It was the perfect distraction from the thoughts about Liam trying to weasel their way into my consciousness.
…
"He completely ignored you at practice yesterday?" Becca asked.
"Not even a peep in my direction. I think he’s done with me," I answered as Becca and I headed to my car Tuesday morning.
"I assure you, he is not done with you. He's clearly doing it on purpose... maybe you should make it impossible for him to ignore you."
"How? Attacking him at practice?" I laughed.
"No. More subtle than that." She squinted in thought. "It'll be hot today... I think practicing in your sports bra would be completely acceptable."
I grunted. "Oh, yeah, really subtle. Maybe you should have given me that advice before I put on a neon pink sports bra this morning."
Becca cheered, practically hopping off her seat. "That's even better! I'll do it too so he doesn't think you're doing it on purpose."
"Whatever. Let's see how the practice goes first."
Becca groaned. "Fine, but all I'm saying is that if you want him to stop ignoring you, you should make it harder for him."
"That just feels so... calculated. Not to mention I shouldn't be concentrating on him during practice."
"There's not a girl on that field that isn't concentrating on him during practice. You've been kicking ass lately, so you deserve a little fun. A little Liam-filled fun. You deserve to fill your fun bits with Liam."
I laughed and put the car in park, trying to prepare myself for seeing him in a few minutes.
"Operation Brandi Chastain has officially begun," Becca declared.
"Why her?"
"Remember when she scored the goal in that shoot-out for the World Cup title and she ran across the field and ripped her shirt off?"
"So... you want me to rip my shirt off?"
"That'd be awesome, but I think people would assume you were on drugs. Better just take it off like a normal person."
The first hour of practice went as usual. We didn't split up into positions, which was unfortunate for two reasons: 1. Liam could ignore me much easier when we were in a big group, and 2. Becca was in my ear telling me to take my shirt off every five minutes. She really was a bad influence. I should reevaluate my friendships.
"Okay, seriously. It's hot as hell and even if we weren't doing Operation B.C. I'd want to take my shirt off," Becca said.
We were taking a five minute water break and it was the perfect time to get rid of our shirts if we were actually going through with the plan.
"You can't abbreviate the operation to B.C. or I'll just think of Spartacus the whole time."
Becca cracked up and I chanced a glance toward Liam. He was standing off to the side, chatting with Tara and Coach Davis. He hadn't looked in my direction once that morning and I was getting tired of it. One glance from him and I would have forfeited the dumb “operation”, but I was sick of being ignored. Not to mention he looked even sexier than usual with his light grey t-shirt and workout shorts. His legs were toned and I wanted to throw myself at him every time my eyes lingered to where he was standing.
"Ugh, fine. Take your freaking top off," I whispered, tossing down my water bottle and reaching for the bottom of my shirt. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was hotter than usual. No one could blame me for wanting to rid myself of extra layers... right?
I laid my shirt on top of my soccer bag and straightened back up.
Becca giggled wildly and I hissed for her to be quiet. She'd ruin the plan for sure.
"He's watching you and scowling."
"Scowling?" I groaned. What was with him and scowling? It was his default expression whenever he was around me.
"Yeah, full on angry scowl. God, he's so hot. I'm not sure if this plan will work, but at least he's looking at you."
"Cute sports bra, Kinsley," Emily said, coming up to us. I hid my mouth behind my hand, trying to cover up my laugh with a cough.
"Thanks Emily," I finally mustered. Telling Emily about Operation B.C. was completely out of the question. She had a much better moral compass than Becca and I, and I'm sure she wouldn't have agreed with our logic.
Coach Davis blew her whistle, drawing our attention over to where she was standing with Liam and Tara. "Okay, girls! Let's line up on the sidelines and we'll form teams for a short scrimmage."
Liam was still scowling and now Tara was joining him. Oh good, I was pissing everyone off. Yippee.
