A soft knock on the door pulls me out of the zone. The door flies open before I’ve responded, and my heartbeat revs into high gear.
“Maisie.” My shoulders relax, and I lean back in my seat. “You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days.”
“Excellent. My plan is working. After you’re out of the picture, I’ll take over as captain. Insert evil laugh here.”
I shake my head at her. “You’d be the worst villain. You have zero chill, and you’re way too loud.”
Her lip pushes out into a pout. “No mention of how sweet and caring I am? My endless self-sacrifices.”
“Really? Didn’t you just tell me you’re planning a coup? Nice try.”
“Fair. What are you working on? Did you see my backhand toe drag in the third period? Fucking perfection. She had no chance. Bow down before your queen.”
Maisie dips in a dramatic bow, then steps over beside me.
“Uh.” I go to click away from the screen, but she steals the mouse.
“Wilder. Have you been working on this the entire time?”
Her long hair slides over her shoulder to block my view as she leans in closer to the screen, clicking away on my mouse.
“Yes, there’s a lot of footage to go through.”
“Mm hm, and how much of it features your new lover?” She drags out the word lover.
“He’s not my...”
“Wilder, don’t bullshit me. I’m your best friend.” She swipes her hair behind her ear, and I finally get a view of the image she’s staring at, frozen on the screen.
“Yes, we slept together. But that’s all it was. One night. One fucking fantastic night, but I don’t think it’ll happen again. We haven’t even talked since then.”
She turns to me with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve seen you smiling at your phone. You’ve been texting him.”
“Yeah. We’re working together.”
“Sure you are. Did you go over the tapes from our last game?”
“No, but I’ve still got time. I needed to get these videos done so I could send them to Sin.”
“Sorry to tell you, my friend, you don’t. It’s almost time to dress for practice. Come on, Captain. I was just joking about taking over the job. I enjoy being an alternate. All the glory, but less of the responsibility.”
She spins my laptop toward me, tucking her hair behind an ear, and giving a flourish to emphasize her grand reveal. He’s way too pretty for his own good. But in the softer moments, he loses his guard. The cracks in his polished facade that have kept me locked on the screen. There’s a lot more behind those eyes than he shows the public. And seeing him go from uncomfortable to laughing by the end of the photo shoot is mesmerizing.
“Now be honest with yourself, and even more important, be honest with your bestie. Is this more than a fling? Do you want more from him?”
I blow out a long breath, stalling for time. Do I want more? Do I want to date Beau Whitaker?
“That would be a terrible idea.”
She shakes her head. “Not what I asked.”
Right. She’s not going to let me go without a genuine answer. “I think I do.”
“Then go for it. Tell him. Life’s too short, and you rarely take the time to do something for yourself. I’d put the chance of a no at minus one percent.”
As if to prove her point, she pauses the video. The screen is frozen on a still of him staring at me. There’s a smile on hisface that reaches all the way to his eyes, crinkling them at the corners. Kind of like the ones I’ve seen on his sister.
Most of his smiles don’t go past the corners of his lips. They’re perfect and calculated. Designed not to reveal a single hint of his inner self. But this one is different. More authentic. And it’s aimed at me. At least that’s the way the paused shot makes it appear. In reality, it was probably the cats. Even the frostiest soul would melt under those faces.
