Playing the Enemy: The Trouble With Tomboys #1

by Dallen, Maggie

  And I did. See, that’s the kind of effect he had—not just because he was sexy, although that helped. No, the way I followed him like I was a stinkin’ puppy…that had more to do with the innate leadership he had. It was how he managed his team so well and without shouting. He had this confidence that was compelling and somehow even sexier than that cleft in his chin.

  As we headed off the field, we passed a group of players. “Hey, you coming to the party?”

  I looked over at the guy who’d asked before turning to River. He just looked back like he was waiting for me to respond.

  “Uh, I don’t know.”

  “Here, I’ll give you the address,” Cara said. “Where’s your phone?”

  I headed to my bag sitting on the sideline and fished it out. She took it from my hands and started typing, seemingly more adept at using my phone than I was. I stood there watching as River and the others gathered around us.

  “We’re all just stopping home to change and then heading over,” one of the girls explained.

  “A sort of end-of-summer team bonding party,” someone else added.

  I nodded before shooting another look in River’s direction. The jerk still hadn’t said anything. “So, I guess that means I’m on the team?”

  He gave me a small smile that made my insides melt…but he didn’t answer.

  “Come on, you need me. You know you do.”

  His gaze met mine and held—for the life of me, I couldn’t look away. Luckily, he looked away first, or I might have been stuck there like a deer in headlights all night long.

  “Nate, you got the gear?”

  “Got it.”

  River snagged my bag off the ground and started walking toward the parking lot.

  “Hey,” I said, scrambling to catch up with him…and my bag. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m giving you a ride home.”

  “Oh.” I had to half-run to keep up with his much longer legs. “You don’t have to—”

  “I know.”

  “It’s not exactly on your way home,” I said.

  He cut me a sidelong look that spoke volumes. “No kidding.”

  Right. Point taken. We lived in very different neighborhoods in very different parts of town. I wasn’t about to apologize for the fact that I happened to live on the nice side of town. I had nothing to be ashamed of. “Like I said…” My tone had grown slightly more huffy, but really…he was very annoying. He had to make everything so difficult. Couldn’t he have just said ‘good job, you’re on the team?’

  But nooo, he had to be a man of mystery of here. “You don’t have to give me a ride, you know. I can call my mom or—”

  “We have things to discuss. We can talk when we get there.” He came to a stop beside a motorcycle.

  Ah. Well. That explained his earlier question, at least. And suddenly I was rethinking my flippant response. Did I have an issue with motorcycles? No.

  But then again, I’d never ridden on one before.

  I eyed it warily. “Is this thing safe?”

  He smirked. “I thought you said you don’t have an issue with bikes.”

  “I don’t have an issue with them…in theory.” I crossed my arms. “I am fully supportive of you riding this motorcycle.”

  He let out a little huff of laughter as he flipped open the seat and handed me a helmet. “I promise I’ll go slow.”

  His eyes met mine as he said it, and I could have sworn… It seemed like maybe…

  Ugh, it was that scent of his, I swear. It messed with my head and made me think there were hidden meanings where there were none.

  I stared at the helmet in his hands but didn’t reach for it.

  “What? Are you worried it’s going to mess up your hair?”

  My eyes shot up to his, and I let out a shocked laugh at the teasing in his eyes. I ran a hand over my sweaty hair and down the length of the messy ponytail with a ridiculous mockery of a sexy pout. “I couldn’t possibly mess with this perfection.”

  He laughed, and I felt it in my belly.

  He had a good laugh. A great laugh, all rumbly and low. He should do it more often.

  I snatched the helmet from his hands and shoved it on my head, but when I fumbled with the strap, he batted my hands aside and buckled it shut in quick, efficient movements.

  “Hop on,” he said after he straddled the thing.

  I gave it one more wary look but did as he said, saying a little prayer under my breath that my mom and dad wouldn’t be home from visiting my grandmother yet. They’d never outright told me I wasn’t allowed to ride a motorcycle, but I was positive they’d freak if they saw me on one.

