The Rivalry

Anxiety built with every passing moment, yet he seemed to grow calmer. More confident. He was like me, who usually flourished under pressure.

“Yeah,” I said, refusing to be beaten. “Cooper plays football. He’s a tight end like you. Only, unlike you, he’s not that good.”

Jay’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, yeah? You think I’m good?”

Warmth crept over my cheeks at my slip. I’d just implied a Michigan football player wasn’t awful. My stomach was queasy. “I mean, I assume,” I lied. “You have to be, to play Division I football. I’m doubting your pretty face is what makes you a starter.”

Oh, no. His smile went next-level. “Awe, you think I’m pretty, Kayla?” Seduction poured from his expression. “I’m nothing compared to you.”

The booth was getting smaller with every breath I took. It was starting to feel intimate. How much worse was it going to be when I got into his car? Maybe I’d walk the two miles back to Biff’s in my heels just to avoid the situation.

I glanced around the empty diner, studying the dingy tile floor that seemed like it hadn’t been mopped this decade, but it didn’t matter where I looked. I could feel his unwavering gaze on me.

“All right.” His deep voice forced my attention back to him. His expression was matter-of-fact. “I’m going to cut the bullshit. You’re hot. Fun. Probably smart, although not so much right now. I’m not too bad either. Quite a catch—at least, my mom tells me I am.”

My breath caught in my lungs. “Your point is?”

“I think we should try this. The rivalry thing? It’s one little detail.”

“Little detail?” He was delusional. Most of Ohio didn’t care if OSU’s record was one-and-eleven as long as that one win was over Michigan.

He held out the napkin, waving it like a white flag. “My number. I wrote it twice, because I’m not fucking it up a second time.”

Besides his full name, he’d scrawled two matching phone numbers, and then a third number—eighty-eight. Like an autograph. I looked at it with disdain.

“We’re not leaving until you put that in your suitcase,” he teased. Although he might have been serious.

“My purse is not that big.”

He scoffed. “It’s the same size as you.”

“Yeah, well, we can’t all be ogres,” I grumbled.

“Me? I’m too pretty to be an ogre.”

“Okay, fine, but you’re dumb tall.”

“Makes it easier to see over the other guys.” He waved the napkin again, dangling it like bait. “You wanna get going? Or stay here and have some more one-sided conversation?”

I grabbed it from him and jammed it inside my purse. “Get the check, Eighty-Eight.”

-10-

JAY

I hadn’t had to chase a girl in so long my game was slipping, and Kayla was more stubborn than I’d anticipated. The girl I’d had fun with at Dave’s wedding had gone into hiding, but she was still in there somewhere. When I distracted her, she’d let her guard down and I got a glimpse.

Okay, focus, Harris.

I didn’t mind doing a little chasing. On campus, I was the one getting pursued by girls, and on the field, I was chased by my opponents. So, this role reversal was enjoyable.

She was quiet again during the drive back to Biff’s, and I let her be. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat like she felt trapped. I wanted to shake my head at her. Ohio State fans. They could be balls-to-the-wall crazy.

Didn’t matter. I wanted to be all up in her brand of crazy. Her disgust that I was a starter for Michigan was . . . hilarious. I clearly went to the better school, but was smart enough to keep that comment to myself. The asshole part of me wanted to kiss her again just to get her worked up about it.

“The Kia Rio,” she said when I pulled into the parking lot. “That’s me.”

Her car was like her—small and adorable. I pulled into the empty spot beside it.

As I shifted into park, she popped her seatbelt off and scrambled to open the door. Only I hadn’t shut off the car yet, so the auto-locks were still engaged. She’d pushed on the door at Biff’s when she needed to pull, and now the lever on the car door didn’t work.

“Do doors usually give you this much trouble?” I teased.

She sighed loudly.

I turned off the car, which disconnected the auto-locks and released her. I was fast, but I’d never be fast enough to get around the car and open the door for her, so instead I went to her Rio. She was digging her keys out of her massive purse when she stepped into view. She pulled up short at the sight of me leaning against her car, my arms crossed casually over my chest.

She pretended to look disinterested, and failed. Her gaze started at my feet and traveled upward, and fuck if it didn’t make me hot the way she looked at me. I gazed at her the same way, only there was no filter or shame on my end. It was pure lust.