Page 99 of I Blame the Rival

“Babe, you’re speaking my language.”

Trip laughs, watching the interaction before settling herself down beside Nico. To my surprise, Cecelia takes the spot on his other side, leaving me and Wesley to join the end of the line.My roommate and my closest friend strike up a shockingly long bucket list of celebrities they would do given the chance, while Trip chirps in the occasional comment.

It’s a scene I never could have pictured happening at the start of the year. The only thing missing is Skylar and his deadpan jokes that seem to confuse Wesley more than anything.

Pulling out my phone, I read the last message he sent me.

SKYLAR: I’ll be off by eleven if you want me to come by for the rest of the movie.

ME: That’s a long drive just for a movie.

The hardware store must be slow tonight because it takes less than ten minutes for a response to buzz in my pocket.

SKYLAR: I don’t mind.

“He puts in a lot of effort, hey?”

I look up to find my brother reading the response over my shoulder. Pulling my phone closer to my chest, I tilt it so he can’t see the screen.

“It’s not nice to spy, Wesley.”

He grins, “I was making sure you weren’t sexting right next to me.”

“Ew! Who would do that in public?”

Both Cecelia and Nico raise their hands from across the room. I stare at them in horror, pretending I can’t see the red flush staining Trip’s cheeks.

Wesley shrugs, “Like I said. Just making sure you weren’t sexting next to your brother. That’s wrongon so many levels.”

“Is it wrong to sext someone else’s brother while sitting right next to them?” Nico muses the question out loud, “Because I have definitely done that with Stella.”

Cecelia glances at him in surprise, “You’re still fucking the assistant coach?”

“You know it, babe. I locked that fine ass down.”

She nods in acknowledgement, “Nicely done. He’s hot.”

“Wait. Mighty Mo gets called hot but I only get cute?” Wesley frowns, looking at his girlfriend, “That doesn’t seem right.”

Trip smiles, “Your dimples are cute, Wes. Don’t read into it.”

His jaw drops, “You did it again. You called me cute.”

Nico snorts, “My alpha is hands down the hottest lacrosse player at this school.”

“Whoa, wait a second. The guy doesn’t even play anymore…”

I tune out the bickering friends and pull out my phone to quickly type a response.

ME: Actually, I have something to show you tonight (and it’s not the movie). Maybe you could stay over afterwards?

SKYLAR: Sounds good. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.

His response has a smile staining my face. My brother was right, Skylar does put a lot of effort into our relationship. There has never been a time when I didn’t feel like his number one priority, and as selfish as it sounds, it feels really nice.

A loud gasp pulls my attention back to the conversation going on around me.

“… I am totally an alpha! Trip, tell them what I did last night.” Wesley puffs out his chest, “Tell them how I alpha-ed you.”

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