Page 61 of I Blame the Rival

“Shakespeare, of course.”

I laugh and Trip shakes her head with an exasperated sigh. She looks very pretty today, her wavy hair falling loose over her shoulders instead of pulled back in her standard style of ponytail. The makeup sparkling around her eyes helps to draw out the unique grey colour, and if I had to guess, I would say her roommate probably helped her out with that.

Trip is many things, but makeup inclined is not one of them.

“Always so dramatic.” She scrunches her eyes in a fake scowl, one that never fails to put a grin on my brother’s face.

“You love it.” Wesley plants a kiss on her frown line before giving me a quick hug, “I’ve got to go help Nico set up, but I’ll see your gorgeous faces later.”

I smile, “We’ll be cheering from the bleachers.”

“With the rival.” Wesley wiggles his eyebrows, “If anything goes wrong today, I’m blaming him. Feel free to quote me on that.”

Trip rolls her eyes, “Skylar doesn’t even play lacrosse.”

“Doesn’t matter. I blame the rival either way.” He blows her a kiss and pivots, disappearing into the crowd to rejoin his teammates. Trip watches him go with a smile, and I have to bite back one of my own.

When Wesley brought her home to meet the family over winter break, it took less than twenty minutes for her sarcasm and awkward social interactions to win over my parents.

He needs someone who helps ground the outgoing social persona he loves to show off, and that person just so happens to be the lovely girl beside me.

“Ignore your brother. Everyone is excited to meet Skylar.” Trip gives me a shy smile, “It will be nice to meet someone from another school. Taber can be a bit suffocating sometimes.”

“It sure can.”

There’s an excited buzz in the air as students flutter past, the bright orange and black merchandise showcasing a school spirit that is admirable for a university this small. Lacrosse is one of the more popular teams here, but it still amazes me that so many people would willingly give up their weekend to go watch strangers chase after a ball on a field.

“How are you feeling?” Trip swivels her head, searching the crowd for Skylar even though she doesn’t know what he looks like.

“Nervous.” Raking my gaze over the Taber students around us, I feel butterflies take flight in my stomach, “I’m worried he’s not going to like it here.”

After experiencing the hostility of Silverwood students that night at the bar, I'm scared that Skylar will arrive with a bad impression already ingrained in his mind. My brother jokes about his rival status, but at the end of the day, Silverwood is Taber’sbiggest rival. And like it or not, our schools have competed for the top spot in lacrosse for years.

“I don’t think that’s something you have to worry about. From what I’ve heard, Skylar sounds like a thoughtful young man.”

I laugh softly, “He is very thoughtful. Kind, too.”

“Can’t ask for more than that.” Trip gives me an understanding smile and a question bubbles up on my tongue.

“How did you know when you were ready? For your first time, I mean.”

Her eyes widen, “Like sex?”

My head drops in a nod, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well…” Trip hesitates, a pink flush creeping up her neck, “Wes is the only person I’ve slept with.”

Oh God.

I grimace, trying to erase the mental picture, “Sorry, that was a really personal question, you don’t have to-

“No. It’s okay.” Trip tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, “It’s kind of weird because it’s your brother, but basically we had a conversation about trust and what he could do to make sure I felt safe and comfortable. As for how I knew I was ready for sex, I guess I didn’t really, it just kind of happened.”

“Did you feel comfortable?”

“With Wes? Always.” Trip smiles, “He kept stopping to ask if I wanted to keep going and I started to hit him.”

“That’s… cute.”

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