Page 37 of Rival Darling
"Because bonfire nights are fun,” I replied, trying my best to sound convincing.
He grunted, like he knew I was full of shit. Despite what I’d told Violet, I didn’t enjoy these things. Mostly because we had to mix with Sunshine Prep students, and I pretty much hated everything to do with Sunshine Hills. I’d had a change of heart this past week. There was at least one thing I liked about that place now. Violet. I was doing a terrible job at keeping those feelings hidden though, and I was sure Grayson could see right through me.
“You better go find your girl,” he said. “And I guess I better go have some fun,” he added before following after Paige. I suspected it would be about five minutes before he ended up standing on the edge of the crowd, scowling at everyone.
“You’re here.” Matt appeared at my side, holding two bottles of beer. He wasn’t even trying to cover the surprise in his eyes. “You haven’t come to one of these in ages. I thought they might have finally banned you.”
“No, I’m not banned. But it’s probably only a matter of time…” There might have been a sketchy truce between Ransom and Sunshine Prep on bonfire nights, but that tenuous agreement always felt a little too close to breaking whenever I made an appearance. The Saints players harbored a deep and burning hatred for me. And sure, I hated them too, but despite what most people thought about me, I didn’t purposefully seek out confrontations. It was hard to enjoy a party when you spent the entire time waiting for the tension in the air to finally snap.
Matt offered me one of his beers, but I waved it away. “Can’t, I’m driving.”
“Ah, more for me then.” He grinned. “So…what prompted you to grace us with your presence tonight?”
Even though Matt was my best friend, I didn’t exactly feel like telling him I’d come for one reason only. Because I wanted to catch a glimpse of a girl who literally had a rule against spending time with me. Well, not me specifically, but guys like me. Either way, Matt would think I was pathetic. It was hard enough for me to think about the fact that Violet would never be interested in me let alone say those words out loud.
“Parker wanted to come,” I answered. “You know he’ll only start trouble if someone doesn’t keep an eye on him.”
“True.” Matt nodded. “He’s never been particularly good at steering clear of trouble. Then again, neither have you.”
“No idea what you’re talking about.”
Matt smirked as he took a swig of his beer. “Sure, of course, you don’t.”
We walked closer to the bonfire as we talked. It was built up high tonight, and the heat radiating off it was intense. Benches, chairs, and thick logs surrounded the fire as they always did, but no one was really sitting on them as most people hung back to avoid the heat.
“I see Parker’s wasted no time…” Matt said, tilting his head toward my brother. Parker had his arms wrapped around the shoulders of two Sunshine Prep girls. It was almost like he wanted to start shit with the Saints. I spotted a few guys from their team watching my brother and they didn’t look happy.
I swore under my breath. Parker was going to get us booted in record time. There was a cocky curve to his mouth as well, like he knew just how much he was pissing off the enemy. Luckily, a few moments later, one of the girls slapped Parker across the face, and the other shrugged off his arm. He watched them walk away, not the least bit bothered by their rebuff.
Matt snorted at my side. “And here I thought your brother was a player.”
“He wishes.” I considered leaving Parker to his own devices, but I knew I couldn’t trust him to behave. I’d only end up regretting it when I eventually had to clear up whatever mess he was certain to create. “I better go talk to him.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Matt said with a sympathetic laugh before he headed over to a group of our teammates who were hanging out nearby.
I wished I could do the same. With a groan, I walked in the opposite direction toward Parker. “Tell me you’re not trying to start a fight tonight,” I said as I came up beside him.
“I’m not trying to start a fight tonight.”
“Seriously, Parker.”
“What?” He faked a yawn. “This bonfire’s so boring.”
“You’ve been here five minutes. And you’re the one who wanted to come.”
“Actually, I think you were the one who was extra eager tonight, stalker Joe.”
“I’m not a stalker,” I growled. “Just quit trying to start shit. You know I’ll end up being the one who has to finish it…”
“You worry too much,” he scoffed. “The Saints won’t start anything. I heard they really had to fight for their win today, and they all look pretty broken.” Parker slowly started to smile. “Besides, I figured you wouldn’t mind if I distracted them a little, especially Hoffman. I noticed a certain redhead is here, and I thought you might want to chat with her without being interrupted…”
He nodded to the other side of the bonfire, and as I followed his gaze, I caught a flash of the blue eyes and red hair I’d been longing to see. Violet was smiling brightly as she talked with another girl, and when my eyes settled on her, my heart rate skyrocketed, and my hands went clammy like I was standing too close to the flames.
She looked beautiful tonight, especially with the soft glow of the firelight dancing across her features. Her hair flowed in loose waves down her back, and her cheeks were rosy from the heat of the fire. She was dressed like she was ready for an expedition to the Arctic, rather than a night out in Ransom, but I thought she looked cute bundled under all those clothes. Even with her ridiculously large puffer jacket, she kept holding her hands out toward the fire and inching closer to it. I got the feeling this girl could be in the middle of a scorching desert and still feel the cold.
Parker had been right when he’d taunted me in the car earlier. I was nervous about seeing Violet again. But the anxiety was mixed with excitement. She might have sworn off hockey players, but that didn’t seem to matter to me as I watched her through the fire. I only needed her to like one hockey player: me.
“Like I said, I make an excellent distraction…” I could practically hear the smirk on Parker’s face, and I dragged my gaze away from Violet to scowl at him. “So, are you going to get your girl?” he added.