“Where the hell were you?” she demanded.
I took my time and peeled the gloves off my hands, not looking at her.
“I’m speaking to you. Where were you?”
I threw the gloves into my locker and then peeled my shirt off, leaning up against the set of lockers, and looked at her.
“I was busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Not your business.”
Bianca locked eyes with me and stepped closer, not flinching, not backing down, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat of her body against mine. She might be smaller than me and softer, but somehow in that moment I felt cornered.
“Itismy business,” she growled, her voice low and sharp. “Not only did you skip the mandatory meeting, but your conditioning report is due today, and I can’t file it if you don’t show up. Do you understand how this makes me look?”
There it was, the crack she tried so hard to hide. This wasn’t only about my attendance. This was about her proving her credibility, her professional reputation, the thing she’d been fighting for since day one.
“You think you’re untouchable, don’t you?” she said, her jaw tight. “You’re not. You’re reckless and stubborn, and you’re making my job impossible.”
I felt something hot coil in my stomach. I hated how much I liked her fire, and I hated the fact that I wanted to push her further just to see what she’d do. She was so close, too close. She was close enough that I could see the pulse hammering at thebase of her throat, just as it had the other day. Close enough that if I only just leaned down…
“You finished?” I said, not breaking eye contact with her, pushing her even harder.
“Not even close,” she said, stepping even closer to me.
Then she turned away from me and looked over toward the showers, where most of the guys had gone to hide from her wrath.
“Any player in here who assumes he can skip mandatory team meetings and meetings with me whenever he wants needs to reconsider. Next time both the coach and Rocco Gallo, the general manager, will be notified.”
I wasn’t even sure she blinked. She stepped right into me, her arms brushing against my bare chest as she lifted her chin in defiance. Something twisted in my chest. I saw the hurt beneath the anger. I’d just humiliated her in front of the entire time, undermined her authority, and made her look completely incompetent, but I couldn’t stop.
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me,” she whispered.
For a moment, we stared at each other. Heat and anger simmering between us. I could feel my pulse hammering, and Bianca’s breath was uneven. It was hot as hell, and the air was thick enough to choke on.
She spun on her heel and stormed out of the locker room, her hair swinging behind her like a challenge. I glanced over at the guys, none of them saying a word. They all just looked at me as if I’d done something unforgivable.
Perhaps I had.
I shovedthe door open and stepped inside. I took my shoes off and turned to drop my bag on the floor when my eyes landed on Bianca. She stood on the other side of the kitchen, arms crossed, her expression controlled. Her jaw was tight, and upon a closer look, I could see the slight redness around her eyes that told me she’d either been crying or fighting not to.
Tension filled the room, and heat surged through me as we looked at one another.
“You can’t keep doing this,” she stated calmly.
I placed my bag down, moving slowly, buying myself a little time.
“Doing what?”
“Pushing me.”
I heard her voice crack on the last word, just barely, but it was there.
“I have worked too hard, Evan. I have fought too many battles to prove I deserve to be here. And you…” She stopped, shaking her head.
