Page 67 of I Blame the Rival

Skylar shifts beside me, interrupting my spiralling thoughts, “Here he goes again. Any minute now, number twelve is going to fall back so six can swing left and pass it back…”

Just like he predicted, Wesley drops back and sprints to the open position the other forward player helped to open up. With a flick of his wrist, the player passes the ball and my brother takesthe shot. The goalie dives in the crease, stretching out his hand to make the save, but the ball drops right before he can make contact and rolls into the net.

The timer on the final quarter sounds and the crowd goes wild once more.

“Tequila coming in hot!”

Nico deposits the tray down on the table and Wesley lets out a groan.

“You are not allowed to buy the drinks anymore. I hate this shit.”

Nico smirks, passing him a shot, “It’s not my fault you have the tolerance of a fourteen year-old girl.”

Trip laughs and snags one from the tray, “He’s got you there.”

Wesley reaches over and lifts his girlfriend from her chair onto his lap, “You’re lucky I am so confident in my masculinity or I would be weeping right now.”

She rolls her eyes, “You should try being less confident. Maybe your lacrosse helmet would fit better.”

I laugh and Skylar glances at me with bright eyes. His anxiety has gone down a lot since the game ended and the group separated so Stella and Cody could partake in their own celebration.

I’m pretty sure that’s code for sex, but I decided not to question it.

“God, I love it when you’re mean to me.” Popping out a couple of dimples, Wesley pulls her close and plants a kiss on her lips.

Nico pulls a face and claps his hands before things can get too messy. I love Trip to pieces, but she really does have the worst habit of encouraging my brother’s love of PDA.

The Tigers won this afternoon, so the atmosphere is light and festive as students and parents chat amiably amongst themselves. The bar itself has a honky-tonk feel to it, with hunting trophies lining the wall behind the bar and a hockey game playing on the television.

It's easy to forget Taber is a conservative small town when I’m living on campus. The miles of corn fields and rusty pickup trucks seem like a different world compared to the manicured lawns of the university.

“So, Skylar.” Tossing me a wink, Nico passes him a shot, “What are your intentions with our gorgeous girl over there?”

Oh my God.

Fighting the blush taking over my face, I cross my arms and glare at Nico’s smirking one. My brother finally extracts his mouth from Trip’s and shoots me a sympathetic glance.

“We drew straws on who got to be the bad cop.”

Nico grins, “At least I was kind enough to buy tequila.”

Skylar picks up the shot and throws it back. Carefully setting the glass down on the table, he makes eye contact with Nico.

“I’m going to need a few more of those.”

Wesley laughs then stops, squinting at Skylar’s straight face.

“I can’t tell if he’s joking.”

Laughter bubbles up in my throat as Skylar glances at me, his mismatched irises sparkling past his stoic expression. The dim lighting of the bar makes his white hair and cheekbones stand out that much more, but Skylar’s angelic features aren’t what captures my attention.

It’s the flicker of happiness hiding just beneath the surface.

Skylar

Lacey’s brother is not what I was expecting.

Neither is her friend Nico, for that matter. Despite the earlier jokes, both of them seem more inclined on getting me to like them rather than conducting an interrogation.

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