Baller (Heritage Bay Series Book 5) Read online

  “What are you doing here?” Vanessa hollered.

  “I came to meet Kennedy and Katie.” The blonde pointed past the crowded dance floor. Vanessa and I followed her line of sight to see two girls waving from a booth one level above the dance floor.

  Vanessa waved back, then looked at me apologetically. “They’re my best friends. Do you mind if we go say hi?”

  I grinned. “Introduce me to your friends, Freckles.”

  Vanessa locked arms with the blonde. “This is my best friend, Gabbi. Gabbi, this is Liam.”

  Gabbi smiled and held out her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  I raised my brows. “Finally?”

  Vanessa bumped her shoulder against her friend’s, and they both grinned.

  “Come on,” Gabbi said, leading the way to where their other two friends waited.

  Vanessa’s friends greeted her with a less abrasive hug than Gabbi, and then she introduced me. Kennedy was the tallest of the four with long wavy blonde hair. Katie had long straight black hair and the brightest eyes I’d ever seen in my life. Not gonna lie, the girl was stunning, but she also reminded me of my sister. Vanessa had attractive friends, and I could only imagine the attention they drew when the four of them were all out together.

  The girls moved over to the booth, and I propped my ass on the end next to Vanessa.

  “Oh my God, V, Brian flipped the fuck out when he realized you left.” This came from Kennedy.

  “I stopped giving a shit about Brian’s feelings the second he put his mouth on Bertie’s.” Vanessa shuddered beside me.

  “Vanessa can do better,” I added.

  “Clearly.” Katie laughed, her eyes darting between Vanessa and me, and I smirked.

  “I agree,” Gabbi chimed in.

  “But…,” Vanessa drawled.

  Kennedy bugged her eyes out at Vanessa. “You just left.”

  I turned to her. “You said you kicked him to the curb.”

  Vanessa shrugged. “I did.”

  “She didn’t bother to tell him,” Kennedy said. “He had no idea why.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “The whole point of breaking up is confronting the person for hurting you. You can’t just leave and expect them to figure it out. You said you’ve known the kid for a long time. I think you owe him a proper kick to the curb.” I chuckled.

  “Now’s her chance. Incoming,” Katie announced.

  I twisted to look over my shoulder and saw a tall, good-looking kid with dirty-blond hair heading in our direction.

  Turning back to the table, I asked, “Is he gonna be a problem?”

  Gabbi laughed. “Brian is all bark. Trust me, Vanessa can handle him.”

  The table fell silent as Brian approached, the expression on his face a mixture of frustration and… heartbreak? “Vanessa, can I talk to you?”

  Vanessa huffed loudly to express her annoyance.

  I stood from the booth and stared down at Brian with my arms crossed. He wasn’t a small dude, but I was much more intimidating. It only took a second to see the flash of recognition in his eyes. Everyone in Heritage Bay and the surrounding towns knew who I was.

  “Go talk to him, Vanessa,” I said, keeping my eyes on Brian.

  “Fine.” She literally fucking growled the word as she slid from the booth and stormed off, not waiting for Brian.

  Chuckling, I sat back down. “I had no idea she was so stubborn.” I honestly didn’t think there was anyone more stubborn than a Mackenzie, namely my sister. She was the most stubborn female I’d ever encountered in my twenty-two years.

  A collective round of laughs rolled around the table. “You have no idea,” Gabbi said. “That girl is as stubborn as they come. Once she makes up her mind, that’s it.” Katie and Kennedy both raised their brows and hummed in agreement. “I’m really not surprised she ditched Brian tonight without a word. That’s what she does. When the going gets tough, Vanessa gets going.”

  “Maybe she just doesn’t like confrontation,” I countered.

  “That’s the understatement of the year,” Kennedy said.

  “Look, Vanessa is our best friend and we love her, but she never deals with her shit. She just brushes it off and moves on, pretending as if nothing ever happened. That can’t be healthy.”

  “Have you told her how you feel?” I asked.

  Gabbi snorted. “All the time.”

