Page 129 of Soul So Dark
“Where?”
“To New York.”
I cast a skeptical glance over my shoulder. “Like your wing woman?”
“No,like myactualwoman.”
“Don’t make it weird,” I chuckle. “And I’m sure you would be sorely disappointed—again.”
I’ve seen the girls Austin dates. And to be clear, I’m cooler than any one of them. That being said, I don’t fit in with that life. I don’t go to the places Austin and his teammates go or associate with the people they do, who are well-connected, whether it be in professional sports or the corporate dynasties that absorb them after graduation.
I start to rise, but Austin grabs my forearm before I can. “Why?” he asks incredulously.
Then I look him right in his caramel eyes that still look the same as they did when we were kids.
“Because we’ve already done this, and it didn’t end well.”
Because I remember what happened during my freshman year of college.
My mom’s voice echoes in the back of my head.Stay with Austin, he’ll watch out for you.And I listened to her just like I did when I was a freshman in high school. Except, this time, instead of going to movies and the pool and running around town in his Range Rover, Austin asked me to go to the basketball team’s post-tournament party on some fancy rooftop downtown.
I went as his date, and it felt different at first.Wefelt different; him in a tailored outfit instead of sweats and me in a long bodycon dress and heels. No one asked for any IDs and no one cared who I was as long as I was next to him.
But then, sometime around midnight, Austin disappeared. He was gone. Eventually, people started leaving, and before I knew it, the only people left nearby were a girl in a skin-tight green catsuit and thigh high designer stiletto boots and a guy who was almost eight feet tall and looked like he stepped out of a Gucci ad.
“This is so embarrassing, and I’m really sorry, but I can’t find Austin. I need a ride home.”
What’s even more embarrassing is that while standing next to them, I looked like their pre-teen daughter, even in heels.
“Oh my god, of course!”She motioned for me to follow.“I think I saw him talking to Addison, but that was a while ago.”
Addison, his most recent flavor of the month.
“You’re Dallas, right?”
I nod.
“Austin loves you.”That’s great, where is he?“You’re like his little sister,”she coos endearingly.
Come to find out that Addison Moseley’s father is on the university board of trustees, a partial owner of the New York Knicks, and is probably the mystery associate Austin is meeting with on this trip. Maybe I can hang out with his driver while he’s with Addison and her father at some exclusive club. No, thanks.
As soon as I climb into the back of his teammate’s Audi, I block Austin and don’t speak to him again for another eight months. Because, now, I can’t help but notice that Addison, and every girl that comes after her, looks the same—not like me.
“This is your villain origin story,”Shelby said in an attempt to make me feel better.
“No,”I replied,“I think that happened a while ago.”
That’s the last time I try to be someone I’m not. It’s also what I remember every time Austin gets on his flirty bullshit. Because that’s what it is—bullshit.
And, right now, that’s exactly what his hand is on my back as I continue.
“Anyway,” I say dryly, “you date HBO series and I’m a Sci-Fi Channel marathon.”
Without a word, Austin’s hand slides up the back of my neck and then I feel a gentle pull, subtle but familiar. He’s not even listening. He’s never listening. I keep the armor on, and this is why things are the way they are. I pull back before his face gets too close, his grip loosens, and we’re back to where we started—acting like it didn’t happen.
You don’t get to mess around with the goth girl just because you’re bored.
“Besides,” I shoot him a sardonic smile as I spring off the bed, “you know I don’t have boyfriends.”
