Maxim (Carolina Reapers 10)

Nine miles had been covered and I had about a billion more to go at the rate my mind kept spinning back to the blonde I was supposed to be platonically living with. The blonde I couldn’t seem to keep my hands off of. The blonde whose taste was tattooed on my tongue in the best way. The blonde I couldn’t stop kissing for fear of losing, and I wasn’t just talking about the games anymore.

I craved those moments with a ferocity that shook me to the core. Was it about keeping my routine? Sure. I was self-aware enough to recognize that I had a serious problem with game-time superstition, especially when we were ranked first in the conference. But it was more than that, too. In those limited seconds, I freed myself to indulge in the unexpected connection I’d found with Evie.

Sweat poured off me in rivers as I watched the gym empty out. Guess team workout time was over.

Sterling approached and leaned over the front of my treadmill to see my stats. “Holy fucking shit, Maxim, you have to stop.”

“Says. Who?” I asked, my chest heaving with exertion as my feet pounded the machine.

“Says the guy who is reminding you that we have a game tomorrow and you’re running your legs into the fucking ground.” He reached over the console and started decreasing my speed.

“Hands off.” I swatted at his hands and jabbed the button, cranking up the pace.

“Seriously.” He swept his hand out and quickly tapped the downward button, then covered it with both hands.

“For fuck’s sake.” I shoved his hands out of the way, but lowered my speed until I was in a cool-down walk. “I bet you were a real pain in the ass as a kid, weren’t you?”

“I would have tortured you endlessly,” he answered with a shameless grin, hopping onto the treadmill next to me and matching my cool-down pace.

“Glad you saved it all for these years,” I said sarcastically.

“I can imagine us as kids, too, locked endlessly in a battle for superiority. Sibling rivalry at its finest.” That smile reminded me way too much of my own.

“Eh.” I threw back half the bottle of water in my cup holder. “It was probably for the best that you weren’t around back then. Dad would have pitted us against each other. Trust me, he tried his best with David and me, and then gave it another go once he found out we’d both been traded to the Reapers.”

“Is that what’s bugging you?” Sterling asked, glancing at me briefly before staring out the window over the Charleston skyline. “Dad? I mean, I know Silas banned him from the players’ lot, and I think he’s about two seconds from being barred from the entire arena if he won’t leave you the fuck alone.”

“Dad is…Dad,” I answered with a shrug. “And he’s kept his distance since I started playing decently again. Trust me, my stats are way more important to him than face time.”

“So if it's not Dad…” Sterling cocked his head at me. “Girl problems?”

“This isn’t fucking junior high,” I scoffed, feeling every twitch of my muscles now that I was coming down off the run.

“Fine. Women problems?” Sterling asked.

My jaw clenched and I kept my gaze pinned straight ahead.

“Evie?” my brother guessed.

I glanced his direction.

He stumbled, staggering, his arms flailing out for the railings to catch himself, which he did. His feet scurried to get his balance back on the treadmill.

“That would have been fun at a few miles-an-hour-faster,” I deadpanned.

“Evie?” he repeated, his eyebrows reaching for the ceiling. “I knew it!”

“Shut. Up.”

He looked around. “There’s only McKittrick in here, and he’s got his AirPods in. No one can hear us.”

“Just because we’re quasi-alone doesn’t mean I want to talk about it.” I hit stop on the treadmill and stepped off the machine, then went about the cleaning routine for the equipment, swiping down the handles and buttons.

“I think you’d make a great couple, honestly,” Sterling said as he did the same.

“In what fucking world do you think someone as sweet as Evie should be paired up with someone as callous as me?” I snatched my bottle from the cupholder. “And did you happen to forget that she’s our little sister’s best friend?”

Sterling shrugged. “Mila’s never struck me as the kind to care what Evie does. If anything, I would argue that she’s always put Evie right in your path. Kind of like a storm chaser with one of those tornado-tracking machines.” He looked off into the distance, like he was thinking about something.

“Okay, let’s pretend that’s not the most…” I shook my head. “Insane attempt at analogy I’ve heard in a hot minute. In that scenario, you’re saying Mila’s the scientist.”

Sterling nodded.

“Evie is the tornado-tracking…thing.”

Another nod.

“Which makes me the goddamned tornado?” I twisted the top of my Hydro Flask. “Fine, that part is fair. But do you know what tornadoes do to those little machines?”