Chapter 22
Charlotte
"We can't do this," I announce with my stomach churning from anxiety. Logan laughs beside me.
"We didn't come all this way for you to give up now," the blond shoots back, and he's right. Making it all the way to the locker room and not carrying out the revenge plan would make no sense. But it doesn't make me any less nervous.
It all started with a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Ethan and Logan had played, and won by a landslide, against Georgetown the day before and were wiped out.
As for me, I forced myself to take a break from studying, since my vision was already getting blurry.
So we stayed home, ordered Chinese food, and spent almost the whole day on the couch, on a Bones marathon I hadn't rewatched in years.
Even though I appreciated the time of pure relaxation, by late afternoon we were all bored and Logan suggested we play truth or dare. In the very first rounds, I chose dare and Ethan threw out:
"I dare you to get revenge on Johnny." My eyebrows must have reached almost the top of my forehead, that's how surprised I was.
"What do you mean?" I asked, and he shrugged.
"I don't know, but I think after everything he's pulled with you, he deserves worse karma. And you deserve a taste of satisfaction," he justified, looking at me calmly with his dark eyes.
"Agreed," Logan echoed, and I shook my head side to side.
"No... better to leave all of that behind," I started, but deep down in my mind, a mischievous little voice whispered that it would love to pull something on my ex. "I don't even know what I'd do, anyway."
"Come on, I'm sure something creative has crossed your mind at some point," Ethan went on encouraging, and I bit my lower lip, thinking. Logan was watching me expectantly too.
"I... well... I always thought that if I wanted to annoy someone, I'd put glitter on their stuff. Because you can never get rid of it," I admitted the moment the idea came to my head. The guys reacted by breaking into huge smiles.
"Wow, Charlie, that would be diabolical," Logan remarked, and I blushed.
"I think it's perfect," Ethan agreed. "I think you should do it. We can help you get into the locker room to spread it all over his locker."
I bit my lip, genuinely considering pulling something like that on Johnny. He was going to be so pissed... Then again, if there was anyone who deserved it, it was him, after all the cheating he did on me.
Ugh! Just remembering it, anger and hurt rose in my throat. And it was with that feeling that I decided I really did deserve the satisfaction of pulling something on him, at least a little.
"We just need a lot of glitter. Where do you think we'd get that on a Sunday?" Logan asked, and I broke into a big smile at having the perfect solution.
"I know exactly who to ask. Come on, let's go to campus." I got up quickly and held out my hand to the two players, who followed me without a second thought.
And that's how, after stopping by the dorm of Tessa, a senior friend from the arts program, and persuading her to hand over her entire stock of glitter and shimmer, with the promise that we'd replace it all on Monday, we ended up inside the Royals' stadium.
"Okay. And are you two sure there aren't cameras where we passed to get here, right?" I ask suspiciously, looking in every direction.
"I'm sure, this place is basically my second home and I know every little corner. The university only had the budget to put cameras at the public entrances, not the staff ones," Ethan assures, running his hands up and down my arms, which is pretty cute.
Getting in had been really easy, the staff entrance had a gate with a faulty padlock and all you had to do was pull down and it came loose. Logan said basically everyone knew about it, but the administration never remembered to replace it.
"Exactly, Pinkie." Logan uses the nickname he knows annoys me and I roll my eyes. "Now open that locker and have fun."
His words are followed by a little push on my shoulder toward the metal door with Johnny's name.
Okay, he deserves it. He deserves this and a whole lot more.
I take a deep breath and open the biggest jar of glitter. Carefully, I turn the locker's latch and come face to face with a few pieces of clothing, protective gear, a sneaker, deodorant, and some used, barely cleaned razor blades. On top of everything, the locker reeks of sweat and foot funk.
Yuck. I got rid of a pig.
I make a face and with my fingertips pull a few clothes out of the locker, starting to pour glitter on the pieces underneath. I feel the presence of the two players around me, a breath hitting each shoulder, followed by an impressed whistle from Logan.
"Being pink makes everything even better," the blond remarks, laughing, and I can't resist smiling too.
I go on throwing the shimmery powder onto every layer of clothing and gear, especially inside his helmet, and then finish with the sneaker. I end up using the purple and blue glitter jars too.
I step back to admire my art.
"Looks like a unicorn threw up in there," Ethan remarks, laughing.
