Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

So, she left. She let me win.
She just let me win. Just like that.
Amy and Krisjen talk, and I just stare at my phone, my thumb hovering
over the screen and my head spinning in a million different directions, so
much so that I don’t know what I’m doing.
The allure of her will be gone now. That’s good. Whatever my obsession
was, she did me a favor. I can concentrate on other things: boys, friends,
getting ready for the ball and prom and college…
It’s over.
“You get to play now!” Amy argues, and I snap my attention back to my
friends. “Why are you whining?”
“I like my minimal position, thank you,” Krisjen says. “I can’t play
Jaeger’s. Especially against Gibbon’s Cross.”
“Yeah,” Amy sighs, agreeing. “Jaeger was good for something, I guess.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, my chest tightening painfully. I can’t… I can’t.
I leave, whipping open the door and heading back into the locker room.
“Clay!” Amy shouts after me.
But I keep going.
I don’t have to get angry about this. I’m not a toddler. She’s leaving the
team high and dry, but other than that, it’s no loss. I drove her out. I did what
I set out to do. I win.
So why do I want to kick every door I see? I pass Megan in the locker
room, expecting a dirty look, but once she sees my face, a slight smile graces
hers.
She gets to have her now. No one will know.
Stripping off my clothes, I wrap a towel around myself and carry my
caddie into a shower stall. Closing the curtain, I turn on the water, breathing
in and out as I wet my hair and let the hot water soothe me. I close my eyes,
my shoulders heavy and my head feeling like it weighs a hundred pounds. I
just want to sit down.
I just want to—
But all of a sudden, the rings on the shower rod slide together again. I pop
my eyes open, spin around, and see Liv stepping into the private stall with
me. My heart leaps as she closes the curtain behind her and approaches me,
holding her towel to her body.
For a moment, I’m flooded with relief. She’s here. She didn’t leave.
I find my voice, confident again and refusing to smile, even though I want