Page 80 of Rival Darling

I instinctively took a step closer to him, and he edged backward, probably noticing how tightly my fists were clenched. “Don’t say another word, Hoffman.”

“Oh, come on, Reed.” He laughed, and the sound made my blood simmer. “That was freshman year. I really thought you’d be over it by now.”

Unfortunately for both of us, I wasn’t ever going to get over the fact my first girlfriend had cheated on me with my oldest friend. At the time, I’d thought she was the one. And Jeremy knew it. That didn’t stop Natalie and him from running around behind my back for almost our entire freshman year.

I knew he was just trying to get to me, but he was doing an excellent job. I was close to boiling point now, but I took a deep breath to calm myself. Things were going to get ugly if I didn’t.

“That’s ancient history,” I replied. “I don’t need anyone or anything to help me beat you on the ice, and I certainly don’t need to date your ex-girlfriend for revenge. I’m pretty sure I got that when I messed up your nose.”

Jeremy stood a little taller and pushed out his chest. “Try that again. I dare you.”

He was just acting tough. Jeremy knew I wouldn’t break his nose again because I’d gotten in so much shit the last time. It was seriously tempting though.

I eased the urge by reminding myself that his nose was no longer perfectly straight. It still gave me great satisfaction. And I liked to think of it as a sign that you could never fully trust anyone—sometimes, not even your friends.

“I’ll save it for our game,” I said. “And despite what you might think, you’re the last person Violet and I are concerned with. But I am so glad to hear how much it bothers you.”

“It’s not a bother.” He shrugged. “I’m just trying to save you a repeat of the heartache. She’ll come crawling back eventually. They always choose me in the end…”

“If I were you, I’d stop worrying about Violet and me and start worrying about the game. See you on the ice, Hoffman.”

I stalked away before he could get another word in. It was taking a lot of effort to control my anger right now, and he was only going to keep pushing me until I went over the edge. I didn’t like dredging up the past, but it was Jeremy’s continued interest in Violet that concerned me the most. He’d ruined my relationship with a girl once before, and I had no intention of letting that happen again.

20

REED

“Just message her,” Grayson said. “This is getting ridiculous.”

It was Friday afternoon, and I’d been hiding in my room since school finished. My brother clearly hadn’t caught the hint my closed door was supposed to provide—leave me alone.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied, keeping my attention on the book I was holding. I was supposed to be reading it for English, but I hadn’t managed to comprehend a single paragraph since I’d opened it over an hour ago. I was way too in my head right now.

“Violet. She’s clearly the reason you’ve been in a mood all week.”

“I’m not in a mood.”

“You’re in such a mood,” Grayson said. “You’ve been moping around the house since Monday. And even though we’ve got our biggest game of the season against the Saints in just over a week, you’ve been like a zombie at training. It’s got to stop. Just send her a message.”

As much as I tried to deny it, Gray was right. I’d started the week feeling disappointed I wouldn’t get to see Violet until Saturday, but as the days dragged on, I’d only gotten worse. I found myself missing her more and more, and I was growing increasingly worried that our remaining time together was rapidly coming to an end. All I wanted was to stop playing pretend and for our relationship to be real. But it was hard to convince her of that when I hadn’t seen her all week.

My run-in with Jeremy and conversation with Mia hadn’t helped much with my mood either. The two of them had left me with a strange mixture of fear and cautious optimism. After talking to Mia, I was curious to see if there was any foundation to the sliver of hope she’d given me. But my interaction with Hoffman and his reminder about my freshman-year heartbreak had left me worried I was headed down a familiar path with Violet.

I knew I shouldn’t listen to him, and he was clearly still trying to win Violet back. But it was hard not to let his words get under my skin.

“You’re lucky it’s me in here trying to give you a pep talk and not Paige,” Grayson continued. “Even she’s noticed something’s up, and she’s been threatening to come up here and talk to you ever since she came over today. I figured you’d prefer to talk with someone who knows the truth…”

I grunted and finally placed my book down to focus on my brother. He was threatening me with Paige, so it wasn’t like I had much choice. And he was right; I’d rather talk to him about this. “I can’t just message her. We’re not really dating, so I need a good reason.”

“You don’t need a good reason,” he replied. “People text people all the time."

“I guess,” I conceded.

“And while you’re at it, tell her how you feel,” Gray added.

Now he was just being ridiculous. I’d thoroughly considered Mia’s similar advice and decided now wasn’t the right time. Why risk scaring her off before I really had to. There was still a week left for me to turn this relationship from fake to real without putting my heart on the chopping block.

“I can’t tell her,” I said. “I don’t even know if she likes me that way.”