Page 92 of The Rivals' Touch

The roof is down on Legacy’s convertible, and the wind moves my hair around my face as I unlock my phone and re-read Zayd’s messages.

Zayd: Want me to lie?

Zayd: Remi?

“You look deep in thought,” Legacy comments, checking her rearview mirror. We take a left turn down the main road to school. The sun is hot on my face, and it’s not even nine o’clock in the morning.

“I guess I’m just confused by my emotions.”

She looks at me behind her oversized sunglasses. “Those are deep thoughts for this hour of the day. We didn’t even have time to stop for coffee.”

I roll my head on the seat. “That’s because we overslept, and why did we oversleep, Legacy?”

She pretends to think as she checks her mirrors. “I have no idea.”

“We overslept because you’re insatiable. Women like you should come with a warning label!”

She grins, meeting my gaze briefly. It’s unfair how good she looks with windswept hair. If I checked the mirror now, I would screech in horror. Unlike her, I can’t pull off the ‘I rode to school in a convertible’ look.

“You handled me just fine!”

I blush, looking down at my phone in my lap. Zayd’s message stares me in the face. “Do you think it’s possible to have feelings for more than one person?” I ask Legacy as I type out a response to Zayd.

Me: In this case, yes. Tell me sweet, little lies.

“I think so, yes. You can’t help who you fall for, Remi.”

I look up from my phone, teasing, “You think I’m falling for you?”

Legacy slides her hand over the wheel as we drive down the street toward school. “You tell me.”

I sweep my eyes over her neck and shoulder. There’s something very erotic about her. She’s feminine and soft but with enough attitude and fire to remind me of a coiled snake that will strike when you least expect it. “I’m falling for you.”

She can’t hide her smile.

“Are you jealous that I have feelings for someone else too?”

We pull into the parking lot of the school. “I am, but I’m also not.” After parking the car, she turns to me and shrugs. “I don’t blame you for feeling confused.”

“What if I sleep with him?” Am I asking for permission?

“Is that what you want? To sleep with him?”

“It’s almost happened a couple of times.”

Legacy puts her hand on my thigh but draws back when a group of students walk past. Here at Aycliffe, she’s straight. That’s what everyone believes. “I don’t want to hold you back.”

“What does that mean?” I ask as she exits the car. She walks off without replying, so I jump over the door and out of the car, hurrying after her. She’s the most confusing woman I’ve ever met. Not that I’ve been with any other woman besides her. “What do you mean by that? You don’t want to hold me back?”

She stops on the first step and turns. “Do you need me to spell it out for you, Remi? Fuck him if you want!”

I rear back. It’s the answer I secretly want to hear, but I also don’t. I have an angel and a devil on my shoulders. The devil rubs his hands with glee and says, “Let’s drag Zayd into the nearest bathroom and fuck his brains out. Daddy dearest will never find out!” But the angel says, “I can’t fuck him. I don’t want to hurt Legacy’s feelings. Why is she giving us the option? She should say no! Tell us we’re not to fuck anyone but her!”

I walk past Legacy and grit my jaw as a strange and confusing jolt of annoyance flares up inside me.

She rushes after me and circles her fingers around my wrist, whispering, “Did I say something wrong?”

I wait to reply until a group of loud guys has walked past. “What do you think, Legacy? ‘Fuck him if you want?’ Do you hear how that sounds?”

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