Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Royce
My heart jackhammers in my chest. I had never seen someone look so disappointed in me than the girl that just knocked into my shoulder. Nora dashed after her, but not before flipping me off.
Fuck.
Running my hand around the back of my head, I give my neck a squeeze and ignore the way the tension spreads across my shoulders. Slumping on the bed, I drag the drawer open and reach for three tennis balls, throwing them against the wall, one after the other.
I knew Athena was coming, knew she was going to piss me off at the same time. Annoyingly, she felt like a babysitter, and I knew the truth, knew she wasn’t and that she was here for work, but still, it didn’t sit right with me.
I properly messed up there. Not ideal, at all.
Scrubbing my face, I twist by body and tilt my head as I stare out the door, tongue pushed into my cheek. I should have followed, that was the right thing to do, yet I stayed grounded. Sighing I let my eyes lazily trail back to the wall as I begin to throw the tennis balls once more.
My phone begins to ring, and I don’t even have to look at the caller ID to know who it is. Slipping it out my pocket, I press answer and bring it to my ear.
“Do you think there is any way that at some point in your life you’re not a complete idiot?” My dad’s tone is harsh, gravelly, and I shake my head.
“Sorry,” I mutter, the sound of the ball hitting the wall filling the room again
“You don’t have to apologise to me, Royce. You fucked up, again. You knew Athena was coming, you knew the deal and yet…” He trails off and I hear the sound of a heavy sigh pass his lips. “I can’t keep having the same conversation with you.” He sounds defeated.
I hold onto the ball, staring straight ahead. I hate that he sounds like that.
“What do you want me to do?” Sincerity laces my voice as I wait for instructions.
“I just want you to behave. You wouldn’t get away with this anywhere else.”
He is right, I know he is. I do push the boundaries more than I should, but I think it’s because I know deep down, he won’t do anything about it.
“Okay,” I mutter quietly.
“Thank you,” he forces out before the phone line goes dead.
Dropping my phone to the bed, I rest my head against the wall and slowly avert my gaze towards the door, weighing up my options. After a few moments pondering over what I should do, I push from the bed and storm from the room, closing the door behind me.
I have no idea where they would have gone, but my first bet is Nora’s office, if not hers then Ana?s’s.
I don’t talk to anyone as I make my way to her office.
I stop just outside the door and try and work out what I am going to say to make it right.
Sorry seems like the right word, but is sorry enough?
I am a douche bag, I know that. It’s not like I do it on purpose… it just kind of happens.
Messing my dark hair up, I knock on the door and wait a moment or two for her to call me in, but nothing comes. I knock again, this time a little louder and still nothing.
Furrowing my brow, I look up and down the hallway then trudge my way towards Ana?s’s office. I’m met with another silenced knock and frustration bites at the base of my neck, annoyance flickering against my skin.
Tugging at the root of my hair, I make my way to my dad’s office, hoping he can give me a clue where they may be hiding. I walk straight into his office. His eyes lift from his screen.
“Royce?” He looks surprised to see me.
“Where’s Nora and…”
“Athena,” he finishes my sentence.
“Yeah.”
“They left about twenty minutes ago. I told them to take the rest of the day off.”
“Do you think they’re back at the hotel?”
He just shrugs.
“Call Ana?s and ask her for me.”
I watch as a smile creeps onto his lips before he sits back in his office chair, fingers linked and hands buried in his lap. “No can do, son.” A soft chuckle escapes, his shoulders rising and I speak to doorfalling.
“Why?”
“You fucked up, so now it’s you that needs to fix it.”
“But—”
“No buts. You upset the apple cart, and you need to make it right.”
“I didn’t even do anything.” I kick the toe of my trainer into the floor of his office.
“You did.” His green eyes burn into me.
“Whatever.” I sulk and walk out of the room as I pull my phone out and dial Nora’s number.
She doesn’t answer. Of course she doesn’t. I try again and get the same voicemail message. Calling Ana?s, I’m met with the same outcome.
Bringing my fist to my lips, I close my eyes and try and calm myself down. I’m not even involved with either of these romantically and yet these two women like to make my life hell. I try Ana?s again and she gives me the fuck off button right away.
Walking out the paddock, a few confused looks meet my gaze, but I ignore them as I climb into my car and make my way to the hotel. If they’re not here, then, well, fuck knows where they are.
When I pull up outside the lavish hotel, the valet takes my keys, and I bung him some notes as a thanks. Walking into the lobby, phones are held up in my direction. Head down, I head to the main desk and ask for Nora’s room number.
