Playing the Player(52)

“He doesn’t,” Alex said at the exact same time I said, “I don’t.”

Death was too good for him. I’d start with torture. Slow and painful.

“I’ll drop Alex off first,” I said, glaring at his mocking face in the mirror. I glanced at Trina. “You can hang out at my house while I shower and change.”

Trina stiffened next to me. “Y-your house?” She sounded panicked.

“Yeah.” I wondered why she sounded so worried. I didn’t look in the rear view mirror because I knew Alex’s eyes would be bugging out. I never asked girls to my house.

“Um,” she sounded hesitant. “Maybe I should go home and shower, too? You could drop me off…then pick me up in an hour?”

“Nah,” Alex piped up from the backseat. “You don’t stink. Girls never do.” He leaned forward and waggled his eyebrows at Trina. “Girls don’t sweat. They glow.”

I snorted and gave her a sympathetic grin. “I could just make him walk home.”

“But then I’d be late for Tim,” Alex said. “And he hates that.”

“You two are like an old married couple,” I muttered.

He sighed dreamily from the backseat. “I should be so lucky.”

Trina giggled softly, which made me stupidly happy.

“Make sure he treats you right, Trina.” Alex leaned forward again, shoving his head between our seats. “If he’s not a perfect gentleman, just text me. I’ll beat his ass.”

She turned to laugh with Alex, and my breath caught at the sparkle in her eyes and her sly smile. I accidentally slipped a gear, grinding and popping the clutch.

“Drive much?” Alex smirked. He turned back to Trina, talking like I wasn’t there. “So, a few things you should know. He hates sushi. Likes country music. Pathetic. His music taste is almost as bad as his fashion sense.” He took a breath. “Movies: action flicks, of course. Nothing with subtitles, God forbid. But…” He leaned in close and stage whispered in her ear, “Chick flicks? He’s your guy.”

Trina’s deep laughter bubbled through the car. If I didn’t need to shift gears, I’d have grabbed Alex by the hair and launched him right out the window.



After we dropped off Alex, I turned on the radio because I had a desperate need for background noise to calm my nerves. “So, how long have you volunteered at the shelter?”

“About a year. I started out reading to the kids one night a week, and then it expanded from there. I do whatever Sharon needs me to do.”

“That’s cool. It seems like a good place. Not that I have anything to compare it to.”

She relaxed into the seat and stretched out her legs, which I tried not to notice. “It’s a safe place for women and kids. Not that all homeless men are trouble, but sometimes bad stuff happens at the bigger shelters downtown.”

I nodded, considering this. I remembered how some of the kids had scooted closer to their moms, who’d eyed me anxiously when I stuck my head in the living room to ask the score of the baseball game on the TV.

“I really appreciated you and Alex coming today, last minute and everything. Sharon was thrilled.”

“Like I told you, my body’s always available for a good cause.”

She laughed softly. “So that’s it. All those girls you…hang out with…you’re, uh, doing a good deed?”

Her words hung in the air between us.

I could go two ways with this: laugh it off like the man whore I supposedly was, or protest that I wasn’t that kind of guy anymore. The thought startled me. When had I stopped being that guy? Two weeks ago, maybe three? I thought of the girl from the park, and my hands clenched on the steering wheel.

I darted a glance at Trina. She stared at her lap, twisting her fingers. I noticed her purple nail polish was chipped. I’d never actually noticed a girl’s nail polish before.

“Not everyone’s as noble as you or Alex,” I finally said. “Some of us are just…I dunno. Loser slackers who have everything handed to them.”

She tensed and turned to face me. “I didn’t call you…any of those things.”

I met her gaze as we stopped at a red light. “Not to my face, maybe. But I got the message.” I forced a grin. “Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not just a pretty face. I do actually have feelings.”

She swallowed, and her cheeks flushed. God, I wanted to kiss her.

“Slade, I…I’m sorry. You must have heard that from Desi.” She frowned, and I guessed that she’d chew out Desi later, kind of like me and Alex. “I did say that…but it was before I really knew you.” She raised her eyes. “I don’t think that anymore.”

The light changed, and I tore my gaze away from her as I accelerated. “You don’t think I’m a man skank?” I made my voice light, but my gut tightened as I waited for her answer.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. “I don’t think you’re a loser, or a slacker. You’re actually…a nice guy. You’re great with kids. You, um, seem to care about people.” She didn’t speak for a long moment. “I, uh, don’t really know about the other part. Not that it’s any of my business.”

What should I say? Yeah, I dated a lot of girls. But I hadn’t slept with all of them, just a couple. My reputation was bloated with exaggerations and other people’s lies that I’d never bothered to correct. For the first time ever, I wished I had.