Once the boys’ team spots us, the howling and cheering starts. Their goalie, Patrick, stands up and cups his mouth with his hands. “Hear ye, hear ye! The queens of lacrosse are here to grace us with their presence. All hail the state champions.”
Several other tables in the restaurant clap as my teammates slide into empty seats at the tables set aside for us.
Ivori curtseys. “Thank you, peasants.”
She takes the chair next to mine, across from Evan. Landon sits beside him with the rest of their team, boys on one side with us girls on the other. It’s tradition for girls’ and boys’ varsity teams to treat one another to pizza after a big game.
“Pay up, Fletcher.”
Landon shoots me a wide smile as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. “Nice game, Morgan. If you keep winning, I’m going to go broke.”
I wink as I snatch the wad of twenties out of his hand. “I’d start saving up for next year if I were you.”
He laughs. “Seriously, that last goal was insane. You had every defender on you. I don’t know how you got it into the net.”
“I almost fucked it up.” I shake my head, replaying the moment in my head. “I slipped as I cut left.”
“It’s the damn grass.” Ivori points her index finger at him. “And we still won. You boys wouldn’t know anything about playing on our field.”
Landon nods. “I don’t know why they won’t turn it into turf.”
Evan rubs his thumb against his fingers. “Money.”
I arch a brow. “They had plenty of money for your new uniforms though. Funny how they magically found some for that.”
The waitress drops off several pies along the table, and we all dig in. I inhale two slices before coming up for air. It’s been so long since I’ve allowed myself to indulge in some shitty food, and tonight I’m celebrating.
“Hey, Ainsley.” Patrick leans over Landon’s plate as he holds out a shiny metal flask. “Want some?”
I scrunch my nose. “Pass.”
Aside from not wanting alcohol, I’d rather rip my lips off than put them on something that touched Patrick Weber’s mouth.
“Put that shit away, would you,” Evan hisses. “You’re gonna get caught, and then we’ll all be in trouble.”
He shrugs like he couldn’t care less. “They’re not gonna touch us. Live a little.”
“What must that be like?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest as I lean back against my chair. “Getting to do whatever you want because Daddy will bail you out of anything.”
Patrick grins with the carefree smile of a mayor’s son. “Fucking amazing.”
Landon rolls his eyes, and I smirk. Everyone tolerates Patrick, even his teammates. His father has a lot of pull in this town, so we all make nice out of obligation, not choice.
“You played good,” he continues talking, “you know, for a girl.”
Ivori chokes on her soda, and my chin snaps back like I got slapped.
Evan pinches the bridge of his nose. “Just shut the fuck up and eat your pizza, man.”
“What?” He looks between Evan and Landon. “I gave her a compliment.”
“No, you insulted her,” Landon says. “You can’t say shit like that.”
He clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Come on, dude. She’s good, but she’s not Evan Cole good.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline, and Coach Nadine’s idea comes back to me. “You don’t think I could hack it with you boys on the field?”
Patrick’s head tilts back as he laughs. “We’d crush you. It’s just not physically possible for girls to play with the big boys.”
