Page 23

Taylor

The crowd always cheers for the home team.

But we’re not giving them much reason to cheer.

Some people hoot and yell for the Strickland Senators.

It must be out of a sense of obligation because our twenty-five-point deficit at the top of the fourth quarter isn’t giving them a whole hell of a lot to care about.

Yep, we suck balls tonight. Even though we have the home-court advantage, we’re playing like shit. Not a single person has their head in the game—myself included.

Drake and a few of his teammates are in the stands watching this clusterfuck of a nightmare.

Bex, as usual, is on her A game. She’s always on point with showing off her talent on the court.

A few others are keeping pace with her. Though, the ongoing tension between Jackie and me has killed the mojo for a fair share of our teammates.

My teammate, of all people, keeps hitting me on purpose.

A slight tap with her elbow or an alleged accidental hand to the back of my head has my blood pressure through the roof.

She’s working my last nerve, intentionally throwing the ball where I can’t reach it and blocking shots I should have made on purpose.

After another whistle, Coach Vaughn benches both of us. This is all her fault. Jackie’s so damn jealous of Drake and me, she hasn’t stopped acting like a total psycho. I’ve put up with this shit from her since after the Thanksgiving break, and I’m sick of it.

Once we’re on the sidelines, Jackie approaches me again.

She looks out into the crowd where Drake and his friends have gathered three rows up from the court, right behind our bench.

Is she doing this to get his attention? The only reason he’s even looking over here is because of me, not her skank ass.

“When Drake fucked me…” Jackie leans forward, bending down to touch her toes, her ass sticking up in the air. To everyone else, it looks like she’s tying her shoe. “He bent me over like this… and then he…”

Unable to control my rage, I slam the heel of my sneaker into her stupid ass. She flies a few feet in front of me. Her cheek hits the hardwood floor.

“You stupid bitch,” I growl, following behind her. “He’s mine. He wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole and someone else’s dick.”

Jackie crawls across the floor, and then hops to her feet, her jaw set in anger. She balls her hands into fists in front of her.

I laugh in her fucking face.

“You think you know him so well, Taylor. Think again. He’s been with everyone on campus. You’re not special.”

Only I know the real Drake Donovan.

“You’re just mad that he blew you off,” I hiss, my hands now fisted at my sides.

She rushes toward me, and before she can get a clean hit on me, I grab her by the arm and twist it behind her back. Breathing against her cheek, I yank it harder. “Keep talking shit about Drake and me, and the next time, I’ll break it.”

I’ve trained for this moment with my father. Everything I know about martial arts he’s taught me. He prepared me for people like Jackie.

Our fight ends with someone wrapping muscular arms around me.

The scent of clean linen and Drake’s aftershave fills my nostrils.

It’s a scent I love so much I’ve burned it into my brain.

He drags me away from Jackie, my shoes screeching along the floor.

Once we’re at a safe distance from her, he sets me on the floor, placing his hand on my shoulder to stabilize me.

“I don’t know if I should be mad or thankful,” I say through gritted teeth. Spinning around to face him, I suck in a deep breath. “I had that under control.”

He rolls his eyes and sighs loudly. “No, you didn’t. You were two seconds from breaking your teammate’s arm. And for what reason?”

“She said you fucked her. That bitch was bending over to show to me how you took her from behind.”

“You know I never…” His gaze lowers as he blows out a breath of air, tugging at the ends of his dark hair. “C’mon, Taylor. Why would you even entertain that shit from her when you know the truth?”

Tears flood my vision, but I do my best to blink them away. “It still fucking hurts, Drake. I shouldn’t have to deal with this shit. First, it was The Queen and now this? Is it going to keep happening?”

As I spot Coach Vaughn strolling over toward us, I slip away from Drake’s grasp and head toward the exit to the gymnasium. I don’t want anyone to see me cry. The tears are right there, ready to spill at any moment. It’s bad enough the entire gym just saw me literally kick Jackie’s ass.

I should have controlled my anger. My dad taught me better than to blow up the way I did. With Drake, I lose my shit. I can’t handle anyone talking about him.

He follows me into the desolate back hallway that leads to the women’s locker rooms. “Taylor, where are you going? You can’t run away from your team just because she’s jealous of you.”

I stop dead in my tracks and turn around to face him. When I look into his deep blue eyes, I can’t form another thought. Just having him here when I feel like I’m losing my mind instantly calms me.

Fisting his shirt between my fingers, I pull him to me. He closes the distance between us, and within seconds, he has my back against a wall of lockers. An awkward silence passes between us for a few seconds as we stand there breathing against each other’s lips.

“I hate her,” I spit out. “She’s doing this to get under my skin. I know I shouldn’t let her get to me, but she reminds me so much of that girl who tormented me when I lived in Texas. Those were some of the worst years of my life.”

“You came out of that situation on top,” Drake mutters and then takes my bottom lip into his mouth to suck on it.

“I know you, Taylor. You’re not the person who walks away from a challenge.

So, get your sexy ass back on that court and help your team pull this game out of the gutter before I have to bend you over my knee and spank your ass. ”

“You’re such a bad boy,” I whisper as our eyes meet. “I like you spanking me too much to get my sexy ass back on that court.”

He laughs, slipping his fingers between mine. I don’t argue when he leads me down the hallway. And I don’t hesitate when he forces me to rejoin my team on the bench.

Drake finds his place among his friends in the stands, his eyes on me the entire time. Not once does he look away from me, and I play better because of it. Because I know that Drake will always be there to help me find my way. And I will always be there to do the same for him.