Exploring the Rules: An Enemies-to-Lovers Sports Romance Standalone Read online

  “I need a break. Let’s meet back in an hour to finalize things, and then I’ve got to go.”

  Sid pops out of his chair like I’ve just said the magic word to free him of a lifelong servitude, dashing out the door before I’m out of my seat.

  I call Cooper as I make my way down the hallway to the elevator.

  “Hey, man.”

  “Where are you guys?”

  “In the lobby.”

  “You could’ve stayed up in the room. I told them we’d have a late checkout today.”

  “The girls were restless. Since we have a long drive, they wanted to walk around for a while. What’s going on with you?”

  “I’m on my way down. Where are you guys?”

  “Near the koi pond.”

  “I’ll see you in a minute.” I hang up as the doors shut and descend the multiple floors to the lobby, where I find them laughing over something. We arrived late last night after having to stop to charge the car and electing to eat dinner at the same time. It was a small dive bar with “spicy” and “fried” describing everything on their menu.

  When we checked in, we did a much faster tour of the suite, sitting out on the balcony while they brought in our luggage and discussing the plan for today. The hotel had an entire team set for the task, and because we were only staying the one night, I requested they didn’t unpack our bags as had been done in New Orleans, which led to me slipping away to catch some sleep even faster.

  “Thank goodness you’re done. These two are delirious and need a nap.” He looks between the twins and shakes his head.

  “He’s projecting,” Vanessa says. “We’re great. We’re just naming all the fish.”

  “Naming the fish?” I ask.

  “None of them are appropriate, so don’t ask,” Cooper says, shaking his head.

  “Who doesn’t love a good pun?” Chloe replies. She’s wearing a pair of gray shorts with a loose-fitting sweater, a coffee in her hand.

  “Hey, so, I think I left a hat in New Orleans,” Cooper says. “Do you think I could contact someone and have them ship it to me?”

  I suggest telling him just to buy a new one but stop, knowing Cooper has a limited income and that it might hold sentimental value. “Yeah. I can have Anika message them and have it sent to Seattle.”

  He smiles with relief. “Thanks, man.”

  I nod.

  “Are you ready to go?” Vanessa asks me.

  I shake my head. “Unfortunately, there’s been a change in plans. I need a little more time here, so we’re going to drive halfway today and stay overnight, and we’ll drive to Santa Fe in the morning.”

  Vanessa nods—an easy sell. “I don’t think I could have survived eleven hours in the car.” She stretches. “Do you have some time? You want to grab something to eat? We need a tiebreaker. There’s supposed to be a really good Mexican restaurant and Chinese restaurant both within two blocks.”

  “There are three of you. By default, you can’t have a tie,” I point out.

  “Oh, I’m not getting in the middle of this,” Cooper says, shaking his head.

  I glance between the sisters, considering which restaurant each chose. “I have a little time.”

  “Perfect. Chinese or Mexican?” Vanessa asks.

  “Mexican,” I tell her. “We’re in Texas.”

  Vanessa frowns. “Fine, but I get to pick dinner.” She links arms with Cooper and starts toward the front doors.

  “Everything okay?” I ask Chloe when she refuses to look at me or attempt small talk.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “You don’t seem fine. You seem annoyed.”

  “It’s stupid.” She shakes her head and pulls her shoulders back.

  I stop walking and turn to face her, causing her to stop as well. Her attention shifts from me to Coop and Vanessa and the building gap as they continue walking. “You guys grab a table, we’ll be right there,” I tell Coop.

  He nods without a sign of hesitation.

  “What’s stupid?” I ask her.

  A narrow line forms between her brows as apprehension becomes visible. “It’s just the way you come across sometimes. Changing plans and taking another day isn’t a big deal, but you didn’t even discuss it with us. You just made the plans and expect us to go along with them.”

  “This is my business trip,” I remind her.

  “Sure, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to consider us when making decisions that affect everyone.”

