Playing to Win (The Trouble with Tomboys Book2)

by Stephanie Street

  Playing to Win

  The Trouble with Tomboys #2

  Stephanie Street

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Playing the Field

  Also by Stephanie Street

  Find Stephanie Street

  Prologue

  Two years ago . . .

  One three-week summer sports camp shouldn’t have spawned such a tight knit friendship—but it did. Camp Haversham in Upstate New York was where Hannah, Jordan, and Alex met during the summer before their freshman year. Like most of the young athletes who’d flocked to the training camp, they hailed from different towns and schools. They might never have met if it hadn’t been for Camp Haversham, and they definitely wouldn’t have formed their little “Tomboy Trio” if it hadn’t been for one brainless moron by the name of Noah Ackerbaum.

  Noah and his crew were an obnoxious group of alphaholes who paraded around the grounds like they owned the place. Were they skilled at their respective sports? Yes. No one would deny that.

  But these girls were better.

  Noah and his minions were nice to the girls at the camp—particularly the hot girls—but for the most part, boys played boys and girls played girls.

  Until they didn’t.

  That was Alex’s fault. A phenom with the bat, the daughter of a professional baseball player hadn’t loved the idea of being segregated. She wanted to play the best—whatever gender that might be.

  After Jordan kicked Noah’s butt in touch football, and Hannah took him down in soccer, it was Alex who decided they ought to have a soccer scrimmage that was boys versus girls. Noah begrudgingly agreed. From the way he’d talked it was like they were still in elementary school and kids actually used phrases like “you throw like a girl” as if that were a bad thing.

  Lame.

  Led by the three top female athletes at camp, the girls’ team totally trounced the boys’ team in a humiliating defeat.

  Well, it probably wouldn’t have been quite so humiliating if the losers hadn’t been such poor sports about it.

  Hannah was putting away her equipment when Noah entered the gymnasium behind her. “We let you win, you know that, right?”

  She straightened, her dark brown ponytail swinging over her shoulder as she turned to face Noah. Two of his friends had come up behind him and were snickering—a dead giveaway that Noah was going into full bully mode.

  Anyone who’d ever seen any movie set in a high school knew how to spot a bully a mile away, and Noah fit the part to a tee. Tall and handsome, he might have been charming if he had any sense of humility or dignity. As it was, he was petty and crass, his sense of humor having peaked at pranks and poop jokes.

  “Excuse me?” Hannah said politely. She wasn’t afraid of these guys, but she wouldn’t deny that she was relieved to see her new friends trailing in behind Noah and his gang.

  “What’s going on here?” Alex asked. The tall, lean brunette stepped between Hannah and the boys, her shoulders back as her chin held high.

  Jordan looked between Noah and the other girls warily before hurrying over to stand on Hannah’s other side. “You okay?” she asked Hannah under her breath. The blonde was pretty in a very girlie sort of way, almost . . . dainty. One would never guess that she rocked it on in the hockey rink.

  “I’m fine,” Hannah said, not bothering to lower her voice. She waved a hand toward the guys. “Noah here was just about to explain how they let us win.” She couldn’t quite hide the amusement in her voice . . . and truth be told, she didn’t really try.

  Alex gave a little huff of amusement as well. “Oh yeah? This ought to be good.”

  “You’re girls,” Noah said.

  “Way to state the obvious,” Alex replied.

  “We’d get in trouble if we hurt you,” one of the guys behind Noah added.

  “Oh, I see,” Hannah said. “So that’s why you lost. You were being chivalrous and trying not to hurt us.”

  Even Jordan was laughing now, the idea so ludicrous. They’d all been out there on that field. No one had played dirtier than Noah.

  “Really?” Alex said. “Is that what you think happened?”

  Noah held his hands up, his head falling to the side with smarmy smirk that made the girls’ skin crawl. “Hey, you guys go ahead and celebrate your little victory. But I thought you should know the truth.”

  “Uh huh,” Hannah said. “And what truth is that? That we wiped the field with your butts?”

  Alex snickered. “Or that you got beat by a bunch of girls?”

  Noah’s nostrils flared and his friends exchanged looks. “You know the trouble with tomboys?”

  “No, please tell us,” Alex said in a flat tone that made Hannah and Jordan snort with laughter.

  “You’re a bunch of freaks,” he said. “Good luck finding a guy to date you.”

  Eye rolls all around.

  “Thanks for the advice,” Alex said. “But if you’re referring to guys like you then I think I can speak for my friends here when I say we’re better off single.”

  Noah huffed. “You couldn’t get a date if your life depended on it.”

  “That’s an interesting theory,” Hannah said, her eyes narrowed as if giving it some serious thought. “I’ll have to ask my boyfriend what he thinks about that.”

  Noah looked disgusted by their amusement, but at least he and his friends were backing away. He sneered at Hannah. “As if we’d believe any guy would be into that. You look like my little brother.”

  Hannah didn’t seem to mind the insult, but Jordan stiffened at her side.

  Alex narrowed her eyes on him. “Get out of here, losers.”

