The Tip-Off: A Smart Jocks Novel Read online

  Zeke places the ball on the floor beside me and sits on it. “I won’t say a word.”

  Now that I believe.

  “What would you give up food for?”

  I think for a minute. “I don’t know. I don’t have one big thing I want like you do. I want to do it all now that I’m at Valley, all the normal college things. That probably sounds dumb to the guy who is about to graduate and get drafted into the NBA.”

  “Not dumb at all. Certainly not any dumber than choosing a death sentence so I can play basketball for three weeks. Shit, I would probably be awful too without any food to give me energy.” He looks really bothered by this, more so than the fact he’d literally be starving to death.

  I laugh softly. “That is pretty dumb.”

  “Got anything specific in mind or are you just winging it?”

  I’ve had a lot of time to think about this, so I nod. “I have a few things in mind.”

  He waits for me to continue, but I redirect instead. “Does no dating mean no anything? No kissing, no…” I’m a twenty-one-year-old woman, but I can’t bring myself to say the word.

  Thankfully he knows where I’m going. “I’ve hooked up occasionally, but it’s hard—”

  “I’ll bet.” I slap my hand over my mouth. “Oh God, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” I keep my head buried and wave him on. “Please continue.”

  Humor laces his tone, but the words are serious. “Dividing attention between two things like that… it stops you from being great at either one.”

  “Lots of professional athletes are married.”

  “Yeah and there’s like an eighty percent divorce rate among them, too.”

  I start to laugh but realize he’s completely serious. “What about casual relationships?”

  He shrugs. “It’s still a distraction.”

  I don’t know why this hurts my feelings, but my face heats with rejection, which doesn’t make any sense. We’re on a date. He asked me to be his date. The man gave me a freaking corsage.

  “If you haven’t been on a date in…”

  “Four years,” he supplies as he stands and moves toward the basket. “Maybe five.”

  “Why tonight? I mean, obviously I’m amazing, but that’s quite a streak to break for a girl you barely know.”

  He glances back and the panic in his eyes tells me everything. How did I not put it together before?

  “Oh God.” I cover my face with both hands as my emotions spiral. “Blair and Wes put you up to this, didn’t they?” The words come out jumbled through my hands, but when he sighs, I feel confident he heard me. Of course, our best friends orchestrated this whole thing. How humiliating. I have no idea why he’d agree to go along with it.

  “I’m sorry. They shouldn’t have done that.” I stand and pick up the basketball. His face is apologetic, the muscles in his neck tighten as he swallows. Full lips part and I wait in the excruciating silence to hear what he has to say. Like maybe tonight wasn’t so awful, but he says nothing.

  “Gabby! Z! Open up.” Nathan pounds on the gym door, his smiling face is smashed up against the glass. At least one person is genuinely excited to hang out with me tonight.

  Zeke looks conflicted, unmoving, while Nathan keeps yelling for us to let him in.

  I hold up my basketball like it represents our time together and toss it toward him. He catches it easily with one big hand, still holding his in the other. “Thank you for being so nice about the whole thing, but I don’t need a pity date.”

  4

  Gabby

  “Morning,” Blair calls out as she appears in the kitchen, Wes on her heels.

  I straighten on the bar stool and take another drink from the mug in my hands. “Morning. You two look adorable.” I smirk and Blair pulls on the hem of the long Valley basketball t-shirt. It looks like she literally took it off his back because her boyfriend wears only a pair of basketball shorts and a very satisfied smile.

  He moves to the coffee machine and Blair takes the bar stool next to me. She slouches in her seat. “Last night was crazy. I’ve never seen so many people in one place in my life.”

  “It was a lot,” I admit. “You want to head over to the gym and then grab brunch? I think a good run might clear the foam and alcohol from my head. I have to work tonight, too. Ugh.”

  “Can’t. I have loads of laundry and packing to do. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”

  “About offering to do my laundry?” I tease.

  “No, although, if that green skirt you wore last week is dirty, I’m willing to wash it so I can wear it this week.”

