Page 6 of Rivals

We finish running through our plays after running laps before the break. I’m picking up water bottles when I notice a group of the guys are mocking our drills and exercises. Instantly, I’m on edge. My gaze slides between them and Reign who’s too busy lifting weights with his two sidekicks, his best friends, Leif and Carter, to even pay attention to his team.

Emma and I lock eyes. I’m sure she can see the steam rolling off me in waves. Before I stop and think, and let the rational part of my brain catch up, I’m stalking over to them. One of the guys sees me coming and quickly slaps his friend, who is too busy doing a reenactment of our squats to notice. They’ve turned somewhat sheepish by the time we’re standing toe-to-toe, but I’ve had enough. A few of the girls on our team barely feel confident or safe exercising in front of the guys when they’re here early. For them to be picking on and mocking them is not okay.

“Please don’t stop on my account. You squat so deep you could probably be on the girls’ team,” I spit out, my eyes glaring.

One of them has the decency to at least look embarrassed. His friend though is not happy. I scan over his pelvic area, raising my brow. “Did you have to tuck your balls and your dick in to be able dip that low or?”

“Shut the fuck up, Conrad.” The guy’s face turns red and he leans into my face. I manage to keep my back rod straight, even with a six-foot Neanderthal towering over me.

I glare at him, ready to take him down another notch when I feel heated skin at my back. Tingles run down my spine at the contact. If I inhale even the slightest bit, his spicy scent mixed with sweat will fill my lungs. I can feel eyes shift to us. Great. We’ve now caught everyone’s attention.

“Problem with my defenseman, Con-man?” Reign’s voice is low and his words tickle against my ear. I shove my elbow back into his tight stomach. He lets out a little grunt from the impact but at least his body isn’t touching mine anymore. I turn to face him, my hair whipping his chest in the process.

“As captain shouldn’t you be concerned about your men belittling and tearing down women? I know our schools are different, but I wasn’t aware the Saints promoted sexual harassment.”

Reign’s eyes darken at my comment and the accusation leveled at his teammate. I know for a fact they all go through girls, rarely dating one for too long, and that they have already started a collection of puck bunnies, but I’ve never heard of them needing to force girls. My words are meant to sting and also to force Reign to have to act. His gaze moves from me over to his teammates that were in the wrong by mocking my team with their workouts. They keep their eyes on the ground.

“Sorry,” the one guy replies automatically, his cheeks flushing red.

“We shouldn’t have said anything.” The other guy, the one just ready to fight me, glances from me to Reign. His words aren’t exactly an apology but at least he knows he shouldn’t have been doing it.

“Better now?” Reign asks me, his teeth clenched together. I turn to him, my lips curling.

“Hardly. I think it’s only fair that we get the chance to defend our honor.”

Reign scoffs. “You want your team to play mine? You girls are good but I don’t see how this makes things even.”

“Not us against you.” I shake my head. “We combine teams and all play against each other. Maybe then your team will realize how much of an asset it can be to have a girl player.”

Reign’s eyes dance with mirth. He thinks I’m out of my mind and maybe I am. We all know though that Reign can’t back down from a challenge. And it would be my pleasure to knock him and his teammates down a peg when they have to play with my team in order to win. Even if all it is, is a scrimmage at summer camp.

“You got yourself a challenge, Con-man.”

I step away from Reign and his little band of idiots. “Tar in fifteen?”

He shrugs. Half his team groans and the other half are watching us with amused interest. Something I’m not unused to. Reign and I are known for challenging each other in just about everything. Throwing us together in any social situation is like throwing a lit match to gasoline. At the end of the previous school year, Reign had challenged me to see who scored higher marks in the district. I beat him in the sciences and math but he took first place in everything else. Over winter break last year, I had challenged him to see who could snowboard down the hill fastest. His body is bulkier than mine and I beat him, but it was by a hair’s breadth. Not that it mattered much because the following weekend our groups of friends ran into each other at the arcade and a laser tag team challenge was issued and his team wiped the floor with mine. It all sounds pretty tame until you get to the favors part. Each challenge is issued with a favor that has to be witnessed by two people. When we lost in laser tag, we had to help roll Leif’s father’s latest girlfriend’s car into the pond. And when I beat Reign down the hill snowboarding, he had to pay the tab for the alcohol for a public-school party.

By the time I round up my team and explain the situation, they are fired up and ready to go. We grab our street sticks and roller blades. I quickly throw on a pair of leggings, knowing I’m going to take a dive at some point, and while I don’t mind the bruise, I’d rather not have road rash.

“If I didn’t know how much you both actually harbor ill feelings toward the other, and the mean things you both say, I’d swear this is the longest form of foreplay I’ve ever seen,” Emma says next to me. My head whips around to hers and her eyes are dancing with humor.

“Ew.”

Her head tilts back, laughing like it’s the funniest shit ever. My chest aches for a split second while I shove down the feelings I had for Reign when we were little. I put them back in the box and rewrap the chain around them. He made his choices and I made mine. Our friendship died a long time ago. The person Reign is now is the only version I ever see, and Emma is right. We aren’t nice to each other. Sure our challenges are fun, and I love to beat him. I can also respect him as a hockey player because he is that good. It’s the ego though. And those flickers of evil in his eyes when he glances at me and spits out words wrapped in barbs.

“I’d have to be dying,” I tell her, my face void of emotion as we make it to the clearing.

“I know.” She sighs. “It’s just a shame though. You have enemies to lovers written all over you.”

I snort. “You read too much.’

“It’s for research.” Emma winks at me and jabs her elbow into my side.

“Not if you never use it.” I cackle at her. After her break up with her boyfriend, Emma refuses to date anyone else in high school and is waiting until we leave for college. In the meantime, she’s cataloging everything from the romance novels she reads to keep in her arsenal.

“At least I’ve used some of it.” Her eyebrows dance in my direction and once again I’m reminded of freaking Reign.

“Well, when your whole town is so simple-minded to follow his douchebag orders, a girl doesn’t have many options.” Thanks to Reign and his social vendetta against me, I’m a freaking virgin. Not that it’s a bad thing. I would never let a Saint touch me. I’m also not sure there is a Pirate alive I’d let close either, not if they too listen to Reign.

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