Claimed By My Ex's Evil Rival

2.

Sloane

The problem with having a hot boyfriend is that other people have eyes, and unfortunately, Jace Hayes has a f*****g lot of admirers.

“NUMBER NINETEEN, YOU SEXY BASTARD!” a girl screams somewhere behind me, nearly making me choke on my drink.

Thea slowly turns her head toward me. “Did she just call your boyfriend a sexy bastard?”

“Shut up.”

“Should I remind her that his d**k is technically under your jurisdiction?”

“THEA!”

“What? I'm protecting your property rights.”

I cover my face while she laughs like a woman who escaped a psychiatric facility. We've barely been sitting for twenty minutes, and I'm already reconsidering every decision that brought me here.

The arena is packed, with blue-and-white flags waving above the stands, the crowd stomping their feet against the metal bleachers, and the announcer's voice booming through the speakers. The Frost Wolves are playing their biggest rivals, and apparently, half the university has decided to witness history. Or watch Jace sweat. Honestly, I can't blame them for the second option because my boyfriend is unfairly hot.

Jace glides across the ice with his blond hair tucked beneath his helmet and his blue eyes focused on the puck. He's broad-shouldered, fast, and annoyingly good at making a hockey uniform look like something designed specifically to ruin my ability to think. I know what's under that jersey, all of it. I've seen him shirtless enough times to have developed several highly inappropriate opinions about his abdominal muscles, which I'd happily demonstrate if we weren't surrounded by several thousand people and one unhinged best friend.

He skates past the boards, lifting his helmet slightly to wipe his forehead, and I catch a glimpse of his face. Gosh, I love that face, from his stupidly pretty eyes and straight nose to the mouth that has kissed me breathless in the back of his car and whispered things that still make me blush when I remember them in public. My thighs press together. Get it together, Sloane.This is a hockey game, not a private screening of Fifty Shades of f*****g Grey. I can't afford to get my panties wet here.

A burst of squealing pulls me out of my thoughts, and I follow the direction of a girl's phone to find Alessia Devereaux standing near the players bench, looking like she stepped straight out of a runway. Her blonde hair falls in perfect waves, her blue eyes sparkle, and her fitted team jacket does absolutely nothing to hide how effortlessly pretty she is. She's holding a water bottle and a white towel, and when Jace skates toward the bench during a break, she practically bounces over to him, handing him both with those big, innocent eyes that could probably convince a judge to release a serial killer.

Jace smiles back at her, a real smile, by the way, not the quick, distracted ones he's been giving me lately.

My stomach tightens as a girl behind us sighs, “Look at the golden couple. They'd be perfect together.”

“Right? Star player and head cheerleader. It's literally a romance movie.”

“Plus, she's Coach Devereaux's daughter. Their families would be perfect together.”

Thea's head whips around. “Excuse me? Are you people sharing one brain cell, or is there a sign-up sheet?”

The girls stare at her, and one asks, “What's your problem?”

“My problem is that you're shipping two people who aren't even dating. Go watch Netflix if you want a fictional romance. At least then you'll have the decency to admit you're making s**t up.”

One of them scoffs. “They're both single. What's wrong with saying they'd make a cute couple?”

My heart drops so hard it practically hits the floor. Both single.

I stare at the ice while Thea sits forward and yells at them, “They're not a couple.”

“Then why is she always with him?” another girl asks.

“Exactly,” the first girl says. “They make sense.”

I swallow, hating how much those three words hurt. Of course they make sense. Alessia is beautiful, popular, and the head cheerleader. Her father coaches the team, and she knows everyone who matters. She belongs in Jace's world, fitting perfectly into the photographs, parties, and glossy little life he's building for himself.

Me? I'm just fat and ugly. f**k. I hate comparing myself to her, and I hate that I can list a dozen things I like about myself and still feel smaller when I look at another girl beside Jace. Most of all, I hate that a tiny, ugly voice in my head keeps asking whether he'd be happier if I looked more like her.

“Don't,” Thea mutters beside me.

“Don't what?”

“Do that thing where you start convincing yourself you're less than some blondie with a daddy complex.”

I stare at her, and she shrugs. “What? I have eyes.”

I let out a shaky laugh. The truth is, Alessia hasn't always been around. After Jace became the Frost Wolves' golden boy, she started showing up everywhere, always with a convenient excuse. Coach's daughter, his best friend, the person who needed to discuss team events after training or organize victory dinners. She knew about me because Jace told her last year, yet she still managed to monopolize his time until I felt like I needed to book an appointment to see my own damn boyfriend. How pathetic.

Whenever I brought it up, Jace kissed my forehead and told me I was overthinking.

“Alessia is just a friend, babe,” He'll say. “Don't make this a thing. You know you're the one I want.”

And because I love him so f*****g much, because he's Jace, I keep believing him, even when believing him hurts.

The whistle blows again, and the players return to the ice. I force myself to focus on the game because Jace is brilliant, and I can't even pretend otherwise. He moves confidently, reading the other team's formation before they can react, and when he assists another goal, the entire arena rises to its feet.

I scream until my voice cracks. “THAT'S MY MAN!”

Thea gives me a look. “Girl, you're one more shout away from announcing your anniversary and favorite s*x position to the entire university.”

“I'm celebrating!”

“Celebrate quieter before someone asks for your marriage certificate.”

I laugh, wiping at my eyes, and then the final whistle blows. The Frost Wolves win, sending the arena into chaos as music blasts through the speakers, people jump up and down, and the players crowd together on the ice. Jace pulls off his helmet, his blond hair damp with sweat, and flashes a grin that makes my heart do something medically concerning.

He's so f*****g incredible, and I want to be the first person he looks for.

Thea nudges me toward the bench, where the players are gathering. “Go.”

I blink. “What?”

“You brought water and a towel, didn't you? Go give them to your man before blondie claims him or something.”

My hands tighten around the bottle and towel in my bag as I hesitate. What will happen if people stare or Jace doesn't want me there?

“Sloane,” Thea says firmly. “You're his girlfriend. Act like it.”

The words hit me right in the chest. His girlfriend. For once, I want to feel like one, so I stand, smooth my sweater, and make my way down toward the players area. My heart is pounding harder with every step. Jace is laughing with his teammates when I reach the edge of the boards. He looks up, and our eyes meet. For one glorious second, I see the boy I fell in love with.

Then Alessia appears beside him, holding out a fresh bottle of water. “Jace! You were f*****g amazing!”

I stop, and my fingers tighten around the bottle I brought for him.

One of his teammates grins. “Damn, Hayes. You've got your own personal cheerleader. Just marry her already!”

The boys erupt into laughter, and Alessia giggles, touching Jace's arm. “Stop it! You're embarrassing me.”

Jace laughs, but his eyes flick toward me. He sees the bottle in my hand and sees me standing there, waiting. For a moment, nobody moves, but I swallow the lump in my throat, harden my heart, and step forward, holding out my bottle too.

“Here, Jace.”

Please pick mine. Just this once, please pick me.

His teammates exchange looks before someone starts chanting Alessia's name. Another joins in, then another, until the whole group is calling, “Alessia! Alessia! Alessia!”

My stomach twists as Jace looks between us, and for one stupid, desperate second, I think he might choose me. Then he reaches for Alessia's bottle.

“Thanks, Ally.”

My smile dies before it can form. Alessia beams, rises onto her toes, and presses her lips to his in a kiss. The entire group erupts.