  “Don’t ever doubt our loyalty to Vanessa,” Kennedy interjected, gesturing to herself and her friends. “This is more than friendship. We’re sisters. We love each other unconditionally.”

  “We’re not talking shit about our friend,” Katie added. “This is us warning you. Vanessa cares about you. If you care about her, don’t screw her over. She’ll never forgive you.”

  “And neither will we,” Kennedy finished.

  It was good to know that Vanessa had friends who truly cared and wanted to protect her. I could’ve professed my true feelings to them, but I figured Vanessa deserved to know first. So instead I nodded and said, “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  Vanessa came back to the table, her blank expression giving nothing away. I stood and curled an arm around her waist, pulling her body flush to mine.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yes.” She nodded against my chest before pulling back to look up at me. “You were right, I should’ve confronted him. He apologized for sucking face with my enemy. I told him to kiss my ass and gave him a proper kick to the curb. It feels good to get that off my chest.” She threw me a shit-eating grin.

  Her friends scoffed.

  I couldn’t help it. Despite her friends’ disapproval, I threw my head back and laughed.

  My beautiful savage.

  Vanessa slapped my chest playfully. “You owe me a dance, Baller.”

  “Prom 2.0 continues.” I took her hand and started for the dance floor.

  Vanessa turned to her friends. “Watch my purse, and don’t touch my flowers.”

  VANESSA

  T-Pain’s electronic voice poured from the sound system as Liam led me onto the dance floor. He moved behind me, his front pressed to my back. His hands gripped my waist as we rolled our hips to the beat of Jesse McCartney’s “Body Language.” Closing my eyes, I sighed and melted into him. I still couldn’t believe the guy I’d secretly been in love with all these years was here with me. Other than the whole Brian situation, the night had been nothing short of perfect.

  Liam was perfect.

  His hands slid from my hips until his arms were completely wrapped around me. Desire coiled in my lower belly as his hard body pressed against me. I lifted an arm and curled it around the back of his neck. He dipped his head, pressing a kiss to my neck just below my ear, and I had to fight back a moan.

  Liam chucked softly in my ear and my eyes popped open. As the room came into focus, my gaze landed on Brian grinding on Bertie. Gag.

  “Someone’s trying to make you jealous,” Liam murmured into my ear.

  Turning in his arms, I pressed my body against his, hands propped on his shoulders. I looked up into his beautiful green eyes. “He’s wasting his time.”

  He dipped his head, and I parted my lips just as his mouth covered mine, his tongue teasing, plying for entrance. It wasn’t a deep kiss but a promise of more to come. My fingers curled into his T-shirt. I wanted more.

  Pulling back, he pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose. “You want to leave?”

  Breathless, I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and nodded. “I’m ready for the after-party.”

  Liam blinked, his expression turning serious. “Vanessa.” The way he said my name was almost a warning as his eyes flicked over mine.

  Did he really think he could give me this perfect night and then just drop me off at home? The kissing. The touching. He introduced me to his family. He told the bouncer I was his girl. I introduced him to my friends. Shit. Did I misread this entire night? Is this just a typical night out for Liam Mackenzie?

  “Get out of your he
ad, Vanessa.” His voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I blinked rapidly before looking at him. “Are you sure?” he asked, and I nodded again.

  He jerked his chin. “Get your stuff and let’s go.”

  “I like your friends,” Liam said once we were settled back in the car and headed to his place.

  “They’re the best.”

  “You said you and Brian weren’t that serious. Did you really not know that kid was in love with you?”

  I scoffed. “Brian is in love with himself. If he was in love with me, he wouldn’t have kissed someone else or tried to hurt me by draping himself all over Bertie on the dance floor. That’s not love. That’s him trying to fix his wounded ego.” I turned in my seat. “Brian is the captain of the baseball team and the most popular guy at our school. I embarrassed him in front of our entire senior class by ditching him. I know it was wrong and probably immature on my part, but he deserved it. My friends think because I don’t freak out or cause a scene that I’m not normal, that I’m okay with being treated like shit.”

