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

  “Mr. Banks,” she answers on the second ring. “What can I do for you, sir?”

  “Anika, I need four VIP passes to Façade for tomorrow night.”

  I hear her typing in the background. “No problem. I’ll contact them and send directions and contact info to your phone. As a reminder, your meeting tomorrow is at nine A.M. sharp.” Anika has been with my family my entire life, yet our interactions are always borderline sterile. She doesn’t know me any better than I know her.

  “Great. Thank you. Also, did you hear back from San Diego?”

  “Not yet, but, I’ll be calling them again this afternoon.”

  I swallow my reply. My father’s not the only one who has doubts regarding my ability to lead and be the next CEO of Banks Resorts. Many appear to be working against my efforts, ignoring my calls and emails, and failing to accept meeting requests. I can’t tell my father this, and they know it, and therefore I’ve been stuck playing a game of cat and mouse where half the time I’m left feeling like the fucking mouse chasing the bastard cat.

  “Thanks, Anika,” I say and hang up.

  “It was that easy?” Cooper asks.

  I nod, though the question feels loaded—or maybe it’s the answer because few things are that easy, specifically when it comes to my role with the family business or even Anika.

  Cooper leans back in his seat, taking an audible breath.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  He nods, his gaze flicking to the back seat again, making his thoughts apparent. I don’t delve into them or try to understand—I already know I won’t. The very last thing I have time for is a relationship and even less time for the idea of chasing a girl whose feelings are unknown. “Just tired.”

  “Take a nap. We’ve got four hours until we get there.”

  “You sure?”

  I nod. “Positive. We’ll have to stop before we get there to charge the car, but we’re basically following the coastline, so you’ll see more of this.” I point out the window as signs invite us to exit for Panama City Beach. “Recline your seat, and take a nap.”

  Cooper plays with the controls and settles into his seat. I’m relieved. I don’t want to analyze his relationship with Vanessa or make more plans for the trip. I have enough to focus on with New Orleans.

  3

  Chloe

  I open my eyes and realize we’ve come to a stop.

  I don’t remember falling asleep. The car is nearly silent, creating the perfect setting for an afternoon nap.

  I sit up, looking over at Nessie to see she’s still lost to dreamland, and ahead of her, Cooper is asleep as well. Tyler’s outside, leaning against the hood of the car, hovering over his phone.

  My legs feel cramped, itching with the desire to move, and I wish we’d taken Dad up on his suggestion to bring a cooler because I’m thirsty and hungry.

  I look around, hoping I can ascertain where we’re at and how much farther we have until we hit New Orleans. Outside my window is a wall of Annabelle hydrangeas, the kind our grandma grows that have the giant white, cone-shaped blooms. Behind them is the main road where a billboard towers, touting “Mobile, Home of the Best Flea Market in Alabama.”

  I’ve never been to Mobile, but when it was Nessie, Meredith, and I planning this trip across the country, we’d discussed stopping here after seeing pictures of their white sandy beaches and abundance of seafood restaurants. The memory has me bending down to look out the other windows, hoping I’ll catch sight of the coast. But the more I move, the stiffer my muscles feel, and the more I regret having my fourth cup of coffee this morning.

  I debate waking Vanessa up so she can go with me but decide against it as she hums in her sleep. I know she’s exhausted. Mom and I had lain across her bed, talking about our road trip and this next year while Nessie finally started to pack. I woke up in her bed this morning, and she was already awake, trying to finish getting her things together.

  I pull in a breath, realizing my bladder won’t make it to New Orleans. The car door opens without a sound—rising again instead of outward. It’s so weird and so cool, and yet I try to act unfazed by this because Tyler’s turned and is looking at me. I press for the door to close, and it does, silently again like the engine. Dad would love this. We’re parked at a bank of chargers, in the same parking lot as a Target and strip mall. The skies are a dark shade of gray, filled with rain clouds that make the air feel heavy and sticky.

  “Is there time for me to walk over to Target?”