  “You’re in luck, I did laundry yesterday. Where are you and my fabulous green skirt going?” Blair and I have been swapping clothes since elementary school. Two closets are better than one.

  “Did you ask her?” Katrina enters the kitchen with Joel just a step behind.

  “Ask me what?” It suddenly feels like an ambush or maybe I’m just touchy from last night. I look from person to person trying to figure out what’s going on.

  Joel answers for the lot of them. “Spring break in Mexico. You in?”

  Blair bounces beside me. “Is there any way you can get off work? Joel’s family has a place and we’re gonna go lie on the beach and drink piña coladas,” she says dreamily.

  “I don’t know.” The excitement in the room is contagious, not that I’d need any help getting excited about the idea of spring break in Mexico. Of course, I want nothing more than to go somewhere amazing with my friends for spring break. I mean, hell yeah, but I just started working at The Hideout and I have a sinking feeling the reason I’m on the schedule almost every day next week is because everyone else already put in to be off. “I work today, so I can ask. When are you leaving?”

  “Tonight. Puh-leeeze.” Blair’s voice is pleading.

  “You’re all going?”

  Blair nods and squeezes my hand. “It’ll be so much fun.”

  “It sounds amazing, but I can’t lose this job. My parents are holding firm on the whole not paying my rent thing. Let me send Brady a text and see if anyone can cover my shifts.”

  I’m not hopeful as I type out the message to my boss and press send. It’s a darn shame too. I pick up my phone and add spring break to the list I’d started earlier this morning.

  Nathan and Z enter the kitchen and we’re just one big happy family all squeezed into the space. Zeke and I make eye contact for the briefest of moments before his gaze darts away. Eventually he rejoined the party last night, but we didn’t speak again after I found out he’d been forced to act as my date. Instead, Nathan and I drank and danced until we were the last two people in the back yard.

  “What is this?” Blair asks, looking down at my phone. “Do a keg stand, make out on campus—”

  “Don’t read them out loud,” I plead. I’d written the list with a fresh determination to do everything I dreamt about before moving to Valley, holding nothing back, but this list is a little more detailed than I feel comfortable sharing over coffee with my best friends and their boyfriends.

  “Seriously, what are these?” Blair bites her lip to try and hide her smile.

  “Things I want to do before August.”

  “Why August?” Wes asks, holding the mug to his lips.

  A glance around the room confirms everyone is watching and listening intently. Except Zeke. “I want to start my senior year as a normal college kid. Not some sheltered weirdo.”

  A weirdo whose friends have to force guys to go on dates with her. A fresh wave of mortification rolls through me.

  “And doing the walk of shame,” Blair reads another item on the list. “Is going to make you normal?”

  “The walk of awesome,” Joel interjects.

  “Exactly. See, how will I know if I think it’s awesome or not unless I try it?”

  “For all that is holy, don’t take Joel’s advice on anything. Especially that.” That remark earns Wes the finger from Joel, but I don
’t cross it off my list.

  “I bet we can accomplish almost every one of these,” Katrina says as she looks over my shoulder. “On the beach in Mexico.”

  “Online dating?” Nathan crowds behind me and asks. “You’re too hot for online dating. That’s for chicks that use Snapchat filters and haven’t updated their profile pic since they gained the freshman fifteen.”

  Katrina turns her nose up. “He’s mostly right. I tried it a couple times and never once did I show up and think ‘wow, he’s even hotter in person.’ I think it might be better for the post-college demographic.”

  “The point isn’t that every item on the list will be amazing, just to do them so I can express an opinion. I don’t want to be sitting around at parties while everyone talks about the crazy things they’ve done and all I can offer is the time I binge-watched all six seasons of Jersey Shore in one weekend.”

  “Cabs are here!” Nathan calls out with a fist pump as bad as his fake Jersey accent.

  The tension in my shoulders lifts as the room erupts with laughter and the guys take turns fist pumping. My phone vibrates on the counter and Blair and I read it together, our laughter dying at the same time.

