I’ve known Paxton nearly my entire life and yet barely know him at all. With him being two years older than Rae and me, he rarely spent time interacting with us. He had his own friend group, his own interests—that largely revolved around football—all of which allowed an easy barrier to be constructed and clear roles for us to play. I was Rae’s best friend. He was her brother, and never shall the two cross. I knew that if those roles blurred, I’d be doomed to experience one of two outcomes: fall head over heels for my best friend’s brother or forever be disappointed in the opposite sex. Therefore, as I got older, our roles became unwritten rules that enabled me to be polite and friendly and never get close enough to care about who he dated or the other details of his life. It’s been more challenging to abide by these rules over the past few years as Rae and Paxton have gotten closer, causing our paths to intersect at multiple points, harder yet since she began dating Lincoln.
“If I were in your shoes, I’d be looking for every excuse to nap in his bed.” She releases a frustrated growl. “Is he still dating what’s-her-name?”
“Candace? No. They broke up.”
I might know too many details of Paxton’s dating life.
Sophie’s eyes widen. “Broke up, broke up?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. They’ve done this a million times.”
Her lips tug into a disappointed frown. “That’s what I’ve heard.” She turns to look at Paxton again. “I’d like to sign up to be his rebound, but I can’t figure him out. I can’t tell if he’s the kinky threesome type or the wholesome boy next door who buys a promise ring to show his devotion.”
I try to shake her words that have my gaze drifting back to Pax.
“Hey,” Rae smiles as she reaches us, pulling a sweater around her body. “Hi, Sophie. It’s good to see you.”
“I was just drooling over your brother,” Sophie admits. “Have I mentioned how ridiculously cute it is that you’re dating Paxton’s best friend? If Poppy were to date Paxton, it would be the same in reverse.” Her eyes grow bright like she’s writing a movie and imagining this playing out in a fictional world, one where Paxton saw me as anything but his sister’s best friend that he consistently warned every guy on the team to stay away from.
“Pretty sure Pax and I couldn’t be any more platonic,” I say because that’s precisely what my walls and rules have ensured.
Rae grins. “He sees you as a third sister.”
“Well, since I’m clear of sibling attachments, can you guys offer any insight? Is it worth flirting with him? Should I give him my number? Or does he have like a million girls already lined up and waiting for him?” She takes another fleeting look toward Pax.
Rae shrugs. “I try not to get too involved in my brother’s dating life. But, he does have a thing for brunettes.”
The reminder has me feeling a wave of self-consciousness over my red hair before Sophie turns her attention to me. “Don’t look at me. I have no idea. I don’t even know why he and Candace broke up this time.” I look at Rae.
“Because she’s all drama,” Rae says.
This is a fact known widely at Brighton. Everyone who encounters Candace finds her memorable, but generally not for the right reasons. She’s addicted to drama and seeks it out like an addict, creating it when none exists.
“Speaking of drama, Hoyt brought over vodka and spiked the bobbing for apples,” Rae says, referring to another teammate who’s known for pushing the limits.
I smirk. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
She shakes her head. “Because he’s Hoyt.”
“What about you, Poppy? Are you dating anyone this year? You were kind of seeing that one guy last year, right?” She snaps. “Chase.”
I shake my head. “We kind of hung out a few times, but nothing came from it. He’s a nice guy, but we didn’t have enough in common.” That’s my diplomatic way of saying his immaturity toward relationships and life, in general, was exhausting. “What about you?”
“I was kind of hanging out with Gus Korhonen, but he seems to be allergic to responding to texts…”
I frown. “I’m sorry. That sounds like Chase. I didn’t even hate it at first,” I tell her. “I mean, I didn’t know if I wanted anything serious or exclusive, but it wasn’t like he was interested in casually dating. He was either blowing up my phone or ignoring me for a solid week.”
Sophie’s brow lowers. “Sounds like Gus.” She groans. “Why do athletes have to be such assholes?”
I peek at Paxton, who belts out a laugh as he talks with Ian. Last fall, when we started college, Pax issued a warning to Rae and me, telling us to avoid all athletes. His reasoning was sound, talking about how athletes are treated like celebrities. He forgot to mention that in some instances, this goes to their heads. With Chase, this was definitely the case, but it didn’t really matter. I was still recovering from my breakup with Mike, and college felt like an amusement park in comparison to high school—filled with endless possibilities that I wasn’t about to let Paxton’s concerns deter me from. I wasn’t worried about hearts and flowers. I wanted a guy to desire me the same way I desire Henry Cavill in my dreams.
“I’m so over mind games. I want to tell every guy that if he likes me, he likes me, and if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. It’s that simple. Why dance around the issue?” Sophie says.
“They should add that into orientation day,” I tell her.
Sophie laughs. “They really should.” Her eyes narrow with interest as she looks past me. “Oh, speak of the devil.” Her eyes connect with mine, a note of warning that
