a/n: What... constitutes a mature-rated Wattpad book... asking for a friend... 😳
Lennie and Joanna collided in the water. Jamie cursed as splashing ensued, and in the turmoil, the guys with them were made aware of the fight and gathered round to cheer Lennie on. Among them, though, came Dylan Cox, who lumbered in just as Joanna shoved Lennie into the opposite wall of the river, where fake plant vines covered hard, concrete bricks.
"Dude, what the fuck is happening?" Dylan said, clapping Jamie on the shoulder.
"Joanna pushed Lennie in, and now they're fighting," Jamie said, still in shock.
Rosalie turned to Dylan as the shouting only grew louder, echoing through the pool room. "Do you think you can separate them? Joanna can't get hurt and if she's caught picking a fight—"
"Say no more, princess," Dylan said.
He grabbed the hem of his shirt and ripped it over his head. He chucked it at the girls' table and, in all his hulking glory, jumped into the waves kicked up by Joanna when Lennie dunked her head underwater.
Dylan waded through the water, taking slow, long strides over to Lennie. Lennie only saw him the second it was too late, and Dylan grabbed him by the face and pushed him away. As Joanna flung her head up out of the water, sputtering, hair in her face, Dylan let go of Lennie to sweep her up and out of the water.
Joanna shrieked, "Unhand me, foul beast!"
"Relax, it's just me," Dylan huffed, pushing her unceremoniously onto the concrete.
Thus concluded the end of the fight, and Dylan proceeded to shoo the guys away from the crime scene, only to be interrupted by a lifeguard who approached during the scuffle.
"Everything's fine here. I got it taken care of," Dylan promised the guy. Before the lifeguard could object, Dylan held out his hand, and they shook on it. Rosalie suspected it had something to do with both of their hulking muscles.
By the time Lennie approached the ledge, Rosalie had already walked off. She didn't bother to stick around as Jamie-Lee helped Lennie out of the pool, and Joanna watched after her from her spot on the ground, arms around her knees.
What is with people muscling off around me? Rosalie thought, and decided it must be the curse that came with senior year.
***
"You guys could stay longer if you want. I think the Lions and guys are hanging out at the pool until three," Rosalie said as she stood in the elevator with Sami and Isaiah. It was clear, though, that three hours of pool time and hiding Ray was enough for them.
Sami stretched his arms over his head with a low groan before dropping his hands and sighing. "Nah, I'm beat. You guys have fun without us, though. We'll probably be around for breakfast," he said.
Rosalie agreed to it, smiling to herself as they stepped out into the lobby. Isaiah had his swim trunks back on, and those, paired with sneakers and the bitter cold winter air, foreshadowed a frantic sprint across the street to their hotel. But before they could leave, Rosalie wrapped them both up in a hug and squeezed them tightly.
"Thanks so much for coming," she said, voice muffled against Sami's shoulder.
"Seriously? As if I wouldn't come?" Sami laughed, rustling her chlorinated hair. She tipped her shoulder against him, twisting to his side and leaving Isaiah to pocket his hands in his jacket, a smile on his perfect face.
Rosalie tipped her head against Sami's shoulder and sighed. "We just have to deal with Drew The Shrew and it'll all be over," she said with a sweep of her hand.
"Wait, Drew?" Isaiah said with a light laugh.
Rosalie paused, stilling against Sami, who put his free hand on his chin and said, "Drew... Drew Mendoza?"
Rosalie sprung away from them, and her shock only registered confusion on their faces. Sami continued to look uncertain, as if wondering if there was another Drew on the Eagles' team. Sami turned to Isaiah, squinting his eyes, and Isaiah jumped as if shocked.
"What? I mean, I've told you about Drew. That guy I met over summer break," Isaiah said, and Rosalie didn't miss the way Isaiah's ears flushed.
Sami clapped his hands and cried, "Oh! Oh, that Drew. They came to the River Heights practice meet and you introduced me."
"What? Are you kidding?" Rosalie cried.
"I came to see the Eagles—and, well, the Knights, but Drew and I had a thing over the summer," Isaiah explained. Rosalie put her hands to her face in horror, which stopped Isaiah from going on. Isaiah looked over at Sami, who was now watching Rosalie combust.
