Page 65 of Her Devils

J comes to sit next to me, and by the way he’s looking at me, I know my teammates aren’t going to let this go. “No, something’s on your mind. Get it off your chest, or it’ll impact your performance for the rest of the day.”

Peyton backs him, as usual. “Yeah, what’s going on? We let you have your dibs with Len last night, and you smashed it out there, so why do you look like someone just pissed in your cereal?”

“Yeah, Peyton’s right,” Jameson agrees. “By the way, it’s very convenient that spending the night before a big meet with Lenley is your new good luck ritual.”

I knew they’d give me shit about this, but I react to his provocation, glad for the distraction. “Shut the fuck up!” I chuckle. “As if I’m taking anything away from the two of you. If my pregame ritual is to hook up, yours has always been to get an early night. You’ve always left the wild parties forafterthe meets.”

“Yeah, but pregaming can change. My new good luck practice is to have breakfast with Len and get a little close, but not too much, before the fifteen-minute call. It helps me channel my energy and focus.”

Both Peyton and I laugh. “Sure. It helps you focus.”

He scowls, annoyed by our ribbing. “Don’t knock it until you try it, Chan. You feel better by releasing your tension by getting laid, while I prefer to keep that tension and aggression going. And having Lenley in my arms right before we start but not letting myself get that release works as an awesome incentive. It brings my competitiveness and my aggression to an all-time high.”

I shrug. “To each their own. I do better when I’m relaxed, and I need a full stomach to keep me going all day, so I might have to go find something better than the vegan bars. No offense to vegans, but it’s not my jam.”

I rise from the bench, but I should have known that my teammates wouldn’t let me get away so easily.

“Chan, cut the shit,” Peyton says. “What’s wrong?”

My eyes go from him to J, and I wish they’d let this go, at least for now. I know they are a lot more zen than I am and need their minds to stay on target to perform, so I don’t want to be the one to mess with their focus. “I’m good,” I say, sounding lame even to myself.

“No, you don’t sound like you’re good. I know it’s not the snacks that are bothering you so much,” Jameson says. “Is everything okay between you and Len? Did something happen last night?”

Fuck. Did I say how much I hate how well they know me? Because it’s really annoying.

“Not last night. Last night was awesome and fucking perfect,” I reply, remembering how I threw Lenley’s legs over my shoulders and how tight she felt around me as I went deeper than I’ve ever managed with any other girl. Len wasn’t scared by my size, and she trusted me, and that was the hottest thing ever.

Peyton and Jameson look at each other.

“Then if last night was good, what’s bothering you? Was it Dad being hard on you when you landed? If you need me to go talk to him—”

I cut him off. “No, Ken was right. If I missed the break off altitude, I would have made that jump ineligible for scoring. I’m good.”

“But you’re not, Chan,” Jameson insists.

“It’s nothing, and if anything, we can talk about it later in front of a drink.”

“That doesn’t work for me.” J’s tone brooks no arguments. “If you don’t tell me now, it’s going to eat at me all day, and it’s going to affect my performance out there.”

Right on cue, Peyton sides with him. “Yeah, me too. Chan, you better start talking.”

I groan.

These two aren’t going to let this go. “I don’t know, it’s just—I was fine until I landed. I walked by the Angels’ bus and saw Lenley. Penn was walking to board after the fifteen-minute call and...” I explain what I saw. “He didn’t kiss her as such, but it was really close, and I don’t fucking like it.” I cross my arms, feeling slightly relieved to have gotten this off my chest.

This time, though, my friends have different reactions to my revelation.

“Really? What did Lenley do?” J asks.

Peyton chuckles with a maniacal glint in his eyes.

“She just stood there. I think she was a little surprised, and I would have gone to talk to her, but Sarah was with her, and she was giving her the third degree way better than I could.”

Jameson looks pensive. “Interesting.”

“What the fuck is so fucking funny?” I snap at my team captain. “I just told you that Penn was sniffing around our girl, and you’re smiling as if I told you we just won the fucking world championship.”

Peyton’s smile widens. “Don’t you get it? Our plan is working. Penn realized that Lenley has moved on. He knows she was with J after last week’s meet, and on Monday, I walked in on them kissing. Lenley told him to fuck off to takemeto her room, so the asshole had to see himself out while I fucked the girl he now realizes he wants but can’t have. I bet you the fucking gold medals in every discipline that the groupie he invited to join him and his girlfriend last night didn’t take his mind off Lenley being with us. Besides, Tori saw them, and I bet she’s just waiting to see how the Angels perform today to decide how to spin it on her blog.”

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