Page 104 of Playing Dirty

He looks back at me, annoyance lining his features, before going to turn off the ringer.

“Because you couldn’t be normal and put your phone on silent like everyone else?” he asks, though from the tilt of his lips when I glance up, it’s more teasing than anything.

“You should know by now, I’m not one to conform to societal expectations.”

There’s a brief flicker in his expression, something I can’t quite put my finger on, as he reaches into my bag to find my phone. Meanwhile, I grab one of the buckets and start collecting the balls for Theo’s turn, but I’ve barely started when he calls out to me.

“Uh, Madden.”

When I glance up, I expect him to have my phone in his hand. But instead, I find him holding up the walkie-talkie I’d stashed in my bag this morning.

Shit.

We’ve been taking shifts with it, passing it between the team to keep an ear out for any Timberwolf activity on campus. But I must’ve forgotten to hand it off to Dillon after practice, having been in too much of a hurry to meet up with Theo instead.

He looks from it to me before turning it over in his palm, and I can see his mind working overtime to throw all the pieces together.

“The echo…” He trails off before holding up again. “This is how you found me, isn’t it? The night we raided the lecture halls.”

A beat of silence lingers between us before I nod. “Yeah, it is.”

“How did you even know?”

“Dillon saw Wyatt buying them at the store,” I supply with a shrug. “It was the same night I overheard you talking to Phoenix outside your room about a raid, so I told him to buy one too. Just in case.”

He blinks a couple times before an incredulous laugh leaves him.

“So you’ve been listening to us this whole time and just didn’t say anything?”

Tongue in cheek, I let out a little scoff. Because there’s no way he can actually be upset about this.

“Careful, Teddy Bear, ’cause that sounds an awful lot like an accusation.”

“One that clearly has merit,” he says while waving the piece ofevidence. “So what else have you overheard?”

“Nothing.”

Which is the God’s honest truth, but from thegive me a breaklook he aims at me, he clearly doesn’t believe it.

“Besides me finding you that night, it hasn’t been that useful. Other than knowing where you guys are looking. But like I said, I know you won’t find it.”

I catch him pressing his tongue against his cheek while he weighs my words before finally nodding.

“Defensive strategy,” he murmurs, echoing my statement from earlier, before another humorless laugh leaves him. “God, I don’t know if I want to kiss you or kill you right now.”

“Well, if I get a choice in the matter, I’d prefer the first option,” I tease playfully, hoping to keep the mood light and playful.

It doesn’t work, though, and he just drops the walkie back in my bag and heads into the cage to help me gather the balls. We do so silently, only for him to slip on a helmet and grab his bat, ready to take his turn in the cage. But as he goes to walk past me, I grab him by the hip, stopping him.

“You’re not mad, right?” I ask hesitantly.

There’s a brief second before he mutters, “I’m annoyed, but no. I’m not mad.”

Yeah, well. With Theo, that’s basically the same thing.

“It’s not my fault Wyatt wasn’t smart enough to order them online,” I say jokingly, and he rolls his eyes. But he does crack a smile too, and I’m counting it as a win.

“Yeah, but it is your fault for using his dimwittedness against us.”