Aced (Blocked #2) (6 page)

“J
UST
C
HECKING
I
N
O
N
L
UCY
,” I told Dane. I glanced at Lucia, whose huge eyes and pink cheeks warned me not to say more. I wanted to confront him for sticking it to my baby sister. But everyone else seemed to have other ideas.

“Hey, Dane.” Maddie stepped closer to me. “Did you know Alejandro played baseball at TCU?” Her smile disarmed me.

“Yup,” he said. “He had a good shot of going pro till he blew out his elbow.”

My eyebrows lifted. How’d he know?

“Luz told me,” he explained.

Of course
. I wondered what else she’d told him. I watched Dane drape his arm over Lucia’s shoulders, and she sighed as she tucked into him. They seemed to fit together well—both so tall and strong. When Lucia’s eyes continued to plead with me, my resolve to comment grew even weaker. Seeing how happy she was with Dane, I wondered what right I had to interfere with their relationship.

Maddie punched my arm. “You didn’t tell me
that
. You could’ve gone to the bigs?”

I clenched my teeth—I didn’t like talking about my injury. Unsuccessful surgery freshman year had squashed my pro baseball dreams, moving me from first-string pitcher to third-string infielder. Dad hadn’t said anything, but I knew he’d been disappointed. The hope of playing major league baseball had been my biggest connection to my father, and we’d had less to talk about since my surgery.

“Time to move out,” China said. “Brad’s got the SUV waiting.” She pointed to the exit, but extended her arm to stop Dane from opening the door. “Hold on. Brad’s going to escort you two at a time to the vehicle.”

Maddie took a step back. “Maybe I should leave? I don’t want to make it harder for them to protect you guys.”

She can’t leave.
The sudden thought surprised me. “Don’t worry. China’s a great agent. She can handle it.”

China narrowed her eyes at me, probably trying to figure out why I’d said something nice.

“Yeah, Maddie,” Dane said. “Don’t go. We’ll help you feel better after that dickwad dumped you.”

Maddie shook her head, but smiled. “Always the king of tact, Great Dane.”

“That’s me.” He smirked as he gestured to the door. “Okay, you two first. Age before beauty.”

It took me a second to realize he meant Maddie and I should go first.
Me old?
I was about to make a crack about his immaturity when Maddie’s laugh cut in.

“Wow, Dane. Really boosting my self-esteem here. C’mon, Alex.” Her brown eyes shone as she cocked her head toward the door.

Like a mindless idiot, I followed her. I guess Brad walked next to us the short distance to the vehicle; I didn’t really notice him because Maddie’s exquisite butt captured my full attention. Just like the rest of her, her derriere was lean and muscular, but just curvy enough to make black jeans my new favorite article of clothing.

Once we sat in the private dining room of the city’s top seafood spot—the entire restaurant had whispered and pointed as the agents ushered us in—I finally relaxed. We were like normal people having a normal dinner. Well, minus the Secret Service hovering nearby. Most of my meals were hurried affairs, alone in my condo fortress between classes or after workouts, because I didn’t want the hassle of security in the public. I hated eating alone in restaurants, too.

Lucia had placed herself across the round table, as far away from me as she could get, leaving Maddie to my left and Dane to my right.

After we ordered, Maddie fidgeted in her chair. She whispered something to Lucia, and their hushed conversation left Dane and me to stare at each other. He gave me a tight smile.
Awkward
.

“So, uh…” I shrugged. “Great match tonight.”

His mouth relaxed a bit. “
Gracias
.”

I continued in Spanish. “Lucy told me you learned Spanish on a mission trip to Guatemala?”

Dane nodded and went on to tell me about his experiences there. He made a few grammatical errors, but his accent and fluency impressed me. He’d clearly studied the language for years.

“
No estoy seguro…pero creo que los aldeanos estaban comiéndose con los ojos a Jessica
,” he said, his eyes darkening.

I shuddered. “You thought the villagers were ogling your sister?”

“
Sí.
When I tried to call them out on it, one guy looked offended. So I told him
, ‘Me echaré un rapidín con tu madre.
’”

“¿Qué?”
I laughed. “For the love of God, why’d you tell the villager you wanted a quickie with his mother?”

