I had been so tempted to fuck her in this little closet, to hear her scream my name and let the sound echo down these empty halls, but then again, I didn’t trust Pincer Blades.

Despite us being new, I had a strong sense of trust that my Vipers had my back. If they heard me with a girl, they would go the other way and make sure everyone followed suit. We protected each other like that.

As of today, the Pincer Blades were our enemy.

A part of me didn’t want to make it seem that way. Remembering our friendship and how we used to trust and rely on one another, it was a shame that things went south.

A shame that our pride, matched with society’s standards, made us go down paths we never thought of.

Realizing I hadn’t replied, I quickly answer, knowing I won’t be checking my phone in a while.

Me:Anything for you, Baby Girl.

With a sigh and roll of my shoulders, I open the door to head straight out.

Crashing right into someone head-on.

“We’ll fuck,” I curse and have to take a step back because it really feels like I walked into the damn door instead of opening it.

Opening my eyes, I’m staring straight into Jayce’s unamused face.

“Oh c’mon,” I groan. “You were already a fucking ass by slamming me into the boards before I let you guys win. Don’t come here to fight with me because you lost.”

“You knew that the game didn’t matter,” he counters with a snarl. “You set us up.”

Here we go.

“Explain to me how I set you up for having a faster processing time in my mind in comparison to you,” I encourage and wait for him to plead his case, which makes me guilty of conning him and his team of Pincer Blades.

I swear, they have to change that name or just call them Pincers. The Blade is so unnecessary.

“You knew Mr. Champion was going to put Mikayla and Coach Johnson on separate teams,” he accuses.

“You’re right.” I shrug and take a step forward, forcing him to move back or else I’d be right in his face. The door closes behind me, giving me the chance to lean back against it before crossing my arms over my chest.

His eyes narrow on me because I know he hates when I do this. I’m leaning back so I don’t emphasize that I’m a few inches taller than him, but cross my arms so he’s reminded that I’m not someone who’s afraid of confrontation.

Not anymore. He has to be reminded of that right now.

“I went through every detail of the rules and regulations that we were given this morning. I also listened to Mr. Champion’s long-ass speech about how important this opportunity is and what’s at stake. He talked about conflicts of interest. You were probably daydreaming and praying to God that Mikayla would be on your team and not paying attention.”

“Mickey WAS supposed to be on our team,” he practically yells, and he’s in my face while he slams his fist into the door behind me, right next to my head.

He’s trying to scare me, but I ain’t a fool.

We can play this game all day.

“And now Mkaykay is on ours.” I don’t need to raise my voice to get my point across.

He knows that.

Which is why he’s fuming with anger. I can see he wants to punch his other fist into my face.

“What? Afraid of losing your chances with our Heartbreaker Queen?” I dare whisper.

“She’s my girl, Maddox,” he growls. “I may have fucked up. May have pushed her away, but this is my chance to get her back, and you’re not getting in the way.”

“Oh, really?” I’m all but amused as I dare let the corner of my lips lift in pure taunt. “I believe you’re a few steps behind if you’re only now thinking of making a move, Jayce.”