Rival Darling: A Young Adult Hockey Romance (The Darling Devils Series)

IT WAS AMAZING how quickly you could become repulsed by someone you once thought might be the love of your life. One moment, all you can think about is his warm brown eyes and soft dark hair. The next, you realize his hair is actually a little greasy, and his eyes are closer to the color of mud than honey. Even his voice, which was once soft and melodic suddenly sounds more like the whining purr of a drone.

My newfound feelings of disgust for Jeremy were only exacerbated in the week following our breakup as he seemed to embrace the egotistical jock stereotype I’d always tried to avoid. Gone was the sweet boy I’d fallen for over the summer, and out of the shadows emerged a new beast—Jerkemy.

I couldn’t seem to escape him. It was like he was everywhere. At school, he seemed a little bit louder than usual in classes and laughed slightly harder in the corridors when I was near. His sweet summer smiles had disappeared, and in their place, I saw leering looks as he checked out every girl that passed. It made me want to throw up.

He had a constant rotation of girls hooked on his arm, “consoling” him. And given the ease with which he joked and laughed with his friends, it appeared as though I was already nothing more than a distant memory. I wished I could forget our relationship just as easily, but I was still trying to figure out exactly who I’d been dating these last few months.

“If hockey doesn’t work out for him, Jeremy should go into politics,” Nicole said as the two of us watched his latest performance at lunch. “That guy knows how to spin a story in his favor.”

Jeremy had been telling anyone who would listen to him, which was, well, everyone at school, how I’d broken his heart. And he was currently lamenting the sad tale to some junior who’d sauntered over to his table. He had an arm draped over her shoulders, and while his eyes were big and heartfelt when he looked at her, he kept turning to wink at his sniggering friends.

‘Surely she’s not falling for that act,” I said.

“You fell for that act,” Nicole replied.

“He wasn’t nearly this obnoxious and this obvious around me, was he?” I didn’t give Nicole a chance to answer my hypothetical question because a part of me already knew what she’d say. “Besides, that girl looks smarter than me. Ten bucks says she tries to get away from him asap.”

“Get away from him?” Nicole snorted. “Ten bucks says she tries to get closer.”

I turned in my chair to continue watching the show. I kept waiting for the girl to scoff and walk off or, better still, laugh at how pathetic Jeremy was. But instead, her eyes were growing wider and filling with sympathy.

“Oh no,” I groaned as she pulled him in for a hug.

“Winner!” Nicole crowed. “She barely lasted a minute. You should already know never to bet against me.”

“Apparently, I’m determined to learn things the hard way this year,” I grumbled as I turned my attention to my lunch and took a bite of my pizza slice. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Jeremy can charm anyone. It’s only now I see his talent for what it really is: manipulation.”

Nicole nodded. “He sure knows exactly what to say to make someone like him.”

“Totally,” I agreed. “And I fell for his act hook, line, and sinker.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. He is very convincing when he wants to be,” Nicole replied.

“I guess.” It still didn’t make me feel much better. I should have known something was off with Jeremy once I realized my friends didn’t like him. The one consolation was that I was free of him now.

“Hey,” Mia said as she joined us. She plopped down onto the seat beside me, letting out a sigh as she placed her lunch tray on the table. Her nose scrunched as she scrutinized the salad on her plate.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as she picked up her fork and started poking at the food.

“They only had salad left. A salad! Do I look like a rabbit?” She practically yelled the words as she stabbed a piece of lettuce and lifted it in the air. “This is what happens when you have a debating meeting at lunch.”

I laughed and swapped her plate with mine. “Here.”

“Vi, I can’t take your pizza.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind salad, and I already had a slice. Plus, I owe you after getting you in trouble with Luke.”

My uncle wasn’t happy when he found out I’d gone to Danny’s Garage without him, and he’d accused poor Mia of being an accomplice. She hadn’t even gone inside, and she certainly hadn’t wanted to be there. And yet, she’d landed in trouble right beside me.

