Page 85 of Playing to Win
“Yeah, that’s a bunch of B.S. if I’ve ever heard it. But I’ll let you by this one time, just because I’m tired of listening to you sob. And honey, I hate to tell you, but you’re an ugly crier.”
“Trust me, I have no more tears left in my body.”
Aria grabbed Callie’s hand and turned them both back toward the squad to finish the number with the rest of the girls, but stopped midway across the floor.
“Of all the nerve,” she said, death in her voice. “I’m going to kill him. I swear, Callie, I am.”
Callie turned to see where Aria was storming off to. To her utter shock and dismay, she saw Kyle walking out from the tunnel that led to the team’s locker room.
“Aria, leave me alone,” she heard Kyle say. “She’s been ignoring my texts ever since game four and I need to talk to her. There’s something I need to explain.”
“The hell you do!” Aria yelled at him. “You broke her heart, you ass hat! I hate you, she hates you, Max hates you, Cassie hates you. If everyone else knew what kind of scum you were, they would hate you, too! Now leave. Her. Alone. Before I go through with my promise I sent in that text!”
Callie looked around, noticing not only the squad, but also some of the players and a few staff from the arena had all stopped what they were doing to watch the spectacle Kyle and Aria were making in front of the tunnel.
With a sigh, Callie walked over to the two. “Aria, it’s all right. I’ll talk to him. Go on and finish practice.”
“No, Callie. I’m not leaving you with this scum of the earth.”
“Aria, I’m a big girl. Now go. Please.” Callie looked at her friend, pleading with her eyes to do as she asked. With a sigh, Aria gave her a big hug and whispered in her ear, “Fine. I’ll go. But if he tries anything, you know where to find me.”
Callie watched Aria walk off before turning and facing Kyle. “What do you want, Kyle?” she asked tiredly.
“Callie, I…I…”
“I get it, Kyle. I screwed up. But you screwed up, too. And what you did is so much worse than what I did. After what you know I went through with Matt, you still did it. I don’t ever want to see you again.” Callie turned to walk away, but Kyle grabbed her arm.
”Let me go, Kyle! The only reason I came over here was because you and Aria were making a scene. I just want you to leave me alone. Please.”
“Callie, I didn’t sleep with that blonde.”
Callie froze. “What?”
“You heard me. I didn’t sleep with that blonde.”
“But she was in your room.”
“That wasn’t my room.”
“That’s the number you gave me.”
“It was my room to begin with. But Garrett’s minibar was empty or something and he was throwing a big fit, threating to call management. He was going to yell and make a big scene, so I offered to trade him rooms. I forgot to tell you about it. I was in the room next door. I didn’t know that you had come by until about ten minutes ago. Garrett heard me talking about you in the locker room, telling the guys how you wouldn’t return my texts and I didn’t know why. I didn’t even remember I had switched him rooms. Callie, I love you. Why would I ever do something to ruin that? I was willing to wait forever for you.”
Callie felt her eyes welling with tears. “I came to New York to tell you what an idiot I was and that I love you, too.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I was just so scared and I didn’t know what to say. But then I saw that blonde in your room—”
“What you thought was my room.”
“Right. And I was just heartbroken. I didn’t understand how you could do that to me, knowing what I went through with Matt.”
“Curly, you broke my heart but I would never do something like that to you. It was just a misunderstanding, is all. Garrett just told me a blonde girl had come to my room in New York looking for me and the blonde he slept with had insinuated she was with me. I was down in the bar, crying to the bartender and drinking myself into a coma.”
“But you don’t drink.”
“I did that night. And forever realized I don’t like any alcohol. But it got me good and buzzed and I slept really well…in Garrett’s room.”
