Scoring Wilder(14)

"Oh shit!" I'd completely forgotten that he would see us like this. Crap. Crap. Crap. Tara had probably done it on purpose. I looked over to where she was driving the car next to us. She was in a cute workout outfit and had even applied a light layer of makeup. That scheming whore.

If only we actually were in Harry Potter. I’d totally Crucio her ass. Yeah, that’s right, I’d use one of the Unforgivable Curses. Come at me, Ministry of Magic.





Chapter Five


Five minutes before six o’clock, we finally made it to the practice fields. We all fought to catch our breaths while the upperclassmen parked their cars and hopped out looking like they’d just returned from a relaxing vacation.

"Here, Rookies, eat up," Tara said, tossing a box of granola bars onto the ground where we were resting.

"Why am I finding it hard to like her?" Becca murmured. I nodded with narrowed eyes. I wondered how far she’d take the rookie initiation.

We all grabbed a granola bar and our water bottles and trekked into the field house for our morning meeting.

"I'll meet you guys in there, I'm going to the bathroom," I nodded to Becca and Emily.

I splashed water on my face and redid my messy ponytail in the bathroom. There was really nothing I could do to fix my appearance at that point, which was quite a shame because when I pushed the bathroom door open, Liam was leaning down, getting a drink from the water fountain. The second he caught my yellow leotard out of the corner of his eye, he straightened up and took in the entire outfit.

He had on a dark grey shirt over black sweatpants and somehow he still looked like he was modeling in a GQ ad. I looked like a drugged out ballerina.

"Wow. Is that what girls are wearing to practice these days?" he asked, rubbing a hand across his strong jaw.

I looked behind him to make sure we were alone in the hallway.

"It's part of rookie initiation," I answered. "I'm a snitch from Harry Potter."

His eyes glanced down to the "S" written across my chest, and Emily's earlier mention about my cleavage ran through my mind.

But when he glanced back up, I couldn't discern the emotion behind his eyes.

"I think I liked the birthday crown better," he smirked.

I mashed my lips together and nodded. What was he thinking? Did he remember me flirting with him at the party? Or was he flirted with so often that I was merely a blip on his radar?

"No kidding. I could use a day at the spa when I get out of this thing,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant while simultaneously seeing if my comment had any effect on him.

He arched his dark brow as his eyes scanned down my outfit once more. When he looked at me like that it felt very inappropriate. Maybe it was just the way my body reacted to him. Damnit, he was distracting me. I was supposed to be Nancy Drew, and instead I was Nancy Draw-the-blinds-and-put-it-in-me. Wait, what?

“Girls are much more creative than guys when it comes to hazing. I think we just had to run a lot and prove we could drink a six pack without puking.”

I laughed. “That doesn’t seem so bad. I can run for days.”

“Yeah, but you’re kind of a lightweight,” he said with a smile.

“Hey! I had four shots before I got to the party on Saturday.”

He smirked a private little smirk that made my knees weak.

“Okay, so maybe I can’t handle a six pack, but do you think you could handle this outfit?” I asked, grabbing the hem of my yellow tutu between my fingers.

He cocked a brow, his eyes studying the exposed skin between my tutu and long soccer socks before he pulled his gaze away with a hard expression. It seemed like he was fighting against his urge to look at my body.

Oh god, what were we doing? I gulped and moved passed him toward the conference room before he could reply. Being alone with him was a bad idea, like playing around water when you can’t swim.

"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.