Page 70 of Offside Attraction

Then I really see him.

Hayes stands there half-naked, a towel hanging low on his hips, water still dripping from his body. His sculpted torso gleams under the locker room lights, droplets sliding down his chest, over his defined abs, tracing the sharp V of his hips before disappearing beneath the towel.

Fuck.

I wasn’t prepared for this. Forhim.

His skin is pale and flushed, his dark hair damp and pushed back, strands clinging to his forehead. I force myself not to stare, not to let my eyes linger the way they desperately want to. Instead, I mask the sudden surge of heat with irritation, scoffing like I’m unimpressed.

I glare at him—but he doesn’t glare back.

There’s something in his eyes. Something unreadable. Gone before I can make sense of it.

“I don’t need you coming to my rescue, Griffin,” I snap, dropping back onto the bench and shoving my other foot into my sneaker. My fingers fumble with the laces as I tie them too tight, too fast. “Mind your fucking business.”

Hayes says nothing.

That alone throws me.

He only shoots Ezra a warning look before turning away, heading for his locker to get dressed. I don’t bother fixing my shoes properly. I grab my sports bag and storm out of the locker room, my skin prickling as Ifeelhis gaze burning into my back.

By the time I reach my car, my chest is tight. I toss my bag onto the backseat and drop into the driver’s seat, slamming the door shut. I lean back, eyes squeezing closed, trying to breathe.

“Fuck!” I shout, punching the steering wheel once. Then again.

“Fuck,” I whisper, the anger finally cracking as I drag in a shaky breath.

How did I get here?

Caught between hatred and want, tangled up in a boy I was never supposed to fall for—someone I should despise, yet can’t get out of my head no matter how hard I try.

How the fuck did I get here?

CHAPTER 16

Thisisanightmare.

Mynightmare.

The day I’ve been dreading has finally arrived.

I didn’t think it actually would—especially after my mother stopped mentioning it following the day she dropped the news and I stormed out. I’d hoped she’d changed her mind. Or forgotten. Or decided this whole thing was a terrible idea.

But yesterday, she made it painfully clear.

We’re having dinner with the Griffins.

Tonight.

I didn’t want to come. I said as much. My mother made it equally clear that my opinion didn’t matter. This wasn’t optional. Mom and Mark wanted to use the evening to thank the Griffins for giving Mark a job, and apparently, my presence was required—because family.

As Mark drives through the electronic gates, I stare at the mansion looming ahead of us. Massive. Imposing. Its windows glow warmly against the darkening sky, like something pulled straight out of a magazine spread titledHow the Other Half Lives.

The reality of where I am—of who I’m about to face—settles heavily in my chest. I can’t shake the feeling that whatever happens tonight, things won’t stay the same afterward.

Mark parks the car, and we step out. My thoughts are everywhere and nowhere at once.

“Wow,” Harper breathes beside me, her eyes wide as she takes in the towering structure. “This place is beautiful.”