The Endgame Is You (Rixon Raiders 4)

“And unofficially?”

“We were fucking most of the summer.”

“Rex!” Faith hissed.

“So the summer of sexual inhibition and self-discovery was—”

“I lied. And I feel like a horrible person. But things with Rex were confusing and I didn’t want to jump headfirst from one relationship into another. God, you must think I’m such a bitch.”

“Faith, stop.” I sighed. “Are you happy?”

“Yeah, I mean... it’s new and unexpected. But Rex is so different to Max.”

“Well, duh.” He grinned, sliding his arm around her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see it, at all,” Asher said.

“That makes two of us,” Faith offered him an uncertain smile. “But the heart wants what the hearts want, am I right? Listen, I really am sorry about everything I said to Mya.”

“She’s forgiven you,” he said, “so I guess that makes us cool.”

“As long as you’re happy,” I added, “what me or anyone else thinks shouldn’t matter.”

“You’re right, it shouldn’t. But I don’t always find it easy to shake people’s expectations.”

“You’ll get there, Boo Boo.” Rex nuzzled her neck, and I sat there watching, completely bewildered. They were so... different. Faith was all about appearances and what other people thought, and Rex was... Rex. He didn’t really conform to gender stereotypes or label himself as straight or gay.

It was weird... but even weirder was the fact that as I watched them whisper to one another, wrapped up in their own little bubble, it didn’t seem weird at all.

“Well, I don’t know about anyone else,” Asher said. “But I’m really glad we cleared the air.”

My friends chuckled, and I smiled, a strange sensation washing over me.

I’d been Faith once upon a time. A girl lost and unsure of her place in the world, wanting to break free from the stereotypes forced on her. Then I’d found Asher and he’d taught me love had no limits. It was hard and messy and chaotic, but worth the fight and the tears and the heartache.

Love was what made us human.

But how someone else loved us made us feel more than human.

And Asher...

He loved me enough to make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Part III

Senior Year

Cameron

“Chase, a word?” Coach beckoned me toward his office, and I weaved my way through the locker room. The air was warm, the smell of sweaty cleats and wet grass lingering.

Practice had been grueling, and I knew Coach Byford probably wanted to know where my head was at.

“Hey, Coach.”

“Take a seat, son.” He motioned to the seat opposite his desk and I sat. “Do I need to be worried?” Fingers steepled, he sat back, studying me.

“It’s my brother, sir. He’s...” Fuck. I didn’t know what the hell was going on with Xander. He’d only been in second grade a few weeks and my parents had already been called in four times.