“Brayden, this is my brother, Court,” she grumbles, sounding none too pleased about being forced to make introductions.
The other guy tips his head toward me as his gaze pins Sydney in place. “So how long has this been going on for? I just saw you last week and you didn’t say a word.”
If it’s possible, Sydney’s lips flatten even further. They’re barely perceptible. My guess is that she’s about to blurt out the truth, and I don’t want her to do that.
“It’s a relatively new development,” I cut in smoothly before she can blow our cover to smithereens. “Just a couple of weeks.”
His eyes narrow as he ignores me. “Last I heard, you were taking a break from dating.”
Sydney draws in a deep breath before steadily releasing it back into the world. I can’t claim to know her well, but I’m fairly certain she’s on the verge of losing it.
“If you have to know,” I pipe up, “I swept her off her feet and didn’t give her much choice in the matter.” It’s not a total lie.
The choice part, anyway.
“Huh. I suppose you’ll be bringing him to the party on Sunday?” Court asks.
I can practically hear Sydney groan. “No, I don’t—”
“I bet Mom would love to meet him,” he interrupts as a slow smirk curls around the edges of his lips. “In fact, everyone would enjoy meeting him.”
“What?” Her eyes bulge from their sockets before she shakes her head. “No, it’s much too early for something like that. Give it a month or two.”
“Nonsense.” There’s a pause as his gaze lands on me. “What do you say, Brayden? Any interest in meeting the fam?”
“As much as he would love to,” Sydney cuts in, “he’s busy this weekend. You might not realize this, but Brayden plays football, and his schedule is packed tight.”
“Yeah, I’m aware of who he is.” The challenge is there in his eyes. It’s like he just threw down a gauntlet and is waiting for me to pick it up.
And I’ll be damned if I don’t rise to the occasion.
“Luckily for me, I just so happen to be free on Sunday, and I’d love to meet your family, babe.”
“Great.” Even though he smiles, there’s nothing friendly about it. “I’ll share the good news with everyone.”
“Looking forward to it,” I add so that he doesn’t think I’m the least bit intimidated.
It’s only when Sydney makes a garbled sound before burying her face in her hands that I wonder if I’ve made a mistake.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sydney
Through narrowed eyes, I watch the girl rushing toward me as she dribbles the ball easily between her feet. The moment she crosses the midfield line, I’m on her, pushing into her space, attempting to steal the ball away. Unlike the adversaries we face on a weekly basis, I know Marina. She’s my teammate, and this is nothing more than a scrimmage. Since I understand all of her weaknesses, it’s almost too easy to swoop in and knock her off balance. The few seconds it takes for her to right herself is all the time I need to kick the ball away. I push myself a little harder before racing ahead and passing it to another player who runs with it down to the opposite side of the field before shooting it into the goal.
“Bitch,” Marina huffs, sucking wind. She’s a sophomore attacker. By the time she’s a senior, she’ll be unstoppable. I kind of wish I’d be around to see it, but this is my last season playing with the Wildcats before graduating in the spring.
I chuckle, not taking offense before knocking my shoulder into hers. “Your footwork was sloppy,” I say with a shrug. “Work on it and you won’t have to worry about me.”
She grumbles before returning to her side of the field.
Fifteen minutes later, Coach Adams blows his whistle and ends practice. After two hours of drills and scrimmaging, everyone is out of breath. Although, some of the older girls are able to hide it better. I’ll be damned if I double over in front of anyone, especially Coach.
Demi throws her arm around my shoulders as we kick a few of the balls toward the bag for clean-up before heading to the locker room.
“Sydney,” Coach calls out, “can you stick around for a few minutes?”
“Yup,” I raise my voice in order to be heard across the field.
Demi’s hands go to her hips as she nods toward the sideline where Coach waits. “What’s that about?”
I jerk my shoulders. “Not sure. Probably the game on Thursday. I think he’s actually concerned about Florida State.”
Her expression sobers. “That makes two of us. I’m kind of worried as well.”
“Don’t be. Every practice, the younger girls are picking up the slack. We’re not going to crush them, but I think we’ll hold our own.” Jogging backward, I say, “I’ll catch you in the locker room.” With that, I turn around and take off toward Coach.