Page 57 of What Are The Odds?
“Drop the act. You were enjoying it the other night.”
“Because he had an excuse to take his shirt off in front of Hughesy,” Tripp teased.
I flipped them both off before grabbing my keys and heading to the car. Like obedient little minions, they followed, arguing over who got the front. As I began the familiar drive, I cranked the music. Usually our pre-game mix was aggressive and intense, but Grace's music had gotten mixed in with my playlist. A Gang of Youths’ song came on. I took a chance and left it playing. Nobody objected. The team bus was already waiting in the parking lot. It wasn’t leaving for another ten minutes, but as the captain, I liked being the first one here, with the exception of Ryan and his stupid TikTok. As we were getting out the car, I caught sight of Ryker. He was ambling towards the gym.
“I’ll catch you guys in a minute,” I called out to Will and Tripp before throwing my bag over my shoulder and setting off in Ryker’s direction. “Hey, Richardson,” I shouted.
Ryker stopped after spotting me. He was dressed in his training gear. I’d never compared myself to Ryker because I’d never seen him as competition. Though we shared a similar reputation, we’d never gone head-to-head over anything. Not sport. Not a girl. Truth was, I don’t think either of us had cared enough for one. But now I did. And I needed to stop this stupid game.
“Can we–”
He yawned, cutting me off.
“Sorry man. I got home late after dropping Grace off.”
Dick.
“What’s up?”
“I want to call off the bet,” I said.
He stared at me, eyes wide, until a knowing look contorted his face.
“Scared you’re losing?”
I scoffed. Not at all. Though the idea he was tired from last night didn’t bode well. He hadn’t taken Grace home that late. Was it possible they’d hung out after leaving Lastlings?
“You know Grace and I hooked up,” I pointed out.
“So you say.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “At least my achievement was caught on camera.”
I levelled him with a glare. Ryker knew I’d made serious headway. He would have called me out by now if he genuinely thought he’d won. I guess I had to give his sportsmanship props. He wasn’t shying away from this or trying to cheat.
“What’s the end game here?” I asked.
Ryker regarded me seriously. “The long game. I can see myself with her.”
I stood to my full height. “So can I.”
And I meant it. I’d fallen hard for the girl. I wanted to go back and punch past Levi in the face. If only he’d known then how much he’d come to like Grace. Ryker and I stared each other down for a moment. The worst part was, I knew he was falling for her too. Not as hard and fast as me, but maybe if he’d done with her what I had, he’d be in just as deep.
“So you're not backing down?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Then what’s next?”
Was it a race who could sleep with her? Ask her to be their girlfriend? Get her to tell them she loved them? I refused to do those things as part of a game. I wanted my next steps with Grace to be genuine, not dictated based on wanting to win.
“This isn’t a game to me anymore,” I told him.
“It isn’t for me either.”
This would eventually end. It had to. If Ryker and I were playing the long game, eventually Grace had to end up with one of us. Or neither of us. We were idiots, assuming we knew what she wanted. If she was smart, she’d turn and run the other way, because she was better than both of us.
“Then nothing changes,” I bit. “But we agree to one thing. Grace never finds out about this. No matter who she ends up with.”
Ryker nodded. “Deal.”