  I exhaled with a humorless laugh. “I’m not an overly emotional person, but that doesn’t mean my feelings don’t get hurt. I’m not a doormat. I just don’t care for drama. I’m Coach Abbott’s daughter. My behavior reflects on my dad, and I would never do anything to embarrass him or myself. Kennedy’s dad is a judge. She, out of all my friends, should understand. Dad says if someone doesn’t consider my feelings important, then they’re not worth my time. Brian didn’t care about my feelings when he made a conscious decision to disappear for half an hour to make out with Bertie. He knew how I felt about her. He’s the reason we’re no longer friends.”

  Liam rolled to a stop outside a set of tall iron gates. While waiting for them to open, he looked over at me, perplexed. “You ended your friendship over a guy?”

  “Not exactly.” I shook my head. “I’ll give you the short version. In ninth grade, Brian asked me to the school dance, and I said yes. We were together for six months after that, and in high school, six months is a big deal.” I lifted a shoulder. “Then one day after school, he just walked up to me and said he wanted to break up. He didn’t pull me aside to do it privately. No, he dumped me right in front of my friends and whoever else happened to be walking by at the time. He totally caught me off guard. Of course, I was devastated. I’d never had my heart broken before, but I was sure he’d just broken it. I wanted to cry, but he didn’t deserve my tears. Clearly he didn’t care about my feelings if he dumped me in front of our classmates. So I took deep breath and said, ‘Okay.’ Maybe he was expecting a different reaction—like dropping to my knees and begging him not to dump me—because he stood there for a solid thirty seconds just staring at me before he finally said, ‘Okay,’ then walked off. The next day, he came into school holding hands with Bertie. My friendship with her was already rocky at best, but after that, I was done with her. They broke up two weeks later, and guess whose door he came to? My dad told him to get lost.” I laughed. “He tried for two more years to get me back, and I refused. Senior year he was relentless. I figured if he was still trying to get back with me, maybe he really did like me. Then he goes and kisses Bertie, almost ruining my prom night. Screw him. They can have each other. I truly do not care.”

  He pulled into the driveway and parked in front of a massive two-story home before turning off the ignition.

  “I should’ve knocked him on his ass when I had the chance,” Liam growled as he shoved open the driver door and climbed out. Rounding the front of the car, he came to my side and helped me out. “I hated that you were with him.”

  My lips pulled to the side. “Were you jealous?”

  “Very.” He grabbed my hand and led me down a walkway that ran along the side of the house. “We’ll talk about it inside.”

  LIAM

  I was never one for head games. I knew plenty of guys like Vanessa’s ex back in high school and college. I’d always been honest and upfront about what I wanted. I didn’t like that Vanessa was hurt tonight, but Brian’s fuckup pushed her right into my arms where she belonged.

  I opened the door to the pool house and gestured for Vanessa to go in first. Dim light illuminated the area from the pendants hanging over the small island in the kitchen. The place was clean, which meant the refrigerator was also stocked. Thank fuck.

  I moved over to the counter to empty my pockets and plug in my cell.

  “Can I put these in water?” Vanessa held up the flowers. I was surprised there were any left on the stems.

  “I seriously doubt water is going to save them at this point.” I laughed.

  She hugged them to her chest. “Well, I don’t want to throw them out.”

  “Leave them on the counter and I’ll figure something out. You want something to drink?”

  “Maybe later.” She bent at the waist and removed her heels, then set them by the door. “Can I use your shower?”

  “Sure. Let me get you something to change into.” I led her into my bedroom, once again thankful the cleaning lady had been here. Grabbing a T-shirt and pair of boxer briefs from the dresser, I held them out to her. When she reached for them, I grabbed her by the hand, tugged her to my chest, and then pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “The shower is in there.” I jerked my chin toward the door behind her.

  “Thanks. I’ll be quick.” She turned away, and I swatted her playfully on the ass.

  “Take your time.”