Dane laughed, too. “When my mom and I got there, that’s what one of our hosts said to me. I thought it was a way to welcome us, and I wanted to smooth things over with the villagers.” He pointed to a scar over his eyebrow. “The
cabrón
welcomed
me
with a busted pipe after that comment.”

“I can’t believe you said that.” I shook my head with a chuckle. I looked up to see Lucia gaping at us, her eyes glowing. A smile spread across her face, replacing her typical look of worry. A brief conversation with Dane could make her that happy? I wanted her to look that way all the time. If giving Dane a chance meant my sister would feel such joy, maybe I could do that. After coming all the way here, I was leaning toward not telling my father about Lucia and Dane now. However, Dad expected me to protect my siblings. I just wasn’t sure how to do that.

Maddie had resumed fidgeting.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

Lucia tossed her hair over one shoulder. “I was just telling Maddie how you’re picking up the tab tonight.”

“I am?” What was my sister up to?

“Rez!” Maddie whispered, looking down. She seemed embarrassed.

Oh
. This place was likely too expensive for Maddie. How insensitive of me to insist that she join us.

“I’ll get it,” Dane said.

“No. I’m the oldest here, as you so kindly pointed out, Dane, so I’ll get the tab. My dad can certainly afford it. Maybe he’s not as loaded as Dane’s grandfather…” I raised my eyebrows at him. “But Dad can pay for this one meal. He gave me a credit card for just this type of situation.”

“What?” Lucia’s mouth dropped open. “
I
don’t have a credit card.”

“That’s because your scholarship pays for everything. I, however, am totally mooching off Mom and Dad.”

Maddie set down her water glass. “Of course your parents are helping you; you’re in med school.”

I winced. Most of my classmates were incurring heavy debt, but my parents handled the bills for my tuition. They could easily afford it.

“Dude, why feel guilty for being wealthy? Republicans love money.” Dane bit off a hunk of bread and smiled as he leaned back in his chair. “Nothing wrong with being rich.”

I knew Dane had grown up in wealth. But my family had been middle class until my dad struck it rich with an ingenious oil drilling technique when I was six. “This conversation has taken a strange turn.” I nodded at Dane. “Usually
your
party’s the one maligning millionaires. ‘Pay your fair share’ and all that.”

“If the millionaires steal from their employees, they should be maligned,” Dane said. “But my grandfather earned his money fair and square.”

“And our dad did too.” I met Lucia’s eyes, then looked back at Dane. “I guess what I feel guilty about is not paying my own way. I’m a big believer in self-reliance. I want to take care of myself, not rely on my parents or the government to do it for me. I plan to pay back my parents when I can.”

“But you’ve had some opportunities that most people don’t,” Dane said. “Sometimes people can’t take care of themselves. They need the government.”

“Some people do need help to get back on their feet,” I admitted. “But not half the population.”

Lucia groaned. “Let’s not turn this dinner into a political debate.”

“Really?” Maddie grinned. “I’m kind of enjoying this. You and Dane never argue like you used to, and I miss it.”

“You never argue?” I frowned at Lucia. “Don’t tell me you’ve become a liberal sycophant.”

“Alex.” She huffed out a breath. “I have no idea what you just said, but give me a break. Dane and I have agreed not to discuss politics, for the most part. We get too mad at each other when we do.” She peeked at him and returned his smile.

“Though you are hot when you’re mad,” he murmured. “
Caliente
.”

TMI
. I made a face at Maddie, and she chuckled.

“I don’t want to stress you out, Rez, but I do want to hear what the guys think about this,” Maddie said. “Alejandro pointed out how ill-informed I am, so I want to change that.”

“You don’t have to change, Maddie.” I shook my head. “I meant what I said. It’s refreshing that you’re not involved in politics like everyone else I deal with.”

“You think it’s refreshing because I haven’t shot down your views, like Dane does.”

As I considered her words, I looked at Dane, who smirked as he chewed more bread.

“For the people who don’t have privileges and opportunities, how do you help them?” she asked. “What works to get them back on their feet?”

“We know what works,” Dane said, looking smug. “Government programs, job creation, student loan forgiveness. Education’s so important.”

