A brief but decisive knock on their door woke Haley early the next morning. She dragged herself out of bed and shuffled toward the door. She peered through the peephole and saw David waiting on the other side. Haley instinctively took a step back.
“What do you want?” she called through the door.
“Good morning, Sunshine.” David’s ever-mocking voice was muffled on the other side. “I come in peace to return your possessions.”
Haley flattened herself against the door to check again through the peephole. David wasn’t lying; he had her duffel bag with him. She opened the door.
“How did you know it was mine?” she asked.
“I doubt any of my teammates wear lacy underwear, at least that I know of.” David’s smug smirk was infuriating. “By the way, impeccable taste.”
“Give it back.” Haley stretched her arm forward to grab her bag, but David snatched it backward.
“Ah, ah, ah. Not yet,” he said, still smiling. “You’re going to have to hear me out first.”
Haley crossed her arms and took a step back. “Hear out what?”
“I wanted to apologize for what happened last night; it wasn’t my intention to cause trouble.”
“Yeah, it was.” Haley was not about to let his charm fool her. “Why else would you be like that?”
“Well. When an amazingly beautiful girl, who is not my brother’s girlfriend, happens to knock on my door in the middle of the night, I find it hard not to present her with…” David paused. “Options.”
The compliment, no matter how cheesy, made Haley blush. Flattery rarely worked on her, but pair it with piercing blue eyes and uncanny good looks, and it did have an effect.
“Listen,” Haley sighed, “I’m not sure what’s going on between you and your brother, but I’m not getting in the middle of that.”
“Might be too late for that.”
“How so?”
“I’ve my heart set on you now.” His blue gaze was intense and unsettling.
“Not going to happen,” Haley snapped.
David winked. “Never say never.”
“Can I have my bag now?”
David handed it over. “Until next time.”
Without waiting for her reply, he turned on his heel and walked back to his room. For reasons inexplicable to her, Haley watched him go and waited until he disappeared into his room before she closed the door.
“Who was that?” Alice asked from her bed.
“David Williams.”
Alice straightened with a worried expression. “What did he want?”
“To give my bag back and apologize for last night.” Haley sat on her bed.
“Was it okay?”
Haley considered the question. “I don’t know; with him, it’s hard to say,” she admitted. “I don’t know if he was serious or if he was mocking me. Maybe he just wants to piss off his brother more.”
“Well, it was nice of him to apologize.”
“It felt more conniving than nice.”
“I could ask Peter what the deal is with the Williams brothers,” Alice offered. “No one seemed surprised they were fighting last night.”
Another knock came at the door.
“Who is it now?” Haley asked the ceiling.
“I’ll place my money on the other Williams brother.”
Haley instinctively checked herself out in the wardrobe mirror, fluffed her hair, and opened the door.
“Hi, is this a bad time?” Scott said.
“No, I was already up.”
“Hey.” He lowered his gaze to the floor, embarrassed. “I wanted to apologize for the disappearing act last night.”
“It’s okay,” Haley lied. “You don’t have to explain anything.”
“Actually, I do.” Scott looked back up. “Team duties start in little over an hour. I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk down the beach with me first?”
Scott was so genuine and sweet. Exactly the opposite of his brother.
“I would love to,” Haley said. “Can you give me fifteen minutes to get ready?”
Scott’s face brightened. “I’ll wait for you in the hall.”
***
The sand was cool this early in the morning. Haley had taken her flip-flops off and was walking barefoot on the beach. The sun was still low above the horizon, but its warm rays indicated the temperature would rise soon enough. Scott hadn’t said much yet; he had a serious frown and the face of someone thinking too much.
Haley decided to break the ice first. “So that was your brother, huh?”
Scott was still lost in his thoughts. “Yep.”
“What’s the deal with you two?”
“We were never close.” Scott looked straight ahead, his voice emotionless. “But I’m not sure when David started hating me. Maybe he thinks I’ve stolen his thunder or something by, you know, being born.”
“Mmm, so nothing else got stolen between you two?” Haley asked.
“Ah.” Scott scratched the back of his head. “Is it that obvious?”
“Well, you saw us talk last night and lost your mind. All that rage wasn’t about me.”
“No, you’re right,” Scott admitted. “It was déjà vu.”
They walked a little further in silence.
“So are you going to tell me about the girl?” Haley asked when she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Scott didn’t try to deny it. “It was a long time ago, in high school. Her name was Brigitte. She was a student from France doing her junior year in the US. Long story short, we both liked her, and she did something David will never forgive me for.”
“What?”
“She chose me.” Scott stared at the sky.
“That’s it?” Haley thought there was a lot more Scott was holding back.
“No, it’s a lot more complicated.” He finally looked at her. “But enough about the past.” He stopped to face her. “What happened yesterday won’t happen again. I won’t lose control like that… What I’m saying is, I’m sorry you had to see that, and I hope I haven’t scared you off for good.” He raised both his eyebrows in a cute and interrogative way.
Haley smiled. “You haven’t… scared me off.”
“Good,” Scott said. “Because I’ve been dying to do this since the moment I first saw you.” He cupped her face with his hands and lowered his mouth to hers.