“No.” I took an instinctive step toward her. “I don’t despise you at all.” The emotion in her words had taken me by surprise, but the truth in my own shocked me even more.
“But you still don’t want to be friends with me. Can’t even bring yourself to make me a stupid bracelet.” She shook her wrist in front of me, the beads our teammates had given her rattling against one another.
I closed the remaining distance between us and reached up to take hold of her wrist. “I can’t bring myself to make you a bracelet because I’m selfish. If I made you a bracelet, I’d want mine to be the only one on here.”
She stilled.
“That kiss might have gotten me out of your system, but you’re still completely consuming mine. So, no, I don’t want to be your friend, Mackenzie. I don’t want to be your friend. I wantmore—and I hate it.”
She stared up at me, but I couldn’t tell what she was thinking; whether she was about to run from the room or pull me closer like she did last night. Her face was a battlefield of uncertainty, and her gaze seemed to flicker between defiance and desire.
“Would it really be such a bad idea if we gave in one more time?” I murmured, dropping my hand from her wrist and placing it on the desk beside her.
“Terrible,” she whispered back. Her hand was still hovering in the air, but she slowly lowered it until it was lightly resting on my chest. The air between us hummed as her eyes dippedto my lips. We were standing so close, and it took every ounce of resistance in me not to bridge the small gap separating us.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I murmured.
Her breath turned shallow as her gaze lifted once again. “I’m thinking that, maybe, you’re not out of my system yet either.”
I had no idea who moved first, but her lips were against mine in an instant. I gathered her face in my hands as I deepened the kiss, and she wrapped her arms around me. Still, every part of me wanted her closer. It was just as intense as our kiss last night. Every bit as overwhelming and overpowering. God, how I loved getting burned when it was Mackenzie lighting the match.
Someone cleared their throat behind me. Mackenzie jolted back, but I was far less eager to pull away. With an irritated sigh, I turned to the door.
A terrified-looking freshman was poking his head through the entrance. “Uh, is this English class?” he stammered.
Mackenzie’s cheeks were bright red. My lips twitched and I struggled not to laugh.
“No idea,” Mackenzie replied. “We were just leaving.”
She practically dragged me from the room. I’d never seen her move so fast before. Not even when she was chasing down the school bus.
As soon as we were in the corridor, she whacked me on the arm. “You think that was funny?”
“I mean, it was kind of funny.”
“It was not.” My smile faded when I realized just how much she was freaking out. “What if it wasn’t some kid who walkedin on us?” she went on. “What if it were one of our teammates? They’refinallystarting to accept me.”
As she continued, the panic in her voice grew. “Or what if it was a teacher? What if my dad heard about this? He wouldn’t even give me another game to prove myself. I’d be kicked off the team, for sure.”
Her words hit me like a bucket of cold water. My reasons for staying away from Mackenzie had originally been to protect my place on the team. But I had her place to worry about, too. I didn’t want the guys to think less of her for being with me. And while I might be happy to risk Coach Foster’s wrath myself, I didn’t want to be the reason Mackenzie was banned from playing the game she loved. Not again.
We both went quiet, but I could tell from the look in her eyes that she’d come to the same conclusion as me.
“Don’t say it,” I murmured.
But she didn’t hesitate. “That can’t happen again.”
Maybe I didn’t enjoy the pain she brought me after all.
“It’s out of our system now,” she continued. “It has to be.”
I didn’t have a choice but to agree. Neither of us did.
I rubbed my face and let out a groan. “Guess I better go make one more friendship bracelet then.”
Chapter 28Parker
I knew Mackenzie and I had agreed not to kiss again, but it was all I could think about for the next few days. I wondered if Coach Foster could read minds, because he pulled me aside after our practice on Thursday and I prepared for the worst.
