Page 95 of Hate Game

Malice’s answer surprises me. I was certain he would go where his friends go and that they would play football together.

I shrug. “Same.”

“That’s fair. I wasn’t sure where I would land either when I was your age.” He slides his large, muscular arm across Nora’s small shoulders and pulls her close. “Do either of you like riding dirt bikes?”

I raise my hand.

“Cool. That’s cool.” He sticks out his arm. I look at his fist. His fist is huge, bigger than Malice’s. There’s another man with bigger fists than Galley’s.

Galley and I fist-bump. It’s a small tap, nothing painful. But Malice will feel the most god-awful pain when Jerry, or Big J, punches him with his boulder-sized fists.

“Hit me and Nora up when you’re in town. My aunt’s place has a dirt track, and I just bought a shit ton of bikes and helmets of all sizes. It’ll be fun having you two ride with us.”

They are such nice people. Bonus? They don’t know about my messed-up past and my bad reputation.

“Thanks, bruh. That’s nice of you. We’ll take you up on the invite.”

I glance at Malice with hope on my face. What he says means he’ll stick around town, and we can visit Nora and Galley and spend time being competitive on the tracks. After Galley and Malice exchange numbers, we say our goodbyes and head over to the skating rink. We rollerblade round and round to the best music ever. On my third lap, fingers graze mine. I turn and smile, believing it’s Malice back from using the restroom. But it's a different guy.

Tall. Lean. Mahogany brown hair. He smiles. “I thought that was you. What brings you to Dumas, Rue? Are you and your friends planning on crashing another party?”

“Hi, Rory,” I say, ignoring his questions. Where is Malice? Rory and I skate by the booths across from the concession stand.

Isaac, Colton, and Johnny stare at me. I glower. Colton gives me a two-finger salute. Where did they come from? Why are they in Dumas? Shouldn’t they be getting ready for tomorrow’s fights? Where did they stash the purse money?

“Know those guys?” Rory jerks his head behind us.

“No,” I answer. “Wouldn’t your girlfriend be jealous seeing you talk to another girl?”

I skate faster. Rory keeps up. “No girlfriend. I came with my little sister. Some kids bullied the fuck out of her, and she needed to let off steam.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. If she would like to talk about it, I have first-hand experience,” I admit.

“You would do that for her? You don’t even know her.”

“There is power in knowing she’s not alone and that it will get better with time.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” We skate to the wall, away from the crowd, and exchange numbers.

Rory leans close, and with his fingers on my chin, he tips my head up. “I was a dumbass for not getting your number at Galley’s party. That kiss was unforgettable.”

Me, Leigh, and Red crashed Galley’s party before homecoming. We did the favor for Leigh and her friend, Henry. Henry’s now ex-girlfriend cheated on him with this older football player, and Leigh was out to prove that the player would cheat on Henry’s ex.

It was a mess. A horrible mess that had Seven breaking down a bedroom door and pulling the scumbag off Leigh, whose drink was spiked with more alcohol than a small girl could handle.

Before I can tell Rory that the kiss was a one-time thing done out of excitement and drunkenness from being surrounded by an older crowd and too many hot guys, I am yanked back against a solid body. My hair is grabbed by a large hand, and the strands are draped over my other shoulder.

“Babe, whatcha got here?” Malice brushes his fingers over the hickey near my collarbone.

The spotlight above us highlights Malice’s mark on me like a bright spotlight in the night sky.

“Um, Malice, this is Rory.”

Malice extends his hand. Rory looks at it, then shoves his hands in his pants pockets. Malice balls his hand and clamps it against his thigh.

“Where’d you two meet?”

Rory answers before I can. “At Galley’s party two months ago. Your girl’s mouth is sweet, bruh, but I’m sure you already know that.” He smirks.

---