  “I don’t,” I tell her. “You guys are getting a free trip, all expenses paid. Why does one more night matter? I’m not going to waste thirty minutes to check in with you guys on a decision that needs to be made and benefits all parties.”

  Her green eyes narrow. “This is why I avoid you.” She starts to turn, but I reach for her hand.

  “Because I made a decision without asking you?”

  “Because you assume you know everything, and you don’t.”

  “I’m right about this. Just like I’m right about the fact you wanted me in that club. You wanted me, and you didn’t care who watched. I might be a bossy son of a bitch, but you’re so stubborn you refuse to admit I’m right.”

  She shakes her head. “You’re wrong. I tolerate you for Cooper. That’s it. That’s all this is. That’s all it will ever be.”

  12

  Chloe

  Reasons I hate Tyler Banks:

  He’s a bossy asshole

  He’s a REALLY bossy asshole

  He drives like a maniac when angry

  The infuriating way he smiles like he knows I want to punch him but can’t because it would drag Cooper into this mess

  He’s begun walking around the hotel like a nudist, refusing to put on a shirt

  “Chloe, are you ready?” Vanessa enters our shared room wearing shorts and a sports bra because apparently not wearing a shirt is becoming contagious.

  I set down my notebook filled with random lists. “How far is this hike?”

  “Come on. It will be fun.”

  We’re in Scottsdale, Arizona after having spent one night in a small town, in a hotel that was still fancier than most, and a single night and half day in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I convinced Cooper and Nessie to go to a history museum with me.

  This is our first stop with a full day and two nights in the same city since New Orleans, and I’m strangely relieved to have the consistency. While living out of a suitcase isn’t something I necessarily mind, there’s some comfort in recalling where my phone charger is plugged in and where the light switches are.

  Tyler offered us—and by us, I mean Nessie because he hasn’t spoken to me since our altercation in Austin—spa passes, but with all the eating we’ve done over the past week, Nessie insisted we spend our morning hiking.

  Cooper is meeting a friend and one of their teammates, Jackson, leaving it to be just Nessie and me for the first time in a week, so despite the fact being outside in the intense heat of the Arizona desert sounds less than ideal, I agreed, even with the four thirty wakeup time she insisted we had.

  “Did you put on sunscreen?”

  Nessie rolls her eyes. “It’s still dark out.”

  I toss the bottle of sunscreen into my bag and an extra T-shirt, along with several bottles of water and some granola bars I picked up in Odessa when we were across the street from a convenience store.

  We silently head out to the living room, and both of us jump when Tyler flips on the lights. “Did you feel a cold rush followed by a strange warmth?”

  Nessie laughs. “You startled us. What are you doing up?”

  Again, he’s shirtless, only wearing a pair of black mesh shorts and tennis shoes. I notice he wears ankle socks, and for some reason, I like this more than I should because it means he doesn’t chase every trend.

  I quickly avert my gaze when he catches me staring too long at the tattoo that wraps around his shoulder. “I’m going down to the gym. Where are you two sneaking off to?”

&nbs
p; “We’re going to hike Camelback Mountain,” Nessie tells him.

  He nods. “Good idea to get an early start. It’s going to be hot today. Did you arrange a ride with the front desk already?”

  “We were just going to call a Lyft.”

  He frowns. “Go to the valet desk. I’ll let them know you’re on your way down. They’ll get you over there and leave you a card so you can call when you’re ready to be picked up.”

  “You’re the best,” she says. “Thank you!” She takes my hand and pulls me toward the elevator that leads us to the lobby.

  And just like he told us there would be, a driver is waiting to take us.

  “Are you sure it’s safe to hike? It’s not even light yet.” I turn on the flashlight on my phone as more experienced hikers pass us with their bags and headlamps.

  “We just have to stay on the path.”

  “We don’t have to worry about it being steep or coyotes or anything?”

  Nessie shakes her head. “There are too many people for coyotes, and everything I read said the path is well marked.” She fans herself. “But it’s already hot. How can it be so hot? The sun isn’t even up.”

