45

Adrianna
“In a line, all of you. I want you to pick your partners for basketball.”
I narrow my eyes as I glance at Adrianna, hoping she doesn’t get selected so that I get to go with her. Normally, I’d just pick her, but even if I’m obvious most of the time, I can’t pick her every single class.
“Nik, you go first.”
He steps forward. “I’ll go with Adrianna.”
Rage slams into me as he gives her an objectifying glance, clearly checking her out. No doubt trying to make his ex-girlfriend, Rosa, jealous.
Adrianna smiles flirtatiously at him as she joins him, setting a hand on his biceps and squeezing. “Thanks for picking me,” she says.
Nik nods. “You’re welcome, beautiful.”
I’m about to knock his lights out when Alexander clears his throat. “I’ll pick Nat.”
Natalya moves toward him and hooks arms with him. “Thanks.”
It’s hard to believe that Natalya Gurin and Alexander Morales are now engaged, considering I’ve witnessed the torment Alexander put her through over the years.
The rest of the class pair up and the only person without a partner is Anita. She’s always been flirtatious with me, so that’s not ideal. Not to mention she started a fight with Adrianna over me, but perhaps I can use it to my advantage to make my girl jealous.
The most irritating thing is that basketball requires touching. If it was tennis, there’s more distance between Nik and Adrianna. I watch as he chats to her, making her laugh at whatever he’s saying.
“Okay, start practicing moves with your partner. After twenty minutes, you’ll all play a game.” I keep close to Adrianna and make sure we practice close by.
Anita smiles at me. “Show me your moves, Coach.”
Adrianna catches my eye as she glances over at us, an odd expression on her face. And then she notices me looking and places a hand on Nik’s shoulder and gives him a flirtatious smile.
A soft growl rises in my throat. Anita doesn’t seem to notice as I bounce the ball and dribble it easily around her.
“Anita, you need to match my footwork and not lose me or you’ll never succeed.”
Anita looks a little flustered. “Sorry, I’ll try harder.”
I glance over to see Nik holding himself against Adrianna as she dribbles the ball, trying to get around him. The contact between them ignites a possessive rage like none other.
“One moment, Anita.”
I walk over to them. “Nik,” I bark his name, making him jump.
“Yeah, Coach?”
“Basketball isn’t a fucking dance. You need to keep a distance between you and your opponent.”
Adrianna shakes her head. “Neither of us had fouled.”
I clench my jaw. “Are you saying I don’t know the rules, Miss Vasquez?”
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t call Nik’s move a foul.” There’s a challenge in her eyes, as she knows watching him get so close to her is pissing me off.
I glare at Nik. “Keep your distance.”
Nik holds his hands up in surrender. “Sure.”
I return to my practice with Anita, who won’t stop giving me flirtatious looks. As she dribbles the ball, she tries to rub up against me. A part of me wants to use the opportunity to make Adrianna jealous, if that’s even possible. It’s like she’s made of fucking stone.
“Anita, that’s a foul,” I bark.
She looks disappointed at my lack of reciprocation as my eyes continue to dart toward Adrianna and Nik, who are still getting too close to each other for my liking.
I have to force myself not to look in their direction, focusing on Anita as she passes me the ball. “Focus on your footwork if you want to keep up with me.”
She twirls a strand of blonde hair around her finger and smiles. “Sure thing, Coach.” There’s a flirtatious tone to her voice. The ironic thing is Anita is exactly the kind of girl I’d normally be after any other year, and she’d be a lot less trouble than Adrianna.
Is it because she doesn’t want me that I want her so much?
All my life I’ve been a ladies’ man, never settling for one girl. And yet, ever since I started this dance with Adrianna, I can’t imagine having anyone else but her.
After twenty minutes of excruciating practice, being forced to watch Nik rub up against Adrianna way too many times, I blow my whistle to get everyone’s attention.
“Right, time to put your skills to the test. Each pair will play first to three goals.” I meet Adrianna’s eyes, wishing I were the one playing with her. “Nik and Adrianna, you go first.”
Adrianna grabs the basketball out of my hand without a word and walks onto the court, standing in front of Nik. As expected, she literally runs circles around him. It’s the fastest game I’ve seen, as within a couple of minutes she’s scored three goals to zero.
“Well done. Alexander and Nat, you go next.”
Nik and Adrianna walk off the court. I’m so surprised Nik picked Adrianna as people rarely beat her, and he’s the kind of guy who likes to win.
