Second String (In Too Deep #3) (9 page)

Chapter 11

Emily

"
Ethan sent me a text in the middle of the night saying he was coming to L.A. this weekend," I said.

Sal just looked up a
t me with the same adoring expression he always had. It didn't matter what I said as long as it was coupled with a rub behind the ears. "He
also
informed me that he was pretty much a man-whore, which I sort of knew, but I'm choosing to block out." I continued to scratch Sal's neck, opting not to say anything else. As much as it seemed like he was really listening, I couldn't speak audibly to Sal for very long without feeling like a total lunatic, so I left it at that.

Ethan did end up coming to Los Angeles that next Sunday.
We spent the entire day together and had a blast. He would have come the weekend after that too, but he had a big swim meet in Austin, Texas. That was bad news for me because I'd chosen that weekend to move into my new place. The meet in Austin was one of the bigger ones the boys would be doing this year, so not only were all the swimmers I knew out of town, but Joel went with them to continue promoting his line of goggles. Rachel was also in Texas, supporting Collin.

Gretchen stayed behind in L.A., but she wasn't supposed to be lifting anything since she was expecting a baby
. Hannah, one of my Laker Girl friends, along with Bailey and her boyfriend came to help me move. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Christie's apartment and the guesthouse were both furnished, and I really didn't have a great deal of personal possessions. I did all the packing ahead of time, so it only took us a few hours to get my things from one place to the other.

Gretchen
asked me to come over a week prior to moving in to make sure Sal and I liked the place. "What's not to like?" I had asked when we finished the grand tour. I knew it was going to be nice, but after I saw it, I couldn't help but feel like I was robbing them blind with the amount of rent we agreed on. I gave her ample opportunity to back out of the deal since I knew she could get more than triple the amount she was charging me. She assured me again that she and Joel were both excited about having Sal and me around, so I quit hounding her about it, and decided to just accept it for the blessing it was.

"I've got lunch for everyone when you finish with the last of the boxes," Gretchen said.
She wanted to help. She tried to say that being pregnant didn't mean she had to just sit around and do nothing. But I wouldn't let her lift anything. Before he left, Joel made me promise on all the babies of the world I wouldn't let her. Gretchen resisted at first, but gave up the fight once she saw how dead set I was on following Joel's orders.

"You made lunch?" I asked. I didn't want her to feel like she needed to do that since it was my moving party and she was already going above and beyond, but it was after one o'clock, and I was
starving.

"I didn't make anything, I just ordered takeout," she said. "You guys should come get
some."

I told everyone I'd do all the unpacking myself, and thanked
them about a thousand times for the help. I locked Sal in his kennel, which gave him some sense of normality. He was sleeping on his side, legs outstretched in the gigantic kennel by the time we were done.

We left everything in neat piles on one side of the living room of my new place, and went into the main house for some lunch. Bailey's boyfriend made a plate for the road because he had to
go to work that afternoon. Bailey decided to stay and hang out with Gretchen since Joel was out of town.

The four girls, Gretchen, Bailey, Hannah and m
e all sat around the kitchen island and enjoyed a tasty lunch of bread, cheese and cold cuts. I was pretty sure I would be reaping some of the benefits of Gretchen's pregnancy,
and by benefits, I'm talking about food-related benefits
. I was going to really have to watch myself around this place, especially since I was already one of the curvier girls on the Laker squad.

Gretchen's kitchen
looked like something out of a magazine, with beautiful, blonde cabinetry, granite countertops, and commercial stainless steel appliances. As I looked around, it dawned on me that my apartment was a mini version of this beautiful place. For the tenth time lately, I wondered how I'd managed to wind up in such a charmed life.

"How's it going with you guys?" Gretchen's voice
pulled me from my daydream. I looked at her, but it was obvious that her question was directed toward Bailey.

"You mean him?" Bailey asked
, shooting a thumb in the direction of the door her boyfriend had just left from. Gretchen nodded. "It's good," Bailey said, a look of slight confusion on her face.

