Player's Princess (A Royal Sports Romance)(30)

It is not. I studied with him last night.



You have a crush.



I do not.



Yes you do.



I do not.



I saw the paper. He was touching your boobs and you liked it.



What do you know about touching boobs?



Much. I have touched many boobs since you left, dear sister. I am a boob touching machine.



I laugh out loud, and my bodyguards give me a look. I hold the phone closer to my chest, trying and failing not to appear suspicious.



Anastasia: He did more than that, Konstantin. I don't know what's happening. I'm afraid of it.



Konstantin: Why?



I chew my lip.



Anastasia: I can't have a boyfriend. You know this.



Konstantin: Can't? Oh I am sure that you can, dearest Ana. I am sure you are beating them off with a stick.



Anastasia: I am not beating anyone off.



Konstantin: What is his name?



Anastasia: Jason Powell.



Konstantin: What is the rest of it?



Anastasia: That's it. He only has two names. I think. Maybe he has a middle name.



Konstantin: What kind of barbarian only has three names? Oh Ana, falling for a peasant, how unlike you.



Anastasia: :P



Konstantin: :P



I head into my next class.



Anastasia: Konstantin, I don't know what to do. I just want to have a boyfriend. I'm lonely. I miss home but I don't want to go back. I see all the other girls here with their boys and I just want to be like them.



Konstantin: You do?



Anastasia: I see them with their boyfriends and wonder what that feels like. To be close to someone. No one is close to me. No one is allowed to be close.



Konstantin: Sister, don't lose your head.



Anastasia: You don't know what it's like. Mother doesn't care if you carouse. I take one look at a boy that's not on her list and she wants to skin me and wear it for a cloak.



Konstantin: She can't, you're the heir. You will be queen.



Anastasia: Then I'll be like her.



Konstantin: Never, sister. Never you.



I smile.



Anastasia: Video chat later. I have class now.



Konstantin: Waiting for it, sister mine.



Jason



I'm still sitting there when the rest of the players start piling in, exhausted from rigorous practice. The mood is dour. The last game was a win, but it was a close-fought win and we had luck on our side, and a trick. If I hadn't pulled that off, we'd have a losing record for the season.

I could not care less. Ana. Ana, Ana, Ana, Ana, Anastasia.

I want to scream at myself to stop it, but it won't work. With every passing moment it becomes clearer. I raise my head and I look, like Akele told me to. I see a future where I grind out my college football career and quit the sport, no matter how many hookers the scouts pitch through my windows, as Coach likes to say. I take my newly minted degree and I suffer through coaching high school football until I can get tenure, and I live a quiet life. Maybe I get a dog.

That was my dream. Now it sounds like hell.

The other path, I don't know where it goes. I can't see past the first few steps, and I don't have to. Anastasia is standing there, and if she walks it with me, it doesn't matter where the journey takes me, the destination won't matter anymore.

Akele and Aheahe are the last two in the locker room. They sit down on either side of me, and the bench creaks dangerously, bowing in the middle from their weight. I start to rise, and Akele's meaty fist lands on my shoulder like a bag of concrete and pushes me back down.

"So, you been thinkin', man."

"I don't know what to do."

Aheahe nods. Akele says, "I can only show you the door, cousin. It's you that's got to walk through it."

A Matrix reference? Really?

"All right, Morpheus. If you don't stop with that, I'm going to walk through you."

Akele laughs. "I'd like to see you try."

So would I. My head lifts up. Somewhere, angels raise trumpets to their lips and blow. The sky clears, the storm clouds roll back, and a light blazes down from on high to show me the way.

I might not make it down that shining path, but I'm sure as hell going to try.

I throw back my arms and slap the Thunder Brothers on the shoulders. The bench creaks under our weight.

"Boys. I need your help."

"What with?" Aheahe asks.

Akele smiles his serene smile, full of wisdom. He already knows.

"We're going to rescue a princess."

Akele stands, then kneels. He glares at Aheahe until he does the same.

"You have my sword," Akele pledges. "My quarterback. My captain. My king."

"We can't do this alone. We have to call in all our favors. Let's get back to the house. We've got plans to make."

Aheahe rises. "Great! I want a calzone first."