My Life as a Holiday Album (My Life as an Album #5) - L.J. Evans Page 0,25
secret we were trying to hide, but because he could be an egotistical asshole, and I could be a stubborn bitch.
And now…now he’d gone too far.
“Ty and I never dated,” I said, picking up the cards I’d been dealt.
Big fat lie. He’d wormed his way into my cold heart before he’d even asked me out by defending me in the locker room. He’d wormed his way farther into my heart when I’d watched him play. Ty had hands of gold. He spotted openings on the field, could read the ebb and flow of the players in a millisecond, and had stats no one on this planet had expected. He was a god of football. And I was all about football.
Didn’t hurt that he was also drop-dead gorgeous. Dark, wavy hair. Eyes that changed colors with his mood and his clothes. Dimpled smile. Attitude. So much of it. So, when he’d asked me out, I hadn’t even hesitated to say yes on the condition no one could know. He’d accepted.
Dad snorted.
“What was that for?” I asked, eyeballing him over my cards.
“Just because you didn’t want me to know, didn’t mean I couldn’t see what was going on. Besides, Murray and Kelly spilled the beans ages ago.”
That rankled my nerves. Ty’s teammates, Murray and Kelly, didn’t know shit for a fact. I’d heard the mumbled rumors about Ty and me as well as anyone. But, other than Bess, no one had actually caught us.
Dad winked at me, but that just flamed my already irritated mood into full-on nasty.
“Murray and Kelly are two of the stupidest players on your team. You really going to take anything they say as the truth?”
“Let’s just play,” Mom said, because she could feel my tension even if Dad was purposely ignoring it.
Dad put his cards down and crossed his arms across his chest in a manner that only reminded me more of Ty. “Maleena, I may be your father, I may be as old as a tin can, and I may have my head up football’s ass ninety-nine percent of the time, but even I can see the way the two of you make goo-goo eyes at each other.”
“Goo-goo eyes?” I snapped back.
He laughed.
I didn’t know who I was more pissed at: Ty, Dad, or myself. Ty for trying to change our terms, Dad for making fun of me, and myself for being in this stupid mess to begin with. And because I was angry, the words slipped out before I could stop them. “Well, I guess you don’t see everything, because he’s leaving you. He’s joining the draft.”
As soon as I said it, I regretted it. I saw the hurt flit across his face as he registered my words, and I knew it would hurt Ty, too. He’d wanted to tell my dad in person. He knew my dad had put his heart and soul into him, and now he was abandoning ship. He cared about my dad as much as my dad cared about him.
“He’s what?” Dad’s growl was barely contained.
I looked down at the cards and then threw them on the table. “He’s declaring.”
Part of me couldn’t blame Ty. Not only had our defensive line sucked this year, but our offensive line was all seniors, and the crew coming up behind them weren’t that hot. Ty was worried his stats would take a hit that would impact his draft spot if next season was as shitty as we both suspected it would be. Dropping out of college now and declaring he was entering the pro football draft was a smart play even if it was life-changing for all of us.
“I knew he was invited. He’s been invited every year,” Dad said with a sigh. “He’s really considering it?”
I didn’t have to answer.
Dad’s cards joined mine on the table, and he went to the liquor cabinet. He poured himself a drink, downed it, and then poured another. “You think there’s any chance I can convince him to stay?”
I shook my head.
“Any chance you can convince him to stay?” Dad asked.
“Me? No.”
“But you could…you know…use your feminine wiles on him.”
“Walter!” Mom exclaimed.
“I’m not saying to have sex with him, Carla. Maleena is the only one who’s ever been able to talk sense into him. He’s like a rock nailed to a mountain.”
Bess busted out laughing, throwing herself back on the couch and holding her stomach. I tried to frown at her, but her giggles were too much for me.