  “Sorry,” she says and pushes her bottom lip out.

  I let out a breath as I close out the message from my boss confirming there’s no one to cover a spontaneous trip to Mexico. “It’s fine. Maybe I’ll tackle online dating first. It’ll probably take me the entire time you’re gone to set up my profile.”

  “Oooh, let’s do that now.” Blair claps her hands, eyes glittering with excitement.

  “Yeah!” echoes Katrina.

  Soon I’m flanked on either side by Blair and Katrine while the guys dig for food in the pantry and refrigerator.

  “What’s your type?” Katrina asks as Blair takes over my phone and downloads the dating app.

  “I’m not really sure.”

  “Hmm. Let’s start with basics. What does he look like?”

  “I don’t really care.” I shrug.

  Blair rolls her eyes. “Let me think, who’s the last guy you dated?” A crease forms between her eyes. “Have you dated anyone since JT?”

  I shake my head. Four very long, very single years.

  “Who’s JT?” Katrina asks.

  “Gabby’s high school boyfriend.” She looks back to me. “Is that still your type?”

  “I don’t have a type.” Which is mostly true. I haven’t dated enough to compare my preferences.

  “Okay then describe your perfect guy.”

  “I’m looking for fun and casual, not Mister Perfect.”

  Blair gives me her most determined glare. She’s not letting me out of this, so I think for a moment, picturing all the reality TV and book boyfriends I’ve collected over the past few years. “Tall and muscular, for sure. I’m curvy and I don’t want to feel like I’m going to crush some poor guy if I straddle him while doing the reverse cowgirl.”

  A choking noise across the kitchen makes us look up and Wes is wiping coffee off his chest. Oops, that was an overshare, but it’s still true.

  Katrina keeps going. “What about hair?”

  “I don’t really care.”

  She points to the guys. “Buzzed, short, medium, long. Take your pick. We’ve got prime examples of varying lengths here.”

  I look them over carefully, each one standing a little taller under my scrutiny. Nathan’s long hair totally suits him, but I shake him off first. “Not long.”

  “What?” He scoffs and tucks a blonde strand behind his ears.

  “I like short,” I say reluctantly. “And I like the designs in Zeke’s.”

  It’s almost painful to offer him a compliment right now, but I really do like it. Zeke’s hair is buzzed close to his head, but along the sides has a faint design. Each time I’ve seen him, the design has been different and always hardly noticeable, but it’s there, the smallest hint that the man cares about his looks.

  He stills at his name, protein drink in hand, and if it were possible to detect a blush on his black skin, I’m certain I could. I feel oddly proud that I’ve made him uncomfortable.

  “Iiiiinteresting,” Blair says, drawing out the word as she taps the screen. “Hobbies?”

  “Art, reality TV, dancing… but those things don’t matter. I’m not looking for anything serious, just someone to have fun with.”

  “I got this,” Katrina says, taking my phone from Blair with a wicked smile.

  She’s quiet as she taps away furiously, her bottom lip pulled behind her teeth. “Okay. There.”

  She hands me the phone and Blair and I huddle together to read.

  “Oh my God, Katrina.”

  “I know, right? I channeled my inner Vanessa.”

  “Pole dancing?” I ask.

  Blair giggles beside me. “You described her as fun, adventurous, and spontaneous.”

  I groan.

  “In the bedroom,” Joel adds, and three heads pop up to look at him. “What? It’s like fortune cookies, you always add ‘in the bedroom’ to the end of the adjectives chicks use to describe themselves.”

  “Done,” Blair says, and I glance over to see my new profile published. Guess there’s no backing out. “Now, let’s focus on me.”

  Wes comes up behind Blair and wraps his arms around her. “No way, babydoll. No online dating for you.”

  She rolls her eyes at. “Simmer down. I just need to raid Gabby’s closet before we leave. She has the best wardrobe.”

  That’s me. Fun, adventurous, and spontaneous… in the closet.

