Page 42 of False Catch

"Really?" Kinsley leans closer, her hand landing on his thigh. "Because I heard your team's been very focused on... bonding activities lately."

The word 'bonding' carries weight. Threat.

Madison slides in next to me, her perfume aggressively floral. "Beckett, you've been so scarce. I was starting to think you'd taken a vow of celibacy."

"Just focused on rowing," I say, trying to inch away without being obvious.

"Since when has that stopped you?" Olivia asks, perching on the arm of the booth. "Last year you were hooking up with a different girl every weekend."

"People change."

"Do they?" Kinsley's practically in Gray's lap now, her fingers tracing patterns on his forearm. "Or do they just get distracted by shiny new toys?"

Gray's whole body is rigid, but he can't shake her off without making a scene. Can't push her away without raising questions about why he's suddenly not interested in his ex who's practically throwing herself at him.

"We were so good together, Gray," she murmurs, loud enough for all of us to hear. "Remember that weekend at my parents' place in the Hamptons? You couldn't keep your hands off me."

I watch Gray's control crack slightly. His knuckles are white where his hands grip his coffee cup.

"That was a long time ago," he says carefully.

"Six months isn't that long." She shifts even closer, basically straddling his thigh now. "Unless something's changed? Someone new?"

"There's no one," he lies.

"Good." She smiles, predatory. "Then you can take me to Spring Formal. Like old times."

Madison's hand lands on my arm. "You could take me, Beckett. We'd have fun."

"I don't think—"

"Come on," Olivia interrupts. "It's not like you're seeing anyone. Unless..." She pauses dramatically. "Unless the rumors are true?"

"What rumors?" I keep my voice casual, but my pulse kicks up.

"That your whole team is wrapped around your new coxswain's finger. Or should I say... other parts?"

Kinsley laughs, the sound sharp. "Don't be crude, Liv. I'm sure there's a perfectly innocent explanation for why eight Alphas suddenly can't function without their little female cox."

The way she says 'little female cox' makes it clear she knows. Maybe not everything, but enough.

"We should go," Gray says abruptly.

"So soon?" Kinsley pouts, her hand sliding higher on his thigh. "But we're having such a nice time. Just like we used to."

"Kinsley—"

"I miss you, Gray." She says it loud enough for half the coffee shop to hear. "I miss us. Don't you?"

This is a performance. She's marking territory, making a public claim. And Gray can't reject her without explaining why.

"We broke up for a reason," he says carefully.

"We broke up because you're stubborn and I'm prideful," she counters. "But that doesn't mean we weren't good together. Great, even."

Her hand moves to his chest, fingers splaying possessively. "Remember how good we were? How perfectly we fit?"

Gray catches her wrist, but gently. Too gently. Like he's afraid of what will happen if he shows how much he wants her gone.