  Still, I needed to get home, and I wanted to hear what he had to talk to me about, and more than all that...I couldn’t have said no if my life had depended on it.

  That same heady buzz I got on the field swept over me now as I eyed River on his bike. Something like adrenaline had me feeling on edge but excited every time he looked at me with those startlingly intense eyes.

  I braced myself by gripping his shoulder as I threw a leg over the bike and adjusted myself behind him.

  Awkward. I was so stiff once I was straddling the guy from behind. I mean, maybe it was different if you were riding with a friend…or a boyfriend.

  But this was a guy I barely knew, and I had no idea how I was supposed to touch him. I tried to keep some space between us as I set my hands on his waist tentatively.

  He revved the engine, and I my grip tightened. I could have sworn I heard that low laugh of his even over the sound of the engine as he released the handlebars just long enough to snag my hands and pull them forward, wrapping my arms around his waist like it was the most natural thing in the world.

  Maybe it was for him. Maybe he gave girls rides on his bike all the time.

  My heart lurched as we took off.

  It wasn’t as scary as I’d thought it would be. Whether it was for my sake or just the way he rode, River drove slowly and with caution all the way across town. By the time we pulled into my driveway, I’d stopped feeling weird about the close contact and had gotten kind of…comfortable. I didn’t want to let go when he cut the engine.

  I did, of course. And my attempt to get off the motorcycle was far from graceful. When I was standing next to him at a safe distance, my heart was still pounding like crazy from the motorcycle…or maybe it was an after effect of being so close to him that I’d spent a solid ten minutes inhaling his scent and feeling his warm, solid body pressed against mine.

  Yup. My heart definitely picked up its pace at the mere memory.

  I took a step back. “Thanks for the ride.”

  He smirked as he took off his helmet, and I had a paranoid moment where I was absolutely positive he knew exactly what I’d been thinking. But then he got off his bike and stalked toward me, all panther-like grace with those lean muscles and that dangerous look in his eyes.

  “You look cute in this.” His murmur was so low I was sure I’d misheard him as he reached for the clasp of the helmet.

  Cute? Me?

  My brain shorted out.

  He was so close, my lungs were struggling to work properly. It wasn’t until he’d pulled the helmet from my head and taken a step back that I could breathe again, and I let out a long exhale of relief.

  And disappointment.

  Whatever this reaction was around him, it was weird. I needed time and space to process and to get my head on straight, but he didn’t look like he was in a hurry to leave.

  He leaned back against his bike and watched me.

  It was only then that it occurred to me that he’d driven me home. I mean, duh. Of course he had. I hadn’t transported myself here. But I mean… “You knew where I lived.”

  It came out far more accusatory than I’d intended, but luckily, his eyes seemed to dance with amusement at my awkward statement. He nodded toward Caleb’s house. “I’ve been to this neighborhood before.” He glanced over toward Caleb’s place before looking a
t me again. “Granted, that was a lifetime ago, but…I still remember.”

  I nodded. Right. He’d been friends with Caleb once upon a time.

  And now they hated one another. I eyed him with suspicion, and tried to ignore the disappointment that shot through me, making my belly sink.

  “He’d freak if he saw me here,” he said.

  I couldn’t argue that. But right now, I wasn’t thinking about Caleb or what he’d think about me showing up on the back of River’s motorcycle. I tried to swallow down the question that was gnawing at me, but it tumbled out despite my best efforts. “Is that why you offered me a ride home?” I repeated his gesture, nodding toward the neighboring house.

  He didn’t immediately answer, and I cursed myself for asking. “Caleb’s not home, you know. They have practice for another hour.”

  River’s eyes never left mine. “I offered you a ride because that park is no place to be standing around alone, waiting for a ride.”

  I blinked. Oh. I swallowed down the stupid relief I felt that he hadn’t just brought me home to stick it to Caleb. Even if he had, I couldn’t judge, right?