"So, he's okay with you taking the job at Paradise Island?" Gretchen asked. "I mean, I know the last time we talked, you said he didn't care, I just wondered if he changed his mind once you started filming."

"God, no," Bailey said. "If anything, he's more pumped than ever. He came to the studio to watch me film yesterday, and afterward he said I should thank my lucky stars that you and I look so much alike. He said it was like I won the lottery when you got pregnant and quit."

I was glad that Bailey mentioned the whole looking alike thing, because I wasn't sure if it was a sensitive topic or not. I hated to say anything, but since Bailey had a "Gretchen makeover" for the show, the resemblance was uncanny.
Even though Bailey purposely styled her hair in crazy up-do's and pigtails when she was with Gretchen, it was almost like Hannah and I were having lunch with a set of twins.

Gretchen smiled at Bailey and said, "Well, our resemblance
was really lucky for me too. Max Mitchell was ready to wring my neck when I told him I was quitting. He literally asked me if I had a twin. I knew you'd be close once you were changed into a redhead."

"That's another thing," Bailey said. "
He prefers me as a redhead, so the makeover was a good thing, apparently."

"Who prefers you as a redhead? Max?" Gretchen asked.

"No, my boyfriend. He said I look as hot as you now."

"Oh, yikes," Gretchen said, cringing a little. "So he doesn’t mind you having to shoot scenes with the other actors?
That made Joel crazy."

Bailey laughed.
"Doesn't mind?"
she asked, incredulous. "He loves it. I think he gets off on it or something."

Gretchen covered her ears. "TMI," she said
, squinting in shock at the idea. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, but I guess it's a good thing, considering."

"Yeah, he has
no
issues with jealousy," Bailey said. "He knows Joel didn't want you working there, and he thinks Joel's the crazy one, not him."

Gretchen didn't respond to that, although I could tell from her expression that she saw things from Joel's perspective.
Rather than get into the subject of Bailey's boyfriend, and whether or not she liked him, Gretchen just brought up something totally unrelated. "We chose a name for the center," she said. She looked at me, knowing I'd be interested since I would be working there. "Really? I've been meaning to ask you what you were gonna call the place. That's a really hard thing to name."

"No kidding," Gretchen said, laughing. "I had it narrowed down to three names that I thought were okay, but we just kept referring to it as
the center.
Joel finally asked me why I wanted to change the name when The Center was a perfectly decent name. I realized he was right. I liked The Center better than any of the other names we'd come up with."

I laughed at the story, but told her I thought that was a great name and I'd be proud to say I worked at
a place called The Center.

"When is it going to be open?" Hannah asked.

"It'll be a while," Gretchen said with a sigh. "The school building needs a lot of repairs, and so much planning goes into opening a place like this. Thank God Joel's here to talk me into feeling like I can do it because I could easily get overwhelmed. The beauty of it is… he's hiring people to help me with the scary parts, that way I can stick to the fun stuff."

"Like decorating?" I asked.

"Definitely decorating," Gretchen said. "Actually, that reminds me, I'm helping my friends Tonia and Trey with that too. We're opening a restaurant…" Gretchen thought for a second. "Actually it's their vision, Joel and I are just helping out. Tonia has some great ideas. It's soul food, you know, so lots of eclectic, rustic features. We're planning on commissioning an artist to make some custom stuff."

"That's so fun," Bailey said. "Too bad Ra
chel's friend doesn't live here… the one from Seattle. She's an artist."

"You're so right," Gretchen said, shaking her finger absentmindedly as if the thought hadn't occurred to her.
"And she might be finishing up with school at the same time I'll be needing an art teacher."

I cringed inwardly at Gretchen's reference to finishing up school. Even thought I was only nineteen, I was self conscious about the late start I had on my college career. It'd be one thing if I was all set to start, but at this point, I had no plans. Heck, I didn't even have plans for plans.

