The White Wolf (2020)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sydney

She knew that attending the lacrosse game tonight meant she was going to run into Jaycen, and her brain understood that heading into the locker rooms meant that probability was nearly 100%. It wasn't until he stood right in front of her that she fully grasped it and mentally scowled herself for being naive.

Now it was thrown right in her face and she felt her unpreparedness.

"Hello," he said looking down at Sydney.

The close proximity of Jay made her nervous, but she knew avoiding or ignoring him would make for a terribly awkward trip for them tomorrow morning. That was if they were still even going on the trip that is. He was dressed in his tight red capris, his jersey was untucked and he wasn't wearing his shoulder pads or any protective gear yet underneath.

'I want to investigate what's underneath.'

Sydney swallowed away the provocative thoughts of her wolf.

"Hey there stranger," Sydney cringed at the words leaving her lips. "I'm filling in for the journalism team tonight to get some coverage on your team."

Jay nodded at her, "Alright."

They both bobbled their head in a small nod as if to agree or maybe persuade the other to continue.

"Well," A click of Terrence's tongue broke the silence. "This is awkward."

Jay's eyes cut to his beta annoyedly.

Terrence laughed, "Looks like I'll be leaving you guys be. See you two later." His bulky form slipped under Jaycen's extended arm which was holding the locker room propped open.

They continued to stand in each other's presence before they both broke at the same time.

"So, for the-"

"I wanted-"

Sydney felt her eyes go wide as they both abruptly stopped talking. A wry and embarrassed smile tugged at his lips and she felt the same reflect on her own.

"You go first," She prompted.

Hesitation drifted over his visage, "I wanted to confirm we were still heading out tomorrow to talk to the Enclave?"

Sydney nodded too vigorously for her taste. She'd blame it on her wolf jumping at the chance to be with her mate. "Of course, I mean if you're still alright with that."

"Yeah, it's all good with me."

Another blanket of silence surrounded them.

The shuffling of players deeper within the locker room spurred Sydney back towards her original quest. Pointing into the room behind him with her pen, she explained, "Ugh, actually I need to get in there to do some interviews if you don't mind."

The curve of his eyebrows and the flash in his eyes seemed to indicate that he was going to agree, but a dark shadow passed over his eyes, "Actually, I'm not sure the guys are all dressed."

Despite the mixture of her nerves and subtle attraction to him swirling inside, Sydney wasn't about to let Jay deter her from her goal over what she could only read as mild jealousy. All of these times she stepped in coupled with all her culmination of previous academic work were hopefully building to the acceptance into a great school and leading to an even better career.

With a slight tint in her eyes, she tried to convey that through her facial expression. When Jay still didn't move she finally spoke, "Well if you could go in and check that would be great because I need to get these interviews knocked out for my teacher and for us to have a well-composed story about the team. You did tell the guys that I was helping put together a really good spread on you all, so wouldn't want to disappoint now would I?"