Page 94 of Tag

Layla strolled up and stood on my other side. “Checking out your boy again?”

I opened my mouth to reply when Brooke’s voice carried from a few feet away. “Ashton?”

“Who else?” I responded smoothly, careful to keep my expression neutral.

“Ryder,” Layla corrected slowly. “Number twelve. The one who throws sixty-yard passes and still manages to check if you’ve stuck your landings.”

“It isn’t like that,” I argued quietly.

“Isn’t it?”

I stiffened, my eyes cutting toward Roxxi. She was standing like a statue beside me, arms folded, gaze trained on Layla like she was seconds away from removing her head from her shoulders.

Brooke frowned. “They’re friends, Layla. Relax.”

I smiled through my discomfort. “She knows that, so I’m not sure what the point of acting like this is.”

Layla didn’t respond, her gaze still fixed on the field. I didn’t know what her deal was, or where this sudden burst of boldness and passive-aggressive energy came from, but I wasn’t in the mood. She’d spent the whole day being apologetic, right up until I texted her about the unlocked door and told her she couldn’t come and go freely anymore. I would’ve said it to her face, but I hadn’t seen her since the bird incident. In hindsight, I should’ve known she would take it personally.

Layla wasn’t one to start drama, but her emotions ran deep. When she got overwhelmed or too caught up in her own head, it bubbled over. I was used to that. What I wasn’t accustomed to was it being directed at me, especially over a simple safety boundary, and after what happened the night prior. I hadn’t even brought up her leaving me this morning. At this point, I wasn’t sure it mattered.

Brooke laughed lightly, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It’s fine, really, Sanj. I get it. You two have always been close.”

Something in her tone hit off-key. Not quite jealousy, but fragile resignation. Like she knew she wasn’t imagining things and didn’t want to believe it. One more careless comment couldblow this whole moment up, and I wasn’t about to be the one to light up the match. Brittany must’ve felt the tension too.

She sent me a look, her brows pinched as if silently asking:You okay?

I gave a faint shake of my head to convey:Yeah. I’ve got it.

That’s when Roxxi stepped forward, which was never a good thing. Roxxi didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. She’d cut you open with kindness, smiling sweetly the whole time.

“I’m not sure why this is a topic up for debate,” she said, her voice light, almost gentle. “I’ll be the first to say it, though. He’s mine. And Ari’s. Cloe’s too.” She paused, eyes glinting. “Ironically, he was Sanjana’s first, but I’ve never felt the need to compete with her. I mean… that would be setting myself up for some pretty harsh humiliation, don’t you think? Because if it came down to it, he’d always choose her.” She turned her gaze directly to Layla. “Do you get what I mean by that?”

Layla’s face stayed impassive at first. Then came the tiniest flicker of emotion. Her shoulders tensed, chin dipped, and suddenly she found the turf to be the most fascinating thing on earth. I realized then I was missing something. There was an entire subtext playing out here, one I wasn’t privy to. Roxxi hadn’t said that by accident. Whatever it was, Layla understood perfectly. I stood there, sandwiched between them, trying to act like I wasn’t completely out of the loop. Brooke took a small step back, as if she felt the shift in the air too.

Roxxi turned away to address the rest of our squad, her tone snapping everyone back to attention. “Alright, ladies and gents, cool-down stretch before we grab our gear. Let’s go!”

No one questioned her; we knew better.

I found a space and dropped into a deep lunge. My muscle memory took over while my mind wandered somewhere far away. Kellan and Noah were on one side of me, and Brittany wason the other. She shifted into a seated straddle and leaned in to speak to me. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I don’t know what the hell that was,” I confessed under my breath.

Brittany gave me a sad smile. “You’re a better friend than most people deserve, Sanj. Not everyone’s issues are on you.”

I wasn’t sure what or how to respond to that. She made it sound like I was a pushover or something. I didn’t see myself that way. I leaned into my stretch and happened to look up, catching sight of Ryder standing across the field, helmet still tucked under one arm, dark hair pushed back, his practice jersey clinging to his frame.

His hand was raised mid-command, voice sharp as he directed his line. It wasn’t the shouting that had me freezing in place, but the way he stared when he turned his head in my direction. I didn’t know how to describe what I was seeing. His face wasn’t closed off or blank in a distant or preoccupied way. It was total emptiness, as if something had vacuumed out everything human inside him. Why was he staring at me that way?

Ashton watched him watch me, his own expression tightening, like he was trying to read something and not liking what he saw. The moment broke when Cade jogged across The Pit with Xander on his heels, both of them grinning as Cade tried to trip Dougie with a sneaker tap. Ryder turned, said something to Cade, and just like that, he was smiling again.

Effortless. Charming. Familiar.

Fake.

“The fuck was up with that?” Noah asked softly, his concern evident.

“I…I don’t know,” I murmured.

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