Page 4 of Enemy Games

Hunter

How did I know her?

She was hot. Blonde. Lean enough for me to make out the muscles hiding under her sweater. Taller than most of the others on her team. She stood out. Especially when she smiled.

She checked off many of my boxes, except for the fact that I couldn’t place her.

It was on the tip of my tongue or mind or something. I recognized her; at least, I was pretty sure I did.

The women’s team was brand new, but maybe she went to school here and joined the team?

No. Coach told us all the girls were transfers. She had to have been playing somewhere else.

Was she the sister of one of my friends? I glanced at Reid and cringed. I hoped not.

Had we run into each other at an event?

There was only one way to find out. I needed to get her name and pray it triggered something.

“Hey,” I whispered to Ethan. “Have any of them introduced themselves to you?”

“Just the captain.” He tilted his head in the direction of the short brunette talking to the coaches.

“Karly, right?” I had to double-check even though she had told us a few minutes ago.

“Yeah. Are you interested in one in particular?” He raised his brows while scanning the group.

“I feel like I know one of them, but can’t figure out where we would have met.” I glanced at the blonde. She turned away from us and was talking to the girl next to her.

He leaned toward me like he was trying to track my line of sight. “Which one?”

I stepped to the side so it wouldn’t be so obvious that we were both staring at her. “The blonde in the white sweater.”

He looked around before finding her. “Oh, she’s cute. You think you know her?”

“She looks so familiar, but I can’t figure it out.”

“Do you know any female players?”

“A handful, but I haven’t seen or spoken to any of them since high school.”

“You didn’t hook up with her, did you?” he asked quietly.

That would be the most likely reason. I didn’t date, unlike my friends who seemed to be committing one after another.

There was no point since I didn’t believe in love. It was nothing but a chemical reaction, a biological craving, and a social construct created to trap people in unnatural situations.

My parents were the perfect example. They thought they were in love, but it didn’t last. It never did. People stayed together out of obligation or laziness.

Dad told me over and over growing up that women were like paper towels, nice to have around but not entirely necessary. There were other ways to get the job done.

And that was how I figured out the exact reason my parents divorced. My dad was a misogynistic jerk, and my mom finally left. But just because they were an extreme didn’t mean my theory was wrong.

At least I still had Benjamin as a single friend. He wouldn’t date while we were in school, and I doubted he would change his mind through the first few years of his career. He was too focused and too dedicated to our sport to risk any interruptions to his plans.

Like this girl. I stared at her profile but couldn’t figure out why she looked so familiar.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t think so. I don’t think I’ve ever hooked up with another player.”