  He glances at the red and white contraption that leads to his car to charge the battery and then at the store, as though gauging the distance and how long it might take me. The action makes me bristle. I know it’s not his fault—not entirely. There’s just something about Tyler Banks that grinds my gears. Maybe it’s the way Cooper talks about him and views him like he’s a god among men or because every other girl at Brighton falls at his feet. Or maybe it’s because his arrogance is obvious in the casual manner with which he carries himself and brief words that have me feeling like an inconvenience despite us having barely spoken. Or perhaps it’s the fact that five guys saw me make the giant mistake of kissing Tyler Banks and—

  “We still have twenty minutes left,” he says, cutting me off mid-thought.

  I won’t lie, the bullseye of a Target usually leaves me in a hypnotic state that makes hours feel like mere minutes, but I’m determined to go inside and find the restroom and coffee and be back in twenty minutes.

  “Do you want anything to eat or drink?” I ask because although Tyler makes my teeth grind, he’s single-handedly the only reason we’re able to afford this cross-country adventure in a way that doesn’t require pitching a tent each night.

  He shakes his head, his attention back on his phone. I stare at him for another moment, trying to understand the appeal that has so many girls lusting after him. His angular jaw and straight nose and blue eyes make him look like a cross between a young Charlie Hunnam and Matt Damon. But not Good Will Hunting, smiling Matt Damon. No, more like Matt Damon à la Jason Bourne: silent, intense, and angry at the world.

  I tighten my grip on my purse and walk past him, the heat radiating from the blacktop, telling me the temperature is well over a hundred degrees, making me yearn for the beach and an umbrella.

  I avoid the dollar bins and the cute swimsuits on sale just feet away and remain focused on my purpose and short timeline. I make a quick detour to the restroom before heading to the Starbucks, where I order a coffee and a passion tea for Nessie and get a couple of bottled drinks for Cooper and Tyler because although he said he didn’t want anything, it feels almost rude to get things for the others and not him. I stare at the cookies and muffins that make my stomach grumble, but the idea of bringing any of them into Tyler’s pristine car prevents me from ordering them, and that thought makes me wonder if he’ll mind me bringing drinks into the car.

  I grab a handful of napkins and take my icy-cold coffee and the other drinks and head back out into the blazing heat. Vanessa and Cooper are awake, standing outside of the car with Tyler, laughing about something.

  “You read my mind,” Nessie says, reaching for her tea. “Thank you.”

  I hand Cooper the bag of bottled juices and coffees. “Since you always change your order, I didn’t know what to get you or Tyler, so I just picked up some stuff.”

  He accepts it, a quick smile flashing across his features.

  “I can’t believe I slept so long,” Nessie says, rolling her neck muscles while Tyler disconnects the car from the charger.

  “I can. You barely slept last night,” I say.

  She combs her fingers through her hair, her brow creased with concern as she silently asks me if it looks all right. We both inherited our mom’s cowlicks that make the right side of our hair go straight up and out unless it’s tamed and coated in product, but humidity and sleep can steal any semblance of calm we wrestle it into. I give her a quick nod of approval that has her sighing before taking a long pull from her
drink.

  “Where are we?” Cooper asks.

  “Mobile, Alabama,” Tyler says. “We’re about two hours from the hotel.”

  At the sound of his voice, I swear, a woman passing us sighs.

  “Do you mind us bringing drinks into the car, or should we finish them out here?” I ask.

  Tyler stares at my drink and then my face, folding his arms across his chest, his tight black tee straining against the muscles in his biceps. He grins. “You’re asking permission to bring a drink in the car?”

  My cheeks heat with embarrassment. It hadn’t seemed like a stupid question considering his car is worth more than what most people make in a year. Especially considering my mom still grumbles if we take drinks into her car after Nessie spilled a McFlurry—eleven years ago.

  “Next time, I’ll be sure to order a cookie,” I grumble.

  His brow furrows with confusion, but I ignore it and Nessie’s complaints about the heat and get back into the car.