  While Vanessa was in the shower, I went back to the kitchen. Grabbing a pair of scissors from the drawer, I cut the stems off the flowers and threw them in the trash then put the flowers in a ziplock baggie and set them in the refrigerator.

  A few minutes later, Vanessa walked into the kitchen freshly showered and makeup free, with her wet hair piled on top of her head. She draped her dress over the back of the barstool and shoved her panties into her little purse.

  “You smell like me.” I grinned, soaking in the sight of her standing in my space and wearing my shirt. “And you look very sexy in my T-shirt.”

  Her cheeks heated as she moved past me to open the fridge. “It feels good to be out of that dress and those heels.” She pulled out a bottled water and held it up. “You want one?”

  “Sure.” She passed me the bottle, then pulled out one for herself. Turning from the fridge, she asked, “Are those my flowers?”

  “Yeah.” I grinned as I twisted the cap off the bottle and chugged it before tossing it in the recycle bin. “I’m gonna jump in the shower. If you want anything to eat, there’s stuff in the fridge to make a sandwich and snacks in the pantry.”

  “I’m fine.” She waved me off.

  I stepped out of the shower, dried off, and then fastened the towel around my waist. I walked into my bedroom to find Vanessa in my bed playing with her phone. Her back was against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of her with her feet crossed at the ankles.

  “You look comfortable.” She looked like she belonged there. I knew what she was doing—what she wanted—but it wasn’t going to happen until we talked first. I wanted nothing more than to be inside her, but I had to take it slow.

  Vanessa lifted her gaze from her phone and flashed me an innocent smile. “This bed is pretty comfortable.”

  Shaking my head, I moved to sit on the edge, leaning with one hand flat on the mattress and my other hand on her bare thigh. “We need to talk.”

  “About?” she drawled.

  I moved my hand back and forth, caressing her soft skin. “I more than care about you. I have for a very long time.” I slid my hand farther up her thigh under the T-shirt only to be met with more skin. Vanessa inhaled sharply, and I raised my brows. “I’m pretty sure I gave you a pair of boxers.”

  “You did.” She winked. “I put them back in your drawer.”

  “Vanessa,” I groaned, dropping my head forward. “I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

  “Liam, please just let me say this.” She leaned forward and cupped my face, her hazel eyes
flicking between mine. “I more than care about you, too. I think there’s always been something between us from the very beginning. I knew I was too young for you then, but now? I’m almost nineteen. Now I’m ready. I know the draft is coming up and you’ll have to go. I want this with you. Even if it’s just for tonight.” She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against my lips.

  I pulled back slightly. “Can I ask you something?”

  “What?”

  “What if you hadn’t caught Brian kissing your friend?”

  Her eyes flashed with annoyance. “First of all, Bertie is not my friend, and second, if you’re asking me if I’d be having sex with Brian right now, the answer is no. Brian and I messed around, but we’ve never had sex. I’m—” She bit down on the inside of her lip.

  “A virgin,” I finished. I figured she might be, and that made me happy.

  She’s mine.

  “Yeah,” she said softly. “Brian wanted to. But I wanted my first time to be with the person who owns my heart.”

  And I’m hers.

  Standing from the bed, I pulled the towel from my waist and tossed it on the floor. Vanessa’s gaze went straight to my dick as she grabbed the hem of the T-shirt, lifted it over her head, and tossed it on the floor next to my towel. She slid down on the mattress until her head was resting on the pillow, her thick hair fanned around her face. She looked up at me expectantly with those innocent hazel eyes. I let my gaze trail over her naked body, from her round, perky tits down to the small patch of hair between her legs. She was perfect. All the blood in my body rushed straight to my dick, making me painfully hard. I wrapped my hand around my cock and gave it a warning squeeze to calm the fuck down or we’d be done before we even started.

  “What did you mean by messed around?” I asked as I climbed on top of her and settled between her legs.

  “We did other stuff.”

  “What kind of stuff?” I pressed a kiss between her breasts and she shuddered.

  “The basic stuff. Third base.”

  “Like this?” I dipped my head, sucking a nipple into my mouth.