Breaking the Ice

Chapter Twenty-Six: Solidarity

Marcus's POV

She tasted like warm vanilla and strawberries. As our lips molded together, the tightness in my chest had eased into a slow, ebbing flow of heat that glided down to the pit of my stomach. I felt Anna's fingers grip my loosened tie as she pulled me in closer to her, our bodies fitting so perfectly together.

"Seriously guys, get a room. People sweat and puke here," Peter's annoying voice brings the kiss to a smothering halt as I feel Anna's breath feather across my lips.

We were still standing meshed together and Anna was looking up at me like she was daring me to make the first move to part us. When I c****d an eyebrow at her, her brown orbs began to sparkle and my hand behind her neck gave a little squeeze of encouragement.

"If you two don't break it up, I will," Damian's voice was stern but held a slight hint of jest.

Letting out a resigned sigh, Anna let go of my tie and took a step back out of my grasp as the cool air from the industrial fan on the other side of the court replaced the comforting warmth. Peter and Damian slowly walked over to us, Peter sporting a cheeky grin while Damian was pretending to look at something on his phone.

"So, Bella looked like she was going to melt her nose when she stormed out of here. Did you tell her that her plastic surgeon was actually a hobo from Cuba, Anna?" Peter and Anna shared a high five as Damian rolled his eyes while he fought to keep the lifting quirk of his lips.

"She's apparently here for the rest of this semester. She volunteered to coach the figure skating team," Anna said as Damian chucked his phone into his jeans pocket and listened while Peter pulled out a cigarette from his jacket.

I reached for the cigarette, but Anna got there before me, staring at my youngest brother like a mother hen ready to pluck his eyes out.

"I thought you promised you would give these up?" Anna asked Peter as his head drooped in shame.

"I'm sorry. It's my coping thing when the Ramsey sisters are around. I nearly died in Houston. I think I drank ten times more because Damian kept telling me he took pictures to send to you."

Everyone looked over at Damian, who tried to avoid our eyes. I knew how much effort it took for Damian to come around to accepting Anna and to put the dark thoughts that surrounded her and our mother all those years ago, behind him. Anna walked over and pulled Damian into a bear hug as his eyes went wide, and he awkwardly hugged her back.

"I knew I could count on you, D! I'm definitely getting you a crazy good birthday present next month!" Anna smiled as she ruffled Damian's hair, and he pretended to swat her hand away.

Anna then turned towards me and walked over to stand beside me, her arm wrapping around my waist like it was the most casual thing to do. When Damian and Peter's eyes landed on us, she tried to pull away, but I held onto her hand around me for dear life as my own arm snaked around her shoulder, pulling her flush against my side.

"So what are we going to do? We thought we could ride out the time, but it looks like the Ramsey's are staying longer. We have no choice but to go with the extreme version of the plan now," Damian intoned as I felt Anna's hand flex against my ribs.

"The original plan was to play through the motions until they left. That worked for a while, but it won't for the long term. We need to up the game. Bella is hell-bent on making sure that she stays in your father's good graces by promising to keep me away from Marcus," Anna's voice was soft but steady and my heart did something close to a victory dance by the way her words sounded. Fierce. In control.

"So, how are we going to play this?" Peter asked as I felt myself holding my breath. My mind was telling me that Anna may eventually want to stop the whole 'pretend couple' thing, while my stupid heart was hoping she'd hang on just long enough for me to convince her that the pretense could lead to something so much more permanent.

"I'm going to do what she wants me to do. I'm going to help her coach the figure skating team," Anna declared, just as Courtney burst through the gym doors, her dark waves flowing around her shoulders as her black boots skidded to a halt beside Damian.

"Not without me, you're not," Courtney added as she propped a hand on Damian's shoulder. I also didn't miss the fact that my brother allowed her to do it. No flinching. No shuffling. He just stood there, like they did it every day.

"Court, you don't attend classes here. You can't coach anything here," Anna laughed as her best friend flicked a stray hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Of course I can. I signed up for vocational credit. It's very much allowed," Courtney wagged her eyebrows at Anna as Peter whooped beside them and a smirk pulled across Damian's face.

"Maybe it's a good thing. I'm pretty sure Bella would have Portia and Elena around. They do their best work together as a threesome," I added as Anna angled her head to look up at me. The moment our eyes clashed, the warmth engulfed my stomach again, and I knew for a fact she felt something too, because she quickly broke eye contact and shifted from my hold to walk over and embrace Courtney.

"Thanks Court. We can show them that a twosome is so much better," Anna's eyes darted to me for a second before she and Courtney led the way out of the gym and out into the halls lined with lockers.

Courtney and Anna then left to go home and Peter and Damian followed me to my car. We drove in silence all the way home. Everyone's mind was probably trying to figure out what was going to happen next. This entire situation was now so much more than a fake relationship to help Anna from that creep Carter. Now that the Ramseys were involved, the game would be a lot more complicated. Bella and her sisters never play fair, and I'll be damned if I let them hurt Anna in any way.

"We need to make sure Anna and Courtney don't get hurt by this," Damian's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as I put the vehicle in park in our front yard.

"I definitely don't want that," I say as I watched the serious expression on my brother's face deepen. "We'll need someone at Hillcrest to be our eyes and ears."

"I know just the person," Peter added as he pushed himself between us from the back seat. "But I'm not sure if Marcus would like his rival to spend more time with Anna."

Damian and I snapped our heads at the same time as Peter grinned wickedly.

I changed my mind. Solidarity is for losers. I'm going to kick his ass....