Rosalie leant back with a sharp laugh and said, "This is unbelievable. You told Drew about my deal with Joanna!"
"What? I didn't think it was a secret," Isaiah confessed. "Did I—? Did I do something wrong? They asked about what your goalie's deal was."
"I'm so confused," Rosalie moaned, dragging her hands down her face. Here she had believed Joanna's impeccable gay-detector. Isaiah and Drew Mendoza? Surely there was a mistake. She shut her eyes and shook her head, stammering, "I- I thought—Drew isn't—I didn't think Drew had a... you know!"
Isaiah squinted at her, and Sami was no better. Rosalie stared at them desperately, gesturing to her crotch. Isaiah waved his hands in front of him. "Yeah! I mean, no, Drew still has a dick, if that's what you mean. It's a nice one, but that's besides the point. So you met them?"
"How are they allowed on a girls team?"
"They've been on androgen blockers since middle school," Isaiah said. "I mean, the Mendozas aren't exactly affluent, but they were cool about everything. The River Heights coach made a case for them since the boys team didn't want them, but the soccer coaches wanted Drew at their school. I don't know the specifics."
"What did you tell them about Joanna?" Rosalie demanded, stepping towards him. She wanted to shake him by the shirt, but the alarm on his face convinced her that Isaiah had no clue what he caused. "Because Drew threatened us. They threatened Joanna to bench herself before the game."
Sami's eyes widened, and before he could ask more, he looked at Isaiah. Isaiah bit his lip, a pained expression dissolving his earlier confusion. Isaiah glanced at Sami out of the corner of his eye before putting a hand over his forehead and sighing. "I am not still seeing them—romantically or otherwise. We just text sometimes!"
"Yeah, sure," Sami said, turning to Rosalie with a shake of his head. "What's the deal with Drew? How are they planning on benching Joanna?"
Rosalie threw up her arms and said, "If I knew, we wouldn't be having this problem. Something happened in Germany and Drew's digging shit up. This isn't just about the game anymore—I think Joanna and I have a pretty clear shot at getting onto the Seattle Huskies team after the Cougars match."
"Then what is it?"
Rosalie stopped herself from speaking, because at that moment, the elevators opened across the lobby. She turned towards it, and she heard Isaiah curse from beside Sami. Her eyes narrowed at the culprit, at the Eagle standing at the edge of the lobby, their shoulder pressed to the column.
Drew Mendoza watched them with a smile. They lifted a hand in greeting, it was all Rosalie could do to stop herself from chucking her flipflop at them across the lobby. It was like Beetlejuice, but instead of summoning a demon, they summoned the devil.
"Where's your entourage?" Rosalie commented, folding her arms over her chest. She lifted her voice, and it echoed across the atrium and the three floors overhead.
"I heard Thatcher was leaving. The girls like to stick behind when I go see Thatcher. You were just a bonus," Drew said, pushing off of the column. They crossed the tiles, their swimsuit covered by a short, black-silk robe trimmed with purple.
Now that Rosalie knew about what Drew packed on her crotch, she had a difficult time dismissing the signs of effeminate masculinity. She supposed their jaw was more defined—it was on the softer side, but the squarish shape made it obvious. Their legs were strong, chiseled, but then again, what soccer girl's legs weren't that toned? In fact, as Rosalie stared, she realized that Drew probably shaved more than her.
Rosalie frowned down at her own exposed knees as Drew approached, and Isaiah looked like he was about to pass out.
"D-Drew! You've met Sami, right? Yeah, well, we're dating now," Isaiah said, voice squeaky as he looped his arm through Sami's with a plastic smile on his face. Sami rolled his eyes until the moment he met Drew's sharp blue eyes.
Sami cleared his throat as Drew looked Sami up and down. "That explains why you ghosted me at the last swim meet," they commented with a dry edge and a sneer. "Whatever. Nice to see you again, Griffin."
"Uh, yeah, nice to see you, too," Sami said, and the words dripped with sarcasm. He slid his gaze over to Rosalie, as if to say, "Get a load of this horse shit."
"Now you know how I feel," Rosalie said.
"Oh, please, Joanna's a looker but I'm not into the type that bites," Drew said, pointing a finger at Rosalie.
