“Right,” Riley laughs, backing further away from our group and toward the rest of our teammates. He spares one more glance toward the student parking lot to where Brielle is ducking into her piece of shit Civic. Riley looks back at me, a cocky grin resting on his lips. “I bet she’s going to taste so fucking sweet.”
Something cracks inside my chest and a protectiveness comes over me, but I don’t dare speak on it. I hold my position as Riley laughs and takes off at a light jog, deeper onto the field. “What’s it going to be, Morgan? Do we have a deal?” he calls loud enough that every one of my team members looks back at me.
Fucker. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Glaring back at him, I nod, knowing damn well that I could regret this. “One week, man. If you can get her, she’s yours,” I tell him, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t stop trying in the meantime. No matter what, I will see this through. Brielle Ashford is going to succumb to my hold. She’s going to fall at my knees, and she’s going to beg for forgiveness, and only then will I give her exactly what she’s been craving.
It doesn’t change the fact that picturing Riley beating me to her makes me feel sick, makes something tighten in my chest and I don’t fucking like it. To Riley, this is just a game, but for some reason, it feels like so much more to me.
Seeing the frustration in my eyes, Hudson knocks my shoulder, encouraging me to run along with him. “Come on,” he murmurs, Jax stepping into my other side. “If coach catches us down here fucking around instead of warming up, he’ll fucking destroy us.”
He’s right. Coach Wyld is tough. He’s strict and has high expectations for his team, expectations that we always strive to meet, and I’m not about to fuck with that on day one.
Taking off at a jog with the boys by my side, I call out to the team, knowing they need their captain more than ever this season. “Alright boys, let’s do this,” I demand, knowing an order from their captain will be respected without questions. I glance back at the parking lot one more time, watching as the sky-blue Civic pulls out onto the road, probably heading right home, and with that, I put the feisty blonde to the back of my mind. Riley was just messing with me when he said that I could make her mine. That’s not what I want. All that matters to me is this season, leading my team to victory, and getting one step closer to my future.
The team grunts their approval, and just like that, we take off around the field, Riley taking the lead while I follow up the rear, pushing the stragglers along, more than ready to dominate this season.
Chapter 9
BRIELLE
Nerves pound through my body as I pull my Civic right into the driveway of my new home. The girls said that Tanner will be in football practice for another few hours, but that still doesn’t keep me from glancing toward his house.
I must be insane for wanting to do this. I’ll be starting a war, and while all three of the girls warned me off doing this, the thrill is too intoxicating. The idea of making a stand and capturing Tanner’s attention, if only for a moment, makes adrenaline thrum through my veins like a potent drug.
Arizona’s Audi pulls to a stop on the curb, and she bails out of her car, racing to meet up with me by the front door. “You sure about this?” she questions, still having my back despite knowing it’s a bad idea. She’s really going to make a great friend. “It’s not too late to bail. Or we could wait till tomorrow when we have both Chanel and Ilaria to play lookout.”
Unlocking the front door, I glance back over my shoulder with a sadistic grin. “But doesn’t the idea that we could get caught thrill you?”
“I don’t know what terrifies me more, the way Tanner is going to try and destroy you, or the way you’re going to fight back. You both play dirty.”
My grin widens. “Exciting, isn’t it?”
She shakes her head but can’t stop the shit-eating grin that tears across her face. “Fuck, yeah. Let’s do this.”
I laugh as I finally unlock the door and push through to the polished foyer, thankful to find that we’re home alone. Perhaps now might be the time to do a little recon on Jensen as well. I give Arizona the grand tour and she nods with each passing room, not exactly impressed by the place, but I suppose she wouldn’t be when she’s lived in McMansions her whole life.
At lunch, Arizona had explained that her father was some big businessman, important in the fuel industry, while Chanel’s mom is a socialite living the rich and famous lifestyle, but to be honest, I haven’t got a damn clue who her mom is. I’ve never heard of her before, but I still smiled and nodded as if it were a big deal. Ilaria though, she comes from old money. Her great, great grandfather was a big-time land developer with billions of dollars under his belt. Though when I asked what he was responsible for developing, she had no freaking idea, and honestly, I don’t blame her.
Both Ilaria and Chanel wanted to be here this afternoon, the idea of breaking into Tanner’s home was too thrilling to pass up, but Ilaria has dance class and Chanel was grounded over the weekend for apparently getting a little too drunk at Riley’s party and passing out on her front doorstep. So, it’s just me and Arizona.
We make it up to my bedroom and stand at the window, peering straight through to Tanner’s room. “We’re idiots, right?” I question her, my nerves starting to creep up once again. “This is insane.”
“It is,” she agrees. “But I’d feel like a loser if we bitched out now. I bet Tanner didn’t think about bitching out. He would have just done it and laughed about it afterward.”
“You’re right,” I tell her, both of us swallowing hard. We talk a big game, but when it comes down to the crunch and the panic starts to take over, we’re like two little field mice running from the big bad wolf. “We can do this. What’s a little breaking and entering between friends?”
She lets out a few quick breaths, her shoulders bouncing as she pumps herself up. “We’ve got this. It’s only Tanner Morgan and his whole crew that will come for our blood.”
“So, ummm …” I say, my gaze sweeping over the massive house before us. “I know we’ve got this and all, but how exactly do you think we’re going to get inside?”
Arizona looks over the house just as I am, her brows furrowed as she considers my question. “Do you think the back door would be open?”
I shake my head. “Nah, there’s no way, plus everyone has home security around here, right?”
“Right,” she says, her gaze fixing on Tanner’s bedroom window, making my stomach drop. “Do you think we could get in if we climb that tree and scale the side of the house?”
My gaze falls to the tree in question, and my heart gives out. I’m a little sporty, but definitely no athlete, and tree climbing certainly isn’t a strong point. “You want to climb the tree and scale his house?”
“Great story for the grandkids,” she tells me. “Besides, look at his window. It’s not closed properly, it’s open just a sliver, practically daring us to open it. If we could get our fingers through that, we can pry it open. In and out in two seconds. Plus, I get the opportunity to snoop through his room. Win-win.”