Page 57 of The Friend Zone

“It helps now too,” Luca explains. “Our team has a few international players who aren’t necessarily that fluent in English, especially if they’re young and out of their own country for the first time. We have a rookie from Sweden and a couple of Russians. It helps to have someone who speaks their native language.”

Ryker soaks in Luca’s words. “I had never thought about that. Maybe I should try to learn at least another language. Do you have any other extra tips you think I could use for next year?”

Luca and Ryker walk behind us, absorbed in their own ‘shop talk’ as we return to the ground floor where the party has already started.

“I like him,” Lakyn whispers. “The way he looks at you? Ryker is in love with you, Bay.”

I can’t help but cling to her every word. “Do you think so? He said he’s falling for me, but he hasn’t exactly used the L-word.”

Lakyn nods. “It’s as clear as day. It’s good that he’s waiting to tell you that he loves you though. You have just started dating and I like that he’s taking it seriously.”

I nod. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“What else is on your mind, Bay?” Lakyn asks.

Sometimes the fact that my twin sister knows me better than I even know myself is a pain in the ass. “Nothing,” I shrug.

“Bay?” Lakyn insists, not buying my answer for a second. “Something is wrong and don’t even bother trying to deny it. Is it about Ryker? If he isn’t treating you right, I?—”

“No, it has nothing to do with Ryker.” I pull her into the empty kitchen, grateful that everyone is in the living room where there’s a proper bar area getting their drink on.

I come clean about how Cole has been avoiding me lately and about what happened with Jagger.

“Aww baby girl,” Lakyn wraps me up in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry. Do you want me to go talk to them?”

Her tone is soft but her eyes are shooting daggers behind my back, in the direction of the living room. “No, I—I don’t know if something else is going on.”

I explain what Ryker told me about Topher without really saying anything.

“That motherfucker!” Lake seethes. “I bet you a million dollars that he’s blackmailing them somehow. Like he tried to do last year.”

I hate to think that my twin sister might be right. Everything I’ve discovered about my ex since the end of our relationship tells me that if Topher is involved, the situation is going to be one hell of a lot fishier than it appears. But there’s still a part of me that refuses to believe that.

While I’m no longer in love with Topher, I can’t believe how wrong I was about him for over three years.

“I don’t really know what’s going on,” I admit. “Maybe I should try to speak to Cole and Jagger tonight. If they don’t keep avoiding me like I have the plague. By the way, Sis, I get that Bridgeport has casinos like Vegas, and you might be getting used to gambling, but you should be careful with your bets. Unless you won big, neither of us has a million dollars.” I tease her.

Lakyn sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, about that. If Dad saw my bank statement, he’d have a heart attack. I can’t sleep at night if I think about how much money is in there.”

“Did you really win big at a casino or the lottery?” I ask.

“Worse,” she explains. “King Gilberto is giving me an allowance. I tried to tell him that I don’t need any money since the guys insist on paying for everything while I finish my degree online. He wouldn’t have any of it. He said that the future crown princess of Montebello needs the necessary funds to live according to her status.”

I can’t stifle the laughter that bursts out of me. “No shit. And he gave you a million dollars?”

My sister shakes her head. “Not quite. Money appears in my account every month. It’s an outrageous five figure sum each month, it just arrives faster than I can spend it. Like I said, the guys pay for the house and groceries. They spoil me rotten, they buy me things even before I can think about wanting or needing them. And last summer Luca’s Mom got me an entire new designer wardrobe. Luigi drives me anywhere I want to go, so I literally have no chance to spend a cent.”

That fills my heart with joy. It’s not the money in itself, it’s the fact that the people in my sister’s life love her so much that they want to care of her beyond her wildest dreams.

“That’s great, Lake. I’m happy for you, you deserve all this and more.”

Lakyn grabs my hand, the same way she used to do when we were kids and I was worried or scared of something. She might be the quietest between us, but she’s always been the one who gave me the courage to dare more.

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. You have to promise to hear me out before you say no. I know you didn’t want Luca’s help with the money you need to rebuild the Zeta house. But I was thinking, what about if I help you? Like I said, I have no chance to spend all that money and?—”

“No.” I nip whatever this is in the bud. “I can’t take your money, Lake.”

She isn’t just the quietest between the two of us, she’s also the stubborn twin. “Why the hell not? You paid for my studies. I would have never been able to afford going to Star Cove with the partial scholarship I got. Not even by working at the library. You made it possible for me to get a degree in an Ivy League school. This would be me reciprocating that help.”

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