Ten minutes later, a girl with blonde hair cropped under her chin approaches Eden and me. Last time she wore a long, red wig. Today, she reminds me of Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman without the hooker costume. She’s wearing dark blue jeans which hug her thin legs and a cranberry colored tunic under an open leather jacket.
“Sorry, I’m late,” she says in a hushed tone. “I had to take care of a few last-minute details.”
Eden forces a smile. “No problem.”
She’s slightly terrified of The Queen. We both are. She’s capable of things neither of us had imagined. We both feel trapped and are afraid she will dig up dirt on us for her blog. I have nothing to hide apart from the fact my father is a degenerate loser. But Eden has a few skeletons in her closet she’d rather keep hidden from the world.
“Have anything new for me?” The Queen presses her lips together, smearing her red lipstick.
She has flawless skin, and from what I can tell, she has light colored eyes under her tinted sunglasses. I still don’t understand why she has so much hatred for Tucker and his teammates. Did they do something awful to her? It’s apparent she has money. From the designer bag on her arm to the look of her clothes, she screams wealth.
And she pays well. Small bits of information go a long way with her. She never fully exposes their secrets either which confuses the hell out of me. If she wanted to ruin their lives, why doesn’t she reveal names and places? Instead, she always spares the girls involved in every incident. Maybe it’s her way of showing compassion.
“I’m tutoring Tucker Kane,” I admit, my teeth chattering from the cold. “He hasn’t done anything other than hit on me, though.”
The Queen nods, and then her gaze lands on Eden. “How about you? Anything new?”
Eden shakes her head. “No, not this month. Ever since Romeo broke up with me, I haven’t been able to get close to the Delta Sig guys.”
“They’re of no use to me anyway.” She sighs, pinning me down with one look. “You have the perfect opportunity to get closer to them. Take Tucker up on his advances. See how much he’ll tell you.”
My stomach twists into a knot at the thought. I don’t want to hurt him. At first, I wanted to destroy him for disposing of me like trash, but now I can’t do it. I don’t have it in me anymore.
I flash a closed-mouth smile. “I’ll do my best.”
The Queen grins, shoving her hands into her jacket. “Try not to get too close… if you know what I mean. Those guys will eat you up and spit you out before they move on to the next girl. Don’t let Tucker do that to you. I learned my lesson the hard way.”
So, she’s an ex? Or at the very least a woman scorned by one of the guys on the team. Interesting.
“I know what I’m doing,” I promise, though I’m not so sure I do.
The more time I spend with Tucker, the more I like him. He makes it impossible not to feel something for him even if it is only lust.
“Until next time,” The Queen says with a wave, and then she disappears, swallowed up by the throng of people.
“She freaks me out,” Eden says. “Are you sure you can go through with this?”
I cock my head at her. “Like I have a choice.”
She sucks in a deep breath and blows it out, her breath like a mist in the cold air. “You like Tucker, don’t you?”
“Yes, but what can I do? This is a means of survival. Without her money, I’m screwed.”
She shoots me a wary look. “I’m not so sure you can separate business from pleasure anymore.”
I wave off her concern. “I can, and I will. Trust me.”
Eden smiles, this time a real one, but her smile fades when both of our cell phones ding with a new notification. She reaches into her pocket, but I ignore it. I don’t care who’s being dethroned by The Queen today. Staring down at her phone, Eden’s eyes widen in shock.
“What is it?”
“You need to see this.” She shares her phone, holding it out for me to read the latest post.
Dethroned
February Edition
It’s that time of the month again. I know you all missed me. But you know who’s not having her time of the month? The sorostitute the Kane twins knocked up.
Oh, baby, the twins are having a baby! But which one is the daddy? Not even a paternity test will tell…
Tucker and Trent, you have been dethroned. Again.
XO,
The Queen
I cringe at the words on the screen, reading the post several times before my skin burns with anger. She damn well knew when she asked me to get closer to Tucker that he might be the father of this girl’s child.