The Trouble with You (Rixon Raiders 1)

“Sunshine,” Cameron warned.

“What?” I played dumb. “It’s true. You jocks are all the sa—”

He dipped his head silencing me with his lips and tongue. I melted against him and a couple of people behind us snickered.

“Cam,” I breathed. “We have to... stop.”

“You’re no fun.” It was his turn to pout.

“How’s your mom, Cameron?” We both turned to Flick and her expression grew serious.

“She’s doing as well as can be expected, thanks. The good news is her doctor seemed confident they got it all.”

“That’s great.”

It was great. Karen had survived the surgery and her prognosis was looking good. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, and she still had a long road ahead of her if the doctors decided she needed radiotherapy; but it was as positive as it could be given the circumstances.

Wrapping my arm around Cameron’s waist, I snuggled into his side. Despite his mom’s surgery going well, he’d still wanted to remain off the roster for tonight’s game. Coach and his teammates begged him to be on the sidelines, but in the end, he decided to watch from the bleachers. I think, deep down, he was still waiting for the call to say something had gone wrong.

“She’s okay,” I whispered, squeezing him tighter. Cameron glanced down at me and smiled.

“I know.” He kissed me again, and Flick grumbled.

“I think I liked you both better when you hated each other.”

“You’re practically glowing.” Flick linked her arm through mine as we followed Cameron around the back of the stadium to meet the team and congratulate them on a well-deserved win.

“I’m happy,” I admitted. “He makes me happy.”

“Well, duh.” She chuckled. “You managed to score yourself a Raider. I guess some things do come true.”

I gaped at her unable to school my indignance, but she only laughed harder. “You should see your face. Just be thankful I didn’t get you a shirt for your birthday with ‘hashtag I ride a Raider’ printed on it.” Flick winked.

“You’re just jealous.”

Her eyes clouded for a second, the air around us cooling considerably, but then Flick was smirking as if nothing had just happened. “Of course, I’m jealous. I mean, I have eyes. Look at him.”

So, I did.

Cameron was fist-bumping and guy-hugging his teammates. His friends. We hovered while he did his thing, letting Kaiden and Asher give him a play-by-play account of every touchdown as if we hadn’t been front and center watching the whole game. But I realized it was probably just their way of including him in their victory.

“How are things at home?” Flick pulled my attention away from Cameron.

“It’s weird. Mom and Kent are acting as if nothing happened, and Jason barely acknowledges either of them, so not much has changed there. I’m at that weird place where I want to be mad with her, but I’m not sure I have the energy to keep it up for much longer.”

“Look,” my best friend said. “She made a mistake. Yes, it was a pretty fucking epic one, but you can’t help who you fall in love with. You of all people should know that.”

“I...” Flick was right. She always was. But it didn’t quell the sting of Mom’s betrayal. I think I was more hurt by the fact she’d lied all this time than the fact she’d had an affair.

People had affairs all the time. I didn’t condone it, but she and Kent were adults. They knew what they were doing. Jason and I knowing wouldn’t have changed anything.

But something told me, he was in no rush to forgive his dad.

“And you and Jason, what’s going on there?”

“Yeah, sister.” He appeared out of nowhere. “What is going on there?”

Flick rolled h