Playing Dirty

Chapter 9 — Too Close to Falling

Lena Carter

By the next week, everyone at Westbridge had noticed something was changing between them.

The problem?

Nobody knew exactly what.

But students weren’t stupid.

They noticed:

the lingering eye contact

the constant teasing

Ethan showing up at volleyball practice

Lena attending swim meets she previously ignored

Rumors spread quickly.

Lena hated rumors.

Especially when they were true.

“You know people think you’re secretly dating him,” Ava said casually during lunch.

Lena nearly dropped her fork.

“We are not dating.”

“Mhm.”

“We’re not.”

“You literally left his swim meet wearing his hoodie.”

Lena froze.

Right.

The hoodie.

That had been an accident.

Technically.

After late-night training two days earlier, Ethan had wrapped it around her shoulders because she was cold.

Then she forgot to give it back.

Now half the school apparently believed they were sleeping together.

Fantastic.

Meanwhile Ethan looked entirely too entertained by the rumors.

Which annoyed her more.

“You’re enjoying this,” Lena accused later that evening.

Ethan leaned lazily against the gym wall.

“Maybe a little.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You keep saying that like it’ll stop being true.”

Lena tried to stay irritated.

Failed immediately when Ethan stepped closer.

Close enough to make her breathing uneven again.

“You wore my hoodie all day.”

“It was cold.”

“You smell like me now.”

Her face heated instantly.

Ethan smirked slowly.

Dangerous.

Unfair.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she muttered.

“Like what?”

“Like you know exactly what you’re doing.”

“I definitely know what I’m doing.”

His voice dropped lower near the end.

And suddenly the tension between them shifted again.

Slower this time.

Heavier.

Lena’s pulse reacted instantly as Ethan’s fingers lightly brushed her wrist.

Then her hand.

Then intertwined with hers carefully.

The softness of it surprised her most.

Because Ethan always acted reckless.

But with her?

He was careful.

Like she mattered.

The realization hit dangerously hard.

“You’re staring again,” Ethan murmured quietly.

“I’m thinking.”

“That usually ends badly for me.”

Lena laughed softly.

Then Ethan’s expression changed slightly.

More serious.

“Come with me.”

“Where?”

“You’ll see.”

Normally Lena would’ve argued.

Instead—

she followed him.

Which was probably proof she’d completely lost her mind.

Ethan led her through the empty sports building toward the indoor pool.

The lights were dimmed low, water reflecting softly against the walls.

The entire place was empty.

Quiet.

Beautiful.

Lena looked around slowly.

“It’s closed.”

“Relax, Captain. I break rules professionally.”

She shook her head, smiling despite herself.

Ethan sat at the pool’s edge, feet dipping into the water before glancing up at her.

“You coming or what?”

Lena sat beside him carefully.

Their shoulders brushed immediately.

Electric.

Always electric.

For a while neither spoke.

The silence between them no longer uncomfortable.

Just intimate.

And somehow that scared Lena even more.

“You ever think about leaving all this?” Ethan asked quietly.

She frowned slightly. “Westbridge?”

“Everything.”

The vulnerability in his voice caught her off guard.

Lena looked at him carefully.

For once Ethan didn’t look arrogant.

Didn’t look confident.

Just tired.

And suddenly she understood something painful:

He carried pressure too.

Different from hers.

But just as heavy.

“My parents already planned my entire future,” she admitted quietly.

Ethan looked at her.

“What do you want?”

Nobody asked her that.

Ever.

The answer stuck painfully in her chest.

“I don’t know anymore.”

Ethan’s gaze softened.

Then gently—

he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly.

Lena’s heartbeat nearly stopped.

Because somehow that felt more intimate than making out ever had.

And that terrified her completely.