  * * *

  “Your mom went all out.” Blair picks through my closet, tossing items on the bed into two piles in front of where I lie, curled up, hugging a pillow and wishing I had time for a nap before work. Another dress is added to the stack at my feet. “This one is a maybe. I don’t know if I have the curves to pull it off like you can,” she says of the white cutout dress.

  “She was so excited that I wanted to go shopping for school clothes that she booked an overnight trip in LA to do it.”

  “Fancy,” Blair says. “How is Momma Brech, anyway?” Another dress and skirt make their way into the maybe pile. “Has she stopped tracking your location when you don’t answer her calls?”

  She isn’t quite that bad, but Blair isn’t far off. Nearly losing their only child made my parents a tad overprotective. Okay, not a tad. A lot overprotective. I get it, but it’s suffocating. I think my moving out will be good for all of us. “She’s good. Dad finally convinced her to take a new job that gets her out of the house, so she’s a little less focused on monitoring my every move.”

  “With a closet like this, I can’t say that I blame her. College Gabby dresses like a hoochie momma,” she teases with a wink.

  “Says the girl raiding my hoochie momma closet.” I stand and grab a bag off the floor and then hold it out by the handles in her direction. “Here. Try these.”

  Her eyes light up, but she bites her lip. “I can’t wear something you haven’t even taken the tags off.”

  “What’s the difference? I haven’t worn most of the items in my closet yet.” I shake the bag and she finally takes a step forward. With a look inside the bag, she squeals, putting a sound to the excitement on her face. My best friend is easily excitable, but the slinky blue dress she’s holding is pretty damn squeal-worthy.

  She holds it up in front of her and stares at her reflection in the mirror.

  “That one is gonna look great on you. Just don’t let Wes rip it off you. I want to wear it once I get a nice summer tan.”

  Still clutching the dress in one hand, Blair sits on the bed and hugs me tightly with her free arm. “I’m so glad you’re here at Valley. I really wish you were coming to Mexico, though. I feel bad leaving you all alone.”

  “Oh please, I’ll be fine. Work, sleep, catch up on Netflix.”

  Blair looks unconvinced.

  “Don’t worry about me. Go have fun and promise to drunk dial me at least on
ce.”

  “Deal.” She smooths a hand over my comforter, tracing the beaded flower design. “You know who else will be here this week?”

  “Who?”

  “Zeke!” she says with far too much excitement.

  “Yeah, speaking of, could you guys have not found someone else to be my date last night?”

  Blair frowns. “I thought you liked Zeke.”

  “He’s okay,” I lie easily. “But he’s not into me like that and last night was humiliating the way you guys forced him to be my date. God, I’m the most pathetic college junior ever.”

  “Stop it. You are not. And no one made Zeke be your date. He’s a good guy, but I’ve never known him to do anything just because someone told him to. I think he likes you.”

  Sweet Blair, always the optimist and ever since she met Wes, a hopeless romantic. “I think you’ve fallen down the love tunnel.” I smack her lightly on the forehead.

  Blair squeezes my hand and gives me a reassuring smile. “Are you okay?”

  I hate that she can read me so well. I don’t want to be upset at Zeke’s rejection, but I just can’t help it. There were moments last night that I thought we clicked. On the plus side, it won’t be hard to avoid seeing him while everyone is gone. It isn’t like he’s going to come looking for me.

  “I’m fine. Just cranky. I’m going to shower.” I squeeze her tightly. I have no idea what I’m going to do without her this week. She’s my lifeline. My person. “I love you. Be careful down there.”

  “Yes, Mom.” She rolls her eyes. We separate and she goes back to inspecting the piles of clothes on the bed as I duck into the bathroom.

  5

  Zeke

  I’m getting back from a late workout when the guys are loading up for their trip. “Sure you won’t come with us?” Wes asks. “One last spring break vacation together.”

  “Nah, I’ve got a full week of an empty house, empty weight room, and empty court – that’s my dream vacation.”