Page 71 of The Rivals' Touch

He briefly sweeps his eyes past my shoulder, then lowers his voice, hissing, “I do know, Remi! I wouldn’t fucking agree to it otherwise, would I?”

Angry tears sting my eyes, and I poke his chest, digging my nail into his hard pec. I want to scream and make a scene. “I can’t believe you agreed to it in the first place. I’m not a fucking bargaining chip or a token that you can gamble with!”

“Lower your voice!” he growls, wrapping his fingers around my wrist. He drags me over to the sidelines. “I did what I had to do.”

Arms crossed, I scoff. “What if they win, huh? Did you think about that?”

His hand slams into the wall behind me. “God damn it! They won’t win, Remi! Do you think I would fucking let them?”

I bounce my eyes between his as anger boils my blood. We don’t argue often. But right now, I want to lash out at him. “I can’t believe you!”

“Are you coming, Remi? We’re about to start!” Legacy’s voice rings out behind me.

Bennett looks at her over my shoulder, then leans in close, whispering, “You know, Remi. Rumors fly.”

Bile rises to my throat, and I hold my breath as he runs his hand over my shoulder and grabs the back of my neck in a tight hold.

“Don’t act so high and mighty.” Then he walks away and joins my dad and Ariana on the bleachers. Unblinking, I stare at him with my heart in my throat until a soft touch on my arm startles me.

“Are you okay?” Legacy asks, tracing her fingers down my elbow to my wrist, a forbidden touch meant to soothe.

“I’m fine,” I reply shakily, my voice barely audible in the noisy room.

Bennett knows.

“You brought your boyfriend.” She sounds hurt.

I look away from the bleachers, where Bennett talks to my father. “He’s my boyfriend, Legacy. Of course he wants to watch me cheer.”

She shifts closer and slides her hand over my hip. It’s discreet to avoid detection, but her fingers burn me like a dancing flame. “Do you love him?”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry for what I said to Abigail. I was jealous.”

I shove her hand away, ignoring how my skin tingles. “It’s not me you should apologize to.”

“I want to kiss you,” she breathes, her eyes on my lips.

“Not here!” I push past her, jogging over to the other girls stretching on the floor.

Abigail smiles at me when I slide down into a side split next to her. “Are you ready to cheer for Aycliffe?”

I lift my head off my knee and lean over my other leg, touching my toe. “I’ll never be ready to cheer for this team, but I’ve got to make Daddy dearest proud.” Just the thought turns my stomach.

“You’ll do great,” Abigail winks, then gets to her feet.

My eyes collide with Legacy. She shifts into a front split, and I do the same. We’ve always been competitive—the two rival queen bees.

She tightens her ponytail and jeers, “You’re not going to cry, are you?”

The bitch act is back. I drag my eyes away from her tanned legs, stretching on for miles on the floor. “The only one here who will cry is you when I take your title as head cheerleader.”

She bares her teeth. “Bitch!”

I wink and jump to my feet, whispering on my way past, “You might as well give it to me now and save yourself the humiliation further down the road.”

“Oh, trust me,” she sneers. “I’ll give you something!”

---