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Never would I have expected to have a civil conversation with a Corrigan brother. There was this weird little spark of heat, right below my belly button. It tickled a bit and gave me the sudden urge to giggle like a little girl. My cheeks heated at the effort to keep it in and I finally found the will to look down at my notebook in my lap.
“Um...I’ll see you at the game, I guess.” I shook my head, willing my brain to turn back on.
“And in class,” he offered.
“Oh yeah. Duh.” I smiled painfully up at him. “That, too.”
What
was happening? Was I blushing? This girl needed to get ahold of herself or I was fast going to become a giggling, eyelash batting version of Lexi. There was no way I could pull that off, so for all our sakes, I needed to snap out of it.
But with the blushing also came back the guilt. The heavy reminder that I was using this guy to get what I wanted. It didn’t matter what our history was, lying to someone’s face didn’t come easy to me.
“Look! Gabriel’s got himself a little girlfriend,” a mocking voice said behind me.
That was all it took to put me back together. I didn’t even have to turn around to see the mirrored image of Gabriel’s face. It was his brother coming our way, his thick Axe cologne already announcing his arrival.
“And...that’s my cue to get out of here.” I jumped up and stuffed my notebook in my bag as fast as I could. “See you, later.”
It would’ve been a gift from the heavens if I could’ve avoided a confrontation with Michael, but it didn’t seem like they were passing them out today. As I turned to leave, he stepped into my path, his lips curled in a cruel smile.
“Didn’t see your name on the sign-up list for the tournament, Frye.” He cocked his head to one side. “You chicken out already? You know that prize money is mine.”
I met his gaze with a stare of my own. It would’ve been so nice to be able to shove it in his face that in fact, I was partnering with his brother, but now wasn’t the time for the big reveal. Instead, I was going to have to eat crow.
It was all part of the master plan.
“I didn’t chicken out,” I said slowly, choosing my words carefully. “I just couldn’t find a partner.”
His eyebrows rose with glee. “What’s the matter? No one wants to play with a girl?”
Venom entered my stare. That only seemed to make it worse.
He laughed and patted the stomach of his t-shirt. “It’s just what I thought. Stay where you belong, Frye, and leave the gaming to us. Better yet, go make me a sandwich and then watch me dominate this tournament.”
Rage poured into my veins. I glanced over my shoulder to see if his brother was catching all of this. Sure enough, Gabriel stood there looking down at the floor. He wouldn’t even meet my eye. All the goodwill I’d been feeling toward him went up in steam. No doubt he was silently laugh at his brother’s sexist and boring commentary. I couldn’t stand the sight of him. Of either of them.
I turned back to Michael and sidestepped past him, putting my backpack over my shoulder. “Yeah, sure. You just wait right here until I come back with that sandwich.”
“Make it a BLT with extra B,” he called after me.
He was still laughing at his own joke as I left the stadium. My blood was thick with frustration and anger as I stiffly marched back to my car at the other side of the school grounds.
If there was one thing I had to thank Michael for, it was for reminding me why I was doing this thing in the first place. Justice was sweet and I was about to serve up a majorly big slice to the Corrigan brothers.
Chapter Six
“He said what?”
Lexi sat up straight on my bed, half of her fire-engine red fingernails still fresh with paint. She gaped at me, then at Charlotte sitting next to her, and then back at me.
“He told me to go make him a sandwich,” I said in a dry voice. “Yeah, that’s Michael’s go-to insult around me. I’m surprised you haven’t already heard it.”
Her cheeks turned red as her lips twisted into a furious snarl. “No, but I’d tell him just where he could shove that sandwich. He’s awful to you, Beth. Just plain awful. I didn’t realize things were that bad.”
I shrugged and turned back to my computer screen. My friends heard the bulk of my complaints about the Corrigan brothers, but they didn’t get to witness much of it thanks to their utter cluelessness about gaming in general. The club wasn’t exactly a hot spot for them and that was where most of my run-ins with Michael occurred. Honestly, I was kind of thankful for that. They were both so soft-hearted. I didn’t want them having to deal with standing up to a nasty bully like that. This was my battle. One that I would win.
“The tournament opening is about to begin,” I said, checking the time. “Any minute now...”