By some miracle, neither one of us were grounded, and I think it was mostly because I’d reminded Luke that we were supposed to be building trust. He needed to have confidence in my ability to take care of these things myself. However, he also reminded me that I had to meet him halfway and trust him enough to actually follow his advice every now and then. It was a typical Luke response, but I understood where he was coming from, and he hadn’t mentioned it since. Still, I hated I’d gotten Mia in trouble.

“You sure?” Mia asked. “I think Dad’s already over it.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” I said. “Besides, I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”

Mia glanced in Jeremy’s direction before giving me a sympathetic look. I didn’t need to follow her gaze to know he was still chatting up the junior girl. “Don’t let him get to you,” she said. “I’m beginning to think he’s only putting on such a big show so he can win you back.”

“What?” I shook my head in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“Haven’t you noticed the way he’s always checking to see if you’re watching?”

“No…”

“Well, he’s been doing it all week. And the way he keeps going on about how much he still cares for you. He’s clearly trying to get you back.”

“How can he be trying to get me back if he hasn’t even talked to me?”

Mia shrugged. “He’s probably biding his time. Giving you a few days to calm down and realize how much you miss him.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen.”

“Obviously. But he doesn’t know that.”

I couldn’t decide if Mia was reading the situation completely wrong or if Jeremy was arrogant enough to believe I might be able to get past what he’d done. I prayed, for both our sakes, he wasn’t planning to win me back. There was no way I was giving him another chance.

“Let’s just hope you’re wrong,” I finally said to Mia.

“I don’t think I am,” she replied. “But I hope so too.” She sighed and gave me a grateful smile as she went to take a bite of the pizza I’d given her. “Enough about Jeremy. We have much more important things to talk about. Like Violet’s first bonfire party this Saturday. You’re coming, right?”

I groaned. “Not you too.”

Her brow furrowed with confusion as she glanced at Nicole. “Have you already started trying to convince her to come with us?”

“Nope. Not me,” Nicole replied. “I figured I’d wait for you. You’re far more persuasive.”

Mia turned to me, an expectant look on her face. She clearly wanted to know who had mentioned the party to me, but I wasn’t ready to tell her about Reed’s invite. I decided it would be better to try to avoid the whole thing entirely.

“The fact you think I need persuading tells me everything I need to know about bonfire nights. Besides, it’s been a tough week. I don’t think I’m in a bonfire party mood.”

“But they’re so fun,” Mia replied. “Pretty much everyone goes. From Sunshine Hills and Ransom. You can’t miss it.”

“It sounds like a recipe for disaster,” I said. “I thought kids from Sunshine Hills and Ransom hated each other.” I could still remember the tension in the room at Summer’s party when Reed and his brothers arrived.

“Not on bonfire nights,” Nicole explained. “They’re kind of like a neutral territory, and since the parties are so good, no wants to mess that up.”

“That’s right,” Mia added. “Annabelle Doyle’s family owns a huge farm outside town, and she hosts the parties out in one of the fields with her brother, Jasper. He goes to Ransom, but she’s here on a scholarship. They have friends at both schools, so they make it work. Anyone who starts shit on bonfire nights is banned from returning. Please come, I promise you’ll have a good time.”

“What if Jeremy’s there?”

“If you worry about that, you won’t go to a party for the rest of your senior year,” Mia said. “Besides, it’s in a big-ass field, and there will be tons of people, so it shouldn’t be hard to avoid him.”

I still didn’t feel convinced, and it didn’t help that I knew Reed was going to be there. He made me nervous, and I wasn’t quite sure why. He’d been nothing but nice to me so far despite the fact Mia was adamant I should steer well clear of him. I hadn’t listened to her warnings about Jeremy, and that turned out to be a huge mistake. So, Reed was just going to have to survive without his jacket a while longer.