"You should get her number from Rachel," I said, trying to act unaffected by the college talk. "Even if she doesn't want to move down here to work at The Center, I'm sure she'd be all about helping you create some stuff for the restaurant." I was talking out of my ass since I hadn't actually met the girl, but I'd heard a lot about her through conversations with Rachel, and had even seen a couple of her paintings. She was good.

"You're right," Gretchen said. "S
he'd be perfect. I can't believe I didn't think of it myself." She paused to consider the possibility of having Brit, her own resident artist, on hand. "And I'll bet she'd be willing to help us with The Center, even if she's not into the idea of moving to L.A. permanently."

Just as
Gretchen finished speaking, her phone began to buzz, and she picked it up to view the screen.

"It's Joel," she said, reading a text. She looked directly at me when she spoke again. "He said Ethan came in first
in the fifty free."

I felt a rush of heat flood my face at the sudden mention of his name. I hated blushing, especially at a time when it was totally obvious what was causing me to do it. I
should have been embarrassed that the sound of his name had me turning ten shades of red, but I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face at the wonderful news. I was so proud of him.

"What's the
fifty free
?" Hannah asked, apparently knowing nothing about swimming. "And who's Ethan?"

Chapter 12

Ethan

I had sex with a
random girl when I was in Austin for the weekend. It didn't mean anything. She was a swimmer and I'd been with her before, which made the whole thing way too easy. And you may be wondering… Did I feel guilty for doing it with Sabrina when Emily was on my mind the whole time? The answer is no. It was Emily's fault that I was so damn pent-up anyway.

I saw
Emily the weekend before I went to the meet in Austin, and it was the same old story. We had a great time together, but then she went on lock down when I tried to do anything but kiss her. I'm not trying to say I wanted to just stick it right in, either. I would have been content with some playing around, but Emily was locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

It had been a month since the meet in Austin, and I'd driven to L.A. two
times to spend my day off with her. That was major considering that it only happened every other Sunday. I was beginning to think there was something more to this whole thing than virtue. If I were the suspicious type, I'd think Emily was with someone else and she was just stringing me along. I can identify the signs of being strung along because I'd done my share of it myself. The weirdest thing about the whole scenario was that, even though all the signs were there, I didn't think there was another guy.

I just co
uldn't figure the girl out. I'd always had the kind of confidence that could overcome anything. My motto was: If another human being is capable of accomplishing it, then I am too.

Here's where the whole Emily situation gets weird for me. Some other dude has been in her pa
nties—she told me that herself.
So what, may I ask, am I doing wrong? What did that guy have that I didn't?
Also (and maybe even more of a pisser) I really liked her. The feelings I had for Emily were already way deeper than I cared to admit, and she was still acting like I wanted to play her.
But, hell, how should I know?
Maybe she didn't think I was trying to play her after all. Maybe that wasn’t the issue. Could it be that she seriously wasn't attracted to me? At the risk of sounding like the most pompous asshole on the face of the earth, I just couldn't see where that would be a possibility. I know what I look like next to other guys, and I'll tell you right now, it's freaking good. I winked at my own reflection in the glass of our kitchen cabinets as I reached for a glass. I was just being silly checking myself out because I knew Josh was looking at me. He was sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal when I came out of the bedroom in my new tux.

"What are you smiling at?" Josh asked.

"I'm just thinking about what a stud I am."

Josh laughed. I loved that he knew how to take my personality. "I don't know any studs
that go to a Valentine's Day banquet without a date," he said.

"Shut up, fool. You know I could have a date if I wanted one. All I have to do is say the word."

"Why
aren't
you taking anyone? You know those charity things always have good food. You'd have her begging for it tonight just based on the quality of the food alone. Forget about it if you'd stay in one of those nice hotels in L.A. Girls
do
love hotel rooms."

"I'm not going to L.A. with another girl, no matter how much I like some good begging. If it were another city, sure, but if I'm going to L.A., I'm seeing Emily."

