Page 26 of The Rule Breaker (Colton U Playbook #1)

ISABELLA

“ I ’m not going,” I announce, flopping back onto the bed.

Aurora, standing in front of my closet, doesn’t even look at me. She pulls out a tiny black dress, holds it up between two fingers, and stares at me, waiting.

“You’re wearing this,” she says, the dress hanging in the air like it’s the obvious answer.

I groan and let my head fall back onto the pillow. “I’m staying in.”

Without missing a beat, she tosses the dress onto me. “You’re going out.”

I roll my eyes and flop back down onto the bed. “I’m not in the mood. I’ve had a long week, and a good movie and junk food are all I need right now.”

She pulls out a pair of shoes, keeps rummaging through my closet, and doesn’t seem affected by my protests. “You’ve been cooped up in here long enough.”

I sigh, looking up at the ceiling. “I just don’t feel like seeing Ryan tonight. Not after everything.”

Aurora turns her head so fast, I almost get whiplash. “Everything?” she asks, eyes narrowing. “What does everything entail? What are you not telling me?”

I haven’t told her about me and Ryan yet.

I don’t know why. Well, scratch that—I do know why.

Because I was stupid enough to think I could sleep with him one time and forget it ever happened.

And now, Aurora wants me to go to this party and see him there with other girls, and the thought alone makes my stomach churn.

“We slept together.”

Aurora freezes in place. “You what?”

I chew on my lip, feeling my face turn bright red. “Saturday night.”

Aurora’s eyes widen. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I’m telling you now,” I reply with a shrug

“Isabella!” She grabs her makeup brush and throws it at me. I dodge it just in time, bursting into laughter.

“I… forgot?”

“You forgot?” Aurora halts in her tracks, her jaw practically touching the floor.

“Well, I didn’t forget, obviously,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair. “It just… happened. And I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Aurora shakes her head, narrowing her eyes. “You’re lucky I love you. If you ever do that again without a heads-up, I will murder you.”

I roll my eyes, but a grin sneaks on my face anyway. “What? Should I send a play-by-play mid action?”

“I’m not asking for a play-by-play,” she adds with a smirk. “but a few juicy details wouldn’t hurt.”

I breathe out a laugh and shake my head. “I regret telling you this already.”

Aurora turns to me, eyebrow raised, the lipstick still in her hand. “So, was it good?”

I blink, memories of the other night flashing in my head. “Yeah,” I admit, my lips curling into a smirk. So fucking good. I’ve never had sex like that before. Granted, I’ve only been with one guy before, but still.

She narrows her eyes. “But?”

I hesitate, the words sitting in the back of my throat. “But it’s not happening again,” I tell her, lifting my shoulder in a shrug.

She pauses, the lipstick hovering just above her lips, her gaze locked on me. “Wait, what?” She narrows her eyes. “Why not?”

I chew on my lip, wishing I could just bury myself in my bed. “We agreed it would only be a one-time thing.”

Aurora’s eyebrows lift, and she blows out a breath, turning her attention fully to me. “Oof. You’ve made a big mistake.”

I furrow my brows, confused. “How so?”

She shrugs and sits beside me on the bed. “You desperately needed a rebound, don’t get me wrong, and Ryan’s hot and I could tell you liked him… But there’s no way you can hang out with him every day, flirting and teasing, and not catch feelings for him.”

I frown, pulling the sheets up to my chin. “Which is exactly why I need to stay in,” I mutter. “He’s going to be at the party, and I?—”

“Hell no. You’re not cowering away,” she interrupts, giving me a pointed look as she tugs at the sheets. “You made your choice, and now you have to live with it.”

I sigh, frustrated. “I don’t know if I can handle it.”

Aurora leans in, locking eyes with me. “You can. You see him every day at practice. This is no different.”

I beg to differ. At practice there are people noting my every move at all times.

My dad by my side, my brother on the ice, and the other guys surrounding him.

But at parties, there are so many quiet places, dark corners where I can lose my inhibitions and melt into a puddle with a simple glance from him.

“Plus. Showing him how hot you look won’t hurt,” Aurora adds with a grin.

I chuckle despite my nerves. “Okay, fine. I’ll go. But you can’t leave me alone. I have no willpower when it comes to him.”

Aurora chuckles and turns to face me, her hands on her hips. “I won’t leave your side. Now, get dressed. I need to sext Chase while my makeup still looks good.”

I scrunch my nose. “Ew. I did not need that visual.”

She scoffs, leaning in front of her mirror to touch up her makeup. “Please. Like you’ve never done it.”

“Absolutely not,” I reply, raising an eyebrow.

Aurora winks at me, her tone smug. “Well, the night’s still young.”

I shake my head, but I laugh as I strip out of my sweatshirt and slip into the black dress she picked out for me. “I don’t even know why I’m friends with you.”

She winks again. “Because I’m irreplaceable.”

By the time Aurora and I get to the party, it’s already packed.

The bass from the speakers is so loud it vibrates through my bones.

The kitchen’s a mess of half-empty beer bottles, plastic cups, and the stale smell of spilled alcohol.

The air is thick with heat and full of the mix of too many bodies crammed into one space.

Aurora hands me a cup without a word. “Drink. Mingle. Have fun. In that order.”

I look at the neon pink liquid in the cup. “What is this?”

She takes a sip of hers. “Does it matter?”

Yeah, that’s not reassuring, but I take a sip anyway. The sweetness hits me first, followed by something citrusy, and then the burn of cheap alcohol. I cough. “Jesus. This tastes like soda and nail polish remover had a baby.”

Aurora chuckles. “Yeah, but it does the job.”

I roll my eyes but follow her as she leads the way through the crowd.