"Followed by a fairy exploding. I love it," Logan adds, laughing too.
I close the locker carefully and sit on the little stool in the middle of the locker room. I look at my hands covered in shimmer and finally burst out laughing.
I laugh so hard that tears run down my eyes.
"He's going to be sparkling even during games!" I fire off, laughing uncontrollably, and the guys follow me. "This is never going to come out of the helmet!"
"What's the best nickname for him? Sparkles?" Ethan suggests, sitting on the bench next to me.
"Tinker Bell!" Logan opines, and my cheeks start to hurt from laughing so much.
"Miss Sunshine!"
The suggestions keep coming, and while I listen to them and laugh, a sense of relief runs through me. Like this moment was finally the period at the end of everything I had with Johnny. He made a joke of our relationship, and this was my payback.
I was free.
My moment of reflection, however, is interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a door slamming. I look desperately at the guys.
"Is it the security guard?" I whisper, as if it made any difference after my fit of laughter.
"Yes. Don't make any noise," Ethan asks, looking around, definitely thinking of a way out. My heart races with nerves at the idea of getting caught. I never pulled anything like this in school, much less in college.
"If we go out the door, we'll run right into him, our only chance is to squeeze into the janitor's closet over there," Logan whispers, pointing to a door in the back, well past all the lockers. Ethan nods in agreement and pulls me by the hand.
The sound of footsteps and jingling keys seems closer and closer, and I catch myself sweating.
We don't run, since it would make too much noise, but we walk as fast as possible to the door, which luckily is unlocked too, and we slip into the cramped space.
Before Ethan closes the door behind him, I have time to see some shelves full of products and several brooms, squeegees, and buckets together on one side.
When everything goes pitch black, I realize I'm squeezed between the big bodies of the two athletes.
I rest my hands on Ethan's chest, feeling his heart beat against my palm, and I give it my all to ignore the fact that Logan's groin is pressed against my back.
I try to move to see if the situation improves, but soon I feel two hands on my waist, forcing me to stay still.
"Stay quiet or it's going to get worse," Logan whispers against my ear, and I feel my cheeks heat up with embarrassment. Still, I obey the order.
I immediately stop worrying about that when we hear the locker room door open and a male voice echo through the space.
"Is someone there?" the security guard asks, making the sound echo through the room. "Hello?"
My heart is going a mile a minute out of pure nerves.
I feel like a teenager pulling a prank for the first time, and a thousand questions form in my mind.
What happens if he finds us? Will he judge me for being in a cubicle pressed between two guys?
And what if he finds out about Johnny's locker?
Does it count as vandalism? Breaking and entering?
Oh my God, could this get me jail time? I wanted a career in computing, I couldn't have a police record!
And in the middle of this anxiety spiral, the worst thing happens: I get the urge to laugh from nerves. I press one lip against the other, trying to control it with all my strength, but it doesn't help much. At the first little sound that escapes, Ethan goes "shh" at me.
"Sorry, it's the stress," I whisper right into his ear.
"Get it together, he'll leave soon," he gives back, and I nod, forgetting he can't see, and feeling like an idiot.
When the sound of footsteps gets really close, I'm forced to cover my own mouth.
Crap, I was going to ruin everything for all of us.
Ethan pinches me as a reprimand and I feel Logan huff against my neck.
It doesn't help my situation, so I do the only other thing I can think of: I grab Ethan's neck and bring his mouth to mine.
Ethan holds me by the arms, surprised. And what starts with delicate little kisses, to distract me, very quickly becomes a real kiss when his tongue asks for passage into my mouth and I grant it.
Would I ever get tired of this guy's kiss?
It was simply too good and gave me butterflies in my stomach immediately.
As I get up on my tiptoes to reach Ethan's mouth better, my butt rubs against Logan again.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he complains, indignant, and I come back to the real world, ending the kiss. If it weren't so dark, they'd be able to see my face turning into a tomato.
"Sorry, I needed a distraction," I explain, and I can almost hear him roll his eyes. Logan doesn't retort, but his hands go back to my waist and hold firmly as if to say "now stay quiet!"
I obey, and we spend the next few minutes just listening to the night security guard walk through the whole locker room and only then move away.
We wait a few more moments until we're sure he's far enough away, and only then do we leave the tiny storage room and get out of there as fast as possible.