"Really, Samantha. Can you dry off a bit before coming inside after your runs?"
I gritted my teeth and wanted to go right back for another run.
She came from one of the side rooms dressed in a yellow dress and a white sunhat. Her make-up was done flawlessly with bright red lipstick. Pink lipstick had been her favorite until a month ago.
She stopped in front of me and her hands perched on her hips. "David called me last night. We came back earlier because of it. What were you thinking, honey?"
I knew my eyes were either heated or they looked dead. It was one or the other because both emotions twisted inside of me. "You're a calculated woman. Figure it out."
"Sam—" She started to follow when I went up the stairs, but James' voice pulled her back.
"Analise?" he called from the hallway.
She sighed with a dark frown, but went to him.
I hurried upstairs and got ready for Becky's. Thirty minutes later and I was back out the door. It was a welcoming feeling with the mansion in my rearview mirror and when I went inside of Becky's house, the two places contrasted sharply. One was homey and welcoming and the other had a stranger's coldness.
An older woman, probably in her mid-forties, welcomed me at the door. Her dark brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail and freckles covered her face. It made her look tanned and healthy as her eyes sparkled in warmth. "You must be Samantha. Rebecca has told me so much about you."
"Yeah…"
She gestured inside. "Come in, come in. I'm Laura, her mother."
"Sam!" Becky hollered from somewhere inside. "Tell her to come out here, mom."
Laura patted me on the back. "Make yourself at home. Pretend this is your home from now on. Everyone's in the backyard. I was grabbing some fruit platters on my way back."
"Do you want some help?" I watched as she started to lift two giant silver trays of meat and fruit.
"Oh, no. Go and have fun. We're not going to get these nice summer days for long."
"Hi, Sam!" Becky waved from a small pool in her backyard. The raft slipped from underneath her and she screamed as she fell into the water.
Adam shook his head and came over with a can of soda. He had a lopsided grin on and sunglasses in place, dressed in only red swim trunks. "She can never stay on those things on a sober day."
I took the can from him. "She's drinking?"
"Wine coolers, nothing hard."
"But." I saw Laura at a picnic table where the food had been compiled. Another older lady was with her. She had blonde hair and wore a similar dress like my mother's. Something told me this was Adam's mother. "Her parents are here."
He shrugged and gestured to two recliners by the pool. "They're pretty lax about it. My folks aren't. If my mom saw a beer in my hand, I'd be running killers at five in the morning for a month."
"She doesn't say anything to Becky's parents?"
"They have different parenting styles, but they're old friends. They respect each other."
"Oh." For some reason I felt weird as I sat beside him. Becky came over a moment later with a towel wrapped around her. She perched on the end of my seat and water dripped off of her.
"Did you hear about the Roussou players last night?"
Everything snapped to attention in me, but I drawled out, "What do you mean?"
She leaned forward with an eager grin. "I heard the Kades went there with their friends. They wrecked your dad's car at the Roussou's coach's house and slashed a bunch of their football players' tires. Can you believe that?"
Adam frowned.
"Did your dad say anything?"
I felt Adam watching me, but gave her a casual look. "Oh, no. He didn't say anything about it."
"That's probably cause he won't press charges. Your dad's nice like that, but I would if it were my car. I can't believe they did that. I wish they played for our team. We'd go to state for sure."
Laura called out, "Rebecca, go and get your brothers from the basement."
She frowned and stood up. "My stupid little brothers." And off she went, muttering under her breath.
"You haven't told her?"
I shot him a look and remembered he knew about my situation. My shoulders stiffened and the chair became uncomfortable to sit on. "It's no one's business."
"She's your friend."
"She's been someone I talk to for the last week. That's all."
"Really?" His eyes mocked me.
"It's none of your business either."
"Except that Coach Strattan's my coach and he's the best coach I've ever met."
"You've only been on his team."
"I do football camps in the summer, Sam. He's the best coach I've met and that's including FC Public's coaches. They got lucky that the Kades didn't go to our school. They didn't develop their talent at all."
I studied him underneath my eyelashes. "You sound a little jealous?"
He grimaced and stood up. "The Kades are some talented sons of bitches, that's all I'm saying. Your dad would've made them better than they are, they might be more respectful too. All they are is rich a-holes right now."
"Sam, Adam." Becky waved us over to the food table. "We need to grab our food first before my little brothers and all their friends get out here. They're like bugs; their saliva will be crawling all over the food."