“Just be careful around him, Annalise.” Lucas shakes his head. “Maddox isn’t exactly relationship material. He’s probably slept with the entire school by now. I’d hate for him to break your heart and use you for sex, because you’re worth so much more than that.”
My fists clench at my side as I march toward him, stepping between him and Annalise. Bringing myself to my full height, I fix my gaze on him, anger radiating through my stare. “Instead of dragging my name, why don’t you stay back and practice some more? You could use it if you want to get actual play time instead of warming the bench.”
Lucas’s face reddens, his upper lip curling into a snarl. He mutters something under his breath before storming off to the locker room.
“Don’t listen to a damn thing he says, okay? You know me, Annalise.”
She chews her lip and nods. “I know,” she says weakly, but I can’t help but wonder if she’s only saying that to appease me.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
maddox
As if beingon the same team as him wasn’t bad enough, now I find out that he’s on a fucking date with Annalise? The mere thought of her being with another man makes me furious, but seeing her with Lucas brings out a whole other level of rage within me that I can’t contain.
I want to fucking kill him.
“What the fuck are you doing with her, Hilton?”
“What does it look like, Maddox? We’re having dinner.” The sarcasm in his tone pisses me off even more.
Elijah glares at him. “Come on, dude, have some respect for your teammates. There are boundaries you shouldn’t cross.”
“Wait—was he the one who kept going after Annalise in high school?” Andrés whispers.
Elijah and Santiago nod.
“I didn’t think you would lower your standards so much, Annalise,” I say.
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, avoiding my gaze.
“Nice outfit, Lucas.” I smirk, nodding at his sweater-vest-and-khaki combo. “Did you steal it from your grandpa’s closet?”
Lucas rolls his eyes and the guys burst into snickers behind me.
“Maddox, stop being a dick,” Annalise groans.
“That’s impossible.” Lucas lets out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “He willalwaysbe a dick. He’s still the same ole Maddox from high school.”
“And you’re still the same ole Lucas,” I snap. “You’re still trying to go after what’smine.”
My eyes lock with Annalise and hers widen in shock. She clears her throat and I catch a blush on her cheeks before she quickly glances away.
“I’m sorry—yours?” Lucas snorts. “Last I checked, she’s single. And she’s not a fucking item.”
I take a step closer to his table. “I am this close to fucking you up.”
The restaurant goes quiet, all eyes on us.
I want to beat him to a pulp. I’m sick and tired of him acting like he’s innocent. He’s a deceitful scumbag. A real wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Santiago tugs on my arm. “Come on, bro. Let’s just sit somewhere else.”
I pull out a chair and plop down, making a point to sit directly in their line of sight. “Nope. I’m perfectly fine sitting right here.”
Our server comes around and brings us silverware and glasses of water. “Hey, I’m Logan. Thank you for joining us tonight. Can I get you all started with something to?—”
His eyes widen when he notices who we are. “Whoa! I can’t believe I’m serving the San Francisco Dragons! I’ve been watching you all play since college. Can I, uh, get a picture?”
