LOGIN~RHEA~ “Are you guys going to make out or race?” Kai's voice snapped me out of my trance and I jumped away from Zander.“No making out in front of me” Coach yelled from behind and I could feel the heat rising up in my cheeks.“I'll go in first,” I said again.He grabbed my hand this time and I used him as support as I got in. Soon after, we were all strapped in and ready to go.“One of the coaches is already at the finish line and I want everyone to play fairly, okay? Remember, there are no rules. Just get to the finish Line” Coach announced and my nerves rose up again.“Good luck, Rhea!” Aisha yelled and I smiled at her because no words could come out.“Remember, you paddle left and I'll paddle right okay?” I heard Zander say but the minute the coach Jones blew the whistle, I completely forgot his words.“Go!” Coach yelled and I plunged my paddle into the water with all the strength I had. “We are going to win this” I announced then paddled again without giving Zander time to rea
~RHEA~ I pulled my hand out of both their holds and took a step back.“I promise I'm okay. It didn't hurt that much” I told both of them and Mason was the first to break the contact as he turned to me with a smile.“Be careful, Okay? Why didn't you have the chefs prepare something for you?” He asked and I opened my mouth to speak but Zander beat me to it.“She wanted to prepare something for me. Problem?” He asked in a low tone and suddenly, it felt like the temperature in the room dropped.Could someone tell me what was going on? Were they fighting?“Okay” Kai walked up to them, placed his hands on their chest and pushed them away from each other.“Before we get heated up, what don't we get ready for the Canoe relay? Everyone is betting on who they think is going to win. Of course Mason and I are leading” Kai said with a smug look.“And who's losing?” I asked and he glanced between Zander and I.“I'm not allowed to say” He muttered and I let out a sigh. Those guys were totally unde
~RHEA~ I had expected to see Zander beside me when I woke up but instead, I woke up to an empty space on the bed.I let out a yawn as I slowly sat up while glancing around.“Zander?” I called out and in that moment, he walked in through the door, sweating and breathing hard.“You're awake” He uttered as he walked towards the open kitchen to grab a bottle of water.“You went for a run?” I asked as I got out of bed.“Yes, couldn't sleep" Was all he said and I began to feel bad.I was invading his space and he probably wasn't used to that.“Do you know when the relay will start?” I asked as I walked over to him.“Soon” He responded and I frowned. He was still being cold.“How about I make us breakfast? What would you like to eat?” I asked with a smile.“You don't have to do that. There are chefs here” He told me and my smile faltered. “Oh… but I'd like to still cook for you at least as a thank you for letting me in your space… twice” I told him and he chugged down the water before his
~ZANDER~ I instantly regretted my words when I saw the look on her face.Had I been too harsh? Fuck, why did I care if I was being too harsh? It was true, wasn't it?Her eyes gathered with tears and I had expected her to cry but instead, she smiled.“I deserve that and I agree, I am pathetic but I'm trying to be better. Believe it or not, I came here for you and for the remainder of this trip, you are going to have to tolerate me” She uttered then turned away And plopped herself on the couch.“Goodnight” She said as she got comfortable and I sighed while massaging my temples.“Get up and get on the damn bed” I muttered.“I'm comfortable here…”“If you think I'm going to let you sleep on the couch then you're out of your damn mind. I'm not a gentleman but I know right from wrong” I told her and she slowly turned to me with a frown.“Then where would you sleep? On the couch? I can't let you…”“I said I knew right from wrong, not that I was a good samaritan. The bed is big Enough for
~RHEA ~ Zander glanced between us silently before he walked away.How long had he been standing there?I didn't see him today the rest of the time and just spent time walking around with Aisha and familiarising myself with everyone else.I didn't feel judged here nor mocked so it was easy to warm up to them. Even Kai wasn't so hostile anymore.“I realized I might have been a little harsh to you” Kai said as he sat down beside on lounger chairs.“I deserved it” I responded and he let out a sigh.“True…” I rolled my eyes with a smile. “But I could have been kinder with my words especially now that I'm seeing that you are really trying to make it up to him” “I messed up and I know that” I confessed.“It's not going to be easy as Zander is very stubborn person but I'm Rooting for you. We are all tired of Mr grumpy pants” He said and a few others guys agreed with him which made me giggle.“It's getting late, shouldn't you be heading to bed?” I glanced up and saw Mason towering over me.
~RHEA~ “I don't think this is a good idea, Aisha” I muttered as I glanced at the guys as they huddled around the coach, probably discussing their allocations.Zander stormed out after what Coach said and I haven't seen him since.“Of course it's a good idea, Rhea. Have you ever heard of the one bed troupe?” Heather uttered from the phone.I had immediately called her earlier as Aisha excluded ourselves from the guys to discuss.“The what?” I asked with a confused tone and she sighed.“Fuck, I forgot you don't read”“Hey…”“Either way, being in the same room with Zander is exactly what you both need. I promise you, you guys are going to come back to campus attached to the hip” She said and I let out a sigh.“I don't know, Heather. He looked pretty mad…”“Can I speak on this?” Aisha interrupted my words.“Please talk some sense into her” Heather muttered through the phone.“You came on the trip to make it up to him and to get Zander back, didn't you?” She asked and I nodded.“I did bu
~RHEA~ “He left you on the curb?” Heather screeched, horrified, as she led me up to her room.I had called her earlier and she had immediately given me the location of her dorm and luckily, she had taken my luggage with her.“Technically, I got out of his car and he can't exactly force me” I mut
~RHEA~ Girlfriend?“Girlfriend?” Heather, Chase and Sienna echoed as they stared at me like I knew a fuck about what was going on.The murmurs began as everyone in the crowd stared at us with wide eyes and I could see the questions in their eyes but they seemed too scared to speak.Before I could
~RHEA~ I had blacked out from that day.The last thing I remembered after running out of the stadium was calling my dad while hysterically crying.It wasn't the silent tears I had grown accustomed to, it was ugly and bitter. The kind that clawed its way out my chest until breathing itself hurt.
~RHEA~ “You know how much I want you, Rhea. You know how much I want to fuck you” Chase murmured as he pressed me up against the wall, sliding his fingers down my thigh.“Tell me what you want” He whispered into my ear and my heart slammed rationally against my ribcage as I stared up at him.“I







