“I was at Hope Falls,” I tell him. “Nothing fancy like this place.”
His brows shoot up. “Hope Falls?” he questions, glancing toward Jax through a curious stare. “No shit. So, you would know the guys on the football team?”
I roll my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “Unfortunately,” I murmur. “Just like the school, they’re nothing special either. They’re all assholes and will most likely spend the rest of their days washing cars or serving hamburgers.”
“You’re not a fan of the team, I take it.”
“Nope. Not a fan of football. Period.”
His eyes bug out of his head, his hand pressing against his chest. “That was like taking a bullet right to the heart,” he tells me as Jax grins at his performance. “I’m highly offended, and now you have no choice but to make it up to me.”
“I’ve told you a million times before, Riley, I’m not getting on my knees for you.”
Riley laughs and shakes his head, a grin resting on my lips. “As much as I’d like to see that happen, I mean a date. Let me take you out.”
I stare at him in horror. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But … why?”
The dude looks gobsmacked and Jax laughs. Watching his friend get shut down is clearly the highlight of his day. “What do you mean, why?” Riley asks me. “I’m hot, you’re hot. We’ll both look hot together. I can take you to an Italian restaurant and we can do that Beauty and the Beast spaghetti noodle thing and then afterward, we can fuck, and that’ll also be hot. I’ll even ask before I start recording.”
I laugh. “First off,” I say, grabbing his arm and shoving it hard off my shoulder. “It’s Lady and the Tramp, not Beauty and the Beast, and second, how many times do I need to tell you no before you’ll get the hint? You’ve been going hard for the last two days when it’s clear that you and I are not going to be a thing. I think you’re a cool guy and all, you’re probably a great football player too, but why bother with me when you can stand on this very table and tell the whole school that you’re available and have nearly every last girl around here spreading their legs without question?”
Guilt flashes in his eyes and he glances toward Jax before looking back at me. “I, ummm—”
“Holy shit,” I gasp, realization dawning on me. “It’s a bet, isn’t it? You have some sick bet about who can fuck me first, right? Tanner put you up to this to humiliate me, didn’t he? He wants to call me out for giving myself up and label me the new school slut. Get fucked.”
Ilaria scoffs, shaking her head. “What did I tell ya?” she says, a disgusted bite in her tone. “These guys are nothing but assholes.”
“No, no,” Riley rushes out. “That’s not how it went down, I swear, that wasn’t my inten—”
Disbelief pounds through my chest, and before I get a chance to even think about what I’m doing, I’m stepping up onto the table with every eye in the cafeteria staring back at me while my gaze remains locked on Tanner Morgan’s. “This is a public service announcement,” I say proudly, cutting off whatever bullshit explanation Riley was about to throw in my face. “To all the gorgeous women in this room, this is your official warning that Riley … wait—”
Leaning down, I meet Riley’s nervous stare. “What’s your last name?”
“Sullivan.”
“Right, thanks, cupcake.”
I straighten up and address my audience again. “That Riley Sullivan is a man whore. It’s only my third day at Bradford Private, and already this asshole sitting beside me is trying to convince me to spread my legs so he can win some bullshit bet. Real gentleman. Third freaking day, ladies. Watch your backs around guys like this. They’re only after one thing.”
A round of applause sounds through the room, quickly followed by an echoing boo aimed at Riley, and as I climb back down to my seat, he simply stares at me, his eyes filling with wonder. “Yeah, if I wasn’t in love before, I sure as fuck am now.”
Well, shit.
Chapter 15
TANNER
The ball lands in my hands, and without skipping a beat, I clock Logan already taking off, sprinting down the field with Jax and Hudson taking off after him. My arm rears back as I launch the ball through the air, watching Jax and Hudson do what they can to intercept.
They get close, but nobody on this team is as fast as Logan, especially after the bullshit with Chanel at lunch. Logan has a skill for channeling his rage and putting it into his training, and right now, he’s un-fucking-stoppable, desperately trying to work it out of his system. He jumps, springing high into the air, and plucks the ball out of the sky before effortlessly hitting the ground and continuing a few steps.
“Nice,” Coach Wyld says. “Again.”
The twins and Hudson jog back, exhaustion heavy on all their faces. We’ve been running drills for the past hour, but I can tell from the lack of commentary from Coach Wyld that this will be the last one.
It’s been a long day and an even longer week, but no one expected this season to be easy. Coach has been riding our asses hard. He wants that championship just as badly as we do, and he’s making sure we put in the work to make it happen. We all fucked around during the summer, and it’s an adjustment getting back into the routine, but I know the boys can handle it. They’ll pull through. They’ll push themselves to the breaking point and then push themselves some more.
Everybody gets into position, and on Wyld’s whistle, we run the drill again flawlessly. The ball sails perfectly into Logan’s waiting hands, and out of habit, I glance toward Coach Wyld, waiting for his approval despite knowing we won’t get it. The only time the asshole has ever cracked a smile was after we won that big-ass trophy at the end of last season, and even then, it only lasted all of three seconds.
“Right, pack up this shit and hit the showers,” he calls to the team. “We’ve got a big session planned for tomorrow, so don’t fuck around. Get a good night’s rest and come prepared to work hard.”
With that, he’s gone, and the boys and I quickly go about cleaning up the field, knowing the sooner we get it done, the sooner we can get out of here.
Walking into the locker room fifteen minutes later, Riley’s booming laugh bouncing off the walls gives me an instant headache. All I want is to get home and put today to rest, but apparently, I can’t do that without dealing with Riley’s bullshit first. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, but sometimes he doesn’t know when the hell to shut up. “You fucking know it, man,” he says as I round the corner into the lockers to find his back to me, tearing off his sweaty uniform. “Two days left to bone the bitch, but you know me, all I need is fifteen minutes.”
Anger pounds through my system, knowing he’s talking about Brielle. He’s been bragging about it all week, and the closer he gets to her, the more it fucks with my head. She has no interest in fucking him, but I don’t know her all that well. Riley is an easy fuck, he’ll screw any woman who’ll offer him a good time, and if Bri gives him even a hint that she’s down, he’ll see her as nothing more than a target to add to a long list of women.