“Do you want to go to the game tonight?” Adrianna asks.
Nik looks surprised. “The hockey game in town?”
I give her a warning glare as she knows the deal. She belongs to me for the year and that means no dating.
She ignores the look I give her. “Yeah, thought it might be fun for a group of us to go.”
Hearing the word group makes me feel a little less angry, but I don’t like the way this kid checks her out.
“Sure, sounds good, as long as you can clear it with Principal Byrne.”
“That won’t be a problem. Eva will run it by him.”
Nik nods. “Cool, it must be a perk having a friend married to the principal.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Stop blabbing both of you,” I snap, nodding toward the court. “You should watch your fellow pupils play.”
Adrianna looks irritated, but they both fall silent and watch as Natalya and Alexander play their game. And I am thankful they’ve shut up. If she’s going to the game tonight, then so am I. I need to get Bly to go with me, which may be a bit of a challenge. He’s not that into Hockey, and Oak won’t go unless Eva does. But, I’m nothing if not determined.
After class, I head to the staff room and Bly’s already there. And instantly I know he’s in a bad mood, which means breaking the ice will be difficult. He slams shut the fridge so hard it rattles against the wall.
“What the fuck is wrong with you today, Bly?”
“Nothing,” he says, cracking open a coke can and drinking it.
The likelihood of getting him to agree to do anything when he’s like this is slim to none.
“You’ve been off for weeks now. What is it?” I ask.
Bly glares at me, as he hates me asking him questions when he’s like this. “Mind your own fucking business. Since when have I been into sharing and caring, you fucking fag?”
I chuckle, as he is in a terrible mood. “Okay, there’s definitely something up with you.” I hold my hands up as he glares at me even more. “Keep it to yourself. I don’t give a shit.”
The door to the staff room opens and Oak strides in, brows furrowed. “What are you two bickering about? Every time I come in here, you’re bickering like an old married couple.”
“Archer being a fucking asshole, as usual,” Bly says.
Oak laughs. “After all this time, I’d think the two of you would have got used to each other’s bullshit by now.”
“Any news yet on a substitute for math?” Bly asks.
I know that his workload has been bothering him, but he seems extra frustrated. It’s hard to believe that taking a class could put him in this bad a mood.
“A few leads, but you might need to give me until after Spring Break,” Oak says.
“That’s four weeks from now, for fuck’s sake,” Bly replies.
I don’t even want to think about how close spring break is, as it means two weeks without fucking Adrianna. The idea of not seeing her for any length of time, let alone two weeks, makes me feel sick to the stomach.
“I know. I’ve had trouble finding anyone who has the qualifications,” Oak says.
“Fuck the qualifications.” Bly spits. “We’re a secret and illegal academy for mafia heirs. Find someone who knows their math.”
He has a point, to be honest. Who cares whether the replacement is qualified to teach maths? It’s not like this place has any fucking rules, anyway.
“You have a point. I think you’ve given me an idea,” Oak says, a glint in his eye.
“Good, well, I hope that idea means I’ll be able to stop taking math class ASAP.”
Oak shrugs. “Hopefully.”
I clap him on the shoulder reassuringly. “It can’t be that bad.”
“It is impeding my time to dole out punishment. I’ve got less free periods and so I’m getting fewer students sent to me.”
My friend truly is unhinged. “You are fucking crazy. Did you know that?”
Bly nods. “Yes, and proud of it.”
“There’s a hockey game on tonight at the stadium in town. Either of you up for a guy’s night out?” I ask.
Oak shakes his head. “Sorry, I’ve got plans.”
“Fucking married life is cramping your style, Oak.” My eyes shift to Bly, expecting him to flat out refuse.
He nods. “Sure, I could do with a break from this place.”
The easy agreement surprises me, especially from Bly. I expected him to put up some resistance to going.
“Perfect, shall I drive?” I ask.
“I’ll order us a cab,” Bly says, taking a sip of his coke. “I want to drink and so do you, right?”
I think I’ll need a drink tonight. “Yeah, sure.”
“I’ll book it for seven o’clock out front.”
I wink. “See you then.” I walk out of the staff room and leave my two friends, heading toward the gym, where I’ve got junior combat class. Tonight, I’m going to make Adrianna regret being so loud about her plans in front of me.
I sense that she did it in an attempt to make me jealous, asking Nik in the way she did. An act that can’t go unpunished.