How could she sit there, laughing with my friends, with Henrik, like she belonged here? Like I wasn’t drowning in the wreckage she’d left behind. I wasn’t even sure I hated her. That would be simple. What I felt was sharper, harder to name—resentment, maybe. Longing, definitely.
I threw back the rest of my drink, trying to find an excuse to go inside, but as I stood, I noticed Chloe’s gaze on me.
Whenever I went head-to-head with her, that gaze was killer, sharp and calculating. Like I was trapped in a cage with a snake trying todecide how and when to strike. But tonight, there was something else.
I refused to let her soften me, to get under my skin. So far, she’d been winning our battle, on court and off. But I refused to let it continue.
“I’m going for another drink.” I pushed up from my chair, desperate to leave and escape her burning gaze.
“I’ll come with.” Scottie smiled politely, getting up. I tried to offer to get her a drink, a little desperate for some time alone. Some time to stop myself from spinning out.
Ever since Chloe had stepped through the front door, I’d felt increasingly unhinged. And now, with the memory of her soft skin, I felt myself nearing my breaking point. But Scottie shrugged off my offer and followed me back through the sliding doors to the kitchen.
“Want another glass?” she asked, getting the wine bottle from the fridge.
I peered over, inspecting the label. Marqués de Riscal, one of my favorites.
“Yes, please.”
A good wine always reminded me of home, especially one local to my own country. It took me right back to Spanish vineyards and dusky nights with my family.I missed them.
We served ourselves, sitting down at the island to cheers before taking a sip. I tried to enjoy the sharp flavor, tried to let it wash away the stress and anxiety. But one day in and it felt like my heart rate had never dropped below 80 bpm.
I pulled out my phone to check my social media notifications, noticing the influx from the tag earlier. Guilt washed over me, the acidity of the liquid in my glass turning my stomach.
“Are you okay?” Scottie asked, catching me off guard as I swallowed down a second mouthful, nodding insistently as I did.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I tried to shake her off. “I need some time away from the group.”
She smiled softly before peering over at my phone. “Looks like it got good traction. Hopefully Selene can shake something up for you.”
I nodded, locking the device before I could be reminded any further of how I was using my friends. Looking at her, I said, “There is an option. I just don’t like it.”
“It’s hard, walking that line of finding the right partnership and not selling yourself to the devil.”
Laughing in agreement, I said, “One time, I got an offer for condoms.”
Her jaw fell open. “Condoms?”
“Selene really enjoyed offering that one to me. We had a good laugh over it. Can you imagine asking a lesbian to market condoms?”
“It’s like they didn’t do any research at all.” One look at my socials, and the little pride flag would give it away. A little deeper and you’d find my freely given statements about my sexuality. It was no secret.
“You know you can talk to me about anything,” she said.
“I know.” I felt like I was repeating myself.There’s nothing wrong. It’s all okay.That I wasn’t teetering on the edge of an abyss.
“You’ve been there for me when I needed you,” Scottie said. “It’s okay to let me repay the favor.”
“Thanks,” I said. We’d been friends before her ban, but during her time away, she’d cut off all her friends, and it was only when we were training together at the same camp that she slowly let me back in. I’d been grateful to revive the friendship, missing her company while she’d been away.
“I think she has a nice side, you know?”
My brows crinkled together. “Who?”
“Chloe,” Scottie replied.
The scrunch of my nose and the press of my lips were instincts I couldn’t fight. “Ah.”
