14. Kirin #2
He drew a slow breath and lifted a hand to wave at their brother.
Evan’s grin widened, waving his hand toward his team like a proud dad.
It had Kirin chuckling, especially when a few of the kids wobbled on their skates.
He’d always thought Evan was the best of them—kinder and gentler, yet somehow more competitive than he and Laurel combined.
Like Kirin, he’d inherited their father’s looks: tanned skin, dark hair, and storm-gray eyes.
“You humiliated me,” Laurel finally admitted.
“I didn’t mean to,” he said. “But I’m not sorry for defending Rose.”
Her head snapped toward him, eyes narrowing. “So you are defending her. You knew who she was, and you still took her side?”
“It’s not about sides. It’s about respect.”
Laurel let out a scoff. “What is it with this girl? Does she have a magic—”
“Don’t,” he warned, and something in his tone shut her up instantly. “You can hate what happened, but you don’t get to disrespect her.”
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the rink. “You actually like her?”
He didn’t answer right away, but when his phone buzzed, he fished it out of his pocket. Rose’s name flashed across the screen. The grin that tugged at his mouth was clearly answer enough.
Laurel saw it and scoffed, disgust twisting her features. “Oh my God. You do.”
Laurel huffed and looked back at the ice. Kirin rubbed a hand over his face. This was not going at all as he had hoped, and as Laurel ignored him, he opened the message thread.
Rose
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
He considered all the things that annoyed him. There was no way for him to determine which was the biggest, so he considered which one had annoyed him most recently.
Kirin
Going under the speed limit in the “fast lane.”
Rose
Oh my gosh, SAME.
What about not accelerating when getting on the freeway?
Kirin snorted, nodding along as he typed out his agreement.
Kirin
The WORST.
Rose
Completely unrelated, but is it illegal to throw someone’s phone out a window?
He lifted his eyebrows like she could see him, humming under his breath as he considered.
Kirin
Probably not? Just frowned upon.
Rose
Mmm…what if they’re attached to said phone?
That earned another snort, and Kirin shook his head in admonishment.
Kirin
Highly illegal. What’s going on?
Rose
Ainsley is playing her dance game at alarming levels in the living room even though the general agreement is whoever claims a room controls the noise level, and I was here first.
Kirin
Can’t she play that in her room?
Rose
She needs the space and the TV.
I guess I’ll just move into my room.
He could feel her sigh through the text and smirked.
Kirin
Have fun studying.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Laurel muttered, and he locked the phone, slipping it into his pocket. “You’re falling for her. This is so much worse than I thought.”
He hesitated, then said quietly, “I might be. I’m not sure yet.”
That landed between them like an anvil. The silence stretched until Laurel huffed.
“I don’t get it. Why not pick someone else?
Surely there are plenty of options. You and Maya have been doing”—she grimaced and shuddered—“the deed for years. She’s been bitching at me all week.
Why couldn’t you make that official? Why did you have to pick her? ”
“Maya and I weren’t like that, and she knows it. If she’s upset, that’s on her.” Kirin rubbed his hands over his face, exhausted from his sister’s inflexibility on this. He’d hoped she would accept his interest and move on. Clearly, he’d underestimated the depth of Laurel’s dislike. “Why not her?”
“She’s—” Laurel stopped herself, then blew out a breath.
“You know what she was like at Westmont. You know what that team was like. Aggressive, reckless. They all played dirty. She was part of that. And then when she got here at the start of the summer she was really standoffish like she thinks she’s better than us.
Don’t you think that’s a major red flag? ”
“She chose Westmont because she’s a legacy, Laurel. And even with that tie, she left it.” His tone was firm. “Has she played dirty since she transferred?”
“She got ejected a few weeks ago.”
“Because she was playing dirty?” he asked, but he doubted it. Rose didn’t seem like she had it in her. Exhaustion clung to her like a shroud. He’d bet something warranted the ejection. He just needed to get his sister to admit it.
It took a few minutes, Laurel’s jaw working like she was rolling around the truth in her mouth and hated the taste. “No, she retaliated against Westmont when they went after a freshman. They’d been harassing Rose all night, but she didn’t respond until they went after Kayla.”
“And that’s it?” he asked.
Laurel frowned. “After she got ejected, she got in their faces, and Coach had to call her off the pitch.”
“So she got ejected and then risked a second game suspension for defending her teammate,” he said, glancing her way. “You think that’s the same thing?”
Laurel’s thermos spun slowly between her palms as she sidestepped the question. “You don’t know her, Kirin.”