  I mean, wasn’t that half the reason I’d wanted to play for his team? Yes, I wanted to play soccer this season, but I wasn’t going to lie and say playing for Caleb’s arch rival wasn’t a bonus.

  “I wouldn’t want any of my players waiting out there by themselves,” River said. “Least of all you.”

  “Is that an insult?”

  He eyed me from head to toe with that annoying, frustrating…sexy smirk of his. “Just a fact. You don’t exactly fit in on that side of town.”

  I held back a sigh. This again. It was so weird to me how the Fairmont kids had such a stick up their butts about the money thing. “You think I couldn’t be alone in your hood because I scream money or something?”

  I looked down at my faded T-shirt, my grungy, well-used sneakers. When I raised my head, he was giving me a small smile and I felt a jolt of excitement at the sight of it.

  “You’re just…” He glanced up and eyed my house meaningfully. “You’re not from our hood, that’s all.” Something unpleasant flashed in his eyes. “How’d it feel slumming it on the other side of the tracks?”

  I groaned. “If you start singing about the Sharks and the Jets, I’m going to have to walk away.”

  His lips twitched with amusement. “I have no idea what that means.”

  “West Side Story? Que sera sera? None of this is ringing a bell?”

  Silence.

  “So, not into musicals then?”

  He ignored that. Guess he thought it was a rhetorical question. It wasn’t. I really liked musicals. Loving sports did not mean one couldn’t also adore a good show tune. “You should check it out.”

  “You’re cute when you’re babbling,” he said.

  Two ‘cutes’ in one day. I had no idea what to make of that, but I was horribly aware of the heat that was creeping up into my cheeks under his unwavering stare.

  Was cute good, or did he think of me like some yippy puppy?

  Also, why did I care?

  I lifted my chin. I’d been making a point here, and now I was distracted. “All I’m saying is, you’re the one who seems to care so much about the money difference between Lakeview and Fairmont. You’re the one who’s hung up on money.”

  He leaned forward slightly like he was letting me in on a secret. “Says the girl with money.”

  I pressed my lips together. Touché. I crossed my arms.

  He glanced at my house again. “We don’t exactly have a lot in common, now do we?”

  “Other than soccer,” I said.

  He smirked. “Right. Other than soccer.”

  “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

  His gaze flickered over to Caleb’s house again. “Him.”

  I stiffened. I so did not want to rehash the morbid details of our breakup with this guy.

  “What about him?”

  River’s gaze was back on me and it pinned me in place. There was no looking away from that dark, heated stare. “Are you just trying out for our team to stick it to him?”

  I arched my brows, annoyed beyond reason that he thought the only reason I wanted to play for him was because of a boy. Granted, it played a part in wanting to play for this specific team, but it wasn’t the only reason. It wasn’t even the main reason.

  He seemed unfazed by my arch glare, but I refused to answer that question. Instead, I turned it around on him. “Did you only allow me to try out for your team so you could stick it to him?”

  We stood there in a silent standoff for several long, tense seconds. He broke it with a huff of laughter under his breath as he dipped his head. When he lifted it to meet my gaze again, the challenging look was gone. Now he just seemed thoughtful. “Whatever happened between you and Caleb…” He rolled his lips inward, seeming to rethink whatever he’d been about to say. “I need to know that you’d be loyal to our team.”

  I jerked my head back like I’d been slapped. No one had ever questioned my team loyalty before, and while I understood where he was coming from, it still stung. I didn’t respond right away, and he didn’t wait for me to speak. His whole demeanor shifted as he changed the topic abruptly. “Are you coming to the team party?”

  My brows drew together in confusion. “Will you let me on the team if I go?”

  He lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “You’d be on the team either way.”

  A jolt of joy had me beaming at him even as I reached out and punched his shoulder. “Why didn’t you say I made the team?”

  A smile tugged at his lips. “I thought it was a given.”

  I rolled my eyes and gave a haughty sniff that made him laugh. “Of course, it was a given. You need me.”

  And I needed them. But he was nice enough not to point that out.

  He was smiling at me now—a real, honest-to-goodness smile. My heart did a backflip in my chest, and my breath left me in a whoosh.

  He had a great smile.

  A killer smile.

  One corner tilted up so he was giving me a lopsided, cocky grin…almost like he knew what I was thinking again.

  Ugh. This guy was messing with my head.

  I took a quick step backward toward my front door. “I guess I’ll see you there?”

  He arched his brows, his gaze moving over the house behind me, and then over to Caleb’s place before coming back to meet my eyes head-on. “I’ll wait.”

  Chapter Eight

  River

  I’ll wait? Seriously? What had come over me?

  Almost two hours later, and I still didn’t know. The sun was setting, and the noise in Nate’s backyard kept getting louder as the party really got underway, the music coming over the speakers cranking up at the same rate that the talking and laughter kept getting louder. Kids kept showing up who weren’t part of the team but were friends from school, and someone had started a fire in Nate’s backyard fire pit. Some of the guys on the team were drinking beer and wine coolers had made an appearance at some point. This party had become a yearly event—the last Friday night before school started.

  I was content to sit back and watch the others have their fun. The way I figured, I could have all the fun I wanted once I got my full-ride at college. Until then, all I could do was keep my nose clean and avoid all trouble.

  Trouble. My gaze automatically sought out Hannah across from me on the other side of the fire pit.

  Hannah was definitely trouble.

  For me, at least. I watched her talking animatedly to Nate. She was drinking a soda so I couldn’t blame her over-the-top hand gestures on drunkenness. That was just her. Cool and unflappable in the face of a challenge or a rival, but dig a little deeper and she was the very picture of youthful innocence. She was funny, and sweet, and so freakin’ adorable it hurt to watch her.

  Tristan sat down beside me in a lawn chair, his shaggy blonde hair falling into his face as he sipped a beer. “Are you gonna
go over there and talk to her or just watch her like a creepy stalker all night?”

  I turned to glare at him and realized that…crap, I really had been watching her like a creeper for a while now.

  “She did good out there today,” Tristan said, his voice suspiciously mild.

  “Uh huh.” Truth was, she did better than good. She did great. My team and I had thrown everything at her and she handled it like a pro. It was shocking, really, that she didn’t play for her school’s team.

  “She seems to be fitting in, too,” Tristan added.

  I shifted in my seat and reached for the bottle of water next to me. That was even more shocking. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected when I brought her here. I guess sitting in her family’s swanky living room and taking note of all the nice artwork and the high ceilings, I’d become convinced that she’d never fit in. How could she hang with my crew over here in the crappy, poor, crime-ridden part of town when she came from that?

  And yet, here she was, laughing with my teammates and acting like she’d always been a part of this team.

  “So,” Tristan added, in that same too-casual tone. “When are you going to make your move?”

  I bolted upright in my seat it probably looked like I’d been electrocuted. “What? Why would I—I couldn’t—I mean, I wouldn’t—”

  Tristan’s cackling cut me off. “Whoa, dude. Relax.”

  I glared at him as I fell back.

  “You’ve got it bad for a girl you just met.”

  I looked back toward Hannah. “Yeah, well, that’s the thing.”

  “You two have history?” Tristan sounded confused. “I don’t remember you having a thing for some Lakeview chick.”

  She’s not some Lakeview chick. I shifted uncomfortably at the urge to snap at my friend. “I don’t have a thing for her,” I said. Even I could hear how false that sounded. “And besides, it was ancient history.”

  “How ancient?”

  I refused to look over since I was fairly sure he was laughing at me. Or, if he wasn’t right now, he would be as soon as I answered.

  “Middle school,” I mumbled.

  Tristan leaned over toward me. “Excuse me?”