  Once we’ve all piled in, Vanessa grins at me as she says, “I have an idea. Why don’t we play a game?” Warning bells echo in my thoughts as her eyes light up.

  “What kind of game?” Cooper asks.

  “Truth or dare,” Nessie tells him, leaning forward.

  I shake my head. Nessie turns her attention to me and smiles, taunting me about my new motto to go with the flow and be spontaneous. I stop my silent objection and busy myself with my coffee, fishing for some of the whipped cream with my straw and licking it off of the end.

  “Cooper,” Nessie begins. “Truth or dare?”

  He chuckles, leaning his head against the seat. “Truth, I guess?”

  Nessie grins. “What’s the most embarrassing thing in your room?”

  “In Florida or Washington?”

  “Both.”

  Cooper runs a hand through his dark hair. “In Florida, I still have a box of Pokémon cards, and in Washington… Shit, I don’t know?”

  “Definitely that awful pink stuffed bear on your desk,” Tyler says.

  “Stuffed bear?” Nessie asks.

  “Your truth didn’t require subtext,” Cooper says, shaking his head.

  “That was before I knew a pink bear was involved.”

  I giggle, sitting back in my seat and feeling surprisingly happy for Nessie’s suggestion to play as I slurp down my coffee, feeling the jolt of caffeine.

  “It’s garbage,” Cooper says.

  “The more elusive you are, the more I’m going to press you on this, you know that, right?” Nessie leans forward.

  Cooper releases a heavy sigh. “Claire gave it to me.”

  “Claire Claire?” Nessie asks, her eyes on me, wide with shock and a glint of pain. Cooper dated Claire Mayfair freshman year at Brighton. At first, I assumed it was his way of moving past his crush on Nessie—seeing her on dates every other night couldn’t have been easy. But then one date turned into three, which turned into five months. I knew he was hurt when she dumped him and moved on to a new guy a week later.

  “Were there multiple Claires?” Tyler asks.

  Cooper shakes his head dismissively. “Just the one. She won it while we were at the county fair, and the thing was so hideous that it creeped her out, so she put it on my desk.”

  Nessie stares at me with stretched eyes, but doesn’t pursue any more information.

  “Okay, my turn.” Cooper reaches into the bag of bottled drinks and picks out one of the fruit juices. “Chloe, truth or dare?”

  My stomach lurches, but remains intact, knowing Cooper won’t be too harsh. “Truth.”

  Nessie laughs at my obvious discomfort.

  “What’s something you’ve never told anyone else?”

  I mull over the question, my face likely puckered as I try to think of something that isn’t going to be humiliating or reveal just how crazy my thoughts sometimes wander. “Um…I once cheated on a test for AP History.”

  Nessie pulls her chin back with surprise. “Really?”

  I nod, feeling both relieved and embarrassed over the simple truth. School has always been something I’ve worked tirelessly at and have taken seriously. I’ve known since middle school that I want a career in astronomy. “I’d missed three days after having my wisdom teeth pulled, and the painkillers made it impossible for me to stay awake or focus, so when I got back, and Mr. Bradenburg gave us a pop quiz, I cheated and looked at someone else’s paper.”

  “Is that really cheating?” Cooper asks, twisting around in his seat. “I mean, if you were out, why didn’t he just give you a pass?”

  “In Chloe’s rulebook, it was definitely cheating. We took Spanish together our freshman year of high school, and she’d even get mad at me for cheating off her work.”

  I scoff. “I still let you, and look how that ended for us.”

  “Busted!” Cooper yells.

  “We both served detention for a week,” I say.

  “That wasn’t the worst part. Afterward, I had to sit on the other side of the class next to that Ben kid, and he was even worse at Spanish than I was.” Nessie shakes her head.

  “Your turn, Chloe,” Cooper says with a smile.

  Rules of inclusion tell me I should be asking Tyler next, but I know how competitive games turn back on you, and the last thing I want is for him to ask me the question in return. “Nessie, truth or dare?”

  She grins. “Dare.”

  “Kiss the person on your left!” Cooper yells.