We hurried to line up and I ended up at the end of the sideline with my hands on my hips, waiting for Coach Davis to call my name for a team.
"Do you really think that's appropriate?" Liam asked behind me, his volume soft enough that the sophomore standing beside me didn't hear.
His tone was veering toward asshole territory and his question pissed me off, so when I turned toward him, I narrowed my eyes. "What are you talking about? I workout in a sports bra all the time."
Liam scoffed. "There are paparazzi standing over there with their lenses trained on you and your lack of clothing.”
I rolled my eyes, not even glancing to where I knew the paparazzi were stationed. They were there every day and I’d mostly forgotten about them. After all, they were only there for Liam.
"No. They're trained on you. They wouldn't be here if you weren't here."
"It doesn't matter. Put your freaking shirt on, Kinsley."
Yes, he was technically my coach, but in that moment he was talking to me as Liam, not Coach Wilder, so I chose to test my limits.
"You know, I think I'll workout in my sports bra for the rest of the week." I stretched my arms over my head and even he couldn't help his eyes from drifting down to my chest for a fraction of a second. Ha! Wait, did I want to be this girl? Using my body to get his attention? It's not like I had a choice. The only way to get his attention at that point was to piss him off, so that's what I'd do. Very mature, I know.
"You're acting like a child," he hissed, his grey eyes flashing darker than usual.
I leaned in close and narrowed my eyes. "Funny. When you were on top of me on Saturday you didn't think I was a child."
"Kinsley!" Coach Davis called, and I realized she'd been trying to get my attention for the past few minutes. "Listen up! You're on Tara's team. Let's go."
I flashed Liam a sharp smirk before jogging to the center of the field to stand beside Tara, who was still scowling at me. Whatever. I glanced back toward Liam. His hands were clasped together behind his head and he looked like he was about to punch something. I guess that was a good sign?
…
"Are you kidding? That's a GREAT sign!" Becca cheered when we were alone in my room later.
"Remind me why I'm taking advice from you? You could be completely leading me astray."
Becca shook her head. "No, I assure you. I have yet to have a relationship in real life, but I've read lots of Cosmo and I used to take a ton of those quizzes about love."
"Wow... that's really reassuring. NOT."
Becca laughed then stated her case. "Listen, yesterday he didn't even talk to you. Today he sort of yelled at you— tomorrow, THE SKY IS THE LIMIT. You should really be thanking me right now."
She sat there staring at me as I moved around my room, picking up dirty clothes.
"What? What do you want?" I asked.
"A thank you," she said with a giant smile.
I laughed despite myself. "I'll thank you when he's waiting for me in my bed when I return home from practice."
Becca groaned. "Oh my god. I want tickets to that show."
"Ew. You're sick."
"Oh, please. You'd want tickets to that show, too."
She was right. I wanted front row seats.
Chapter Ten
I should have realized something was brewing. Tara and her cronies had been much too quiet since the Foghorn-Wake-Up last Tuesday. So, when Tuesday of the following week came and went, I thought the hazing thing might have been a one-time occurrence. Oh, how wrong I was. T
ara and the other upperclassmen were creative. (Much too creative to not have had proper training from some kind of terrorist organization. I was going to have to look into that.)
"Wake up, Freshman," Tara yelled Wednesday morning, jarring me from my sleep. I blinked my eyes open to find Tara, Sofie, and a few other seniors in my room, standing around my bed.
"What the hell? Get out of my room!" I scrambled to sit up.
"That's no way to speak to your captain, Bryant," Tara answered with a sadistic grin. "Get up, get dressed, and meet us at the fields with Becca and Emily in fifteen minutes."
I held my tongue as the seniors left my room to go wake up the other two girls. I wanted to throw my shoe at Tara's head, but by then she was down the hall and my aim wasn't that great. I had no clue what they were up to, but it's not like I really had a choice in the matter.
I threw on my workout clothes and went downstairs to fill three water bottles and grab some granola bars. Emily and Becca came down a few minutes later and the three of us silently headed to my car.
