Page 24 of Rivals

“I’ll go with and I’ll take the proof shot,” he interjects, coming to stand beside me.

“Reign this is for her.” The twit tries to reason, but Reign just laughs, the sound is dark and dangerous. This girl has no idea who she thinks she’s messing with.

“My girl is doing a challenge; I’ll help her with the challenge. Your football team isn’t the only one with beef with the Eagles.”

We all have an issue with the Eagles. We might have our own rivalry, but it’s a border war between our town and the Rivertown Eagles. They play dirty, so I’m not surprised they’re fudging records to keep good players in their district.

We all wait while she makes up her mind. “Fine,” she finally says through gritted teeth. Her reluctance only proves to me that she probably had something else up her sleeve.

Reign takes the paper slip from me and glances at it before slipping it in his pocket. “I’ll drive.”

I shake my head at him. “It’s my challenge. You can meet me there.”

“Do you have spray paint?” he fires back.

“Blue, it’s in my car.” I wink and start to move away from his grip.

His hand snatches mine and he leans in closer to me. “You’ve had three of those fruity can things and I don’t doubt that somehow Autumn has something planned for you. Let me drive.”

“Who?” My brow pulls together.

Reign sighs, his free hand running in his hair. “Autumn. The girl who initiated the challenge.”

“Oh, she has a name.” I laugh before turning toward him. “I’ll have Emma drive.” I tilt my head back, and that’s a mistake because then his intense blue eyes find mine. His burn with such possessiveness that I can’t help but shiver in response.

“It’s a favor.”

My lips drop open and I close them quickly. “You can’t call a favor.”

“Oh, but I can, Riles. You let me drive and I’ll take the pic while you do the dirty work. In return I’ll let you ask me one question and I have to answer.”

My cheeks feel heated and I glance away. I hate it when Reign can read my mind. I really hope that sex didn’t build a bridge from my mind to his so he can read all my thoughts. “Fine, big guy.”

I take off and Reign is fast on my heels, laughing the whole way. After stopping at my car to grab the paint, I get into his car with him and we speed through town and over the bridge into enemy territory. It takes all of my concentration, but I focus outside of the car and not on the hulking driver next to me, who has his hand lightly gripping my leg. His skin spreads warmth through my jeans and my core tingles and tightens at how near his touch is.

“What are you going to paint?” he asks, his eyes touching on the side of my face.

“The area code he says he lives in with his name.” I shrug, “Simple, clean, and it will look nice on social media, which is where I’m assuming she plans to put it.”

Reign finds the house easily, and my brow rises in question. He shrugs. “I’ve been keeping an eye on this for a while and waiting until it was the right time.”

Scoffing, I roll my eyes before checking the dark and empty road before getting out. I spin the spray bottle in my hand, feeling Reign’s heated stare on my back as I jog across the street and up to the garage door. The house is dark except for one light in the front window. With one last deep breath, I spray the kid’s name across the pure white garage door and his actual zip code. Deciding to add a little flare I drop a little heart in the corner. My message is filled with love.

A light inside the house turns on and I freeze momentarily before slipping back into the trees by the side of the house. I hear feet and movement. My gaze slides across the street and I make eye contact with Reign. His eyes widen and his jaw clenches. I was meant to get caught; somehow, I can feel it. That was why the cheerleaders from All Saints were so quick to issue me a challenge and not have him involved. Deciding my fate is more important, I slink farther into the trees and take off running down between houses, right as I hear the front door of the house bang open and a man’s voice yelling. Tires squeal on the pavement somewhere, but I don’t bother to stop. I run until my heart feels like it might explode. My phone continuously vibrates in my pocket but even that doesn’t convince me to stop. When I finally emerge from the brush and the woods and my feet hit pavement on the road, Reign’s car swerves in front of me, cutting me off. His passenger door opens.

“Get the fuck in!”

Breathing heavily, I dive in and scrunch down in the seat. Reign’s grip on the wheel is controlled, but I see his eyes darting to his rearview every few seconds looking behind us.

“What the hell were you going to do? Run all the way back to town?”

I shimmy up in his seat and grab for the seat belt. “If I had to, yes. They wanted me to get caught as retribution for their golden-boy.”

“There’s no way I would let that happen.” He glances at me over his shoulder, his eyes smoldering.

Shrugging, I turn away. “You weren’t meant to take the challenge with me. The girls did it because of a power trip to prove I’m meaningless, whether I’m a Pirate or a Saint. It just is what it is, Reign.”

Our car ride is almost silent as we cruise back into town. At first I think Reign is taking me back to campus until he makes a turn in the opposite direction and we pull into the full parking lot of the late night diner.

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