Chapter 9 CROSSED LINES
Shawn’s POV
Avery’s voice cut through the locker room instantly, sharp enough to snap me back to reality.
For a second, I freeze.
Rafe’s body is still pressed against mine, both of us breathing hard like we’d forgotten where we were. My hand was still gripping his jersey, like I didn’t know how to let go.
Without wasting any second I pull away fast, almost too fast, like I’d just touched fire. My hand dropped away from him, and he stumbled back slightly, hitting the wall behind him.
“I heard yelling,” she said again, looking between us as she stood at the door, her eyes wide as they flickered to me, then to Rafe. Babe…what’s happening with you two?”
For a moment, my chest tightened.
Oh, thank God!
I thought she had seen something she wasn’t supposed to.
But then her expression changes. Not suspicious.
Just annoyed.
She let out a small sigh, crossing her arms. “Seriously? You guys are fighting in the locker room because of losing the game?”
Fighting?
That’s what she thought this was?
Relief crashes through me instantly, but it doesn’t feel right. It comes with something heavier sitting in my chest.
“Yeah,” I reply quickly, my voice rough. “W…we’re just fighting.”
I didn’t look at Rafe, but I could feel him staring behind me. I didn’t need to turn to know he was watching me, probably trying to figure out which lies I was going to come up with next.
“Unbelievable,” Avery shakes her head, her heels tapping softly against the floor as she walks closer. “Babe, just lost an important game and this is what you’re doing?”
Her tone changes the moment her eyes lock with mine; she reaches for me without hesitation, her hand sliding into my arm as if it had been done a hundred times before.
“Are you sure you’re okay, babe? You look…tense.”
“I’m fine,” I say, forcing the words out.
She frowns slightly and steps closer, her body brushing against mine. “Hope he didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“I—“
Before I could answer, her hand came up to my face, her fingers brushing along my jaw like she was checking for bruises.
It should have felt normal.
It always had.
But now it didn’t.
All I could feel was Rafe’s hands from a moment ago, the heat of his body on mine, the way everything had gotten out of control so fast.
“I said I’m fine,” I repeated. “Can you just let this go, babe?”
But Avery doesn’t pull back, if anything, she moves closer. “You don’t look fine,” she says softly.
And then—
Her lips pressed against mine—hard. It was the kind of kiss that claimed something, like she was reminding everyone exactly who I belonged to.
My hand moves to her waist on instinct, holding her in place as I deepen the kiss even more. But my mind wasn’t there, it felt forced, like I was going through something familiar while everything inside me was somewhere else.
Behind me, something shifts instantly.
I don't need to look back to know it was Rafe. The silence he carried was heavy, louder than anything he could have said.
Avery pulls back slowly, a small smile etched across her face like nothing was wrong. “Babe, you need to relax, it’s just one game.”
A bitter laughter almost tears out of me but I force it down.
Just one game?
If only it were that simple!
Her hand moves across my chest, straightening my jersey, completely unaware of what had just happened before she walked in.
Or how close she had been to seeing it.
“Don’t let him get to you,” she added, tilting her head slightly toward Rafe who stood a few feet away, stiff, unmoving.
His eyes weren’t on me.
They were still on her hand, resting on my chest, his jaw clenched so tight I feared his teeth might actually shatter. But the look on his face—
It said more than I needed to know.
There was anger there.
But there was something else too.
Something deeper.
Something I didn’t want to think about.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke, then he let out a short breath before parting his lips to speak.
“Right,” he says quietly, running a hand through his hair in the most awkward way. “Didn’t realize I was interrupting something.”
“You weren’t.” Avery snaps back coldly, irritation clearly evident across her face. “You were fighting with my boyfriend, remember?”
Rafe lets out a small, humorless laugh.
“Yeah, guess I’ll just leave you two to it then.” His eyes meet mine for a brief second, and just like that, everything comes rushing back.
The moment we almost crossed a line we couldn’t come back from.
Stop thinking about that, Shawn!
My hand tightens slightly on Avery’s waist even though I don’t mean to. Rafe notices without hesitation, and something in his expression hardens.
“Don’t worry,” he says casually, stepping back toward the door. “You both enjoy your romantic moment together.”
There is something in the way he says it.
Something bitter.
“Rafe—” his name rolls out of my mouth before I can stop myself.
He pauses on the door, just for a second. But he doesn’t turn around.
“What?”
“I…I,” I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Hell, I didn’t even know what I wanted to say.
Stay?
Wait?
Forget what just happened between us minutes ago?
None of it made sense.
“Yeah,” Rafe’s voice shatters through my thoughts. “That’s what I thought.” Then he walks out the door, and it closes behind him with a soft sound, echoing through the entire locker room.
Meanwhile, Avery is still standing close to me, her hand resting against my chest. Her presence is warm and familiar, but it doesn’t feel the same anymore.
I kept staring at the door long after Rafe was gone, like I had just lost control of something I didn’t even understand yet.
“Babe?”
“Babe?!”
Avery’s voice snaps me back to reality. “You should stay far away from him.”
I looked down at her.
“Why?”
“You’re seriously asking me this?” She shrugs, “He’s too much trouble. Can’t you see it?”
I don’t utter another word.
Because the truth was, she didn’t know anything.
And neither did I.
All I knew was that something had changed tonight.
Something I couldn’t ignore anymore.
And no matter how much I tried to act like everything was normal…
Everything was far from normal.