Page 32 of Relentless (The Titans of Founder's Ridge 2)

I look over at him and shrug in response. Maybe we do, maybe we don’t, but right now, while our parents are married, we can’t be together. It’s as simple as that.

* * *

I’m walking to my car at the end of the day when I hear my name shouted from behind me. I turn to see Wes and his teammate Felix hurrying to catch up.

“Hey, how was the rest of your first day?” he asks when he reaches me.

“It was alright. It should be an easy year for me, I took all my hard classes last year.” I scan the building behind their heads, looking for Lilith. She’s hitching a ride home with me today. When I don’t see her, I keep walking toward my car.

“Yeah, I’m coasting this year, too.” He falls in step beside me. “I was wondering if I could get your number. Maybe we could go out this weekend?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” He hands me his phone, and I punch my number in.

“Hey,” Lilith walks up to us.

“Hey girl!” I point at Wes and Felix to introduce them, noting the look in Felix’s eyes when he gets a good look at her. She is gorgeous, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Amazon. They start chatting while Wes and I keep going for a few minutes. Then another guy yells that they’re late for conditioning, so they take off.

After I get Lilith dropped off at the Volkov estate, I go home. I decide to pick up the phone to FaceTime Oliver and fill him in on how the day went. The phone rings several times before he picks up.

“Hello love,” he says with that adorable accent. It’s stronger since he’s been back in England.

“Hi. How are you?”

“I was sleeping.” He runs a hand over his face and scratches his jaw.

“Oh, it’s not that late though, is it?”

“No, I just passed out after spending the whole day on the pitch doing drills with my mates. Gotta get in all the practice before Uni.”

“You sound more British than ever,” I laugh.

“I miss that sound,” he smiles at me through the phone, “and seeing your face. How was your day?”

“Good. There’s a new girl that Connor is obsessed with getting rid of, but Levi suggested I befriend.”

His eyes flash with jealousy at the mention of Levi, but he listens to the whole story closely. He seems worried when I get to the part about Wes.

“Wes and Felix aren’t good guys. I know you want to date around this year but maybe find someone else.”

“You jealous?” I tease.

“Yes, I am bloody jealous of anyone who dates you, but that is not why I’m warning you against them. I know these guys and they’re wankers.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, you’ll stay away or okay, just to shut me up?”

“Maybe both?”

He sighs but lets me guide the conversation in a different direction. We fill each other in on the last couple weeks of our lives. I’m careful to avoid talking about Levi; that’s the one sore spot for Oliver. He doesn’t know everything about Levi and I, but he knows enough to understand that there is something between us. That cat crawled out of the bag when Levi beat him bloody one morning leaving my bedroom.

I get off the phone when Mom knocks on my door. After I set the phone down on the charger, I look up at her.

“I have these brochures for you,” she says while holding her hand out for me to take them.

“For what? I’m already accepted into Yale.”

“Breast augmentation. It’s clear you’re going to stay flat chested. It’s time you start thinking about your actual future. No one is ever going to look at you twice if you look a nine-year-old boy.” She points at the three brochures I’m gaping at. “These are the three top plastic surgeons on the east coast. Pick which one you like, and we’ll make a weekend out of the procedure. Dinner is in half an hour, make sure you are dressed appropriately.”

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