"I have no clue what their problem is, but last week seemed like a team hazing thing. Now it's just the three of us. That can't be right, can it?" I asked as I put the car in reverse.
"It's bullshit. I have no clue what we did to be put on Tara's shit list, but I'm not letting her walk all over us," Becca added from the passenger seat.
It was Emily that tried to defend the seniors. "Maybe it won't be that bad, guys. Maybe they'll have breakfast or something for us at the practice fields." Becca and I rolled our eyes.
"And then maybe we'll gab about boys until practice starts," Becca added sarcastically.
The seniors were waiting for us when we pulled into the parking lot, and I felt like I was about to stand in front of a firing squad.
"There are our three favorite rookies. So kind of you to show up," Tara oozed with her arms crossed in front of her chest. I'd never met someone whose personality clashed with their looks as much as Tara's. She was gorgeous and sweet looking with perfect features that seemed to morph into a girl-next-door appearance. Yet, her true nature was anything but sweet. What had her childhood been like? Was she bullied or was she the one doing the bullying? I’d bet my left boob it was the latter.
"Let's start with some laps, girls," Tara instructed. My first instinct was to protest, to call her out on her bitchiness, but at that point I still hoped that if I played her game and proved to her that I was a willing subject, then she'd back off.
We did laps, sprints, up-downs, and push-ups until Emily threw up and begged to stop.
"Seriously, I feel sick and we still have practice later," Emily begged.
Tara's hard eyes shifted to Emily. "You're right. Emily, since you're obviously the weakest link, you'll do double what the other girls do."
No. That was it. Picking on Emily was taking it too far. Emily didn't deserve any of this. At least Becca and I talked shit about Tara behind her back. Emily was the unassuming victim.
"I'll do Emily's stuff. I'll do double."
Emily's warm eyes flitted to me and I saw hope flash behind her gaze.
I could handle Tara. I'd handled girls like her my whole life. Today wouldn't break me, but Emily looked like she was at the tipping point and I wouldn't let Tara force Emily to quit the ULA soccer team. It wasn't worth it.
Sofie stepped forward with an odd expression on her face. "I think that's fine. Let's let Kinsley take both of the girl's spots since she's so generous."
I stared daggers at Sofie. Did she and Tara get off on being cruel? How did they sleep at night? Oh right, standing up in their coffins, because they were fucking vampires.
Tara's eyes lit up. "Oh, great idea, Sofie! Becca and Emily, you've done enough. Kinsley will keep going for the both of you. Start doing up-downs, Bryant. We'll tell you when to stop."
My middle finger was itching to flip her off. I would have done it, too, but then I saw relief flash across Emily's face. If I fought them, they'd make her keep going.
"You can do it, Kinsley. Just imagine how sexy you'll be in a bikini," Becca called with a defiant air. She couldn't do anything to Tara, but she could cheer me on.
I smiled at Becca and started doing up-downs. I didn't protest once. I thought about the Olympic tryouts, I thought about how hard I'd worked to get to where I was. One bully wasn't going to stand in my way of achieving my goals. Especially not when I had Becca and Emily cheering me. A second wind came over me and I pushed myself harder, accepting Tara's challenge and meeting it head on. If she wanted me to sprint, I'd sprint faster than I ever had before. If she wanted me to do crunches until I threw up, I'd do it with a giant smile on my face. Bullies never win.
"What the fuck is going on here?" A dark voice yelled, and I looked up from where I was doing push-ups.
Liam walked up to the group, dressed in a black t-shirt and black workout pants. The dark clothes combined with his sharp, angry features made him look seriously dangerous. What was he doing here? Was it already time for practice?
The seniors were all lined up, looking confident with their arms crossed. Becca and Emily had been crouching down next to me, trying to keep my spirits up.