  “Why would I dare her to kiss me?” I ask him, rolling my eyes as I glance around the car. “Okay. Call one of your friends, and sing the chorus of the next song to them.”

  Nessie leans forward, giggling as she reaches for her phone. My sister is confident and brazen with nearly everything in life, making her easy to admire and even easier to like and want to be around. Her laugh is quick and contagious, and she’s always looking for ways to have fun, so I shouldn’t be surprised that the dare doesn’t even make her blink as she scrolls through her phone and calls someone. She puts the phone on speaker and then belts out the chorus, her voice cracked and uneven because singing might be the only thing Nessie doesn’t excel at. She giggles wildly as the girl on the other side laughs in response.

  “What are you doing?” the person she called asks.

  Nessie wipes a tear from her eye. “Just wanted to serenade you. I have to go. Bye, Britt!” She hangs up and beams.

  “We might have to stop at a karaoke bar,” Cooper says.

  “All right, Tyler, truth or dare?” Nessie asks, ignoring Cooper’s suggestion.

  I catch his blue gaze in the rearview mirror, finding humor and intrigue enrobed with what I think is a reluctance to participate as he remains silent for long seconds. “Dare,” he finally answers.

  “I dare you to get the phone number of the next car that drives by us.”

  Tyler glances out the window, and I follow suit, catching sight of a minivan with an older couple starting to pass.

  “Going to get me bloody arrested,” Tyler says, accelerating to match their speed.

  I’m already struggling to keep my laughter in, and he’s only rolled his window down.

  “Better than the guy behind them,” Nessie says, turning to look at the motorcycle following the van.

  “Bloody hell.” Tyler rolls his shoulders. “Coop, you watch the road.”

  I slap a hand across my face with my fingers spread so I can still see. “This is a terrible idea.”

  Nessie places her hand on my knee. It’s meant to be calming, but right now, my eyes are glued to the road. Tyler is waving at the couple to catch their attention.

  The woman in the passenger seat starts to lower her window, and then the husband looks across, shakes his head, and uses the control on the driver’s side to close it again. The woman turns to her husband, clearly objecting as she waves an arm, and then turns and starts to lower the window again. My guilt ratchets higher as humor works to join the party. She probably thinks he’s trying to warn them their f
uel door is open or something legitimately important.

  “Have you ever wanted to become a cougar?” Tyler yells over the road noise.

  “Oh my God,” Nessie giggles into her cupped hands.

  Cooper raises a hand to shield his face.

  “What?” the woman yells back, her face pinched as the wind blows against her.

  “Can I call you sometime?” Tyler asks, his full attention on her, requiring Cooper to lean over and grab the wheel.

  “Call me?” the woman asks.

  The wind displaces Tyler’s dark blond hair as he sticks his head farther out the window. “That’s right.”

  The woman ducks back into the car to say something to her husband, who is the easiest to see from my vantage point. He pulls his shoulders back and starts to say something, but the woman is laughing as she faces the window again and starts reciting a string of numbers and then cheers before her husband changes lanes and speeds up.

  “That was easier than I expected,” Tyler says, rolling his window up.

  Nessie is in stitches. “She really seemed like she wanted you to call.”

  “Nah, she was trying to get her husband worked up. Did you see him carrying on?” Tyler shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair, unbothered by the fact Cooper is still steering the car.

  After what feels like a millennium, he takes the wheel, his smile cocky. “All right, Chloe, truth or dare?”

  4

  Tyler

  Chloe cringes, reminding me of how low her expectations of me are. The realization has half of me wanting to be a total dick and ask her something scandalous and embarrassing, and the other half of me feels guilty for having asked her.

  “Truth,” she says reluctantly.

  I hadn’t thought about what I’d ask, so it takes me a moment to come up with a question that isn’t going to up the ante of her dislike of me. “What’s something that most people think is true about you but isn’t?”

  She blinks, but I can’t read her expression as I’m pulling back onto the freeway. When I finally glance up, she’s looking at Vanessa. “That I’m Vanessa?”