Vérité (20 page)

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were in the shower,” she said from right outside the bathroom door.

I peeked through the crack of the door, my hair dripping all over the floor as Ginny bounced from one foot to the other. Mentally, I sighed; I didn’t have time for any more drama. Then again, when did Ginny become so dramatic?

“What’s wrong?” I flung the door all the way open, not caring if I was covered or not as steam flooded the hallway.

“Well, Bryce was over at the athletic complex lifting and Logan Salomon was there, going off at the mouth about how you wanted him but he turned you down. He was going on and on about not wanting Professor Dubois’s sloppy seconds.”

“You’re kidding!”

“No. And it gets worse. A few of the basketball boys were there—”

“Shit!” I yelled, interrupting her.

“Well, it turned into a full-on brawl. Campus security was called and they hauled Bryce, Dan—he’s one of the football players who got involved—the basketball guys, and Logan outta there.”

Ginny finished and started to pace the length of the hallway when Chey stuck her head out of her room. “We just heard. One of the guys texted Stacy to get the assistant coach.”

“How the hell did this happen? Was Tiberius there?”

Ginny gave me a helpless look and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Chey burst out of her room, banging the door into the wall behind it as she glared at me. “For starters, put some clothes on your skinny butt, go down there, and help get those guys out of this.”

My wet hair was now dripping over my breastbone, landing in the towel knotted across my chest. “Okay. Okay,” I said and started toward my room. “Wait, are you okay, Ginny? I’m sorry I dragged you into this—”

“Be quiet,” she said, holding up a hand. “You’re a good person, Ting, even though you don’t realize it. Bryce wasn’t gonna let that shit lie. I don’t know what happened between you and Logan, but either way . . . you gave me confidence when it came to Bryce, and we’re both thankful. Now go help them sort out this mess.”

Her phone beeped and she looked down at the screen. “It’s Bryce. They’re just getting some kind of warning, but he said the basketball guys are wound tight. He thinks you need to go talk them down. They’ve got a game tomorrow night.”

“We’re going with ya, girlie,” Chey chimed in as Stacy made her way out of her room, looking like hell. Her hair wasn’t in her usual braids, but down and all wavy.

I turned toward Stacy. “You all right?”

“Fine. I overdid it last night at practice.”

“Okay.”

Chey slapped my butt. “Come on, we don’t have all day.”

I hurried to my room and tossed on jeans and a loose sweatshirt. It looked like I’d be missing econ today. Oh well, I’d get the notes.

By the time the three of us arrived at the security building, the guys were filing out, and I heard several of them shout my name. I didn’t see Tiberius, but I did spot Jamel and Lamar.
Just my luck
. Bryce was right behind them, but Logan was nowhere to be seen.

Lamar walked swiftly toward me, grabbed my arm, and turned me to walk with him as Chey and Stacy rushed the other guys, looking for the inside scoop.

Anger twisting his features, Lamar spat out, “Tingly, that Logan dude’s an asshole.”

“I’m gonna fuck his ass up,” Jamel said as he flanked my other side.

“Guys, come on. He was just running off at the mouth. Let it go, you got a game tomorrow.”

“Shut the fuck up, Tingly, and leave this up to us,” Jamel shouted, his pupils tiny pinpricks of rage.

“Where’s Tiberius?” I asked.

“He’s down at the financial aid department, working some shit out with his mother’s death certificate. Let’s go, I’m rolling down there to get him and then we’re gonna deal with this shit.” Jamel started walking back toward the Union where the finance department was located.

“No! Please, Jamel. Let it go,” I begged him. When he ignored me, I grabbed his arm and jerked him toward me, my nails clawing at his skin as I whispered, “Don’t, Jamel.”

“Damn, bitch. Why’re you protecting the dude?” he said through clenched teeth.

“It’s not him. It’s me,” I said in a hushed voice. It was so quiet, I almost couldn’t hear it myself.

“Come here,” Jamel demanded and pulled me over to the side of the road, underneath a tree. “What’s the deal?”

I was wringing my hands and my still-damp hair fell limply down my back. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I spoke softly. “You know how the day I met you, you immediately said, ‘I know you . . . you’re the girl that blah, blah?’ Well, if you do this, I’m only gonna be known for more bad shit. Let him go. I can handle Logan, but I don’t want Ty to be associated with any of this.”

Jamel narrowed his eyes at me. “You know what, girl? You don’t get what you got going on. Brains, booming system for a chick, personality. Stop thinking you’re shit and deserve shit. Because Ty’s all good, and if you want him, you better be good enough for him. I know you are, but do you?” He stopped speaking, brushed past me, and was gone before I could stop him.

With one last glance back at me, he said, “Let’s go, Mar. We be giving this ass one more chance.” And off the two of them went, meeting up with the rest of the crew enraptured by my roommates.

M
oments later, I stood outside the finance office waiting for Tiberius.

The door flung open and his wide eyes met mine. “Rex? What’re you doing here?”

