"She cheated on me. He cheated on you. What do you say? Want to settle the score?"
***
Kate Wilson, a hot-headed Dragon striker, and Rosie Connelly, an uncredited behind the scenes Sea Lion captain; witness Kate's...
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Hazel started the next round by overshooting and whacking me on the chin with the ping-pong ball. She raised their fourth cup in our direction and winked at us before gulping it back.
Rosie's turn came next; she held a ball between her fingertips and took in a small, steadying breath. A loud bang knocked her off focus, causing her to toss the ball behind her and slip backward into the water at the same time. A giant splash whipped against my face, startling me enough to almost lose my balance.
Blue and red fireworks exploded in the sky above us. Its reflections danced over the lake and flickered over her face as she held her breath just below the water. At least she couldn't hear our rivals laughing at our expense from under there. She might've looked like a mermaid, but she sure as hell wasn't one with the water.
She surfaced shaking like a leaf. Even her lips quivered. It must've been a shock to the system. She gathered her bearings and brought the nearest red cup to her lips. Her eyes screwed shut; determined, if a little slow to chug the drink.
I never got an answer from her; did she not drink much or did she not drink at all? There was a vast difference between the two. If she drank sometimes, one drink wouldn't hurt her now. But she shouldn't have to drink because of a stupid game her ex roped her into if she didn't drink at all.
Her face told me all I needed to know.
I snatched the beer from her and sloshed the drink backwards so she didn't have the chance to take it back from me.
"Kate," she protested.
"You can't even stand upright sober," I pointed out, doing my best to keep my voice low to not embarrass her. She was my teammate, after all. If one of us was a laughingstock, both of us were.
"I got spooked by the fireworks. It won't happen again," she whispered back.
"If you drink, you'll face-plant and drown—"
"You're a literal lifeguard."
"—and saving you would go against every Dragon instinct inside me. Your dad would kill me if I watched you drown. Worse, he'd kick me off the team," I said before drinking from the cup and putting an end to the argument. "Besides, it wouldn't be fun to beat the Sea Lions if they're too busy grieving you."
She threw her hands up in an 'I give up' gesture and didn't make another move toward me.
"That is not part of the rules, and you know it," Hazel complained as I shuffled back and forth, trying to regain my balance in the water, and keep a grip of our second beer of the game at the same time. I drank the rest of the cup's contents, ignoring her comment and my jittery hands.
"She's right, you shouldn't have done that," Rosie agreed, voice strained.
"I'm not really into peer pressure," I said, wiping my face with the back of my hand.
