Offside: Rules of the Game Book 1

After dropping Bailey off and giving her a not-so-brief goodbye kiss on the front step, I was flying way too high to return home and face the guys. I was so hopped up on hormones that I wasn’t sure I could carry on a coherent conversation. Hell, even driving was a little dicey.

Instead, I took a detour and grabbed a gigantic drive-through coffee before running a bunch of errands I had been putting off. With the good mood I was in, everything seemed a lot more tolerable, even the boring-ass drugstore. While out and about, I fought the constant urge to text James. I didn’t want to come off as clingy.

I was probably overthinking that one, but this was uncharted territory for me. I had no idea what I was doing. At all.

Then I hit my room for some earnest study time before our afternoon practice. So far, my increased effort had paid off—and admittedly, it was a lot less stressful living without an ax hanging over my head.

An hour into Economics of Sport, a loud bang at my door broke my focus.

“You ready?” Dallas bellowed. “Your turn to drive.”

We piled into my truck, and I turned on the ignition. I drew in a deep breath, bracing myself. The inevitable gears were coming any minute now, and I had already made peace with it. Bring on the teasing.

Dallas leaned forward, trying to catch my eye. “So, Bailey spent the night.”

I nodded. “Sure did.”

“You’re grinning like a lunatic,” Ty said from the back seat. “Just FYI.”

I stole a glance in the rear-view mirror. He was right.

“Can’t a man be happy?” I said, turning away to shoulder-check and easing out of the passing spot. “Damn, guys.”

He snorted. “Did you even get laid?”

“Not that it’s your business, but nope.” If I was this loopy now, I was going to be straight-up cracked out after that happened.

It was going to be great.

Fuck, now I was thinking about sex with James at the most inopportune time.

Dallas leveled his icy-blue stare my way, snapping me back to reality. “I can’t believe you have a girlfriend. That’s wild.”

“I don’t know if she’s my girlfriend.”

But somehow, I felt like a gigantic asshole saying that. It wasn’t like that would be a bad thing.

Oh, shit.

I really was in deep.

“Dude,” he said, laughing. “She definitely is.”

“Like you’re one to talk.” I waved a hand in his direction. “You and Shiv have been dancing around that issue for way longer.”

“I don’t know.” Dallas shrugged, leaning back in the black leather passenger seat. He quieted, looking stung by my remark. “That’s on Shiv, man.”

“Really?” Ty and I said in unison.

“Yeah.” He frowned and glanced down at his phone, his jaw tight. “We’ve talked about it, but she didn’t want to slap a label on it. Ball’s in her court on that one.”

Weird. The number of chicks who would love to tie Dallas Ward down—both figuratively and literally—could line a city block. What was the holdup?

Then I wondered whether Bailey felt the same way as Shiv. Did she want to put a label on it? Should we put a label on it?

BAILEY

With everything that had happened with Chase, I’d barely thought about my roommate situation. Blessedly, between part-time jobs, group projects, and other commitments between the three of us, I hadn’t seen them in days.

I was reminded, rather rudely, when I came downstairs Monday morning and instantly encountered Amelia, who was seated at the round kitchen table, eating a bowl of oatmeal. My stomach sank, my appetite for breakfast vanishing. But my need for caffeine was urgent, so I’d have to deal with it. And at least it wasn’t Jill.

Strolling into the kitchen, I gave her a limp wave.

“Hey.” Amelia’s lips curved into a bland smile. “I feel like I’ve barely seen you lately.” Her honey-brown eyes scanned me methodically, probing. She assessed me like an enemy spy, results to be reported back to Commander Luke.

“Yeah,” I said. “Just been really busy with class and such.”

“Where were you the other night?” she asked casually. “You didn’t come home.” She was trying to sound friendly, but beneath the pleasant veneer, there was an undertone of nosiness.

“Where do you think?” I grinned, turning to the cupboard to retrieve a mug. Thinking about the goodbye kiss yesterday made me feel warm and tingly…Not to mention all the kissing that came before.

Who knew kissing could be like that? I had been seriously ripped off until now.

Amelia’s mask slipped, and she gaped at me, wide-eyed. “Seriously?”

“Sure was,” I said. “It was great. He’s great.”

“So you guys are actually…”

I poured the coffee and blew on it. “Yup.”

“Carter,” she said, dumbstruck. “Chase Carter.”

“What about him?” I clutched the mug, replicating her bland smile from earlier. She shook her head a little but didn’t reply.

“Anyway, what did you get up to all weekend?” I asked.

