Page 98 of Broken Play
Bodhi spots us and jogs over. "So you're a couple?" he asks, not giving us a chance to respond before continuing. "I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart, Sutty. I didn't treat you the way I should have, and you deserve better than me. I know that now. Take care of her, O'Ryan, or I'll haunt you."
"Thank you." He gives me a curt smile and runs back to welcome all the campers.
"He's in on this, and you just fell for his line—hook, line, and sinker." Greyson's eyes roll back behind his lids. He mutters under his breath, "What's a guy gotta do to make you hate him?"
"Well, we want him at my house when we confront him and Anna, right?"
"Yep, and babe, I love that you're so caring and forgiving, but not over something this outrageous."
Paulina and her friends are bouncing from left to right on their toes in a proper return-of-serve stance as Bodhiinstructs the kids. Then suddenly, it starts. Paulina darts across the court, her laughter mingling with the shouts of the other kids at tennis camp. Bodhi stands at the net, playful and patient, guiding them through drills while wearing the smile of his youth. Is this the real Bodhi? I'm not sure how to reconcile this Bodhi with the Bodhi who abused me and the one who's blackmailing me.
When my brother and Marlon show up, cracking jokes, I wave them over. "That kiss, Mr. O'Ryan. Pure perfection," Marlon says as he hugs me.
"Did I kiss someone? I was just trying to get on the kiss cam," Greyson says as I elbow him. He slings his arm around me, pulling me close and pressing a cotton candy kiss to my lips. "Good, huh?"
"So good. Kiss me again."
And he does, thoroughly. My brother says, "You're drawing attention from the kids."
Greyson and I break apart, our eyes on Paulina.
Bodhi and Anna work well together. He doesn't mind giving her the spotlight, which surprises me. Maybe he's finally grown up. Why am I having these positive thoughts when they both have put me through hell in the last month?
Anna gathers the kids in a circle and says, "Tennis is hard. But if you love it like I do, you'll do whatever it takes to get on the court. Sometimes that means giving up what you love."
Paulina says, "Like ice cream?"
Bodhi and the other instructors chuckle. "Yeah, but you can have treats once in a while, right, Bodhi?"
Bodhi proceeds to tell them how we snuck candy into our dorm rooms, and once they told us we could have it, werealized it made us sick. "Since it was all sugar, we would crash half an hour later. You need to eat for sustained energy."
Trevor, the boy Paulina has googly eyes for, says, "But one candy bar a week is okay?"
"Sure, but that's up to your parents or coach. But my coach let me have it when he realized I would eat less of it if it was allowed. Okay, we'll see you back in two hours. No candy bars. But at the end of the day, I have a treat for you." Bodhi's voice is clear, commanding attention, and more free-spirited than I've seen since we were kids.
When the kids go their separate ways, I walk onto the court and ask Anna and Bodhi to come over for lunch. It's all I can do to pretend I like either of them. It hurts that the people you counted on most could violate your privacy and blackmail you, but I hold it in and paste on a sweet smile. "Where's Francisco?"
"He's here, somewhere."
"Okay, let him know and meet us there. I want you to meet a few people, and I made your favorite chicken salad and picked up some fresh fruit and homemade croissants."
"Please say they're drizzled with cream cheese," Anna says with pleading eyes. How she can act like she hasn't stabbed me in the back and twisted the blade is beyond me. I guess we're both playing the part of besties for the moment.
Greyson, Marlon, Heath, and I quickly head to my house to get ready. We're not confronting anyone until after lunch. I hope Anna chokes on a big piece of fruit. How could she do this to me?
Someone rings the doorbell, and when I go to answer it, they're gone. They do it again, and this time I catch Annaand Bodhi. They're laughing like we used to. "Are you guysding-dong-ditchingme?"
"That was fun. When was the last time we did that?" Bodhi asks as they walk up the steps, with Francisco following them but without a smile.
After hugging everyone, I tell Bodhi, "Thanks for the apology. It felt sincere. I hope it was." I know it wasn't, but something does seem different about him. Greyson would roll his eyes if he heard my thoughts right now. It's hard to believe the worst of someone when you spent so much time loving them.
I introduce my brother to everyone, and we sit down to eat. Anna, Bodhi, and I tell stories from our youth. Greyson squeezes my knee under the table. He's had enough and is ready to expose them.
I put my fist over my mouth and clear my throat. "So... Greyson and I wanted to fill you all in on what's been going on in our lives."
They look as if I'm going to say I'm pregnant—eyes round, alert, and on the edge of their seats.
"Greyson and I have been together for a while. Of course, Anna knew how and when we met in Denver in January, but since fate threw us together, we fell in love. But someone took advantage of the situation and has been blackmailing us."
