The Red Zone (The League, #2)

by Meg Reading

I wasn’t one to call people profane names often… but what a fucking bitch.

See, in our case, there was no defining moment that changed it all. No playground throw down that marked a pivotal turning point for us, or a monstrous betrayal that demolished our chances of having a hearty friendship.

You see, there was a pivotal moment that demolished all possibilities of acquaintanceship between October and I. And it all started with… Molly fucking Goldberg.

“Lucky for you, I don’t sleep around during the season.” “I find that hard to believe.” “If that’s your way of telling me I’m hot enough to fuck, I’ll take it.” “Ha. Ha,” Mae grumbled with a twisted face.

“I’m beginning to sense that these compromising encounters you keep getting us into are your way of coming onto me.”

A knot formed in my chest as I waited for her words to come. “Because I’ll cry.” Her lower lip trembled at the last word. Fucking shit. That knot? Yeah, it had dropped to the pit of my stomach.

“You can continue making me the villain in your story all you want, but you’re done being the villain in mine.”

Had I not already been leaning on the brick wall; I would’ve fallen straight on my ass.

“What are you doing?” My voice was thick with heat. “Showing you how I like it.” Such a fucking tease.

Now, what I hadn’t planned for was the surge of jealousy at her mentioning another person taking my place.

“You know my brain inside and out. In the span of a minute, you can make me feel a rainbow of emotions. You know exactly what makes me tick. You can read my facial expressions like you memorized them a thousand lifetimes ago. So, while you might not know my favorite color or how I take my coffee… you know me. Far better than I’d like to admit.” “Blue.” “What?” “Your favorite color is blue. Light blue to be specific. And you don’t drink coffee, you drink tea. Ginger tea twice in the morning and chamomile once at night. If neither of those are available then you’ll settle for green.”

“It’s brand new… I wouldn’t give you a jersey someone else has worn. You deserve better than that.”

“You’re gorgeous, Mae. More gorgeous than my thoughts from the last seven years led me to believe.” He ran a thumb over his bottom lip slowly as he looked me up and down. “Like it or not, I’ll never apologize for admiring how beautiful you are.”

Fuck it. I’ll take the loss. Mae I’ll take my payment in the form of Jimmy Choo’s. I’ll give you anything you want on one condition… Yeah? Jersey stays on. Aye, Aye, Captain.

“You’d really do that for me?” “There’s not a whole lot I wouldn’t do for you,” I muttered in a low voice.