Page 48 of Off Camera
I hum, intrigued.
He has my interest.
“What’s the winning prize?” I ask. “How do I know this will be worth my while?”
“If I win, you have to change your social media handle—@footballindc? Really? You play inBaltimore, Avery, and I’m tired of people confusing our accounts.”
“I did that to piss you off. Guess it worked.” I grin, and he scowls. “What do I get if I win?”
“What do you want?”
I tap my cheek, an idea coming to me. “You have to play the Thunderhawks song on your page during every playoff game and publicly acknowledge you lost a bet.”
“Deal,” he says.
“You’re quick to agree.”
“Because it’s an easy thing to win.”
“Hang on. Before we do some weird blood oath where we vow to destroy each other, can we temporarily pause our feud?” I ask and he blinks, surprised.
“We’re making up the rules as we go, so sure. We can pause it. Why?”
There’s a question on the tip of my tongue, one I’m not sure I’m allowed to ask. Especially now. But I’m going to ask it anyway. It’s my last chance to. “We… we had a connection, didn’t we? That wasn’t—” I swallow. “That was real, right?”
I’m scared to hear the answer.
I’m not going to be able to turn off my attraction to him overnight. Even with this big revelation, I still want to kiss him. I still think he’s a nice guy with a good heart.
He also happens to be the man I’ve loathed since our very first interaction.
Separating the two is going to be difficult.
Reid’s eyes soften, and he lookssad. Regretful, if I stare long enough, as if he knows how hard this is going be too. “Yeah,” hesays, and my traitorous heart leaps in my chest. “It was real. For me, at least.”
I rub my thumb over my bottom lip. He tracks the motion, like he’s watching me one final time and trying to savor it. “Me too,” I admit. “What do we do now?”
The air is thick with tension. The heavy moment breaks, and it feels like I’ve been holding my breath for days.
“We go to war,” he says, but there’s far less disdain behind it.
“I hope you’re prepared to lose.” I step past him. I need some space. I need to get my head on straight. “If you’ll excuse me, I have things to do. Speeches to write. Content to post. A bet to win.”
“It’s going to go as well as your season did last year: well below average.”
“Not your best dirty talk, but I’ll take it. Good luck. You’re going to need it.”
“It’s going to be like that, huh?” He tugs on my belt loop and spins me so I’m facing him. My hands inadvertently land on his chest, and I look up at him. “You’re going to wish you never came to Baltimore when I’m finished with you,” he whispers in my ear, and I shiver. “Game on, Sinclair.”
Before I have a chance to toss back a rebuttal, Reid is moving away and leaving me breathless, confused, and feeling like I just made a deal with the devil.
SIXTEEN
REID
Avery
Morning, sunshine.