After a lot of persuading, the woman behind the front desk slides it across on a piece of paper. Giving it a quick glance, I walk to the lift and wait not so patiently for it to ride to the ground floor.
Stepping inside, I push the floor I need. Within seconds, the doors ping open and I am out and striding towards her room. Three bangs on the door later, and after what feels like a lifetime waiting, she swings the door open, eyes all wide as she stares at me.
“What do you want?” Her expression is bored, fingers curled around the door as she keeps it tight to her body.
“I fucked up.”
“Yup.” She sighs. “That should be your tag line.”
I roll my eyes. Harsh.
“Not lying.” She lifts her shoulder to her ear, and I can hear the sound of Ana?s behind.
“Can I come in?”
Nora thinks over my question for a minute and then closes the door in my face.
“The fuck?” I speak to the door and step back.
I’m not out here long when Nora swings the door back open. “You may come in.” She steps aside and I side-eye her as I walk into the room.
“You’re weird,” I whisper and she flips me off.
Standing just before the living area, I fold my hands into the pockets of my combats and three sets of eyes bounce between mine. Ana?s clears her throat but my eyes slice to her.
Athena. She sits quiet, eyes burning into mine and my gut twists.
“Look,” I say on an exasperated breath, my hand curled around the back of my neck as I give it a squeeze. Tension is growing at the top of my spine.
“Get to the point,” Nora shouts.
Ana?s laughs, and Athena’s lips twist.
“I’m sorry, okay? Fuck, I was out of line, I shouldn’t have said you were a geek.”
Athena raises a brow. “Actually, I think it was a stuffy geek,” she corrects me and I drop my face, shaking my head. “But anyway, apology accepted.”
Lifting my eyes to her, I give her a weak smile.
“Don’t think you can pull shit like that again. I’m not some walkover.” She purses her lips and Nora and Ana?s are clapping and cheering.
“There is something wrong with you two.” I laugh, the tension in my shoulders is slowly dispersing. “Could I maybe take you for coffee, or lunch…” I trail off, running my hand under my chin.
“Tomorrow?” Athena asks.
I look to Nora.
“This weekend is pretty clear, so get all your socialising out of the way now because you’re going to be a busy boy, Royce Lexington.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I smirk, then avert my attention back to Athena.
“Tomorrow then, pick me up at noon?” she asks me.
Ana?s and Nora sit there like proud parents. I don’t get them. They’re thick as thieves. Best of friends. Yet they open their arms to any newcomer and make them feel at home.
“Okay, it’s a date.” Panic wraps around my throat, my skin pricking with sweat as I laugh nervously.
“Not a date, like that.” I chuckle again and they all just stare at me.
“Not that I wouldn’t want to date you, but I mean, it’s just not a date, date.
” I hook my finger in the thick neck of my tee and pull it from my neck. “I’m just gonna…”
I trail off and flick my eyes back to Athena. Her curly black hair is in a loose bun, strands framing her heart shape face, amber eyes glued to mine. Her cheeks are pretty pink. I’ve embarrassed her. Fuck.
I turn on my heel and bolt out of there like a bat out of hell feeling like a complete wanker. Dug my own hole, again. Fuck’s sake.
Slamming their hotel room door, I pace down the hallway and call Dane, my personal trainer; I need out. Need to occupy my brain and stop thinking about Athena and how I just royally fucked that up.
I’m sitting in the sauna after a brutal work out, and Dane keeps eyeing me.
“Stop looking at me,” I grunt, my eyes firmly closed.
“I’m not,” he lies.
“I can feel you looking at me.”
“Your Spidey senses are well off,” he quips and my lips break into a smile. “Feel better?” he asks after a beat or two of silence.
“Think so.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the truth, either.
I feel an ache in my gut. I disappointed all of those women in that room and I didn’t like that. I am an asshole at times, more so towards the team and racing, but never to Nora and Ana?s. They copped it when I made that stupid comment about Athena.
It was cruel, and I’m not cruel. Not really.
“Wanna talk about it?”
I sigh, my breath vibrating in my chest. “It’s not even a big deal; I just made an off the cuff comment about the girl that is shadowing me.”
“Girl?”
“Woman.” I screw my face up as I look at him, tutting.
“What comment?”
I know what he is thinking. “Nothing like that.” I hold my hands up. “I called her a geek, a stuffy geek. I had the hump, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I didn’t mean it. Just feels like an ulterior motive, y’know?” I scrub my face; I was too hot.
“Like you’re being watched.”
“Yes, like she has been hired by the team to make sure I behave.”
He chuckles.