  We head forward on the trail where warning signs advise us it’s a double black diamond. “I’m going to like you by the end of this, right?”

  Nessie laughs. “Come on.”

  We start on built-in stairs, pointing out cacti and the rock formations that offer an entirely different beauty than what we’re used to in Florida and Washington.

  “How are things going with Coop?” I ask.

  She beams. It’s an automatic response that makes me stumble, the toe of my tennis shoe catching on the stair.

  “You okay?” another hiker asks.

  I nod. “Yeah, just clumsy.”

  He appears to be twice our age, sporting a full set of hiking gear. “You guys should be careful. This isn’t an easy hike.”

  I want to tell him my tripping had nothing to do with the trail and everything to do with the smile my sister gave at the mere mention of Cooper’s name. “Thanks,” I tell him. “We’ll be safe.”

  He looks reluctant but nods as he continues past us.

  “You really like him, don’t you?”

  Nessie grins, almost sheepishly this time, like she’s embarrassed over the fact. “I always thought Cooper was too smart for me, you know?”

  I shake my head because Nessie has always done well at school, she just doesn’t have much interest in computers and new technology like Coop does. “Are you kidding? He forgot his hat in New Orleans, his sunglasses in Austin, and his freaking phone charger in Odessa. It’s like he’s leaving a trail of breadcrumbs.”

  Nessie giggles. “You know what I mean. And Coop’s nice and sweet and funny, but it’s kind of scary because he already knows all my worst sides and habits, and he’s still interested in me. It’s a little unnerving.” The stairs taper off, and we hike the moderate incline. “I’m trying to take things slow and make sure we do this right, but it’s kind of weird because we know each other so well. It’s not like we need the customary intro period to learn if the other person is a serial killer or hates Christmas or something else equally tragic, you know?”

  “He likes you a lot,” I tell her, and rather than saying it in a way of warning to ensure she handles his feelings with care, I say it as an assurance. “You guys should go to dinner or something together.”

  “You wouldn’t mind?”

  I shake my head. “I’ll order room service and watch a movie and pretend I’m Kevin McCallister from Home Alone.”

  Nessie laughs. “You’re sure?”

  “Totally.”

  “How are you doing with the whole Ricky thing?”

  “Ricky who?” I ask.

  She looks at me and right through me, just like she’s always been able to do. Maybe it’s because people are right, and twins do have a shared connection, or maybe it’s because we’ve been so close our entire life, but Nessie’s always been able to see through all the bullshit and nonchalance I use to disguise the ugly truth. “Are you going to tell Cooper?”

  I shake my head. “Cooper never liked him, and it’s over.” I shrug. “Besides, it’s not really like there’s anything to say or do.”

  “Guys should come with a full report,” she says. “Like a resume. Something that states their strengths and weaknesses. His would say charming but a complete toad.”

  “You want Cooper’s full report?”

  She laughs easily, already knowing most of it.

  The trail inclines and steals my breath as I look up at what appears nothing like a hiking path and more like a steep, dirt hill with a long metal rail halfway up where the trail becomes steeper, which most hikers are gripping to hoist themselves forward.

  “I’m so eating dessert tonight,” I tell her.

  Nessie grins, moving beside me as we climb what feels like a giant rock with some loose red dirt to make it slightly slick.

  “Oh, we’re adding whipped cream to our desserts,” Nessie says when we reach the top and face another incline with another long metal handrail going down the middle, only now, the trail is covered in large, misshapen rocks.

  “But look,” I say, turning toward the ledge where the sun is slowly beginning to rise, skating across the city and turning the sky into several brilliant shades that the red rock beneath us compliments so beautifully.