Amelia hesitated, spoonful of oatmeal halfway to her mouth. She looked down at the white ceramic bowl, avoiding my gaze.

“Not much on Friday. We went over to…uh, Sophie’s with everyone on Saturday.”

“Cool.” I meant it. I literally did not care. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for class.”

When I got out of the shower, I found a text from Chase waiting for me, and my mood instantly lifted.

Chase: You know what you need?

Bailey: I’m afraid to ask.

Chase: A makeup birthday. Like a do-over.

Bailey: If only.

Chase: Oh, it’s happening. Let’s do something this week. Dinner. Anything you want.

Bailey: But it’s not your fault Luke is an ass.

Chase: It’s not yours, either.

Chase: Maybe I want an excuse to take you out before I’m away for hockey all weekend.

Bailey: Sure, I’d love to.

Chase: Great. I’ll even throw in an autographed picture of me as a belated birthday gift.

Bailey: I’m a lucky girl.

Chase: I know, right?

After Amelia’s weird half-interrogation Monday morning, I knew my living situation needed to change, and I couldn’t wait until next year to live with Noelle and Zara.

After all, how could I live somewhere Chase wasn’t even welcome? Heck, I didn’t feel welcome myself.

Random roommates were out of the question, so I combed the rental ads. A one-bedroom was out of my budget, but maybe I could swing a studio—or maybe I was being delusional, based on the prices I was seeing. Still, there had to be a way. Even if it wasn’t the nicest place, at least it would be mine.

Late Monday evening, I dropped the bomb on Jillian and Amelia while they were watching TV. They were curled up together on the big couch, sharing snacks and utterly engrossed in a show they were bingeing on Netflix.

I couldn’t tiptoe around it any longer. The elephant in the room was taking up more space by the day.

Heart pounding, I lingered in the living room doorway. There was a tiny pang in my gut. A month or two ago, I would have been in there hanging out with them. Now I could barely bring myself to enter the room.

When they didn’t immediately notice my presence, I rapped on the doorframe to get their attention and drew in a deep breath.

I hated confrontation. Especially when it was two on one.

“Hey,” Amelia said. “What’s up?”

I cleared my throat. “Um, so…I’m thinking of breaking the lease,” I said. “Actually, no. I’m planning to. In the near future.”

They both turned and stared at me like I’d suggested we burn the place down.

Amelia grabbed the remote and turned the TV volume down. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know yet.” Anywhere but here.

Jillian set down her bowl of chips, curling her lip into a snarl. “Then why are you moving out?”

Gee, I can’t imagine why.

“Let’s be honest,” I said, folding my arms. “This isn’t working out for any of us anymore. I don’t even feel comfortable having Chase over here, and that’s not fair to either one of us.”

“Well, you can,” Amelia snapped. “No one is stopping you.”

“So he can get into it with Paul and Luke? Hard pass. And speaking of Luke, he’s here too often for my liking.”

Jillian scoffed. “He was here once.”

“Exactly. One time too many, as far as I’m concerned.”

“But he’s still our friend, B.” Amelia raised her eyebrows, like she’d dropped some kind of truth bomb.

“Clearly,” I said. “That’s why I’m giving you notice now so you can find another roommate.”

“And what if we can’t?” Jillian asked.

“That sounds a lot like a you problem.”

“You signed the lease too,” Amelia said. “That means you’re still on the hook legally, even if you move out.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to sue me.” I shrugged. “Literally.”

And good luck with that because I had no money to my name. I lived on scholarships and student aid. But they could try. I would rather eat money I didn’t have than deal with them any longer.

Jill furrowed her brow, blinking at me like I was some kind of hallucination.

“This is so irresponsible. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, based on who you’re dating.”

“Excuse me?” I shot her a scorching glare. “Don’t you even.”

Talk about glass houses. It would take a tiny pebble to shatter hers to pieces.

She recoiled, probably because I’d never spoken to either of them like that. I wasn’t sure I’d ever used a tone that sharp before, maybe not even with Luke. But I was out of patience—especially with her.

“Anyway, just a heads-up,” I said, turning to leave.

“We can’t find someone in the middle of the semester like this,” Amelia called.

I looked back over my shoulder, giving them a knowing look.

“Oh, I don’t know, guys. Maybe you could ask my brother. He’s here a lot, isn’t he?”

They both stared at me, dumbfounded, but didn’t respond. I started for the stairs with a heavy heart. Beneath my anger toward them was no small amount of sadness. As crappy as they’d been lately, losing two friends—or two people I’d thought were my friends—still hurt.