Page 67 of The Ruthless Rivalry

And then his voice cuts through the silence. His words are laced with sarcasm, but underneath, there’s something else—something I can’t quite place.

“I could let you fall right here, you know,” he says, his usual smirk playing at the corner of his lips, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. There’s something deeper in the way he looks at me, something almost regretful, like he’s holding himself back from saying something else. Something real.

I blink up at him, disoriented. The air between us is charged in a way I can’t explain. My breath catches again, a mix of dizziness and something else unfamiliar stirring in my chest. “You grabbed me,” I blurt out, my voice soft but shaky, unsure of how to respond to the unexpected warmth of his touch.

He doesn’t pull away, but his chuckle is almost bitter, like he’s trying to mask something—some frustration he won’t admit. “Yeah, well, don’t go giving me credit for your lack of coordination,” he mutters, his gaze lingering on me a little longer than it should.

For a moment, we both just stand there, caught in the charged silence. His hand is still on my arm, holding me steady, but it feels heavier than it should be. Why does it feel like this? My mind is fuzzy, the alcohol making it hard to think clearly, but there’s a weight to this moment. A part of me knows I should pull away, but the part of me that’s still spinning from everything—the near-fall, his touch, his gaze—can’t make myself move.

And then, just as quickly as I feel the pull toward him, I feel the tension break as Aubrey’s footsteps approach, and she rushes up to us, her face a mixture of concern and confusion. When she reaches us, her eyes dart between me and Bishop, like she’s trying to piece something together.

She glances at him and then at me, her voice cutting through the tension. “Alex? Are you—”

She pauses, the words catching in her throat as her gaze lingers on Bishop. The moment between us feels like it’s too heavy, too close. Then, just like that, my shadow steps back, letting go of my arm. He doesn’t even glance at me again. Without a word, heturns on his heel and walks away, leaving only a faint trace of his presence behind.

I stand there, feeling a strange weight in the air, but before I can fully process it, Aubrey’s already bustling around me. “Alright, I think that’s enough for tonight. Let’s get you out of here before you end up swimming after all,” she says, a forced smile on her face.

I blink, confused and a little off-balance. “What…what just happened?” I mumble to myself, still lost in the lingering tension.

Before Aubrey can reply, a familiar voice calls out, and I turn to find Sylvester approaching us with his usual easy grin.

“Hey, you two alright?” he asks, his tone casual but his eyes flicking from me to where Bishop just stormed off.

Aubrey doesn’t even hesitate before brushing off the concern. “Yeah, we were just getting ready to leave,” she says dismissively.

But as soon as Sylvester nods, Aubrey’s gaze shifts, her eyes shifting in the direction Bishop went. “Dammit,” she mutters under her breath, loud enough for me to catch. “Bishop was our ride.”

Sylvester glances at her, his grin turning into something more sincere. “Well, lucky for you, I’m here. I can drive you both back to campus.”

Aubrey raises an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. “How much have you had to drink tonight?” she asks, crossing her arms.

Sylvester, still grinning, raises his hands in mock surrender. “Nothing. Zero. Nada.” He pauses, his gaze flicking between the two of us, then shrugs. “I’ve got to be careful. Swim team, you know? I’ve got to watch how much I consume.”

Aubrey hesitates for a moment, her eyes scanning him up and down. “Hmm,” she mutters, clearly still unconvinced. “Well, you are sober, I guess. But I’m holding you to it. No funny business.”

Sylvester chuckles, his grin returning. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Aubrey rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t argue. “Fine, let’s just go.”

As Aubrey pulls me along toward Sylvester’s car, I can’t help but glance back to the spot where Bishop had been standing. A mix of confusion, frustration, and something else I can’t quite place swirls inside me, but it’s quickly swept away by the motion of walking, and the sound of Sylvester’s jokes pulling my attention elsewhere.

Tomorrow was probably going to suck, but that was a problem for tomorrow’s Alex. Tonight? Tonight, I just wanted my too-comfortable bed, Dolores…and maybe some snacks. Okay, a lot of snacks.

Chapter 15

Alex

It was Monday morning, and despite spending the entire day in bed yesterday, I still didn’t feel completely recovered. The throbbing in my head had subsided, but I still felt grumpy, and attending Professor O’Donnelly’s lecture after everything that had happened last week was almost unbearable.

Somehow, I managed to make it through, studiously avoiding Sylvester, but that didn’t mean everyone else had. He’d misquoted one of O’Donnelly’s definitions—something minor, but enough to make heads turn. Then someone, I couldn’t tell who, muttered “leaky legacy” under their breath—quiet, but just loud enough for the whole class to hear. A few studentssnickered. Sylvester tried to carry on like he hadn’t heard, but I could tell he had.

It struck me as strange—odd, even. Just the other day at the natatorium, someone had actually dared to call Sutton the “leaky legacy twin.” That had surprised me at the time, but now this? Mocking Sylvester in the middle of class?

They weren’t untouchable anymore. Or maybe they never really were.

I wondered, briefly, why it was all bubbling up now. Maybe people were just as tired of the way things always were around here as I was—even if I was new. Maybe they were done pretending certain names meant something. I didn’t linger on the thought; it felt a little too big to pin down, and honestly, my head was still pounding.

Right now, I just needed more aspirin.

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