“But I won’t. I need my sleep. Can’t be a winner when I’m drunk,” I say and he grins.
“Too driven,” he mumbles, and I laugh.
“You made me this way,” I sing and he shrugs.
“Maybe.”
But we both know there is no maybe about it.
I am my father’s daughter.
When we get to the running trail, most of the guys have already arrived. Dad pulls into the parking lot and then glances at the time. “They’ve got five minutes.”
“Are you kicking people off for this?”
He shrugs. “Haven’t decided yet.”
Dad doesn’t like lateness; it’s one of his biggest pet peeves. But thankfully, once we get out of the car, more cars are pulling up, guys unloading and gathering around, waiting on instruction. Crossing my arms over my chest, I wait for my dad to start when all of a sudden I feel him near me. Looking to my left, I find him there, matching my stance with Jace beside him, doing the same.
The damn Wonder Twins, ladies and gentlemen.
Just the sight of his perfectly chiseled jaw pisses me off, so I let out an annoyed breath, and when he smiles, I want to kick him.
“Nice shorts there, Moore.”
“Yeah?” I ask, looking down at my shorts. They may be shorter than normal, but they are my favorite running shorts. Looking at his shorts, I can see his are short too, classic dude running shorts.
As I meet his gaze, his grin grows. “Yeah.”
“You can borrow ’em anytime, just let me know,” I say, blinking innocently, and his grin only grows more.
“You are hell-bent on being a bitch, aren’t you?”
I shrug. “I don’t like you.”
“You lie,” he says automatically. When he leans in, I lean back, but it doesn’t stop him from saying, “You like me a lot.”
Breathless, I say, “You know, you’re right. I do like you.”
Satisfied, he nods. But before he can add anything, I say, “Like I love going to the OB/GYN, or maybe getting an enema, or even getting an ingrown toenail picked out. Yeah, I like you bunches.”
I flash him a big grin just as my dad blows his whistle. “All right, boys and Moore,” he says like always, and I direct my attention to him, a little grin on my face.
I won that.
“Today for our team-building exercise, we are gonna run this five-mile course.”
Immediately people are groaning. Apparently, I’m not the only one who hates to run. He blows his whistle, and everyone snaps their mouths shut as Dad goes on, “I believe that running is not only great for your endurance but also it’s good for building a team. The whole no person left behind is something I live by. Push your brothers and sister, help them to finish, and remember this isn’t a race.”
Dad may say that, but when I glance up at Jayden, I see it in his eyes.
This is a race.
And he’s going down.
“We are to finish as a team. Don’t let me see someone finish by themselves,” he says and everyone nods. Blowing his whistle, he waves us off. “And go!”
I meet Jayden’s gaze, and then we are glaring at each other as we start to walk with the team to the start of the trail.