Page 24 of Ruthless Game

Turning back to the class, aware of their curious gazes, I glanced over at Maya. She was also staring at Lawson and me bemusedly.

I shook it off, squaring my bare shoulders. “Okay y’all,” I said. “In the pool. I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

“You like it gentle, don’t you, Angel,” Lawson said, once again not bothering to lower his voice.

There was silence as people digested his words, and then shocked laughter rang out, echoing in the cavernous, tiled space.

Staring up at him, my lips bruised from his, straining toward him but so scared of what came next. Should I go further? Was I ready?

Max caressing my cheek, my neck, placing the sweetest of kisses on my forehead.

“We’ll take it easy, Starburst. We have all the time in the world.”

Memory burning like wildfire, I glared at him, not giving a shit about our audience. Stepping right up to him, I shoved a finger into his obnoxiously glorious bare chest.

“You want to keep this up, Lawson? Because I will happily march out of this room and over to administration, bathing suit and all, and let them know you’re sexually harassing me. I will get you kicked out of this class so fast, it’ll make your big stupid goalie head spin. No swim, no graduation. Hell, I might even get you kicked off the team. You keep fucking around, and I’ll make the fuck sure you find out.”

My last two words also echoed around us, slapping the walls, bouncing off the water.

Find out.

Find out.

Exhaling, I started to step away, but Lawson’s reflexes were too fast. He grabbed my hand, holding it to his chest. I could feel his heart thumping. Feel the heat of him.

“You’ve changed, haven’t you,” he said, a gleam of respect in his eyes.

“In ways you can’t even begin to imagine,” I told him.

His eyes shuttered. “I’ve imagined it too many times,” he muttered, so quietly I wasn’t even sure I heard him right, but he let me go.

I didn’t even let myself puzzle over what he meant by that. Turning my back to him, I clapped my hands one more time.

“That goes for all of you,” I said. “I may be your peer on this campus, but within these walls, I’m your teacher. Here, Maya and I are the only thing keeping you from drowning. Now, let’s all get in the pool.”

As, one by one, they hesitantly approached the water and walked down the steps into the pool like anxious little ducklings, Maya put a hand on my shoulder.

“What’s going on with you and Lawson? I’ve never seen him be that much a dick before. I was about to step in, but—” there was admiration in her voice, “—it seemed like you had it handled.”

“I did … wait, you know him?”

Maya snorted. “Everyone knows him. I’m a freshman, and I heard his name first day of orientation. Apparently, ever since Jack Feldman and Isaac Silver graduated, Lawson; the twins, Judah and Levi Wasserson; and Asher Gold are the new Core Four.”

There was more than a little hero worship in her voice. I glanced at her, noticing the slight flush to her olive-toned cheeks. Jealousy sparked, a flame I doused immediately. Still, I couldn’t help myself.

“You’re not … interested in him, are you? Or any of them?” I corrected.

“No! I mean, definitely not Asher. He’s …” she shook her head like she had swimmer’s ear. “Anyway. No to Asher. The twins scare the crap out of me. And Lawson’s not my type, and even if he was, he’d never be interested. He’s apparently never been into anyone. I was at a party this summer, and almost every girl there hit on him. He was nice and all, but the second one of them touched him—just on the shoulder—it was like he turned into an ice sculpture. It was weird.”

An ice sculpture? Lawson? He’d always been so warm with me. I couldn’t imagine him being cold to other girls, especially since he was single.

Maya winked. “Not like with you though.”

“You mean being an absolute asshole?”

She shrugged. “I mean, he deserves to be slapped for that, no question. But the chemistry between you two?” She fanned her face. “Everyone’s going to need a cold shower later.”

I dismissed her, turning to the class. Everyone was in the pool by now, standing in the shallow end, mixed expressions of loathing, disgust, and terror on their faces.