The Rulebreaker

“Maverick?” I shoot her a look. “You’re insane. He sees me as a little sister. Don’t you see how he’s acting because Brian asked me out?”

“Like a jealous man.”

“Or an older brother.” I raise an eyebrow.

“How would you know? You don’t have an older brother.”

I nod. Very true. Maverick is the closest thing I have to an older brother and he’s definitely not that, at least not in my mind, at least not anymore. Freaking hormones.

Chapter Five

Maverick

“She is so hot. I can’t believe you have never introduced us,” Brian says. “Or maybe I can. I guess if you want a piece of that.”

“Don’t.” I shoot him a glare that makes his eyes go wide. “Don’t talk about Rocky like that. She’s not a piece of anything.”

She’s the whole damn thing, I want to say, but don’t. It would make me look like I’m cockblocking or interested and I’m not. I’ve had a crush on Rocky for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never let myself entertain the thought that maybe there could be more than friendship there, not because I’m not attracted to her or think she’s the coolest girl in the world. I just don’t want to mess with our friendship. That was a decision I made when I was fifteen years old and stick by even now. It would complicate everything. I love her parents. She loves mine. Mine loves hers. I mean, we’ve spent holidays together. We’ve gone on trips together. I’ve stayed over at her house and vice versa. If her father found out I was interested in his daughter in that way he’d have my head, and as much as I love Mike, I’d never disrespect him like that. Or his daughter. I can’t deny that the thought of her dating one of my teammates hurts though. Brian’s a cool guy, but it doesn’t matter. It’s Rocky. She’s worth anyone’s weight in gold.

“Yo.” Colson hits my chest. “You wanna ride?”

“Where?”

“A party.”

I look over at Brian, who’s texting on his phone. “Are you coming?”

“Sure.” He doesn’t look up from his phone. “I’ll follow you.”

“Why don’t we just invite them to the house?” Colson says, looking at his own phone. “It’s Laura, Mel, and Kayti. They’re with some other friends. We have Brian and Chase.” Colson frowns and stops walking. “Did we lose Chase?”

“I don’t know how the fuck anyone would lose the giant.” I look around and spot Chase in the back by the bathrooms talking to a blonde, and tap Colson so he looks where I’m looking.

“Yeah, he’s not leaving,” Brian says. “Unless he brings her along.”

“We’ll meet at our place,” Colson says. “I’ll text you the address.”

“Let me call Mitch, he might have a keg.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and call my brother.

He and his friends always have an extra keg, and if they don’t, they always know where to find one. He answers fast and sounds out of breath.

“I don’t even wanna know,” I say, shaking my head.

“What? I was running.” He chuckles.

“Running. Right.” I roll my eyes even though he can’t see me. Mitchell is the exact person who would answer the phone when he’s fucking someone without a care in the world. I know because it’s happened and I still haven’t gotten over it.

“Whatever. You can ask Misty if you want.”

“Oh, you’re with Misty? Then I know you’re definitely not running.”

“Fuck you.”

I laugh. Misty is a girl he dated back in high school and still hasn’t gotten over. With good reason. She’s the three Fs: hot as fuck, smart as fuck, and funny as fuck. She’s also never giving him the light of day again, apparently. He’s been trying and failing to hook up with her for five years. Now they’re hanging out because of some assignment or something and they’re spending more time together than ever, but I can tell my brother’s balls are bluer than a damn Smurf. It would be funny if I couldn’t relate, living with Rocky and all. Not that Rocky leads me on. Or touches me. But sometimes, she looks at me with these bedroom eyes and I swear my heart stops beating all together.

“What do you want?” he asks, still obviously bothered.

“I need a keg.”

“Or two,” Colson says beside me.

“Hell no. Last time I hooked you up with a keg you destroyed that hotel room and I felt responsible.”

“I paid for it.”

“No, Dad paid for it.”

“I paid Dad back every cent.”

“How?” Mitchell sounds genuinely curious. “You don’t have a job.”

“You know I have side hustles.”

He’s quiet for a long time. “You’re not selling drugs, are you?”

“What the fuck?” I stop walking for a second. “Why in the world would I be selling drugs? You want Mom to kill me or something?”

Colson laughs beside me, shaking his head. “Momma’s boy.”