“Fine.” He holds up his hands in surrender. “Just for the bed. But for the record, I would’ve lost on purpose just so you could see this ass in one of your thongs.”
I give him the slowest, most deliberate eye roll I can manage. “Oh my god, just throw.”
We both hold up our fists.
“Rock,” I count. “Paper. Scissors?—”
I throw paper. He throws rock.
We go again. I throw scissors. He throws paper.
“Two to one,” I say, grinning so hard it hurts. “Victory is mine. Guess you and the couch are getting cozy tonight.”
He stares at our hands for a second, like maybe he can Jedi-mind-trick the outcome into changing. Then he sighs. Loudly. Theatrically. “You know I’m going to fake a couch-related back injury tomorrow, right?”
“And I’m going to fake sympathy,” I shoot back, already fluffing my pillow.
Mads stands, grabs his own pillow and blanket, and heads for the door, muttering something about how the couch probably has bedbugs. He’s probably not wrong.
But just before he steps out, he pauses in the doorway. His voice drops, quieter. Serious. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t break your bed. Believe what you want, but I didn’t.”
Chapter 5
Mads
Ibroke her bed, and I do not regret it in the slightest.
The Rites demand follow-through, and if I stop now, the guys will smell weakness from a mile away. I’ve got to keep it going, keep her on her toes, even if half my brain is already thinking of ways to worship her as opposed to constantly pissing her off. The other half? It’s too busy thinking about how every setup could double as an excuse to be near her, to get under her skin in the kind of way that keeps me there permanently.
I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to fix it while she’s in class and pretend I’m a hero or work my way toward convincing her to sleep with me.
I can see positives to both options. One gets me back on her good side. The other gets her in my bedwith mequicker. Both are appealing. Both require a plan.
Right now, though, it’s too early to be scheming. The sky is still dark when I step onto the field. The lights overhead buzz to life as I jog toward the goal box, breath fogging in the air. It’s starting to feel more like autumn in the mornings. The ground’s damp, the air is cooler, and the stretch from my spine down to my calves burns in that way I crave when I’m still half asleep.
Autumn mornings here always carry that edge—wet earth, lingering drizzle, the kind of chill that seeps through layers if you stand still too long. I pull my gloves tight and settle into warm-ups with the rest of the team.
Eli fires a shot from the penalty line. I should have blocked it. I move too slowly. The ball clips my hand and rolls in.
“You good?” he calls.
“Yeah.” I shake it off and reset. “Just getting started.”
I drop into position again, adjusting my stance, knees bent, feet spread just enough to keep me grounded. My gloves are damp with morning dew, the sting from Eli’s shot still buzzing in my fingers. I rotate my wrist once, more for focus than recovery.
The grass is still slick this early. Not an excuse, but it doesn’t help.
Neither does the fact that my brain is running diagnostics on whether Blake’s awake, whether she slept okay, or whether she’s still mad about the bed. I picture her sitting up with her hair stuck out in every direction, glaring at her mattress from across the room. It’s a ridiculous thought, but I can’t get it out of my head. I can’t getherout of my head.
Colin lines up next. He doesn’t wait for a signal, just slams the ball low and hard to the left. I drop too late again. The ball thuds into the back of the net, and I curse under my breath.
“Easy money,” he says, loud enough for the whole field. Then, just to twist the knife, he adds, “Captain can’t even cover near the post. Good thing the rest of us know how to finish.”
I grit my teeth, swallowing the retort that wants to come out, because that’s the thing about Colin. He doesn’t care if he pisses me off. Hewantsme to snap. And half the time, I want to give him exactly what he’s asking for, but I’m not in the mood to deal with his smart ass today.
Focus.
I bounce on the balls of my feet, roll my shoulders. Breathe in through my nose.
