The Rivalry

She nodded enthusiastically. “Sure, someone’s got to.”

The coach’s mouth fell open. Kayla gripped the railing with both hands and vaulted over it, moving too fast for me to stop her. She dropped down onto the track and marched toward the coach, whose jaw hit the grass.

Well, fuck me. This girl was crazy, and I loved it.

-14-

KAYLA

Music from a not-great marching band blared from the stadium behind us as Jay and I headed through the deserted parking lot toward his car. I couldn’t help but think about Chuck as the band murdered the song. This high school was further proof that OSU had “The Best Damn Band in the Land.”

“So,” Jay said, “do you get thrown out of every place you go?”

“I don’t know why the coach would offer if he wasn’t serious.”

I should have been embarrassed how the game had to be stopped while I was escorted off the field, but I wasn’t. The coach was the one who should be embarrassed. He was doing a disservice to those kids.

Something large and calloused curled around my hand, and I felt my eyes widen. I stared down at Jay’s fingers tangled with mine. Hand-holding. It made me all warm inside, and I told myself I didn’t like the feeling. Tonight was making a disaster of my ‘get over Jay Harris’ strategy.

I steeled my voice so he wouldn’t hear how flustered he made me. “I’m sorry I ruined your plans.”

I was tugged to a stop, and it forced my gaze up. All the way up, until I was staring into his deep sapphire eyes. “Who said that was my only plan?”

I swallowed a breath as he leaned down and captured my lips with his. Just like last time, I didn’t know what to do or how to feel, but my body had it covered. I acted on instinct, leaning into his kiss. Heat flooded down my spine, pumped outward by my thundering heart. Could we just stay like this all night? Time stood still as he kissed me at a high school halfway between our schools and on neutral ground.

It was over way too soon, and I was dazed as he resumed the walk to his car, pulling me along.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see soon. It’s not far.”

He opened the passenger door of his car for me, showing off his manners once again. I got in, put on my seatbelt, and folded my nervous hands into my lap. The air around us swirled with electricity as he slid behind the wheel. Although I didn’t know what he had planned specifically, I felt down to my bones it would involve kissing, and maybe . . . more. The sexual tension was thick between us, filling every spare inch of his car.

What would happen between us if we parked somewhere secluded this time? I was hot and needy between my legs. His tame kiss in the parking lot had turned me on terribly. I wanted his shirt undone and imagined him tugging mine off. We’d press our bare skin together, where I could feel every ridge and curve of his chiseled form touching my breasts, which were heavy and aching.

Okay. Maybe it had been a really long time since I’d had sex.

I pinched my knees together and turned away to stare out the window so Jay wouldn’t see the heat burning on my face.

“Your car’s nice,” I said. “It looks brand new.”

He laughed. “It’s not. I like keeping it looking good. It was a high school graduation gift from my parents.”

That was a spectacular gift, and I tried not to be jealous. My parents had helped Cooper and me out when we’d bought our used cars, but Jay’s had to cost more than five of my Rios.

He’d interrogated me about my family, but I’d been rude and hadn’t asked about his. “Do they still live in Indianapolis?”

“Yeah. It’s a long drive for them, but they try to come to all of my games.”

“Siblings?”

He paused, and the silence was strange. “No.”

Since he didn’t elaborate and his mood shifted, I tensed. This subject was off-limits. Outside, mailboxes whizzed by, the reflectors glowing in the car’s headlights.

“I’m bummed I got us thrown out before we could get a carcinogenic hot dog,” I said. “True story. During one of our high school games, Marcy and I saw the boxes those dogs come in. It said ‘Grade D Meat—Still Edible’ on it.” I shuddered. “It legit said that.”

His eyes stayed on the road, but he cracked a smile. “It might kill me, but I’ll take it over tofurkey.”

The drive was short. He turned off the road and into a park, climbing a hill and following the drive past a large playground. It led to a parking lot, which was empty and surrounded by trees. It was closed in. Secluded.

Anticipation needled over my skin, and made breath tighten in my lungs.