocco.”

He nodded, and I headed into the house, straight for my room, gasping at what was lying across my bed.

Blinking a few times, I picked up the soft material, my fingers threading through the sparkly dress.

Who did this? My question was answered when a note fell to the bed next to a pair of silver heels and a large silver barrette for my hair.

The note was from Riley, asking me to the dance, but it was in some funny riddle, and it took a few moments for the lightbulb to click.

Footsteps creaked up the stairs and stopped at the door.

The warden would kill him for being up here, but I knew he wouldn’t care much. He took beatings for a lot less.

I turned to face him with watery eyes. “How did you know?”

“Because I know you, and I may have also been watching you when you didn’t know it.”

I laughed at his rapid admission, walking toward him and bringing him into an embrace. There was only one problem: there had to be strings, there always was. “What do I owe you for all of this, what’s the catch?” I asked, pulling away to stare into his confused eyes.

“Just a dance, Freckles.”

He never got that dance, until recently, that is.

“Okay, I might ugly cry. So, did he steal it?” Charlotte asked. I wasn’t sure when, but Rowan had snuck in and was watching the game from the floor, too engrossed to care what we were talking about and digging his hand into a bowl of popcorn.

“Initially, he did, but a couple of months later, I found out Nick was too afraid of being caught, so he went back to the store and paid for it with his parents’ credit card.”

Warmth spread across my abdomen at the realization of how long Riley had been looking out for me, protecting me not just from Rocco, but anyone or anything that threatened my peace.

We kept trying to make up for lost time.

Maybe, it was time to enjoy the present and look to the future with positivity.

“You know,” Rowan piped up. “If you all weren’t so focused on the sentimental, you would have seen Angel getting the game winning goal, and a hat trick too.”

He was right, the game was over, and they were recapping tonight’s game. Riley sat on the bench, finishing up his interview for tonight’s game. All I wanted him to do was reach out because I needed to hear his voice.

As if on cue, my phone buzzed, showing Riley wanting to have a video call. Quickly, I swiped up, giving it a moment to adjust his glitchy face.

“Hey, Freckles, did you see—”

I rolled my eyes. “Did you only call me to brag?”

“Of course. You’re my favorite, and always know how to stroke my ego.”

“Among other things,” Elizabeth laughed.

Heat pooled in my abdomen at both statements.

I loved it when he called me his favorite.

I hardly noticed he was dressed up, ready to go celebrate the win.

I’d make sure to have Nick watch over him.

Riley hadn’t been drinking much, and I wanted to keep it that way. “Are you going out?” I asked.

“Just a couple of drinks to celebrate the crushing 7-2 win.” I gave him a warning look, and he just stared back, myself finally being the one to break the silence. “Not too much, if you’re drunk, you can’t consent,” I said.

“I’ll only have a few, okay. Both of us have been doing well.”

I nodded with a smile. I promised him I would ease up on the iced coffee if he would the booze. I know the two were vastly different, but I wanted to be as supportive as possible.

“She told us the dress story,” Chloe cut in. “Very beautiful, Angel.”

“Only the best for my girl,” he winked. “I finally did get that dance, though. I’d like another one sometime.” His tone was playful, so in order not to crush the mood, I hit it back like I knew how. I mean, I learned from the best. “Then, I guess you will have to come get another one.”

I bit down on my bottom lip seductively, watching him shift uncomfortably in the seat. “I love you, Maya. Be good while I’m gone.”

“Not touching myself will be a piece of cake,” I replied, taking on his challenge. “I love you too, call me when you get in so I know you’re safe.”

“Well, you’re never subtle, are you? As soon as we get in, I’ll call.”