  We share a bottle of water as we appreciate the view and then tuck the empty bottle back into my bag and continue, our breaths growing labored as it gets even warmer. When we get to the top of the hill, we step to the side to allow others to continue up to the summit. We’re not at the top yet, but still, we whoop, feeling accomplished and proud as we stop for a rest and visit with an older couple who are local to the area and tell us all the best places to go before the woman is introducing us to the creosote bushes that she tells us are native to the Southwest and smell like rain when you rub the leaves together. It’s such a small and simple beauty and yet thoroughly captivating as we laugh and rub the plant again to ensure it wasn’t our imaginations.

  The path flattens out, less steep, and is peppered with beautiful yellow flowers, cacti, and other small bits of color, the sky blooming a brighter shade of blue that contrasts against the rock and makes the sky a more vibrant color.

  “Is that a joke?” Nessie asks, coming to a stop. I look around, realizing the trail sign points toward a pile of boulders and large rocks, sans the metal rail this time. “Don’t snakes and scorpions hang out on the rocks?”

  “Probably, but it won’t be the first snake we’ve kissed.”

  She laughs, putting both hands on her hips as she looks toward the trail.

  “Come on. We’ll order pasta and dessert.”

  “And garlic bread,” she says, following me toward the rocks.

  “Extra garlic bread.”

  With each rock, we add a new thing to our dinner menu until we’ve named practically every entrée, side dish, and dessert when we finally reach the summit.

  We find a flat rock and circle it twice to ensure there are no snakes before we climb on top of it and take a seat, our feet dangling over the edge as we admire the city and view of the mountain. It feels amazing, and for a few minutes, I forget about school and our trip and Cooper, and I enjoy these moments with Nessie as we laugh and celebrate our feat.

  “It’s still early,” Nessie says as we come down the Cholla trail on the other side of the mountain, which feels like a house cat compared to the lion we climbed on our way up to the summit. The descent takes us a mere thirty minutes in comparison to the two-hour trek up. “Cooper said he and Ty wouldn’t be back until after five. There’s another area we could hike. Or we could go back and cash in the spa treatments Tyler offered?”

  My pride—which doesn’t want to take a thing from Tyler at this point—leans heavily toward another hike, but as the sun climbs higher into the sky, the idea of a spa sounds heavenly. “I’m game for whatever,�
� I tell her, unwilling to make the decision.

  Nessie leans against a rock and pulls out her phone. “I didn’t charge my phone last night, and it must have lost reception because I’ve got like two percent battery,” she says, unlocking her phone. “I’m going to call the driver and have him bring us to the Tom’s Thumb trail, and then we can head back for lunch and still sneak in a massage before they’re back.”

  The driver arrives with bagged lunches and extra water bottles, courtesy of Tyler, and though I want to refuse it all and send it back with him, I’m starving and thirsty and appreciate the care package.

  “If this is carb-free, I’m going to be really sad,” Nessie says, digging into one of the paper bags as we take a seat at a picnic table.

  Inside each bag are club sandwiches, a banana, an orange, some energy bars, and two giant chocolate chip cookies.

  “Sorry, Coop. I’m using my last one percent to text Tyler and say thank you,” Vanessa narrates her action, while I dig into my sandwich, practically moaning as the smoked turkey and salted bacon mix with the juicy tomatoes and rich, creamy wedges of avocado. “Oh my gosh. Give me a bite,” she says.

  I shake my head. “You have your own.”

  “But I’m too weak to open it. I’m starving. One bite.”

  I laugh as I shake my head and hand her the sandwich.

  “Oh my gosh,” she says with a mouthful of sandwich, her eyes rolling back in her head. “So good. So good.”

  I set my sandwich down and unwrap hers to ensure she can’t pull the same excuse before returning to mine.

  We pack the rest into my backpack to snack on as we go, apply a thick layer of sunscreen, and head out into the desert.

  “Are you sure we didn’t come from that way?” Nessie asks, pointing away from me.

  I shake my head. “I have no idea. It all looks the same.” The trail itself stopped being blatant once we passed the ‘thumb’ rock, and since that point, it’s just been rocks and sand and the occasional half-mile marker. It’s been hours since we passed one of those markers or any other hikers, which has us dancing around the realization that we’re lost.