Page 18 of Treacherous

Whatever…

Deciding to leave Noah to his broody staring, I gave him the middle finger before running off and joining Hope on the field.

Coach Johnson surprised me when he decided to play soccer and I, in turn, surprised him – and the majority of my class – when I kicked ass.

I grinned like an idiot when I lobbed the ball over Layton Brooks' head and took a shot at goal. The center-back, Devon Lewis, handled the ball in the penalty box, and coach blew his whistle, rewarding our team a penalty.

"You take it,Teagan," Layton Brooks panted as he patted my shoulder.

"It's in the bag," I shot back cockily. Layton grinned and shook his cute head before running backwards to join our team.

Positioning the ball, I took a few deep breaths before taking my shot. The football hit the crossbar before coming back out the pitch. I lunged forward and volleyed it. Coach blew the final whistle just as the ball hit the back of the net, courtesy of my foot.

Goal.

Oh yeah, I kick ass...

Our team erupted in cheers and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Noah standing on the sideline having what seemed to be a heated argument with someone that looked awfully like Hope's brother, but I shook it off. I was having a moment and he wasn't included in my revelry.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Layton asked as he jogged over to congratulate me. "That was fucking awesome. You're sure you're a girl, right?"

I placed my hands on my hips and inhaled deeply, emphasizing the fact that I had breasts and not a penis. I'd heard that particular question more times than I cared to remember because of my ability to kick a guy's butt on pretty much any sports field.Sticks and stones…"Last time I checked," I replied sarcastically.

"I didn't mean to offend you." He looked embarrassed. "I've never seen a girl play as well as you. Do all Irish girls play like you?"

"Where I'm from sport is a pretty big deal," I told him as we walked back towards the dressing rooms. "Most of the girls in my area are involved in sports – there's not much else to do. I played basketball and soccer for my school back home. And then football and camogie for my local GAA club."

"GAA?" Layton looked confused as he handed me his water bottle.

"Yeah," I chuckled before taking a sip. "Have you ever played hurling?"

Again a frown. He wore his frown like a boss.Cute…

"I brought a few hurleys – the stick you use to play," I told him. "And sliotars – that's the ball you use – with me from home. I can show you sometime if you want…"

A group of girls passed us then, snickering and whispering. "Tranny," one of them snickered.

I rolled my eyes in disgust. "There's a gaggle of geese in every school, right?"

Layton laughed. "Geese?"

I nodded solemnly. "A hissy tormenting hoard of lookalikes who huddle together in a group hoping to overpower and intimidate anyone weaker than them."

He grinned broadly, exposing a really cute gap in between his front teeth. "So girls are geese?"

I nodded nonchalantly and shrugged. "Some girls are, sure."

"What are you then," he asked in a husky voice, stepping closer to me, and I was pretty sure he was flirting with me. I decided I was happy for him to do this since he looked so damn good in the white t-shirt he had on that emphasized his deliciously chocolaty skin tone. "If you're not one of them?"

"I'm a lone wolf," I shot back with a smile.

"You're all right, Irish," Layton chuckled, his expression sobering quickly when Noah approached.

"Lone wolf, meet the alpha," Layton muttered before jogging on ahead of me. "I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"

I shrugged. "See ya."

"So you like to play with balls," Noah said dryly as he stared down at me with his head tilted sideways.

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