“Be friendly is not the same as friends.”
“Correct.”
She pursed her lips, a coy smirk on her face. “So, you’ll put up with me in a friendly sort of way, but we won’t be hanging out?”
“Yes.” It had to be that way. Didn’t she see? She already took up too much time and energy and had me wanting more. Limiting my time around her was the only rational solution. The more I was around her, the more I wanted to break my rules.
“Got it, Monroe. I understand the assignment.” She faked right, then did a wild move with her feet and was by me in a second. She scored again and stuck her tongue out at me. “Two to zip, baby.”
“I’m letting you win so you’re not thinking about Derrick Dick face.”
“Ha! I love that one. Derrick Dick face. Hold on.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket, her grin showing all her teeth. “Let me write—oh.”
My muscles tightened. “Oh what?”
“He texted me.” Her face paled, and she looked up with irritation swimming in her eyes. Her breathing increased, and her nostrils flared.
She didn’t say with what, and my god, I needed to know. Did he realize he was an idiot and want her back? Disappointment spread through my body. I didn’t want that to happen. “What did he say?”
“U look good. Wanna come over later?He even spelled it with one dumb u and do I want to come over? Shit on a stick. Ugh.” She kicked a patch of grass and groaned. “The guy broke my heart. Was I just a piece of ass?”
“You’re not going, right?”
“No.” She growled and kicked the ball hard. It soared down the entire park and rolled near the playground with three slides. “I wanted to make him jealous or have him regret what he did, and yeah, I know I look good, and pretending to flirt with you or whatever sparked something in him, but this hurts worse.”
Distraction. She needs a distraction.
I shouted, “Loser vacuums the hallway.” Then I sprinted toward the ball.
“Wait! Hey!”
My lungs expanded as I put everything I had into this sprint. A million thoughts went through my head, all about injuries and me acting out of character and what if I stepped on a rock and twisted my ankle? None of the thoughts stopped me though. I inhaled the cool air and checked over my left shoulder, andholy shit.Lorelei had caught up to me.
I couldn’t let her win.
I moved my legs faster, harder, but she kept pace, and the soccer ball was right there. I just had to slow down and bend to get it. She did the same thing, and by some twist of fate, we reached for it at the same time.
“Not today, Monroe. Nope.”
Sheshovedme out of the way, but I wrapped my arm around her waist and yanked her with me. Shielding her body, I landed on my back with her shoulders pressed against my chest.
Her hair fell over my face, her round ass pressed up against my waist, and her body was on top of me. It was a torture and a dream wrapped into one. My pulse pounded in my ears, toes, and fingertips.
“I cannot believe you did this!” she shouted.
It took my brain a few seconds to catch up.
She’s laughing.
“You huge wombat.” She snorted and rolled to the right, pushing herself off me. “You tackled me.”
“No, you took me down.” I pushed up onto my elbows, admiring the curls escaping her hair. It was a magical sort of chaos, and my fingers itched to touch them.
“You raced me like we were six years old.”
“But it took your mind off that asshole, didn’t it?”
She pulled her knees up to her chest, rested her chin onto her knees, and looked at me with a sad smile. She held my gaze, not saying anything, and the magnetic pull to her grew. I leaned forward, not even meaning to, and she squeezed my forearm. “I know our paths tonotfriends butnotenemies wasn’t traditional by any means, but I see what you did tonight.” She took a shaky breath. “Thank you.”
