After the mission was complete, they took seats at the court Colin would be playing on and waited for the show to start.
The women’s match finished quickly. The fans filed off the bleachers and a new cheering section shuffled in. Colin’s groupies filled the front row. Yvette appeared as well, holding the baby and looking perfectly annoyed. The chair and line judges took their places, and finally, the men’s locker room doors opened and two guys walked onto the court.
Melissa grabbed Spencer’s hand as Colin proudly paraded toward his chair, green gear bag slung over one arm, bottle of AminoSpa in the other. Lemon-lime AminoSpa, to be exact. Spencer had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.
Colin dropped the bag on the court and gazed into the stands, waving dutifully to his wife and shooting his groupies a zillion-watt smile. Then he turned around and took a long swig of AminoSpa, tilting his head back and letting the liquid drip down his throat. Spencer dug her nails into Melissa’s palm.
Colin and his opponent batted the ball back and forth for a while until they were ready to play. He won the first few games effortlessly, his serve accurate, his backhand shots impossible to return, his court angles deft and brilliant. The groupies went wild. Spencer wondered if Yvette knew that her husband was a letch, but even if she did Yvette simply held up Brady’s arms and clapped them together, smiling proudly at her husband.
Spencer looked at Melissa worriedly. “Why isn’t anything happening?”
“Give it time,” Melissa murmured.
Four more games passed in much the same way. Colin won the first set easily, and his followers cheered. Spencer’s hopes began to drain away. Maybe Viagra didn’t work when dissolved. Or maybe Colin had been drinking from a different bottle of AminoSpa.
But suddenly, in the first game of the second set, something began to happen. Colin kept glancing at his crotch, a concerned look on his face. His movements became stiffer, uncomfortable. He missed some easy shots, swiveling around so that his back faced the crowd. When it was his turn to serve and he threw the ball into the air, his shorts pulled in such a way that it was obvious that the crushed Viagra had, well, worked.
Melissa elbowed Spencer. A murmur went through the bleachers. A few girls exchanged incredulous smiles. Colin tried for another serve, and this time his shorts hid nothing. A couple people burst out laughing. The line judges’ jaws dropped. The chair judge shifted uncomfortably. When Colin double-faulted and covered his crotch with a towel, the judge called out through his bullhorn, “Do you need a minute, Mr. DeSoto?”
“Uh-huh,” Colin groaned, walking bowlegged back to his seat.
The laughter intensified. Yvette covered her eyes. Colin stared at his crotch in horror, his face bright red.
“Come on.” Melissa looped her purse around her shoulder and stood. “We don’t need to see the rest of this, do we?”
“I guess we don’t,” Spencer agreed. They filed down the bleachers, snaking around the laughing girls and horrified fans. At that very moment, Colin glanced up and looked at both of them.
The sisters burst into laughter. Spencer gave him a three-finger wave. Melissa did, too. Maybe Colin would never know it had been them who’d spiked his drink, but they would—and that was all that mattered.
Chapter 17
Stick with Me, Sister
Spencer and Melissa giggled hysterically the whole four-block walk back to Nana’s house. Melissa imitated Colin’s stiff-legged waddle. Spencer glanced down at her crotch, pretending she was horrified. “That was the best revenge ever.” Melissa gave Spencer a nudge. “I should have known you’d think up something truly evil like that.”
Spencer flinched. “It wasn’t that evil.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Melissa said. Then she twisted her mouth. “Okay. Maybe I did. I don’t know.”
They fell silent. A strong scent of flowers wafted in Spencer’s nose, making her queasy. “I’m really sorry about everything,” she said quietly as they turned up the driveway.
“I know. I’m sorry, too.”
Spencer stopped next to a blooming hydrangea. “We always . . . do this. Compete like crazy people. Try to outdo one another. It isn’t right.”
Melissa shrugged. “It’s not like I started this.”
Spencer stared at her. “Yes, you did. I was the one who liked Colin first. You were the one who wanted to help me, and then . . .”
“You were the one who turned in Ian,” Melissa reminded her.
Spencer threw up her hands. “That wasn’t to hurt you! I swear!”
“Well, it did hurt me.” Melissa’s mouth tightened. She stared in the direction of Nana’s house. “And I’m sorry, Spence, but you’ve hurt me a lot this year. You pushed me down the frickin’ stairs, remember?”