Page 58 of The Trophy

I’ve heard my late father talk about bag skating. His coach used to use it as a punishment when the team partied too hard. “What if we’re sick?” I ask, remembering him telling me that the point of bag skating is to bring the team to the point of exhaustion.

“Then there’s a trash can with your names on it,” Coach points out the trash cans he used both as dividers and to create the two skating lanes.

LAKYN

I’m in luck that Tasha is out partying tonight, so I get the apartment to myself.

I texted Cash back that we can have dinner here and I decided to make an effort and cook dinner rather than ordering out.

Now that I have a decent kitchen with a proper fridge and freezer, I always freeze big batches of the meat sauce needed to make my nana’s famous lasagna.

That’s in the oven as we speak and I just put together a salad minus the dressing that can be added later and I made garlic butter to put on the partially baked baguettes I love to keep in our small pantry for when Tasha or I need a quick snack or feel lazy at dinner time.

With dinner under control and my hair and makeup done, all I have to do is decide what I’m going to wear.

I want to look sexy—I hope to get a lot closer to Cash tonight—but I don’t want to look like I’ve gone overboard with everything. Just in case things with Cash don’t go as well as I hope.

A sigh escapes me at the thought that my first date with Cash was so amazing that I almost didn’t want to go through with going out with Blaze and Luca.

I’m not saying that things haven’t been good when we got to spend time together, but even though Cash has been much better at staying in touch after his first disappearing act, our schedules have been too busy to go on another date.

So I’m hoping tonight will be the night when we can talk about us, figure out what the future holds.

I can’t help but feel hopeful after Luca and Blaze said that they would be willing to try to keep dating me without asking me to choose; but would Cash accept a relationship with two other men in the picture? I truly like each of them so much that just the idea of breaking things off with one of them breaks my heart.

They’re wildly different men, but each of them completes me in a way I never thought possible.

Bay answers the video call on the first ring. “Hey Lakey-Lake, what’s up?”

I fail to stifle the laughter that bubbles to the surface and end up with a half-snort. “What the heck are you doing? Do I even want to know?” I ask, taking in the weird stuff under her eyes and the strange contraption in her hand. I know that’s a hair curler, Bay has used it on me a few times now. However I don’t own one and I don’t think I’ll buy one any time soon. Knowing myself, I’d probably end up with more burns than curls.

“I’m getting ready to go out. Topher booked a table for two at Morelli’s, the best Italian restaurant in town. And then he booked a suite at the Grand Hotel, so we can have a romantic night without the distractions that come with our respective houses.”

God, I’d rather spend my night having all my teeth pulled without anesthetic, but she looks happy, so I keep that feeling to myself. “That sounds nice,” I offer.

And I mean it. Choice of companion aside, that sounds like a wonderful date.

“It is and I’m looking forward to it,” Bay gushes. “Since we had a heart to heart the day we came back from LA, Topher has been a model boyfriend.”

Yeah and I’m the next Dalai Lama. But again, I bite my tongue. “Really?” I work hard not to let my incredulity seep into my tone.

“He’s back to the way he was when we first started dating. Sweet, romantic, attentive in bed?—”

“Ok, that’s enough information.” I interrupt her, panicking at the idea of hearing any details about Topher’s efforts as a lover. “But I’m glad he’s being good to you, sis.”

What I don’t say is that I don’t know what Topher’s angle is but I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. How can his ideal boyfriend behavior be genuine, when he’s forced my guys into that dare? And don’t get me started about the level of blackmail he’s using to keep Bay from finding out.

“He’s being amazing, Lake. I’m going to be honest with you, lately things between us had become so strained, we were fighting constantly and I was seriously thinking that maybe we needed a break.“

Yeah, a break is definitely a good idea. Bay could do so much better than that two-faced asshole.

“Do you think his change is genuine?” I can’t resist the urge to ask.

“Look Lake,” Bay sighs. “I know you and Topher aren’t exactly besties,”

“Right,” I snort.

If that isn’t the understatement of the century, I don’t know what is.

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