“Except me.”
She tsked me, waving her finger in the air. “Don’t get cocky, Samantha. You never know. Someday, you might not be able to run.” She paused. “Like Raelynn.” She tilted her head to the side. “I hear you’re great friends with her now.”
“I hear you dropped her like a bad habit.”
She frowned. “I can’t stay by her side all day long. I still have to train and have a life.”
“I would think that’s completely understandable, except for the first time I visited her. She predicted you’d drop her like an anchor. She’s coming back to running, you know. She’s just out this year.”
“Is that what she said? That’s funny. That’s not what the doctors said. But hey, you were in the room when they were, right? Oh wait.” She dropped the pretend smile and politeness. “You weren’t. I was. Rae’s been my best friend since elementary school. I’m not dropping her as a friend, but I do have to live my life and continue to train.” She pulled her shawl tighter and raised her chin. “We’re meeting my father inside and some family friends. Excuse us, would you?”
She started forward.
“Rae’s not your friend,” I called after her.
She stopped, her back stiffened, and she slowly turned to me.
Her eyes were full of caution. She knew what I was going to say, but I had such pleasure saying it anyway. I made sure my voice was cold, like her.
“She’s in love with you, but you already know that.”
She sucked in her breath. “Do you know what you just did?”
Yes. Because when I’d visited Rae, she asked me to call Faith out on it. I nodded. “Trust me, I was given permission to say this to you. If you really do care about her, go talk to her. Her feelings matter.”
“I’m not some lesbian.”
“Right.” I nodded. “Because that’s the best reaction you can have when you find out your best friend since elementary school is in love with you. Say you’re not a lesbian.” I was struggling not to say too much, but I did add, “The loathing is mutual, you know. And mine just went up a whole other level. I love having you on my team.”
“It’s my team!” she snarled. “It’s not yours. It’ll never be yours.”
I saw Mason and Matteo approaching from the parking lot, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t just loathe Faith. I was beginning to truly hate her.
“If you don’t start beating me, I can only assume you mean to keep the team a different way. Tell me, Faith,” I chided, softly. I wanted to know. I wanted to see a crack in her mask. “If you were to take me down, how would you do it? A shove? Would you hope my ankle broke? Or a different way? How would you do it?”
Her ice-cold exterior remained intact. “I want to beat you in the truest way there is: I’m going to be faster than you. It’s just a matter of time before you feel me right behind you. Like I said before, I’ve never really had competition.”
This was the second time Faith referenced not having any competition. I’d sensed a reaction from Nettie the first time, but I ignored it. I looked this time, and she wasn’t glaring at me like a good sidekick. She was frowning at Faith, her arms hanging loose by her side. The shawl was slipping. She didn’t notice.
I jerked my head toward Nettie. “Look at that. Seems like at least one of your friends might not agree with you.”
“Sam,” Mason called.
He and Matteo stood at the door in jeans and Cain University shirts. They weren’t dressed up, but they didn’t need to be. Mason held his own, no matter what he wore. A commanding presence, and a slight shiver of danger clung to him. Nettie and Faith both reacted to his presence, and I wasn’t the only female to take all of him in. Nettie touched her stomach and flipped one of her curls over her shoulder.
“You okay?” he asked me.
I nodded. “Yeah.” I moved around the two girls.
Mason touched the small of my back, letting me precede him and Matteo back inside. I walked past the front desk, then stopped abruptly.
Valerie, Nate’s one-night stand, was waiting with a group to be seated. She was dressed the way Faith and Nettie were, in a shimmering dress. A bunch of others were with her, but Valerie was one of the only girls not standing next to a guy.
She turned and saw me. “Oh. Whoa—” She started to fall backward.
“Val!” A guy twisted around and caught her. He helped to right her. “Come on.”
She waved a hand, mumbling a thank you to him, but her eyes were stuck on me. She started to smooth out her dress, not noticing she’d caught the jacket of the guy who helped her. His suit jacket had opened, and she was raking it down her dress repeatedly.