"Oh, nothing, Coach Wilder. Kinsley and the other rookies wanted to join us at the fields for an early workout.” Tara shrugged.
Bullshit. God, the way she could manipulate people was truly scary. I would have loved to have a chat with her parents, but something told me they were locked in a basement somewhere.
He never once took his eyes off me, and I pleaded with him to see through her lies.
"That's enough. I don't care what's going on here. Practice is starting soon and you all need to head into the field house." Did he believe her?
I pushed back onto my heels to catch my breath. I was exhausted. I felt like I'd just finished running a marathon and I knew I wouldn't last through practice without passing out.
The seniors turned to head inside but not before throwing me threatening looks. Did they think I was going to rat them out?
Emily followed after them, and then Becca finally moved when Liam gave her an impatient glance.
It was just he and I staring at each other over a field of worn grass. He still looked so angry and I was scared he might take it out on me. But when he finally spoke, there was only empathy in his voice.
"I'm not going to make you rat out the seniors, but this shit can't continue. That's not the way teams work and Coach Davis would be pissed if she knew this kind of thing was happening."
As if I didn't know that already.
"I'm not an idiot. I know, but I'm not going head-to-head with Tara this early on in the season. If she wants to wake me up and force me to work out, then I'll let her. It'll make the victory of making the Olympic team all the sweeter. It's the fact that she's picking on Becca and Emily that makes me mad."
"Becca and Emily weren't doing push-ups when I pulled up," Liam noted with a frown.
"That's because Emily barfed. The seniors thought I should keep going for everyone."
Liam wrapped his hands behind his head and then let his clenched fists fall back to his side. I met his hard stare, and for a moment I thought everything between us was about to finally explode. I thought he was about to explode.
"I won't let them treat you like that, Kinsley."
"Why do you care?" I asked, daring him to tell me the truth.
"I'm your coach," he answered too fast.
I pushed off my hands and stood up, staring straight into his dark grey eyes. "Well then consider your job done. Thanks for the help, Coach."
I moved to walk past him.
"If it doesn't stop, I'm bringing it up to Coach Davis," he said, reaching for my arm.
I paused as our body’s stood side by side. I was facing the field house and my impending doom. He was glancing out toward our field where the early morning sun was highlighting each of his chiseled features.
Coach Davis wouldn't kick Tara off the team for something like this,
not if it was Tara's first offense. Most likely it would just be another nail in my coffin when it came to Tara. Of course he didn't see it that way.
"I can fight my own battles, Coach Wilder,” I hissed at him. “But you can do whatever you want. You always do. I'm going to go get ready for practice." I brushed past him and as my arm grazed his, the tension simmering between us buzzed through me, igniting my blood and awakening my senses like a shot of caffeine.
I knew I was being hard on him, but the entire situation pissed me off and he was the only person I could take it out on. Whatever was going on between us was fighting to surface, and that was the last thing I needed to worry about at the moment.
…
Later that night, Becca and I sat in my room while I tried to simultaneously think and not think about Liam Wilder. I felt bad for being harsh with him earlier, but the situation was frustrating to say the least. I never knew how he would treat me or how I was supposed to treat him. I needed to get my head straight and that’s what Becca was there for.
"So, let's recap," Becca announced, pulling my dry erase board off my wall and erasing the list of Game of Thrones characters ranked in order of hotness. Not my fault I have a thing for Jamie Lannister… hand or no hand.
"Hey! I needed those," I protested.
"Yeah, right. We both know you have them memorized. Besides, you can’t think he’s hot. He bangs his sister."
"Yeah, whatever. Start your recap so we can simplify my life, please."
Becca nodded before shutting both of my doors and turning on music so our voices were drowned out.
"Let's start at the beginning," she said, starting to write at the top of the white board.
Reasons Kinsley SHOULDN'T think about Liam:
1. Cheated on by two ex boyfriends. Conclusion: guys are dicks. Don't date them.
I took the marker out of her hand and started writing number two and three.