I was back to wringing my hands. Not wanting to alarm him, I forced myself to unclench my fists and straighten my arms at my side. “There was a situation down at the gym. I guess Logan ran off at the mouth about me making a pass for him.” That was all I managed to get out before Tiberius shouted, “Fuck!”

“The guys were down there lifting,” he said as he stormed toward the elevator.

“Yeah, and Bryce, my roommate’s boyfriend. They kinda all got into it, and security came.”

“Do you know where the guys are? We’re gonna have to pay Logan a visit,” he said right before bursting out of the elevator as soon as the doors parted.

“They guys went home with a warning, but that’s exactly what I don’t want—you or them to pay Logan a visit.” I stopped dead in my tracks and stared down the man in front of me, all six feet five inches of him.

“No. No guy’s gonna disrespect you.” He turned to leave again.

“Listen to me, Ty, I’m gonna tell you what I told Jamel. I can’t afford to have any more attention on me like this. I’m already scorned.”

“That’s bullshit, T. You’re not scorned. You made a mistake, and you’re the only one who keeps punishing yourself over it.” He leaned against the wall, tilting his head back against the plaster, and let out a long, deep breath. “No brother would ever let this go on, Rex. But I’m gonna go along with you for one more try, then I’m done. One more time, and I’m done with protecting Logan. Got me?”

I leaned on him, bracing my forehead on his chest, feeling the wild, frenetic pace of his heart and the heavy sound of his breathing. We stayed like that, quiet and serene for a few minutes, until he asked, “Don’t you got class?”

“I missed it when I went to see what happened. You okay? How come you didn’t tell me you had to come over here? That couldn’t have been easy.”

I ran my hand down his chest, sliding it over his shirt before settling on his hard abs. A shiver ran through him, electrifying my hand, lightning practically sparked through me.

“Didn’t want to burden you. It’s done. But this is more important. I can’t let this Logan carry on, Rex.” He swiped his phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen, then brought the phone to his ear. “Ya’ll ready to roll?” That was all he said, no asking questions or listening to their version of the story––despite the fact he just told me he’d give Logan one more chance.

“You gonna listen to her?” he said a few seconds later, glaring at me. At their answer, his face tightened and he brushed his finger over the screen, disconnecting a call without another word.

“Looks like the team is siding with you. Unreal,” he mumbled.

“I thought you agreed with me?”

“I couldn’t let the guys think I gave in so easily, babe.”

“Well, I practically begged Mel. Told him to remember when I first ran into him and he mentioned the professor. I don’t want any more attention like that, Ty.”

He tossed his arm around me. “Mel says it’s the last time he’s listening to you. Next time, you’re not gonna stop him.”

“I know,” I said, and before I could say any more, Tiberius turned me toward him and took my mouth in a brutal kiss. It was claiming and passionate, right in the open daylight for anyone to see—especially for the few members of the men’s track team who walked by and whistled. Our lips parted and I gasped for air.

“Well, not gonna be up for debate now who you made a pass at,” he said smugly.

“Ty, seriously?” I joked, but I guessed he was right.

“Come on, I’ll walk you back and buy you a liquid love. We got a walk-through before the game tomorrow.”

I
t was a non-conference game but the season opener, so the field house was packed. I never imagined it would be this full when I rushed over there, coffee in one hand and a complimentary ticket from Chey in the other. In fact, I teased her when she said I needed a ticket.

Once again, I hadn’t told Tiberius I was coming because I’d started working with that student in need of an Italian tutor, and I wasn’t sure how long it would take. At least, that was what I told myself. In reality, I was afraid to let him count on me. I’d never played that role before.

Lindsay was a sickeningly sweet, shiny-haired brunette from Long Island who wanted to go on a semester abroad in Rome—with her boyfriend, of course. Her parents said she needed to learn the language before they approved the trip, so she’d been doing Rosetta Stone before enrolling in Italian Level Three this semester. It was a leap of faith on her part, but apparently her guy was “so damn hot” and she couldn’t bear the thought of him being there without her.

“I
have
to pass Italian Three,” she begged me. She was practically failing. Poor girl offered to pay me whatever I wanted so she could send in her deposit for Rome.

I accepted the challenge.

Earlier, we worked for two hours straight, sorting nouns and verb tenses, when I had to excuse myself. Suddenly, I found myself not wanting to miss the game.

Now I took one last guzzle of my drink and pitched the cup before entering the field house, heading to the right toward my seat. I was sandwiched between Chey and Stacy, a teammate of theirs named Tiffanie behind me.

The girl Chey called “Tiff” kept leaning forward and slapping me on the shoulder as the guys warmed up. I hadn’t wanted to watch the game alone, but mostly I needed more explanations of how the game worked and the girls offered to help. In return, I had to make sure they would be the first to know where all the guys’ basketball parties were. I didn’t know how I was going to do that considering I was always the last to know.

The guys were hitting “layups” according to Chey before they ran back toward the locker room.

Tiffanie leaned forward, yelling into my ear with more slapping on my shoulder. “Get ready, white girl, for your panties to drop. Those brothers are gonna roll out here, sweaty and ready to go.”