After assuring that Rosalie had their full attention, they lifted their hand in a half-shrug. "But that's besides the point. In case you were wondering, Joanna doesn't have much threatening evidence, just an extended stay at a psych ward. But who doesn't have a mental breakdown after the SATs and ACTs."
Drew sighed, as if that information was more of a burden than a relief. Rosalie stared at Drew until the words clicked and Sami repeated, "Psych ward?"
Drew rolled their eyes and said, "I'm not about to hold that over a girl's head. Unless, she's could physically harm someone. In that case, I'm not willing to sacrifice my face for a good fistfight." They put a hand to their cheek and shook their head. A tragedy.
Rosalie pictured the markings up Joanna's thighs. She wondered which one put Joanna in a mental institution. She looked up at Sami, horrified, and Sami clasped a hand over his mouth, likely wondering about a similar thing.
Drew took a step back and said, "Oh, you didn't know. I don't know the details. I can't exactly access medical records, but I figured you would know more."
"I don't," Rosalie said through clenched teeth. "But I'd appreciate it if you backed off."
"I'll be sure to do that after I have a chat with Thatcher," they said, and ended it with a wink before reaching for Isaiah's arm. When Drew latched on, Isaiah tried to keep his hold on Sami, muttering under his breath as Drew pulled on him. Sami did nothing to stop them, but Isaiah nearly dragged him along with them when Drew yanked hard enough to send Isaiah shrieking and slipping across the tiles.
Isaiah flopped onto the ground, one arm still trapped in Drew's vice-like grip. They watched as Drew semi-dragged Isaiah across the lobby as Isaiah shouted, "Save me!"
"Get ahold of yourself," Drew hissed through clenched teeth.
Sami and Rosalie watched Isaiah disappear around the corner as Drew dragged him like a bodybag through a crime scene. The woman at the front desk leaned over the countertop to see where they went off to, and then promptly sat back and pretended as though she didn't see a thing that just transpired.
Rosalie looked up at Sami and said, "I should... probably go let Joanna know. So she doesn't keep worrying about... this."
"Yeah, good idea," Sami said, eyebrows pinched together as he tipped his head, watching the space where Isaiah disappeared. "I wonder if I should go after them..."
"Maybe not," Rosalie suggested with a grimace. She could only imagine what they were doing.
"That bitch has my boyfriend though. I won't stand for it," Sami said, and with his resolve decided, he clapped Rosalie on the shoulder and said, "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, good luck," Rosalie said, and couldn't help but smile as Sami jogged off after Drew and Isaiah.
She took the long way back to Bradshaw's floor despite the tightness in her leg muscles from the previous match. She'd have to spend extra time at warmups in the morning, and could only hope that the Eagles were just as sore from their games that day. When she did arrive at her floor, she found the hallway all but flooded with the soccer guys and football players that decided to join the coach bus adventures. Among them stood Dylan and, to Rosalie's surprise, Ashton Harwood.
Ashton clapped Rosalie on the back as she passed and congratulated her on the wins. She smiled faintly, still struggling to wrap her mind around the fact that the football team knew who she even was. Sure, captains were always slightly more high-profile than other members of the team, but Rosalie kept her head down until Joanna showed up and started her reign of terror.
When Rosalie approached them, the conversation momentarily ceased so Rosalie could remind the girls that it was lights out in twenty minutes.
Her room was closed, and she could only imagine why. Lennie Pittmen wasn't far off, and with him came Jamie, which meant that a handful of Adam guys were around mingling with Bradshaw blood. It was chaos, really, and in the noise, Rosalie stepped into the open door to Brynn, Lu, and Joanna's room.
The main room was empty, but when she peered into the bathroom, she found a tuft of red hair visible in the bathtub, and a leg thrown over the ledge.
Rosalie snuck inside and closed the bathroom door behind her. The sound of the door clicking shut prompted Joanna's head to lift up from the tiled wall, leaning over to see Rosalie standing there, her fingers behind her on the door handle.
"Mind if I come in?" Rosalie whispered.
"Yeah, sure," Joanna said, equally as quiet.
Joanna trailed her light brown eyes after Rosalie, holding her gaze as she crouched next to the tub. Joanna swung her leg off of the edge and straightened up, which gave Rosalie room to hook her arm over the tub ledge and put her chin against it.
Joanna glanced back at the door and then again at Rosalie, raising her eyebrows. "Why are we whispering?" she said, still hushed.