  Noah scoffed as he turned to go. “Whatever. We all know we handed you that win.”

  Jordan surprised them all by speaking up. “Then I guess you wouldn’t mind a rematch?”

  Noah turned back, staring at her as if she’d just sprouted another head. “What?”

  She took a step forward, her arms crossed over her chest. “I said, if you’re so sure we didn’t win fair and square, maybe we should have another go. The three of us versus the three of you.”

  Noah’s brows drew together and he stared at her like she was nuts, but he didn’t respond.

  Alex arched her brows. “What’s the matter, boys? You scared you’ll lose again?”

  They laughed until the boys were gone. They didn’t stop laughing until they’d put away the rest of the equipment and were heading back to the girls’ dorm to shower.

  “Thanks for having my back,” Hannah said.

  “What are fellow tomboys for?” Alex said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

  Jordan dropped her voice in a terrible impression. “You know the trouble with tomboys . . .”

  They all cracked up.

  “What a moron,” Hannah said.

  “I’m so glad you stood up to him, Alex,” Jordan added.

  Alex hitched her hip to bump Jordan, who was walking on her other side. “And you. I can’t believe you outright challenged him to a rematch.”

  Hannah leaned forward to grin at the blonde. “Seriously. Mad props, girl.”

&
nbsp; Jordan clapped a hand over her mouth and shook her head. When she dropped her hand, she said, “Honestly? I can’t believe I did that either.” She turned to Hannah. “But what about you? ‘I'll have to ask my boyfriend . . .!’”

  Alex laughed. “That was awesome. His face was priceless.” She looked down at Hannah. “Were you making that up?"

  Hannah shook her head. "No, I really do have a boyfriend. We’ve been together since middle school."

  “Wow,” Alex said. “Since middle school?”

  “He’s on my intramural soccer team,” Hannah said, as though that explained anything.

  “He plays for your team?” Jordan sounded alarmed. “Aren't you worried about messing up the team if something happens?”

  Hannah shook her head. “Not really. I mean, we’ve been friends forever, and we're not one of the dramatic couples who are into PDA or big fights or anything. We just . . . get along well."

  Alex feigned a yawn. "Wow, that sounds really . . . romantic.”

  Jordan laughed as Hannah shrugged again. “It works for us. What about you guys? Any boyfriends? Crushes?”

  The answer was a unanimous ‘nah.’ Neither seemed terribly put out about it.

  “What a dumb insult,” Alex said. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder. “As if I couldn’t get a boyfriend if I wanted one.”

  “Seriously,” Hannah agreed. “As if any of us are desperate for a guy.”

  Jordan laughed. “I mean, we’ve got more important things to worry about, like school and our teams. Who even has time for a relationship?”

  After a brief silence, Alex made a bold statement. “Noah is an idiot.”

  “Agreed,” Jordan said.

  Hannah leaned forward to look at the other two. “You know the real trouble with tomboys?”

  Alex arched a brow, a twinkle in her eyes. “They’re afraid of us.”

  Jordan laughed, “Exactly.”

  Chapter One

  Jordan

  Hannah: Good luck at your first day of school!

  Me: Thanks. I’m more worried about hockey.

  Alex: Don’t sweat it. You got this.

  Hannah: You’re awesome. Don’t forget it.

  Best friends were a girl’s lifeblood, right? I didn’t know what I’d do without mine. We had to work a little harder than most to stay in touch since we lived in different states, but that was okay. I knew no matter what, Hannah and Alex had my back. I could tell them anything and they’d understand.

  Which was why I texted them as soon as I found out I’d made it onto the boys hockey team. Hannah played intramural soccer on a co-ed team, so she had a lot of great advice about dealing with the guys on my team. But even she’d never been the only girl on an all boys team before.

  Like Alex, I had a lot of brothers, so dealing with dumb guys wasn’t a completely foreign concept, but still. I was nervous.

  Me: As long as I remember Rule #1 I’ll be just fine.

  Alex: *groan*

  Hannah: Here we go…

  Me: Hey! Some of us *cough, Hannah* would have less problems right now if they stuck to The Rule.

  Hannah: Don’t bring me into this. I’m doing just fine.

  Alex: As much as I love you guys, gotta go. Some of us have been in school for a week already and have stuff to do.

  Hannah: Yeah, I have to go, too. Seriously, Jord, don’t stress. Everything will be amazing. You will be amazing.

  Me: Thanks. You guys are the best! TTYL

  Talking to my camp besties was just what I needed. Not that Alex and Hannah were my only friends, they just offered an outside opinion when I needed one. And after our experience at Camp Haversham, I knew they understood what it was like to compete with boys.

  “You ready, Jordan!” My younger brother, Payton, shouted up the stairs.

  “Just a sec!” I shouted back, taking one last look in the mirror. I dressed like a tomboy, no denying it, but I wasn’t built like one, for sure. With long blonde hair and an hourglass figure, no one could mistake me for a boy even in all my hockey gear. There would be no hiding my obvious female attributes on the all-male hockey team. And starting that afternoon, right after school, I’d get a solid look at being the only girl on the ice.