People are everywhere—guys trying to dance like they’re in a movie, a couple making out like they’ve never seen each other before, and some guy who looks way too proud of himself for being able to drink from a beer funnel without dying.

Aurora moves through it all with ease like it’s second nature. I can’t help but glance around the room, my eyes drifting, scanning the crowd for any sign of Ryan.

We see each other every day at practice; aside from a few stolen glances, nothing’s changed. And yet, I can’t stop thinking about it. About him. About how it felt.

The way his hands gripped my waist, the heat of his breath against my skin, the way he kissed me like he couldn’t get enough.

But none of that matters. Because here I am, obsessing over every detail of that night, while he…

Well, I don’t know what he’s thinking.

But I have a feeling it’s not this .

Aurora must notice me zoning out because she raises an eyebrow. “What’s up with you?”

I snap my gaze away, shrugging it off. “Nothing.”

She tilts her head. “Uh-huh, sure. Just checking out the room for no reason at all, right?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not looking for Ryan,” I lie. Not convincingly either, because Aurora lets out a scoff as she leans back against the wall.

“Yeah, okay And I definitely don’t stalk my boyfriend’s Spotify activity.”

A laugh bubbles out of me, but before I can argue, a guy stumbles into our space, his chest puffed out. His breath reeks of cheap alcohol, and his confidence is a little too loud for someone who can barely stand straight.

“Hey,” he slurs, zeroing in on Aurora. “Haven’t seen you around before.”

Aurora barely spares him a glance. “That’s because I wasn’t around.”

He laughs, clearly drunk enough to think he’s hilarious. “You’re funny. I like that.”

“How tragic,” she sighs.

His grin widens, too far gone to catch the insult. “What?”

Aurora takes a sip and gives him a deadpan look. “That you think I’m even remotely interested.”

The guy’s grin drops, irritation flickering across his face. “Being a bitch isn’t attractive, you know.”

Aurora arches her brow at him. “And what makes you think I’m trying to attract you?”

I bite back a laugh, watching the exchange. The guy scoffs before turning his attention to me. “What about you, sweetheart?”

I scrunch my nose, the stench of alcohol hitting me even from this distance. “No thanks.”

He mutters something under his breath, his face flushed with embarrassment, before he stumbles off into the crowd.

Aurora raises her cup, her lips twitching into a smirk. “To being unapproachable.”

I clink my cup against hers, a small laugh escaping me. “Cheers.”

We’re still laughing when a groan cuts through the noise.

“Great. Viper’s here to ruin the party.”

I turn, my gaze falling on Cole. He’s standing nearby, arms crossed, and his eyes are locked on Aurora with a look that could melt steel. He drags his gaze down her body, pausing at the low neckline of her top, and then flicks his eyes back up to her face with a tight expression.

Aurora doesn’t seem fazed. She takes another sip of her drink, her lips curling into a half-smirk. “Wow, you’re already in my business? That was fast.”

Cole scoffs, his eyes running over Aurora’s outfit once again. “Do you ever wear clothes that actually cover you?”

Aurora’s gaze sharpens. “Stop looking at me and it won’t be a problem.”

Cole’s smirk fades, his jaw tightening. “Trust me, I’m not fucking looking.”

The tension between them thickens, heavy and suffocating. I glance back and forth, my curiosity bubbling up, but before I can say anything, Cole saunters off without another word.

“Okay, what’s with you two?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at Aurora. “You look like you’re ready to kill each other.”

Her face screws up in disgust. “That would involve me getting close enough to touch him. Not happening.”

I arch a brow, but she offers nothing more.

I take a long sip of my drink, the coolness of it running down my throat as I scan the room, letting my gaze bounce from one face to the next. The noise of the party hums around me, a blur of voices and laughter blending with the pulse of the music. It’s all just background noise—until I freeze.

There he is.

Ryan.

Leaning against the far wall, looking effortlessly perfect.

His dark hair’s a little tousled, and his sleeves are rolled up just enough to show off the muscles in his forearms. And because the universe has a cruel sense of humor, he’s surrounded by a group of girls—each of them with their attention locked on him.

My stomach drops.

He got what he wanted, and I was stupid enough to give it to him. And now, I’m just another girl in his past.

Aurora’s eyes flick back down to her phone when it buzzes and she chuckles, a grin tugging at her lips.

“Chase?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

She looks up, her grin widening. “He got my picture,” she says, shooting me a wink. “He’s asking for another one,” she adds, tilting her head at me. “You’ll be okay for a minute, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I reply with a chuckle.

She blows me a kiss, and she spins on her heels and heads upstairs.

I take another sip of my drink, letting out a long breath.

It’s not like anything will happen with Ryan, anyway.

A part of me thought he’d see me and feel like he made a mistake setting that one-time rule.

But I was just being delusional. He doesn’t need me.

He never did. He’s got his pick of girls—girls who don’t come with complications, who he can hook up with without consequences.

It doesn’t matter how much I want to be the one to catch his attention. It doesn’t matter what I thought we had. I’m just another girl, fading into the background like every other one before me.

I take a deep breath, trying to force my mind onto something—anything—other than Ryan and the damn knot forming in my stomach. I focus on the ice in my cup, the way it clinks together as I stir it absently. Anything but the sick feeling in my chest.

But then I glance around, and my gaze drifts back to the spot where he was just standing.

He’s gone.

And so are the girls.

The empty space gnaws at me for a second before my stomach twists even tighter. Did he leave with them? Of course, he did. Why wouldn’t he? I’m not what he’s looking for. I was just a momentary distraction.

Swallowing hard, I try to push the lump in my throat away, but it doesn’t work. The ache doesn’t stop.

But just as I’m about to give in to the bitter wave of self-pity crashing over me, someone tugs at my wrist.