Page 174 of Forever Defiant
“I have all the power,” I whined. “Then he calls me a ‘good girl,’and I turn into some simpering fool.”
Savannah snorted. “Correction. You don’tlosepower. You temporarily outsource it for recreational purposes.”
I shot her a look. “That isnotcomforting.”
“It should be,” she said brightly. “You’re still the one unraveling a corrupt athletic department. He just happens to make your brain short-circuit while you do it.”
I exhaled, some of the sting easing. “I hate that he knows exactly which buttons to push.”
She smirked. “You hate that you installed them in the first place, you mean.”
I groaned. “Why are you suddenly the one with all the answers? Why are you like this?”
“Because,” she said, linking her arm through mine as we walked, “I can be both wildly competentandextremely into my boyfriend. Those things are not mutually exclusive.”
I glanced at her. “You didn’t turn into a puddle.”
“Oh, I absolutely do,” she said cheerfully. “I just refuse to pretend it means I’ve stopped being exactly who I am.”
That made me laugh — real laughter, the kind that loosened the knot in my chest. “Good,” I said. “Because I don’t plan on stopping either.”
Savannah squeezed my arm. “You won’t. Men can kiss us breathless, Hadley. They just don’t get to rewrite who we are.”
I smiled, thinking of the look in Dustin’s eyes when he’d walked away — not victorious, not smug. Interested. Engaged. Maybe even a little undone.
“Yeah,” I said. “I think he knows that.”
“And that,” Savannah said with satisfaction, “is why he’s in as much trouble as you.”
We kept walking, heads high, smiles sharp — two women very aware of exactly what we were stepping into.
And exactly how hard it would be to stop us.
Chapter 38
Dustin
“Every time I think I have that woman figured out,” I told them when I walked back into the apartment, “she turns it completely around, and I’m left scratching my head.”
Dante chuckled, pouring himself some cereal.
“Why are you eating cereal?” I asked curiously.
“Hungry.” He took a spoonful and chewed. “I like that she keeps you on your toes.”
“Yeah? Well, you didn’t like it earlier, so don’t look so smug.” I flopped onto the couch, eyeing Noah, who was playing single-playerMadden. “Hey,” I nudged him with my foot. “What am I? Invisible?”
“No,” he said with a sigh. “I can still hear you.” He quit his game and handed me the other controller.
“I don’t like this,” I told them both, my hand waving between them. “It’s bad enough that Hadley has me on edge. Can you both be more... you?”
Noah turned to me, looking exasperated. “What do you want to happen? Are you playing or not?”
I gave him my flattest glare. I’d used it on Naya all her life; I had it down to a tee. “I know it sucks sitting on the sidelines today, but we’re your friends, remember.” I watched him. “Unless you want out of that too?”
Dante chewing his cereal was the only sound in the apartment.
When Noah didn’t speak, I handed him the controller back. “Single-player mode it is.” I stood up and walked over to Dante. “C’mon, you need proper food, that’s just going to make you hungry later.”