"Emily, huh?" Josh said. "Why isn't she going with you to the black tie thing?"

"Because she's a Laker Girl, and they have a home game tonight."

"Can't she take the night off for a big-time charity ball? Doesn't she know you're the shit?"

"I was just wondering that myself." I said, laughing. "They only have like thirty something games a year, so no, she can't take off. I think she should definitely be notified about me being the shit, though. I think that might have slipped by her."

"Are you saying you two haven't—"

"No. We haven't."

"What? You've been up to L.A. like three times. You
really haven't—"

"No." I said.

"Christ, Ethan. There better be gold in there. What do you guys do the whole time you're together? Play video games?"

"Basically," I said, smiling. "No, we do all kinds of stuff. She's living in the
place behind Joel's house in Calabasas. It's nice. She's got a really cool dog. We just hang out. She's fun."

"Oh my God, you're in love. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ethan Erickson is in
loooove."

"I'm not in
love
, stupid. I just said we have fun."

"You've never
had fun
with any other girl who wasn't willing to…" Josh made a gesture with his fingers that made it clear what he was referring to.

"Oh, please. I just like hanging out with her."

Josh gave me a look that told me he was all together convinced I was head over heels for her. I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Are you going to try to see her?" he asked.

"I'm planning on trying to catch the end of the game," I said.

"You're
gonna be in pain tomorrow morning." Josh said. He knew I usually trained on Saturday morning, no matter what I did or how late I was up on Friday night.

"I'm off tomorrow," I said.

He gave me a confused look, knowing how hardcore I was with my training routine. I shrugged. "Coach wanted me to go to this thing tonight to rub elbows. He said it was an honor that I'd been invited, and I shouldn't miss it. He knew it would be late by the time I drove back home. Anyway, he told me to take the day off tomorrow. Of course, the next day was supposed to be one of my Sundays off, and he's making me go in to make up for Saturday."

Josh laughed. "
I should've known he'd make you make it up," he said. "So, are you spending the night up there?"

"Hope
fully," I said. "The other times I've gone up there to see her, I didn't have the option of spending the night since I had to work the next day."

"But, tomorrow…" Josh said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Tomorrow I do
not
have to work," I said.

"Did you already ask her if you could stay at her place? Because if not, Collin won't care if you stay with him and Rachel."

"I didn't ask her yet, but I'm not staying with Collin. She'll invite me to stay at her place."

"What if she doesn't? Do you have a back up plan?"

"I won't need a backup plan," I said. "I've got a new tux and the element of surprise."

"What do you mean by surprise? Doesn't she know you're in town?"

"No. I just asked her what she was doing on Valentine's Day and she said she was working. I didn't even tell her why I was asking."

"And she wasn't the least bit curious?" Josh asked. "She must know about the banquet. She lives with Gretchen and Joel. You know they're going."

I shrugged. "She didn't ask, and I didn't offer any details. Whatever. She'll still be surprised when I show up at the game."

****

I was glad Coach made me go to the charity thing. The place was filled with people worth knowing—important people with money and connections and connections to money. I made more than a few acquaintances during the course of the night that could be beneficial in the future. It was only the slightest bit awkward that I'd shown up at a Valentine's Day shindig without a date. Only a few people asked me why I didn't bring a friend or something.

At one point in the conversation,
Gretchen mentioned Emily and the fact that she had to work that night, and everyone looked at me, assuming the sheer mention of her name would draw some sort of reaction. I didn't give them the satisfaction. I did, however, leave the function long before it was over. I wanted to make sure I had time to make it to the Lakers game before it ended.

By the time I
got to the Staples Center and found a parking place it was just after ten o'clock. I rushed inside, loosening my tie so I wouldn't feel so out of place in the clothes I'd worn to the charity event. It was a casual tux (if there is such a thing) and it had been tailored to fit. I felt good in it, and that was a good thing because I knew wearing a tux to a basketball game was bound to attract some attention. In spite of leaving the banquet early, I knew I'd be cutting it close to make it there before the game was over.