“I still think I’d rather spend Saturday night with a tub of ice cream,” I said. “But you guys go, and you can tell me all about it on Sunday.”

The end-of-lunch bell rang before Mia could say anything else, and her eyes narrowed on me. “This conversation isn’t over,” she said. “I’ll convince you yet.”

“We’ll see,” I murmured, but I didn’t like her chances.

The cafeteria emptied quickly, and the three of us all had different classes, so we went our separate ways. I hurried to my locker to pick up the books I needed, but I froze when I rounded the corner and it came into view down the corridor. Jeremy was leaning against my locker, waiting for me.

I briefly considered turning around and running in the opposite direction. But Mia’s advice was still clear in my mind. She’d told me not to let him get to me, so I squared my shoulders and continued to my locker.

“What do you want, Jeremy?” I demanded when I reached him. My words were laced with hostility, but he seemed completely unaffected by them. He gave me a timid smile as if my sharp tone was nothing more than a gentle breeze passing by. Just a few days ago, I might have melted at that smile. But not now. Not anymore.

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” he said.

A few people glanced our way as they passed, but thankfully no one was within earshot as they were all too busy hurrying to their next class.

“I’m doing fine,” I said. “And I’m late for class.”

I reached for my locker door, and he reluctantly edged out of my way.

“I’ll walk you there,” he suggested. Was he really not going to take the hint?

I did my best to ignore him, but it was a little difficult when he was leaning against the locker next to mine, watching me search for my books mere inches away.

“Please,” he said. “Can we just talk for a sec?”

I stubbornly kept my gaze on the contents of my locker. “What’s there to talk about? We’re over.”

“Come on, Vi. Don’t be like that. We belong together, you know that. Yes, I messed up, but you’ll get over it.”

My blood started to boil, thick and hot with anger. I couldn’t believe the nerve of him. He’d been openly flirting with another girl in the cafeteria moments ago. Was he seriously delusional enough to think he still had a chance with me? Any talk of us getting back together needed to come to an end, so I turned to him.

“Jeremy, you cheated on me. If that’s not a sign we don’t belong together, then I don’t know what is. I’m not over it. I don’t plan to get over it. We’re done, and nothing is going to change that.”

He visibly winced. “How many times do I have to tell you it was a mistake? I’d had a few drinks, and I wasn’t thinking. I would never do that to you again.”

“I know,” I said. “Because I won’t give you the chance.”

“Violet.” His voice grew lower and shook slightly, revealing the intensity of his emotions. “I fell for you this summer, and you’re the only girl I want to be with. I know I’m not perfect, but give me a chance, and I’ll show you I can be better.”

“I fell for someone this summer too,” I replied. “But it wasn’t the guy standing before me.”

My hands were shaky as I shoved my books into my bag. Did he really have to stand so close while he professed his feelings for me?

“I’m still the same guy,” he insisted.

He reached for me again, but I stepped back from him. “Just leave me alone, Jeremy.”

He grunted, and the tenderness in his eyes vanished. “I can see you’re still angry,” he said flatly. “And I’m trying to be understanding, but I can only be patient for so long.”

“Is that what you’ve been doing this week? Being patient?”

“You need to get over this, Vivi. Or you will lose me. And like I told you before, you’ll regret it.”

“My name is Violet. And I’m quite sure I’ll never regret it.” I slammed my locker shut and walked away before Jeremy could get another word in.

He must have lost his mind if he thought I’d get back with him. Especially when the way he’d acted this week made me question if he’d ever cared about me at all. Did he honestly believe that parading around school with other girls would make me reconsider? That I could get over him cheating so fast?

More importantly, was I seriously going to miss a night out with my friends to curl up with a tub of ice cream and mourn the loss of this jerk? The bonfire was looking more and more appealing. And I refused to let a stupid hockey player ruin another night for me.

I just had to ignore the fact it had been a certain rival hockey captain that had invited me to the bonfire in the first place.