The Rulebreaker

“Why are you parading around the house half-naked? We have rules about this,” I say.

“Mav told me you were staying with your friends, so I figured it was safe. How was I supposed to know you were coming home?”

“Can you lower the music?” Leyla shouts.

“I would, but it’s not my music. Mav is in his room with . . . someone, and I guess he doesn’t want us to hear what he’s doing.” Colson winks.

“Ew,” Ashley says.

“Gross,” Leyla adds.

“Unbelievable,” I mutter as I stomp to my bedroom, knowing my friends will follow, but not caring at the moment.

The rage starts in my chest and blooms as I get my things ready for the party. By the time I shower, I’m more upset than I was when I started. The music is off though, which means he’s done doing whatever he was doing. I think about the movie theatre just earlier today, about his lips on mine and his hands on my body, and I feel like vomiting when I envision him doing those things with someone else. I shouldn’t have kissed him. I shouldn’t have straddled him or let him touch me. I definitely shouldn’t have because at least before all of this I wasn’t sure about my feelings for him but now they’re clear. I’ve completely fallen for my best friend and I feel like a complete idiot for it. It’s not like I can escape him. I can’t stay at Leyla and Ashley’s forever. There’s no room for me there. Looking for another place isn’t an option. I don’t have the time or money to do that right now. I berate myself for the kiss again, and again, until I decide that there’s nothing I can do about it now except move forward and past it and leave it behind. Leyla and Ashley help me with my hair and makeup, Leyla straightens it, which I rarely do because it takes so much work to make my otherwise curly hair completely straight unless I go to a hair salon that’s equipped to handle it and I don’t have time or money for that either. Leyla’s good at this though. She was blessed with similar curls and raised with four sisters.

“Damn,” Ashley says, looking at me in the mirror. “You look fucking gorgeous, Rocky.”

“Look at how long your hair is! You should let me do this more often,” Leyla says, nodding her head slowly in appreciation. “You always look good but this is just . . . ” She lets her words trail and does a chef’s kiss.

“Thanks. I really do love it.” I look at myself in the mirror and don’t even see myself looking back at me.

I don’t even bother with coyness, because dammit, I look amazing. My makeup is completely overdone with the smoky eyes and fake lashes, but it looks so good. I feel sexy in my little black dress that’s tight and definitely way above my knees. My toned, muscular legs look extra defined in the sky-high heels I’m wearing, too—Jimmy Choo’s I borrowed from Ash.

“I feel like we’re going to need an after-party to go to,” Leyla says, looking at the three of us. “We look way too good to waste it on people we see all the time.”

“Agreed,” I say.

“Totally,” Ashley adds. “Reese—baseball Reese—is having a party at his place. The softball girls are going.”

“Fuck yeah, sign me up for softball girls,” Leyla says, smiling wide. “Are you down, Barnes? Or are you going to be a Party Pooper Rex?”

I think about Maverick again and hold my head high. “I’m absolutely down. I’m so down that I’m getting drunk tonight.”

“Oooohhh,” they both say, making the three of us fall into a fit of laughter.

“Has one drink, gets drunk, the end,” Ashley adds.

“Fuck you. I can handle two drinks.” I laugh.

“We shall see.” Leyla takes a selfie of the three of us quickly and we walk out of my room.

“You took ten hours,” Colson says. He’s dressed in a black suit, black button-down, no tie, and black high converse. “But holy shit y’all look good.”

“Thanks.” I smile.

“Dude, your hair’s long as hell.” He walks over and touches it lightly. “So silky.”

“Thanks. My work here is done,” Leyla announces.

I hear a group of guys talking nearby and glance over to see Maverick, some of his teammates, and his brother Mitchell standing around the television where two of them are playing FIFA on the PlayStation. Maverick looks over, his eyes widening when he spots me. I feel my heart quicken as his eyes caress every inch of my body. When he meets my gaze again, I see the clear lust in his eyes as he licks his lips and says a quiet, “Damn.”

“Let’s go.” Ashley pulls my hand and I tear my attention away from Maverick and back to my friends.