“Tough loss,” Reed said. “What happened out there?”
“Can we talk about this on the way home, please?” I asked.
“No time like the present,” Grayson replied, the corner of his lip twitching.
“I always say the best time to analyze a game is immediately after it’s finished.” Reed was smirking now too. “Why don’t we get a drink and debrief.”
“I’m already debriefed,” I grumbled, glancing down at my improvised skirt. “Let’sgo.”
My brothers laughed but then nodded. “Fine, let’s get you home.”
As they started to move away, something caught my eye behind them. Mackenzie was leaning against a pillar, just a few feet away, watching us. She held a large soda, the straw pressed against her grinning lips.
Her green eyes trailed down my body, studied my brightpink scarf, sparkled with joy, and then flicked back up to my face.
“Nice outfit,” she said.
Maybe I’d met my match with this girl. She’d pulled off the perfect revenge for splashing her at school. But as I stared at her, I got an idea that was too good to pass up.
Without giving myself a chance to second-guess it, I plastered on my most mischievous smile and stepped toward her. With one swift movement, I pulled the scarf from around my waist and handed it to her. Gasps filled the foyer and Mackenzie’s eyes grew wide, her mouth dropped open, and her cheeks went as pink as the scarf she was now holding.
“If you wanted to see me naked,” I whispered, “all you had to do was ask.” Then I turned and strolled toward the arena entrance, walking as if I had all the time in the world.
When I got outside, I was instantly struck by a freezing wind. Still, it had been totally worth it to see Mackenzie blush.
My brothers hurried out the doors behind me.
“What the hell was that?” they both asked at the same time.
“Just tell me where the car is,” I said. “I’m ready to get out of here.”
“Same.” Reed laughed. “Come on, it’s this way.”
“We should have known this had something to do with a girl,” Grayson muttered, finally handing me his sweatshirt.
“Yep, there’s always a girl,” Reed agreed.
I couldn’t really argue with them. But as I followed them through the parking lot, my bare feet crunching on the snow, it occurred to me: Mackenzie Foster wasn’t just any girl.
Chapter 9Mackenzie
“Huh, maybe the rumors about Ransom were right.”
I jumped at the sound of my brother’s voice, turning to find him standing behind me. He was frowning as he watched Parker’s naked figure strutting out the door.
“Max?” I gasped before quickly recovering and giving him a tight hug. “What are you doing here?”
He laughed as he hugged me back. “Came to watch Dad’s first game. Thought I’d surprise you both.”
“Well, I’m definitely surprised. You shouldn’t sneak up on people.”
For a moment, I almost forgot about my run-in with Parker. Almost, but not quite. It was a little hard when I was still holding the pink scarf he’d given me. I thought stealing his clothes would even the score. But with one bold move, Parker had stolen my victory.
“I was hardly sneaking.” Max smiled. “You were a little distracted.”
Who wouldn’t be? Parker was distracting with his clothes on, let alone without them. But I wasn’t going to get into that with my brother.
Max scrunched his nose as he carefully plucked the scarf from my hand and tossed it in the closest bin. “Just how many guys in this town are stripping for you, Kenz? Do I need to have a word with anyone?”
