“We both know there is.” She juggled the ball again, her strong legs distracting me from my original plan. “Now, where is this field?”
“Two blocks behind the house. Come on.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets and quickened my pace. It’d be easier, probably, to stop thinking about her and the way she said trouble once we were on the field. She said the word like a flirtation, a challenge, and despite the reasons I couldn’t get intotrouble,I kinda wanted to. With her.
My quarterback’s twin sister… my temporary roommate… a girl I could lose all my focus for… why did the things I wanted cause so much damage?
“If your plan was to distract me, you’re doing a great job. Excellent even, if you wanted to annoy me just a bit too.”
“Annoy you?”
Her footsteps shuffled behind me. “A girl like youcould be taken a lot of different ways.”
“We’re both athletes. There are fewer things in the world that can help a busy mind than doing something active. I took a guess you were the same as me where the thought of competition excites you and dulls everything else in comparison.”
“Damn, Monroe. Fair assessment.” She laughed.
I loved the deep, throaty sound of her cackle. Full-bellied and loud. It echoed in the air, lingering and almost making me smile. The neighborhood was mostly student housing, grad students or athletes, but there was the occasional small family. It smelled like wet leaves—a very specific scent I associated with this park, and I breathed it in. I came here every once in a while to relieve stress, and it certainly wasn’t a secret place, but sharing it with Lorelei seemed more personal than I realized.
We approached the park, and the streetlights hit the soccer goal perfectly. It illuminated the posts, and someone had recently cut the grass. I inhaled the scent and glanced back at Lorelei. “You want to kick or block first?”
“Depends on the wager.” She juggled the ball again and ran ahead of me, weaving the soccer ball between her legs. Even in her outfit, she moved fast and smoothly. She stared at me, one thick brow arched. “I know I’m a better kicker than you, so I’d like to ask what’s on the table before deciding if I take the lead first or second.”
“Confident, huh? I played soccer too.”
“Okay, bro. I’ve thrown a football before then.” She rolled her eyes, tossing her hair over one shoulder in a sassy move.
Hated to admit I liked seeing this side of her.
“Fine. New game.” My voice came out stern and grumpy, but Lorelei didn’t seem to take offense.
She moved closer to me, the ball still in sync with her feet. “We just making shit up as we go, huh?”
“Yes, smartass.” My lip quirked up.
She scrunched her nose, the mischievous glint highlighted in her eye by the streetlamps. She juked left, then right, then whizzed by me before gently kicking the ball into the goal. “Point for me.”
“Mm, we hadn’t started.”
“Says you.” She jogged backward, a winning smile stretching across her face. “Apparently, we can just make up rules. So, point to me.”
“You’re mouthy.”
“A girl like me is mouthy? No. No way.”
“And sarcastic.” I walked up to her, watching the ball move back and forth. She kicked in between my legs, ran around my left side so her back pressed against my side, and zoomed by me. Her floral perfume was delicious, but it mixed a little bit with sweat. It was intoxicating.
“If I win,” she said once I faced her again. “You stop being an asshole to me.”
“What?” I snapped.
“Yeah, we can be cordial. Friends, even. Don’t give my brother a hard time about me living in the house.” She bounced it left to right, right to left. Then she rested the bottom of her foot on top of the ball.
“No.” I shook my head, guilt eating me inside out. A painful swell of my gut made my jaw tense. “Not no, I meant—” I winced and fanned myself with the collar of my shirt. The weather had warmed. “I’ll do that regardless.”
Especially after seeing so many smiles tonight.
She narrowed her eyes in the same way my grandma did when she wanted more of an explanation. I ran a hand over my jaw twice before continuing. “I won’t make Dean feel bad, and we can befriendlyto each other.”