“Education
is
important for creating a better life, but everything else you said isn’t accurate.” How could he be so misinformed? “Government programs have only made the poor poorer, because they create a culture of dependency. Making people dependent on the government is
not
compassion.”

“But—”

“Secondly,” I cut him off. “The government doesn’t create jobs; the private sector does. The government only serves to spend the money created by private companies.” Dane looked ready to rebut, so I forged ahead. “And thirdly, forgiving student loans? Really, Dane? Who’s going to pay for that? My dad inherited twenty trillion in debt! The taxpayers can’t afford that.”

“Wow.” Maddie nodded. “You’re pretty passionate about this stuff, huh?”

I looked down at my hands clenched in my lap and felt hotness on my face. I had leaned forward in my seat like I was about to pounce on Dane. As I exhaled, I slouched back a few inches.

“Passionate about bullshit,” Dane said. “Republicans only care about rich white men, Wall Street tycoons. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.”

“That’s a nice theory, but wholly unsupported by the evidence. When the Democrats were in charge of the White House, black unemployment was higher than ever. You’re not doing black people any favors by giving them handouts.”

“Wrong again. Government creates justice by helping those who’ve faced an uneven playing field, like people of color. By reducing public aid, Republicans prove they don’t care about those people.” Dane’s chin jutted out. “If you cut off government aid, then what?”

“Yes, Alejandro, what do you propose?” Maddie said.

My heart rate sped up, and I tried to be careful in choosing my words. “There aren’t easy answers. We need more school choice, so people in poor neighborhoods can attend better schools. But really, it’s a systemic problem. It comes down to family values—single-parent homes create poverty and dysfunction. Over seventy percent of black households are fatherless.”

When Maddie gasped, my eyes shot to her. Had I said something wrong?
Dios
, had
her
father left her family? Maddie wouldn’t look at me, so I glanced at Lucia for answers. But she just pressed her lips together.

“You’re so racist,” Dane said.

“What?” My heart thundered in my chest. “How’s that racist? I’m citing facts.”

“Your ‘facts’ are wrong. But regardless, you’re assuming single-parent households are bad. That’s not true. One parent can be just as good as two.”

As Lucia threaded her fingers through Dane’s, he looked at her and took a noticeable deep breath. What was going on between them?

“I disagree,” I said. “Look, some single parents do a great job. I couldn’t make it work like they do, that’s for sure. But to pretend the opportunities are the same as they are with two parents? That’s ridiculous. Kids need fathers. I wouldn’t be half the man I am today if my father hadn’t been there for me.”

“Maybe that’s your problem,” Dane snapped. “He molded you into who you are.”

“And I’m proud of it.” I glared at him.

“Maddie?” Lucia broke in, gazing at her teammate. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Her voice shook, and she still wouldn’t look at me.

Why was she so distant? “Did I say something wrong?”

She finally met my gaze, and her eyes glistened. “Dane’s right. You’re making assumptions about black people.
My
father never left us.”

Thank God
. “I’m glad,” I said quietly.

She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she bolted from her seat. I also stood. “I have to go…” She looked at Allison. “I’m going to the bathroom.” She booked it out of the private dining room with Allison following her, leaving the rest of us staring after.

“Well done, Alex.”

Dane’s sarcasm cut into me, and I saw red. “How
dare
you call me racist? You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” My jaw clenched as I returned to my seat. “Have you ever been called Spick?” His eyes widened. “How ’bout Cheech? Texican?”

Dane’s face paled. “No.” He blinked. “And you have?” When I didn’t answer, he darted his eyes to Lucia. “Have you been called racist names?”

She looked down. “One time a guy called me a BMW.”

I shook my head.
¡Cabrón!

“What does that mean?” Dane asked.

“Big Mexican Woman.”

“What a douchebag!” Dane reached out and tugged her chair closer. “That guy had no fucking clue, Luz. You’re beautiful.” His arm cradled her shoulders.

“It’s okay.” She shrugged. “Kids are stupid.”

“It’s
not
okay,” I said. “Racism’s serious. That’s why I can’t stand it when people accuse others of racism just because they disagree with them. It shuts down all conversation. And I don’t appreciate it from you, Dane.”