"No reason," Rosalie said, laughing. "There's just a lot of people outside your door."
"Uh, yeah, Brynn's pretty popular with the underclassmen guys," Joanna said, and as Rosalie laughed, Joanna let a slow grin slide onto her face. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I just had a run-in with Drew. I think they're backing off—for now, anyway," she said with a roll of her eyes. She could only imagine how much Drew really wanted to know the details of Joanna's stay at a psych ward. Rosalie couldn't blame them—it was an intriguing story, and would likely be the subject of much gossip at Bradshaw if word got out. Considering who spilled the details of her deal with Joanna, Rosalie could only hope that Isaiah kept his mouth shut this time.
Joanna scoffed and leant back in the tub, throwing her arms out over the sides. "Lucky I guess. Would have been more of a problem if the skank from Georgia was here. Clearly she isn't so... there goes that theory," she said with a tsk of her tongue, trailing her fingers along the edge of the tub as she went.
Rosalie stood up then. Joanna looked up from where she had been staring at her sweatpants, and she watched as Rosalie climbed into the tub and sat across from Joanna. Rosalie settled in with her back against the corner, the faucet at her shoulder. Before she could get too comfortable, she sucked in a deep breath and leant over her knees, meeting Joanna's gaze.
"Drew might have said something, though," she confessed. "They said you were in a psych ward. What happened?"
Joanna stared at her until a grimace fell onto her lips and she looked away with a scoff. "I lost my shit. Why else would I be there? It wasn't voluntary," she said.
"I just want to know why you lost your shit. Or how, I guess," Rosalie confessed. She looked down at her flip-flops and sighed. "But it's personal. So if you don't want to say it, then don't."
"Suicide." When the word left Joanna's lips, Rosalie brought her eyes up again, wide with the horror she hoped Joanna would have disproved. It was what both Rosalie and Sami had thought, she knew that much, but seeing Joanna's stoic expression gave Rosalie the answers she needed. Joanna wasn't kidding. "Is that what you wanted to hear?" Joanna asked.
"No, but I guess I suspected it," she confessed, voice almost too soft to hear.
"So you believe that?" Joanna said, and the comment had Rosalie second-guessing herself. She second-guessed what she knew about Joanna's mannerisms, and wondered if it was possible for Joanna to lie without that devilish grin on her face. Joanna laughed a little, looking towards the sinks.
Rosalie said nothing.
"I have a question for you," Joanna said. She leant forward, mimicking Rosalie's posture. She met Rosalie's eyes and said, "Do you think what Lennie said is true?"
"That you're manipulative?" Rosalie asked.
"Yeah."
"Maybe. But being manipulative means there's a power imbalance," Rosalie said. Joanna frowned at her, and so she went on. "I don't think you have any more control over me than I do over you."
Joanna's gaze flitted between Rosalie's eyes, searching for something that was left unsaid. She leant forward, tipping her knees to the side as she clasped onto either side of the tub. She tipped her head to the side and whispered, "And you're okay with that? With the way we're doing this?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't have agreed if I couldn't handle it," Rosalie said.
"You have a lot of self-confidence, Killer."
"You're one to talk."
"I'm not always so confident."
"Could've fooled me." The words turned hot. Rosalie's breath fell on Joanna's face, and with the proximity, she felt her heart beating heavily in her throat where she swallowed down the fluttering sensation lifting in the pit of her stomach.
Joanna's breath was fruity, like bubblegum, but her hair was still scented with chlorine as she touched a hand to the side of Rosalie's face. Rosalie tipped her head back, just a touch, her mouth falling open as she noted the flutter of Joanna's eyelids, her gaze drifting to Rosalie's lips.
When Joanna leant forward, Rosalie did the same, only for her lips to brush Joanna's cheek.
Joanna laid her lips on Rosalie's cheekbone. The cool metal from her septum piercing tapped the corner of Rosalie's closed eye before Joanna dragged her lips to Rosalie's ear. Rosalie shuddered when she heard Joanna's breath so close, and could feel the print of Joanna's lips on her skin.
Joanna curled her fingers in Rosalie's hair, holding it back from her ear as she whispered, "Not in a hotel tub."
a/n: Dylan Cox and the lifeguard: