White Palm club

Hunter Travis dumped me as soon as we arrived at the club, disappearing with some guy that had on a $16,000 dollar watch and a haircut that I was sure cost too much. I glanced around, hands in my pocket, trying to appear more confident than I felt. I thought about tailing Travis just to annoy him, but decided against it. If he wanted to act like a petulant teen, he could be my guest. We weren't friends, and the more distance I put between us, the better for me. At least until I could figure out how exactly I planned to get him to spill the passcode. With a sigh, I made my way through the club, taking in the lay of the land. Everywhere I turned, there was yet another preppy looking asshole. The total networth here could buy a small country, I was sure. Conversations fluttered around, and I heard the words boat, yacht and beach house more times than I cared to count. Just as I made up my mind to find a receptionist or something, someone tapped me from behind. I whirled around to

Forty-love!

TravisThere were few things more irritating than losing. Losing to Hunter was apparently one of them.“Forty-love!” Mr. Pritchett’s shout was followed by a burst of laughter from across the court.I gripped the racket tighter.“This is getting embarrassing,” Pritchett called. “Aren’t you even going to try to lose to butter me up for that investment?”My father laughed. “You wouldn’t respect me if I did that.”“True enough.”Hunter grinned, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.I glared at him.He caught my stare. “What?”“You’re enjoying this too much.”His grin widened. “Maybe you’re just bad at tennis.”I scoffed. “I’m not bad.”“You’ve missed three serves.”“Because you keep distracting me.”He raised an eyebrow. “That’s my fault too? Maybe it's a good thing I'm being benched for the rest of the season after all."The game resumed, and he made his way back to his position across the court. My father served and I moved fast, slamming it back over the net. Hunter moved first.

Under the spray

TravisThe locker room was empty by the time I reached it.I should have been relieved. Instead, I felt strangely restless.I tossed my racket into my locker and dragged a hand through my damp hair. The game had left me sweaty and exhausted, but somehow my mind was still running.Mostly because I knew that any second Hunter would walk in.Right on cue, I heard the door click open. I glanced toward the doorway and met his dark gaze on me. A shiver worked it's way through me.Slowly, he leaned against the frame, eyes never leaving mine.Neither of us spoke.The silence stretched until it became almost unbearable, becoming a thrum under my skin, an itch I couldn't scratch. I was the first to tear my gaze away.I grabbed my towel and headed toward the showers.At the entrance, I looked over my shoulder.“You coming?” the words were a croak.Hunter didn’t answer. His mouth parted slightly, but whatever he wanted to say seemed to disappear before it reached his lips.I turned away.A moment

All part of the plan

Hunter"I should take care of that for you." Travis broke the silence.I shot him a look and he motioned at my obvious hard on. I shook my head and lifted myself to my feet, knowing my knees were going to pay later for staying on the hard bathroom floor."Rain check.""Looks like it hurts." He argued.A smile tugged on my mouth. "You sound desperate to get my dick in your mouth, brother."His jaw clenched. "Whatever." And then he turned around and adjusted the temperature of the shower spray until icy droplets rained down on us.Shaking the water out of my face, I stepped back, then chucked my clothes. "Wait a few before coming out."And then I gathered my soaked clothes, grabbed my towel that i had stowed earlier and walked away.I pushed through the locker-room door with my towel slung around my neck, my hair still damp, and forced myself to walk like my heart wasn’t trying to punch its way through my ribs.I needed a minute.Just one minute before Travis followed me.Before I had t

Strangers on ice

HunterSomething was wrong.I couldn’t put my finger on it at first.I sat at the end of the bench, elbows resting on my knees, watching the scrimmage unfold in front of me. Neal had the puck, skating hard down the right side while Travis cut toward the net.It should have been easy.But then Neal passed and Travis... missed it completely.The puck sailed past his stick and slammed against the boards.“Fuck!” Neal shouted.Travis spun around. “My bad.”Neal stared at him. “Your bad?”Travis didn’t answer.The play reset.I frowned.Maybe it was a fluke.Five minutes later, Neal sent another pass toward Travis. He moved too early and the puck slipped behind him. It was definitely not a fluke I decided as I watched another missed opportunity.Then another. And another.I leaned back against the bench, wondering what the hell was wrong.Travis Moore had been playing hockey long enough that he could probably anticipate a teammate’s movement before the guy even knew he was going to move. E

Ivan’s secret

HunterI couldn’t sleep.And I was exhausted.My body felt like it had been beaten with a hockey stick, and my eyes burned every time I blinked. But apparently none of that mattered to the universe because Travis and half the fucking team had decided that midnight was the perfect time to hold a video game tournament downstairs.“Pass the ball!”“I’m trying!”“You’re shit!”“Shut the fuck up!”A roar of laughter followed.I buried my face in my pillow.Five seconds later, somebody downstairs screamed.I threw the pillow across the room and sat up. “Jesus Christ.”For someone who claimed to value discipline and routine, Travis Moore had absolutely no problem turning the house into a frat house when his friends were around.The irony wasn’t lost on me.Even Michael being in the house didn’t bother me as much as the noise did.Michael Moore made me uneasy. There was something about the man that made me feel like I was constantly being evaluated, even when he wasn’t looking at me. Maybe it