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I roll my shoulders back to try and ease some of the tension building within them. “I’m all good. Just getting in the zone for the game.”
“Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. The Panthers are a great side, so we’ll have our work cut out for us tonight.”
I nod. “Is it time to go out there already?”
Miles takes a step back, allowing me to look around the locker room. Everyone is dressed in their uniforms ready to go. Some are even making their way out of the room behind Coach, cheering and hollering as a way to hype themselves up. Preston and Ethan eye me from the entrance to the locker room, waiting for my next move. Being the captain of the team, I’m sure it’s just them looking for some guidance, or they think something is up because I’ve been sitting on this bench shirtless with no cleats on for the past thirty minutes.
“Let’s go,” I say and push myself to stand. Miles smiles at me as I slip my feet into my cleats and pull my jersey over my head.
Even as we’re walking out onto the pitch, the cheers from the crowd are almost deafening, all I can focus on is Evie’s heartbeat in the stands and how annoyed I am that she agreed to go out with that fucker after the game. The thought alone has the fire in my veins roaring to life, taking control of the anger building deep within my chest.
Shit. This isn’t going to end well. I can feel it.
Before I knew it, the starting whistle had blown and the game was underway. I don’t feel like I am in control over my body. Like something deep within my soul is moving my limbs and controlling which direction I run in.
Every time I see Kale’s stupid head of blonde hair, my vision blurs, and all I can see is red as the sound of Evie’s heartbeat drowns out all the other noises around me. It’s a feeling I have never felt before and I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I have no choice but to lean into it.
“Jay, heads up!” Ethan shouts and I turn to see the ball flying through the air.
I headbutt it toward their goal, but a Panther player snatches the ball and kicks it to the other side to where Cain is standing in the goal box.
“Get your head in the game, cap,” Miles says as he races past me.
With a huff, I follow him, trying to get in a good position to steal the ball, but it doesn’t happen because a Panther player kicks for a goal. Thankfully, Cain saves it. I’m watching from the halfway line as Cain kicks the ball to Preston.
Although it feels like everyone around me is moving in slow motion, I’m running faster than I probably should for a normal human, but I’m no longer in control of my movements or limiting my abilities as I race toward their goal, hoping Preston can get it to me, but that fucker Kale steals it from him. It’s almost as if I’m having an out-of-body experience, watching my body from feet away. Whatever is driving this anger deep within me is fucking pissed, which only makes the redness around my vision worsen.
When I see Kale with the ball running toward me, it’s like something snaps in my chest, a taut string of a bow and arrow pulled too tightly, and now my entire vision is red as I rush toward him, faster than normal.
All I see is his eyes widen before I drop into a slide tackle, my leg out straight as I make contact with his ankle, nowhere near touching the ball. The sound of his ankle snapping and his sharp cries of pain are like music to my ears. At the same time as the referee rushes over to issue me with an instant red card, I hear Evie’s sweet voice from the crowd.
“What the fuck, Jaylen!”
With my blurred vision, I barely register Miles coming to my defense to the referee, my coach yelling at me from the sideline, likely asking what the hell I was thinking, or the voices from the crowd in a mixture of cheers and boos. All I register is walking off the field with one of the staff members chasing after me. I vaguely remember telling him to not follow me because I wanted to be alone before I rush down the tunnel, and into the locker room.
My skin feels hot, burning me from the inside out as if whatever just possessed me is trying to crawl through my skin. With a huff, I pull my jersey over my head, shove my shorts and underwear down my legs until I’m naked, and walk into one of the open shower stalls. The cold water that gushes out of the shower head isn’t nearly enough to put out the fire raging around me. The snapping of bone echoes in my head, drowning out the other noises consuming me.
“Fuck,” I grunt, pounding a closed fist against the white tiles, desperately wanting the pain to ease the fire burning within me, but it does little to help.
I rest my forehead against the cold tiles as the cold water washes over my head and down my chest and back. My eyes flutter close at the sound of footsteps approaching. Specifically, Evie’s footsteps. Her heart is racing, the rhythm all over the place.
Oh, she’s fucking pissed.
“Jaylen!” she shouts when she enters the locker room. When I don’t answer her, she follows the sound of running water. I can feel her behind me, every bit as angry as I had anticipated. “What the fuck was that out there!”
I exhale sharply when her floral scent fills my nostrils, making my already foggy brain worse. Whenever she’s around, I lose all the self-restraint I have, and it drives me fucking insane.
“Me?” I say, turning my head to look over my shoulder. Her eyes are focused on me but I know she’s trying hard to not look at the rest of my naked body. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Her jaw drops. “Me?” Evie marches forward until she’s standing beside me, the cold water bouncing off my skin and splashing onto her black T-shirt. The material begins to go see-through, showing what appears to be a black lacy bra beneath. “Don’t you dare try to turn this around on me, Jaylen. You fucking snapped Kale’s ankle and got yourself a red card. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t thinking,” I snapped, turning my body to face her. I’m aware that she is so close, and I’m naked with my cock as hard as a rock, but I don’t care. Evie does her best to keep her hard amazonite eyes on my face, but I can tell she wants to take a peek, and I don’t blame her. “I wasn’t thinking, Evie. Do you know why? Because you’re the one who decided to take that loser up on his offer to take you out when you know you’re my girl.” She jumps when I plant both of my hands on the wall beside her head, cold water cascading down my arms and onto her body, further wetting her clothes. “I proved that to you the other day.”
“Why do you keep saying that?” she retorts, her voice shaking slightly.
“Because you are,” I answer, lowering my face so that we’re at eye level. “You’re my girl, little angel. No one else’s, and certainly not that fucker whose ankle I snapped. You’re mine.”
“I’m not your property, Jaylen. You can’t just claim me as yours and expect me to go along with it. That’s not how this works.”