  I fluffed my blonde curls one last time and headed down the stairs.

  Payton waited, impatiently shifting from one foot to the other, holding a duffle bag and a hockey stick. Mine were already in the trunk of my car.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  For all his fidgeting, Payton was in no hurry out the door to the beat up car sitting by the curb in front of the house. I’d inherited it from my older brother, Joe, when he moved out last year. Before that, it belonged to our oldest brother, Bobby, so you can imagine it had seen better days. I didn’t care as long as it ran.

  After stowing his stuff, Payton hopped into the front seat, excited to finally sit shotgun now the older boys were out of the house.

  “Excited for your first day?” I asked.

  Payton grunted and stared out the window.

  I drove to the middle school, on the whole other side of town from the high school. I only had to drive him to school and he walked to hockey practice after school.

  “Seventh grade, huh?” I took my hand off the steering wheel long enough to nudge his knee. He didn’t react except to move his leg out of my reach.

  Five years younger than me, Payton had started each school year by himself where I’d always had Joe, and sometimes Bobby, at my side. My older brothers could be a pain, but they’d always been there for me. I tried to do the same for Payton, but the age difference made it difficult and he’d grown into a bit of a loner.

  I pulled up to the curb in front of the middle school. Payton didn’t say a word as he picked up his stuff from the back.

  “Have a good day, Pay!” I called the door slammed shut. He didn’t acknowledge me, but that wasn’t unusual. I hoped he’d keep it together this year. He’d been grounded for most of the summer. We were all hoping with the start of hockey season he’d be too busy to get into trouble.

  By the time I pulled into the high school parking lot most of the spaces had been filled. I drove to the front to the space we’d been parking in since Bobby started driving six years ago, knowing it would be open. Built like a tank and blessed with about as much subtlety, nobody messed with my big brother. Even though he’d graduated three years ago, people still left his spot open for Joe before he graduated and now for me.

  Until today.

  Today, in Bobby’s parking spot sat a sleek looking Audi.

  Thankfully, the driver still sat behind the wheel. Shoving my car into park behind his, I got out, prepared to tell him to get the heck out of my spot.

  “Hey! What do you think you’re doing? That’s my spot,” my voice trailed off as the door to the offending car opened and out stepped the most beautiful guy I’d ever seen. With jet black hair and deep olive skin, he had an exotic look that made my heart race.

  Swallowing hard, I took in his dark eyes framed by the kind of lashes women paid big bucks for. Normally, I’d think lashes like his were a waste on a guy, but not this one. He deserved every accessory the good Lord blessed him with, if just for my own viewing pleasure.

  His perfectly sculpted lips twisted into a scowl. Even his scowl was gorgeous. He could scowl on the front of a teen heartthrob magazine. They’d fly off the rack.

  Then he opened those beautiful lips. “You’re spot? Funny, I don’t see your name on it.” And the words coming out weren’t so beautiful.

  My mouth opened and closed in a decent imitation of a fish before I finally formed a coherent thought. “Yeah, but that doesn’t make it any less mine.”

  His eyes brushed down my body, from my hair to the white tank top I wore with dark wash skinny jeans, bright red Chucks, and one of Joe’s old flannel shirts tied around my waist.

  I’d never been self-conscious of my appearance before, but this guy’s wrinkled brow had me rethinking e
verything. Which was crazy. I’d been raised to be confident, taught to never change myself to make other people happy. If someone didn’t like me for me? Not my problem.

  Squaring my shoulders, I recommitted to owning me. Jordan Parks. Tomboy.

  “I say it does.”

  My mouth dropped open. Hypnotic, lyrical voice aside, the words coming out of this dude’s mouth grated over my nerves like a loss on the ice. I hated nothing more than losing. Not a game. Not an argument. Not my parking spot.

  Fists clenched at my side, I took a step closer to the parking lot interloper. “That. Is. My. Spot.”

  Dark eyes never leaving mine, he leaned forward, obviously not intimidated by my five-nine frame.

  “Not today, it isn’t.”

  For five seconds too long, I let myself get sucked in by his gorgeous good looks. I might have even stared at those perfectly shaped lips. Basically, I lost it just long enough for him to think he had the upper hand.

  Unfortunately, he totally did. Without a word, hot guy turned back to his car and opened the back door. He reached inside and removed a guitar case. Then, just before walking away, he glanced over his shoulder and winked.

  How dare he!

  Buzzing with impotent rage, I marched back to my car with visions of slashing his tires and keying the word ‘thief’ into his door. But since the school monitored the lot with cameras, I had to satisfy myself with my vivid imagination as I drove to the now only available parking spaces at the back of the lot.

  Jerk!

  Well, he better believe Jordan Parks wouldn’t let him have her spot tomorrow. No, sir-ee. I’d make sure of it. In fact, I hoped he had to lug his stupid guitar from the street.

  “What’s got you in an uproar this morning?” my friend, Natalie asked, falling into step beside me once I’d made it inside.