I didn't have a ticket, so I decided to walk right past the ushers as if I owned the place. It worked. No
one asked me a thing. I caught sight of the giant jumbotron, and was relieved to see that there were a few minutes left on the clock. I considered standing in the isle until the game was over, but figured I'd be better off finding a place to sit. The Lakers were losing, and the crowd, for the most part, seemed to have lost hope for a comeback. I had no problem finding an empty seat.

Just seconds after I sat down, one of the teams called a time out. Music
came out of the speakers, and Laker Girls began dancing on the court. They had on shiny, purple uniforms that revealed more than they covered. It took me a few seconds to find Emily since she was near the back. Given the fact that it was just a time out, the routine was extremely brief, but my eyes were locked on her. Her smile was contagious. I couldn't help but return it, even though I knew she hadn't seen me.

She looked so beautiful and confident out there, and she never missed a step.
Her legs were muscular, her abs were tight, and her hair was hanging over her shoulders in loose waves that swayed as she danced. I found myself fantasizing about her and the private dance she'd be giving me. I primarily watched her, but I couldn't help but take in all the sights as the ladies left the court. All of the Laker Girls were really hot. Whoever was in charge obviously knew what they were doing… but none of the others even compared to Emily. There was just something about her that drew me. I drank in the sight of her as they walked off the court, loving the fact that she had no idea I was there.

I started walking toward courtside when there were only seconds left in the game.
The final buzzer sounded, and the deflated Laker fans began to stand from their seats to leave the arena. I knew I'd have to get her attention somehow, but hesitated to rush onto the court.

One of the other Laker Girls actually spotted me first. It wasn't
surprising that I'd caught someone's attention. Not only did I have on a tux, but I was also headed
toward
the court when the vast majority of the crowd around me was headed in the opposite direction. The girl smiled broadly at me. I recognized a beautiful girl when I saw one, but my attentions were focused on the blonde standing behind her who was preoccupied with talking to someone else. The girl who'd been smiling at me noticed my attention was focused on Emily, so she stepped back and gave Emily a nudge, telling her to look in my direction.

The shocked expression that came over Emily's face when she saw me was absolutely priceless. She began walking toward me with
wide eyes and a huge smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. She was
grinning from ear to ear, and it made me feel good that she was so happy to see me.

"I had a thing… some Valentine's Day thing that my coach wanted me to make an appearance at." I gestured at my outfit as if that should have all been obvious by the way I was dressed.

Her smile stayed in place, but I could tell it had gone from genuine to slightly forced.

"You went to a Valentine's thing, and now you're here?" she asked.
I cocked my head at her, confused. I wasn't sure why she felt the need to go over either of those things, until I figured out that she thought I'd been at the banquet with another girl.

"Yeah, and the girl I wanted to take to the party had to work, so I
ended up going stag."

Her smile returned.
(Well, I shouldn’t say it
returned
since it had never left, but the genuineness of it returned.)

"I like the outfit," I said, pointing at her little purple boy shorts.

"I like yours," she said.

Thre
e or four other Laker Girls crowded around, waiting to be introduced.

"I'm Hannah," one girl said, sticking her hand out for me to shake.

"Ethan," I said, smiling as I took her hand.

"Oh, Ethan! I've heard about you. You're a swimmer, right?"

I smiled. "
I am," I said.

"I heard about you coming in first place at some swim meet you had in Austin the weekend we helped
Emily move." She looked at Emily. "Isn't that the same one?"

Emily nodded, and I had to school my expression. I certainly hadn't expected her to bring up the meet in Austin. I hoped no
one could sense the guilt I was suddenly feeling about the events that transpired with Sabrina after the meet.

"You don’t live in L.A., do you?" Hannah asked. I was relieved for the change of topic.