Obey Fate (Fated Duet 2)

But I couldn’t think like that, not when I was waiting for her to come out onto the track. I hadn’t been alone with her since that day in the classroom, and I needed to hear her voice. I needed to make sure she was okay.

I leaned against the metal fence surrounding the track and kept my attention on the doors to the building. Finally, she came out with Reagan beside her. She wore her dark-blue athletic leggings with a tank top, but it was her hair thrown up into a bun on top of her head that held my attention. The closer she got, the more I couldn’t stop staring.

I’d pressed my lips against that neck. I’d pushed my face into the crook. I’d tasted—

“Hey, Coach,” Reagan said, and I darted my gaze to her.

I had to stop. But I couldn’t. Fuck.

“Afternoon, ladies.” I took a breath and looked over at Aria, surprised by the small smile on her face. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as I thought. Maybe I’d built it up in my head to make it become something it wasn’t.

“Coach,” her soft voice greeted, but there was something I couldn’t put my finger on. She didn’t sound like her, she almost sounded too happy.

“You both ready to practice?” I asked, trying to fill the time. I didn’t know what I was doing. I usually barked orders at them, telling them what they needed to work on, and then we’d get on with it, but today I felt the need to get Aria to talk. I needed to hear her voice and have her eyes focused on me, even if it was only for a little while.

“Yep,” Reagan said as Aria nodded.

I begged her with my eyes to give me more. Say something, do something, anything to make me feel like I wasn’t losing my mind any longer, but all she graced me with was her small smile.

“Should we warm up?” Reagan asked.

“Yeah.” I blew out a breath and glanced over at her, finally breaking eye contact with Aria. I’d never felt as empty as I did at that moment. There was always something keeping me tied to her, something pulling on the end of the rope, but now…

Now it was lost on the wind, never to be found again.

They both backed away and started to jog around the track as I tried to get my thoughts in order. I’d pushed everything aside the last couple of weeks so I could wade through what was happening, but I hadn’t gotten anywhere. No reasoning or solutions had magically appeared, which meant I was in the exact same position I was from the moment we’d gotten caught.

I stared at Aria as she started her first of five full laps to try and get her times down, and realized how well she was taking all of this. She’d managed to push everything we had to the side and keep surviving, but that was what she did best—she always pushed through, determined to come out on the othe

r side. Maybe it was time for me to do the same?

“There you are!” I winced at the brash sound of Willow’s voice and pulled in a sharp breath. There wasn’t any escaping her. I’d managed to avoid her as much as possible, but I knew she would only sit back for so long. She held my life in the palm of her hand, I knew it, but most importantly, she knew it.

“Hey,” I said, pulling my lips up into a smile as I turned to face her. She swayed her hips as she sauntered toward me, her tight skirt leaving little to the imagination.

“Hey yourself,” she purred, coming to a stop a couple of feet away from me. She fluttered her lashes and placed her hand on my chest, and I couldn’t help but glance over at Aria. She wasn’t watching us, though. Her attention was solely on the track in front of her and the beat of her feet as they pounded the ground.

My skin crawled, my fingers twitching with the need to get her hand off me, but I knew I couldn’t. I had to play this game with her, at least until I could find a way to win. The problem was, I wasn’t sure there was one. She held all the cards, and I was fuckin’ helpless.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked. I tried to sound casual, but I had a feeling I wasn’t coming across like that at all. My acting skills were awful, and if I wanted to not have my life completely crushed, I needed to hone in on them and make them the best they could be.

She shrugged, acting at ease, but I could tell she wasn’t that at all. “Just thought I’d come and say hey.” She turned a little, looking out on the track. “I didn’t realize Aria Sayer was on the track team.” Her voice had changed. Gone was the sweet and innocent Willow she tried to portray, and in its place the true version of her. The one who let her anger show in her voice. The one who wanted what she wanted, no matter the cost.

“Yeah.” My nostrils flared, anger coursing through my veins at having to explain myself to her. “She and Reagan have the best track times in the school.”

“Hmmm.” She paused, and we both watched as Aria sped up for her last lap. Her arms pumped in time with her knees, her gait getting better and better the quicker she ran. “I’m sure Jasmine tried out for track too.”

“She did,” I grunted.

“Well?” I glanced at Willow and raised a brow in question. “Why didn’t she make the team?”

“Because her lap was a minute longer than both Reagan’s and Aria’s.”

Willow’s eyes narrowed on me, and I could tell by the flat line of her lips she wasn’t happy with my answer, but it was only the truth. I hadn’t allowed Aria on the team because of what had happened with us. She was on the team because she deserved to be there. Period.

“Coach?” Reagan called, slowing down and coming to a stop. “I beat my time by half a second.”

“Well done.” I high fived her, and Reagan grinned at me. “Stretch out and cool down. I’ll be over there in a second.”