Page 16 of The Trophy

She gestures behind her and I notice she isn’t alone; there are three more girls with her. I’ve seen them a couple of weeks ago at the Gamma party I attended as Blaze’s date.

I think one of them was with Luca, she did the seven minutes in heaven dare with him.

So they’re all puck bunnies.

I can’t help but wonder if they all slept with Luca and possibly with Cash and Blaze too.

“You have the study room five C,” I say, forcing myself to stop thinking about who these girls hooked up with. “It’s all the way to the back of the Ancient Literature section. Right by the Greek Classics.”

Bianca snatches the keys from my fingers, her mouth twisted in a bitchy sneer. “Isn’t there a better room? I hate that section unless I’m going there to hook up, right girls? It’s so creepy around there.”

Her friends laugh like a gaggle of geese and I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

“Sorry, everyone is studying for midterms, it’s that or one of the tables on the library floor.”

Bianca flicks her red hair in the typical mean girl move I’ve seen her do every time someone doesn’t give her what she wants. “I guess this’ll have to do,” her brown eyes skim down the length of my body. “Let’s go, girls,” she says, turning her back to me. “Did you see her? She’s my sorority president’s twin sister. Definitely the ugly twin. Bay had to pay some of the guys on the team to go out with her.”

Her tone is hushed, as if she were whispering, but she says it just loudly enough for my benefit.

Girls like Bianca used to reduce me to tears in high school, before Bay realized that I was being bullied and put a stop to it. Truth be told, her words would have stung way more a month ago. Now? I just shake my head because I see Bianca’s meanness for what it is. She’s just jealous because she’s been chasing Luca since he arrived on campus and after a one night stand, he moved on and has avoided her ever since.

The Dean’s daughter can’t see my satisfied smile at the thought that Luca asked me out on a second date and wants to keep seeing me. So she can say whatever she wants, we both know who’s the loser between us.

LUCA

I enter the library twenty minutes earlier than the time I agreed to meet Blaze and Cash to go talk to Lakyn.

Maybe I shouldn’t have done it, but I know she has a really tight schedule today and she might not be able to grab lunch between her morning class and her double shift at the library.

It’s midterm and if Star Cove is anything like Yale, the library gets crazy busy.

I tighten my grip on the paper bag with our lunch. I hope she doesn’t mind the healthy fare, but I avoid greasy food before a game. Healthy carbs and proteins are what helps me give my best performance on the ice and the sandwich shop I went to didn’t have any French fries. I vow to make it up to Lakyn after the game, for now it’s a turkey and salad sandwich.

Se vorrà parlarti ancora dopo la partita. (If she’s still talking to you after the game.)

The voice in my head sounds annoyingly like my little sister Heloise. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her or Mom to ask for advice since the game in LA and I’m nervous about the possible outcome of telling Lakyn about the idiotic challenge Topher forced us into.

I get where Blaze is coming from, that lying—even if just by omission—is riskier in the long run. But what if Lakyn tells us all to fuck off after she hears that we aren’t vying for her affection just because we’re into her, but also because the guy who gets to date her officially will become team captain?

My mom and my sister are experts when it comes to women’s behavior and I would feel better if they had weighed in on our plan.

Talking about plans, I don’t really have one in coming here earlier other than to spend some time with Lake before we come clean about Topher’s wager. I swear I’m not trying to play dirty with Blaze and Luca, but if this is the last time Lakyn ever talks to me, I want her undivided attention until they get here.

“Did you see her? She’s my sorority president’s twin sister. Definitely the ugly twin. Bay had to pay some of the guys on the team to go out with her.”

I stop behind the bookshelf with the exchange paperbacks. I’m not interested in taking one and leaving another one for whoever wants to try a random read, I just use the shelf to hide me from Bianca.

If her high pitch, whiny voice wasn’t easily recognizable, the way she flicks her bottle red hair gives her away without any doubt. She’s my worst nightmare. She must have gotten my phone number somehow and since our ill-fated hookup, she’s been leaving me voice mails several times a day. Not that I listened to any of them, but her number flashes on my screen pretty regularly. I’d block her, but even with my name and status, making an enemy of the Dean of students isn’t a good idea.

So I step out of sight, aware that if she sees me, it’ll be impossible to shake her off and my impromptu date with Lakyn will go up in smoke.

After the initial reaction to finding her here, I pay attention to her words.

She’s talking about Lakyn, giggling meanly as she turns her back to the reception desk.

My eyes land on my girl and I’m glad that Bianca’s mean words aren’t hitting their intended target. Lakyn looks taken aback for just one second, but then she must see through the other girl’s meanness. She shakes her head and smiles at Bianca’s retreating back. After the night we spent in her hotel room in LA, there’s no way Lakyn could possibly think that I slept with her because Bay paid me. The auction was just the reason that brought us together, but I’ve been interested in Lakyn the second I picked her up to take her to dinner.

I take a deep, calming breath, waiting for a beat to make sure that Bianca has walked away. Maybe Blaze is right and we should come clean. Start this relationship with the same honesty we would expect from her. I’m still worried about her potential reaction, but I need to have faith that Lakyn will give us a chance to explain ourselves before reacting.

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