“That’s ’cause game recognize game,” he said with a howl, and I stopped short.
“Excuse me?”
“Your sister is going to be a tough little badass who has guys eating out of the palm of her hand,” he started to explain, and my stomach twisted. I wanted to ban Jacey from even looking at another boy ever again. “And she knows it. She knows Danika has the same power. So”—he waved his hands in the air—“game recognize game.”
“You’re an idiot,” I said, chucking one of my dirty shirts at his head.
I laughed as he battled to swat it away, but it kept getting caught on his fingers instead. He eventually won the war with my shirt. It currently lay on the floor at his feet, and I watched as he kicked at it, just to make sure.
“I think you killed it.”
“It attacked me.”
“I noticed.”
“Did you talk to Cole?” Mac asked, and I remembered that I had missed a call from our old teammate earlier tonight.
“Shit. He called, but I didn’t pick up. What’s up? Is he okay?” I was suddenly worried.
What if Cole got released from his farm team? What if he got hurt?
“Yeah, he’s fine. He and Christina are in town, and he wants to stop by. But he wants you to be here, too, so he can see us both. You know, ’cause we’re his favorites.” Mac smiled like he’d won a prize at a fair.
“How could we not be?” I asked with a grin of my own. “Will you set it all up?” I asked because everyone knew that if they left coordinating details to me, it would never get done. I was shit at planning that kind of stuff; I always forgot.
“I’m already on it. I know you have that big test tomorrow, so I’ll let you go to sleep. I just wanted to see how the night went. And”—he snapped his fingers like he had remembered something—“I meant to ask about what her boyfriend said.”
“What he said about what?” I thought back to all the things Danika had revealed in the car ride home. And even though I wanted to hate the guy, how could I, knowing that he’d been there for her so selflessly?
“Her going to your house tonight. Did she tell him? Was he pissed? I bet he was pissed,” he started mumbling and saying things I couldn’t understand.
I shrugged. “She didn’t tell him.”
“Whaaaaat?” he practically screamed. “How could she not tell him? You guys were gone for hours. No way that guy is anywhere close to that fucking chill.”
I’d almost forgotten all about Jared’s phone calls and text messages, and now, I was getting worked up, thinking that she might be in trouble with him because of it. I needed to reach out and make sure I hadn’t caused waves. I wanted her to know that I cared.
“She had her phone on silent. She texted him from the car on the drive home, and then he called, but she didn’t answer.”
Mac started laughing. “This is great. She goes home with you. Doesn’t tell her boyfriend. And then texts him before ignoring his call? Thank you for confirming the fact that she wants you just as badly as you want her.”
“Shut up.”
“Just saying.” He started backing out of the room.
“Go away.”
“Good luck on your test.”
“Thanks.”
“Good luck with the girl.”
“Good night.” I looked around for another article of clothing that I could have attack him on his way out of my room, but he slammed the door so hard in his attempt to escape that the pictures on the wall rattled.
Reaching for my phone, I sent Danika a text before I could stop myself. I wanted to make sure that she was okay and wasn’t in any trouble because of me. She responded right away with a smiley face and instructions to go worry about the test and not her. Which, of course, only made me do the exact opposite. It was one thing when it was my idea, but when it came to her telling me what to do, my mind didn’t work the same.
It rebelled.
And now, I couldn’t stop thinking about her and Jared. Him being at her house flooded my thoughts. Of course he’d be there, holding her, touching her, kissing her, fucking her. Because she was his. She belonged to him. They had history, a past … and who was I? Just some guy who had come along out of nowhere and meant nothing.
Fuck. This depressed version of me sucked. I hated it and wasn’t used to it.
I forced myself onto my bed, covered my face with my pillow, and tried my best to fall asleep.
I woke up, actually feeling refreshed. My night hadn’t been plagued with dreams or nightmares or anything that I could remember. When I reached for my phone, there was no text from Danika, wishing me good luck or anything. Not that she was even remotely required to do that kind of shit, but like an idiot, I’d assumed she would, and disappointment coursed through me because she hadn’t.
After a cold shower to wake up my senses, I grabbed a protein bar and headed out the door to hopefully pass my first math test.
Here goes nothing, I thought to myself before the test began, but the truth was that this first test was everything. It would set the tone for the rest of the semester. This test would determine if I was going to be struggling for the next couple of months or not. Passing would relieve a little bit of the stress, but failing would only amplify it.
I refused to fail. Danika had been tutoring me well the past month, and I understood way more than I ever had before. I was as ready as I’d ever be.
When I finished the test, I smiled to myself. Walking to the front of the class, I put my booklet in the basket, and the professor dismissed me. Once outside of the door, I pulled out my phone. There was still no text from Danika, but that didn’t stop me from texting her.
CHANCE: Test 1 done.
Her response was quicker than I anticipated.
DANIKA: How do you feel?
CHANCE: Good actually.
DANIKA: Do you have a break now?
CHANCE: I have about an hour before I need to be at the field.
DANIKA: Meet me in the comm?
CHANCE: See you in 5.
Telling Danika I had a free hour was a bit of an exaggeration. I only had about thirty-five minutes to spare, but I didn’t want her to feel rushed. If the girl was going to give me some of her time, I planned on taking it.
I spotted her standing outside of the glass doors, looking down at her phone. When she glanced back up, her entire expression changed, and even though I knew it was because she had seen me, I convinced myself that it wasn’t about me at all. I had to stop myself from practically cuing up music and running to her like we were in a sappy romance movie. Instead, I tried to play it cool, taking a swig of my water bottle and walking slow, but inside, I couldn’t get to her quick enough.
“Hey,” I said before wrapping her in my arms and hugging her.
She felt so good there. She fit.
“Someone’s excited,” she said as she pulled away, her cheeks rosy. “You think you passed?”
“I know I passed,” I answered with confidence before taking another drink.
“Do you think you aced it?” she asked seriously, and I almost spat out the water I’d been drinking.
“No.” I laughed. “I didn’t understand it that well. But I’ll be really surprised if I failed.”