The Trouble with You (Rixon Raiders 1)

“Wasn’t she?” He levelled me with a hard look. “How can I know for sure this wasn’t all part of her plan to get back at me for your little stunt at the pep rally?” His brow rose. That was Jason though, so wary of everyone’s ulterior motives. I guess it came with the territory; the higher you climbed, the less you could trust the people around you. Because everyone wanted a piece of a legend in the making.

“Because, man, Hailee might get off on your games almost as much as you do, but she’s not you. Besides, she hates the limelight. Can you really imagine her going to an East party and announcing herself as Jason Ford’s step-sister?”

He mulled my words over, his eyes hard on the ground. “She’s made things real fucking difficult for me. My dad knows we butt heads, but if he found out I... fuck.” His fist clenched at his side. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.”

“East know she’s family now, so you might as well start treating her like it. Rivals Week is the week after next. If they’re going to try anything you can bet your ass it’ll be then.”

Jase jammed his fingers in his hair, tugging the ends in frustration. “She’ll never go for that. And honestly, I’m not sure I can do it. I don’t like her.” He glanced up at me. “I’ll never like her.”

“You don’t have to like her.” The words stuck in my throat. “But she’s in the middle of this now, whether you like it or not.”

His grim expression told me he knew I was right. “She won’t make things easy,” he sounded defeated.

“She doesn’t need to. One semester; we only need to get through one semester and then the season is done.”

“One semester,” he echoed as if he was trying it out for size. “I swear to God, man, if she screws anything up for me—”

“She won’t.” If Hailee knew what was good for her, she’d keep her head down and her mouth shut, and this thing with Thatcher would all blow over. And if it didn’t… well, I didn’t want to think about that right now.

“Fuck.” Jase let the ball fly and it hit the outer rim of the tire. Jason didn’t miss.

He never missed.

Looking my best friend in the eye, I said, “You need to keep your head about this, okay?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “I just…”

“I know.”

Football, this life, was all he knew. The air he breathed.

And for someone like Jason, losing even an ounce of control was not an option.

Monday morning in the weight room was a bitch. Coach didn’t want us to get cocky after our crushing win over Marshall Prep, and had us work extra hard which meant practice was going to be a double bitch. He’d also given Jason and Asher an earful about their appearance, but he didn’t ask questions—he didn’t want to know. As long as they were fit enough to play and stayed out of Principal Finnigan’s way, that was all that mattered.

The buzz in the locker room was infectious, everyone still riding the high of Friday night.

“So, I heard Levinson are looking good this season.” Layton, one of the new players from JV said. “My cousin goes there, and he said—”

“Levinson can eat my ass,” Asher howled. “Last season, weren’t they like six losses to four?”

“Things change, man. I’m telling you, they got this new coach, and he’s really worked them hard over the summer.”

Asher shrugged. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Don’t get cocky, Ash,” Jase chimed in. “We treat every game like we’re playing the motherfucking championship game, you hear me?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t sweat it, man. We know the deal.”

“Oh shit,” someone chimed. “Yo, QB, you’d better come see this.” It was Grady.

My spine prickled as Jase stalked across the room to him, peering over the guy’s shoulder, his eyes hard on the screen. “Motherfucker,” he rasped, his fist clenching against his thigh.

“Problem?” I asked.

“Time to get to work, ladies,” Coach boomed. “And that better not be a cell phone I can see, Grady. Get it out of my sight, Son, and get out on the field stat. If you’re not out there in ten, you can spend the next two hours running suicides. You feel me?”

“Y- yeah, Coach, I feel you.” Grady mumbled as Jase stalked back to his locker. He looked furious, eyes thin, nostrils flared.