"There's our snitch," Tara declared as I walked into the room with Liam on my heels.
I glanced up at him as I took my seat beside Becca. His jaw was clenched and he'd furrowed his brows as if contemplating something. A moment later, Coach Davis walked in and Liam stepped back against the wall and crossed his arms.
"Ah, ladies, you're looking ridiculous this morning. I'm assuming this is all in good fun, Tara?" she asked with a hard stare.
"Absolutely! Just a little fun way to welcome the rookies," Tara answered. Did Coach Davis actually believe her? I mean, none of us looked like we were having any fun at all. The rookie that was dressed up as broomstick couldn’t even sit down.
"All right, let's just make sure that it doesn't interfere with practice or I'll need everyone to change into other workout clothes."
As if to make the situation worse, today was the first day we split up into position exercises, which meant that Becca and Emily were on the other side of the field and I was left with Tara, Sofie, Liam, and a few other upperclassmen. We were quite a motley crew.
"I think out of everyone, we did the best job making you look ridiculous, Kinsley," Sofie commented with a wicked smile.
Liam was setting up cones and hadn't heard her comment so I was left standing there trying to push aside my temper.
"I completely agree. She looks hideous," Tara commented.
"All right guys—" I began, taking a step toward the dynamic duo.
"Tara," Liam stated from behind me, "my first piece of advice for you is to learn how to be in a leadership role without letting it go to your head."
Oh shit, he'd heard her.
"The team thrives off of your leadership, so if you want to keep treating the underclassmen like shit, that’s fine, just be prepared for a long, mediocre season,” he paused and his grey eyes met mine, “… after all, having chemistry on a team is much more important than people realize.”
Woah. Was I imagining a glint in his eye and the sex swing suddenly hanging from a tree beside the field?
When he turned to go set up more cones, Tara locked her eyes on me and I knew that Liam had just made my life ten thousand times worse. That's what guys don't understand. He thought he nipped the problem in the bud, but in reality he had just poured lighter fluid all over me and handed Tara a lit match. Light er’ up, boys.
A few minutes later, I was waiting for my turn when Liam spoke, "You should let me know if she keeps tormenting you.” I was the last person in line, and the girl in front of me was midway through her drill.
"I think it might make it worse, but thanks," I nodded, moving to take my turn.
He nodded, keeping his lips pressed together in a thin line, before adding, "And you definitely don't look hideous."
I paused, trying to think of how to respond. The way his dark tone had emphasized the words made it perfectly clear what he meant— what he was trying to tell me without passing any invisible boundaries.
Holy shit. Liam Wilder, the sexiest and most out-of-my-league man, just told me I was not hideous. I’ll take the compliment, thank you very much.
"You're up," he motioned, and before I thought better of it, I turned and gave him a small, private smile.
…
"Uh oh, looks like you have another package today," Becca called from the front seat. She'd driven us to get lunch, and Emily had called shotgun before me (the quiet ones are always the deadliest), so I was in the back, texting my mom about practice and telling her about the ridiculous outfits. The outfit that was now burned to ash in our backyard.
I leaned forward expecting to see another brown box, but instead I found Josh sitting at the foot of our small white porch. We ran a few errands after lunch, so I guess that gave Josh enough time to beat us home after his practice ended.
Which meant Liam was out of practice, too. Cue dream sequence of Liam running slowly on a beach carrying me in his arms. I love how he’s strong enough to carry me with one arm while using the other arm to feed the seagulls. He’s such an animal lover like that.
"Did you know he was going to be here?" Emily asked, shifting her gaze back to me. Oh, right. Josh.
I sighed. "Nope, I actually forgot to text him back yesterday, so I don't know what his plan is."
Becca pulled into the driveway and then she and Emily hurried inside, throwing Josh a quick wave as they passed. Traitors. They abandoned me right when I needed backup the most.
"Kinsley!" Josh smiled, hopping up off the porch and heading toward me.
"Hi Josh," I muttered, stuffing my hands into the back pockets of my cuffed white shorts.
"How are you? Have practices been really hard?" he asked.