Page 65 of Rumor Has It

Rebecca shut the door to their hotel room with a sigh and leaned back against it. “Is it just me, or should the whole team have called it about an hour ago?”

Wren snorted out a laugh. Other than the drink that Courtney bought her, Wren hadn’t had any alcohol in about two-and-a-half hours and was fully feeling the soreness from the day—particularly her ankle—setting in. She had wanted to call it a night well before she’d yelled at Ali on the dance floor, but they’d all stayed out at least an hour-and-a-half after that. “I would have appreciated it.” She shook her head. “Are we just grandmas?”

“I know I am on game days.” Rebecca nodded her head towards Wren. “How’s your ankle?”

It hurt like a bitch, but Wren wasn’t a fan of admitting things like that. She shrugged. “It hurts a lot less because I got to watch you absolutely truck the shit out of the chick that did it.”

Rebecca bit her bottom lip. “I was a little worried you weren’t going to appreciate that little maneuver.”

“Appreciate it?” Wren’s voice lifted. “I loved it. Are you kidding me?”

A blush crept up Rebecca’s neck as she ducked her head, nodding, clearly just accepting Wren’s words. They stood there, letting the tension build in the room.

Finally, Rebecca broke the silence. “Are you okay after the club?” Her voice was quieter with this question. Her hazel eyes lifted to Wren’s for just long enough for Wren to register the hesitancy in them.

Why was Rebecca afraid to ask that question? “You mean after I went off on Ali?” Wren asked, trying to clarify. She wasn’t sure why Rebecca would tiptoe around the awkwardness that had been Wren’s call-out on the dance floor.

“Yeah,” Rebecca said, not offering anymore.

Wren sighed. “I mean, I wish it hadn’t gotten to that point. I wish she’d picked up any of the hints I’d left her for the past few months. But according to Courtney, I was in the right. So, I guess I’m okay? I feel like that was definitely a conversation that should have happened in private, but I didn’t exactly start it.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t follow after you to check up on you,” Rebecca said, her voice somehow even softer. “With all the rumors and gossip, and, well, with what Ali had said.” She shook her head. “I didn’t know how to without holding a neon sign over my head that screamed, “The rumors are true.””

Wren breathed out a laugh. “It’s okay. You were already my knight in shining armor once today.”

That got Rebecca to look up again. A small smile tugged at her lips. She nodded once, seemingly pleased with Wren’s answer. “Can I be a little happy that you shut her down because it was getting increasingly annoying to watch her try to flirt with you?”

“Oh?” Wren asked, lifting her eyebrow. “Why’s that?” If the tension in the room before had been kindling, Wren officially just struck a match.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Rebecca started, “but I’m not exactly good at playing nice.”

Wren swallowed, thirsty all of a sudden. “You don’t say,” she whispered, her voice suddenly much, much deeper.

Rebecca’s eyes drifted to Wren’s lips. “So, what happens now?” She asked, gesturing between them. “Are we going to spend the rest of the year pretending we don’t have feelings for each other? Or pretending that cuddling and flirting via text message isn’t violating our contracts just because they’re less flagrant violations? Are we just going to pretend? Or worse, date other people and act like we don’t notice how much it hurts each other?”

“I don’t know,” Wren said, the truth of those words heavy between them. “All I know is that I want you and the rest is really starting to not matter nearly as much as I thought it did.”

Rebecca finally pressed off the back of the door, stepping into the room and closing the gap between them with a few easy steps. “Are you sure?”

Wren shook her head no. “Not even a little bit.”

“So where does that leave us?” Rebecca asked, her body inches away from Wren’s, her gaze still firmly locked on Wren’s lips.

“Lighting that damn contract on fire, I think,” Wren said, before grabbing Rebecca by the front of her shirt and tugging her in for a passionate kiss.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

BECKY

Becky’s heart thundered in her chest. That really happened—was still happening. Wren had pulled her in for a kiss. And even when they weren’t mad at each other, it still carried the same heat and intensity. But it was softer somehow, in a way that Becky couldn’t quite name. It was like when they were playing together instead of against each other. That thought made Becky’s breath catch.

She backed Wren up, gently this time, neither of them frantic for once. Wren pulled back with a soft laugh. “Hang on, hang on.”

“Is everything okay?” Becky asked, trying to catch her breath.

Wren nodded and quickly leaned forward to press a kiss to Becky’s cheek. “Yes, but we’re doing this right. Right?”