THE PLAYERS BREAK INTO two teams, shirts and skins. Kellan is the captain of one, while Tanner is the captain of the other. It’s always a good idea to take two of the best players and put them against each other. That way, no one team is necessarily better than the other. It’ll push them to work harder and strive to win.
“Can I stop yet?” Oakley pants.
I shake my head. “No. You interrupted my class not once but twice. Another five laps and then ask me again.”
He looks like he’s ready to pass out, but I know he can handle a little more. He’s only been running for forty-five minutes. Another fifteen won’t kill him.
“You know,” a voice sounds from behind me, “you can’t just make everyone who hits on me run laps until they puke.”
I hum as Tessa takes a seat on the bench. “Who said that’s why I’m doing this? Maybe I just don’t care for the blatant disrespect.”
“So, if I told you that I’m going on a date with Kellan this Friday night…”
“I’d tell you you’re lying. There’s a game Friday night.”
She smirks and looks down for a second then back up. “Then why are you gripping that clipboard so hard it might snap?”
My hand releases and I curse under my breath for once again letting her see how she affects me. Fuck. What is this girl doing to me? Am I losing the one ounce of self-control I have left? I take a deep breath but don’t dare to look at her.
“Is it not enough that you know how completely crazy you make me, you have to use it against me, too?”
“What if I’m just trying to get your attention? What if that’s how crazy you make me?”
I sigh. “You have it, Tessa, but that doesn’t mean anything. You’re my student, first and foremost. If we let something happen between us and people found out, you’d be that girl who had an affair with a teacher. Do you really want that?”
“It’d hardly be the worst thing I’ve been called,” she mutters.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her hand waves off the topic. “Nothing. I just don’t care what people think about me. And you shouldn’t either. We’re both legal adults.”
“You’re still a student. My student.”
“Okay, then tell me this,” she runs her fingers through her hair, “what if I met you as a freshman in college? If I wasn’t your student. If I wasn’t anything to you but a girl you met in a bar.”
I turn my attention from my players and put it all on her. “I’d do things to you that would make whatever happened in that dream of yours look like a G rated movie.”
With wide eyes, she swallows harshly. “Yeah, that. Do that.”
Chuckling, I pull my focus back to its rightful place—not on her. “You said if you weren’t my student, and you are.”
“Fucking minor details,” she groans. “Fine. Can I just have my phone so I can leave?”
“Giving up that easy?”
I can see the sexy smirk on her face out of the corner of my eye, and I know not to turn my head. If I do, I risk giving in, and I don’t think the way to be discreet about this is letting the whole football team see the things I want to do to her. It’s bad enough that she’s here right now.
“No, Asher, but there isn’t much I can do about it here. Now, phone.” She puts out her hand and waits.
I pull the device from my pocket and hand it over. “Next time don’t use it in my class.”
“You’re sexy when you’re all authoritative.”
“Tessa…”
The laughter that bellows out of her does something to me as she gets up. “I’m not someone who doesn’t get what she wants. Mark my words, Hawthorne—I want you.”
With that, she walks away, leaving me to process her words. And honestly, there’s nothing surprising about them. That girl a force to be reckoned with, and if I’m not careful, she just might get me to risk it all.
11
TESSA
I come to on the floor of some nasty-looking room. There’s no windows, no furniture—just the hard, cold cement. My head is killing me as I sit up and try to remember how the hell I got here. Then, it all rushes back to me. My uncle. He was looking for Knox and Delaney. I have to get to my sister.
Struggling to find my footing, my eyes search for the door before they land on one in the corner of the room. I rush over to it, only to turn the knob and find it locked. What the fuck? I try again. No luck.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shout, hoping he can hear me. “You seriously locked me in here?”
My fist pounds on the door until I hear the click of the lock. The door flies open, and I jump back just in time to not be hit with it. Uncle Dom stands there, looking every bit like a villain. There is no trace of the man who helped teach me how to ride a bike or the one who sneaks me alcohol at family dinners. No, that man is gone, and this dark version is all that’s left.
In a quick attempt, I go to rush past him but he steps in my way and pushes me back, laughing when I fall to the ground. My elbow stings with a fresh scrape, but I’m not about to let that stop me from getting out of here. I get up and try to force my way through, but he’s like a fucking wall, firm and unwavering.
“What is wrong with you? Just let me go!”
He shakes his head slowly. “I can’t do that. You’re an essential part of my plan.”
“What plan?”
Looking to whoever is in the hallway, he smirks, and the next thing I know, four guys are coming into the room. Each one of them have biceps the size of my head, and if this weren’t such a terrifying situation, I’d probably hit on at least two of them. However, they all look like they could snap me in half with ease. I back away until I hit the wall and they corner me in.
“Tie her up,” my uncle orders. “I don’t need her trying to escape every five minutes.”
One goes to grab me, but I’m faster than he is. I lean against the hard cinderblock and use all the force I have to kick him in the balls. He crumbles to the ground, groaning and clutching his damaged goods. Another one pulls me into his hold, but I manage to get one hard elbow into his ribcage.
Turning to get away from them, I quickly jab my two fingers into another one’s eyes.
“Christ, you’re feisty,” the last one tells me.
My uncle chuckles. “That’s why she’s always been my favorite. She’s a little fighter, this one.”
“Fuck you,” I spit.
He grins deviously. “I’m not keen on incest, sweetheart, but I’m sure Javi here would love to get a little piece of you.”
Javi looks me up and down, licking his lips and making me feel like I’m going to vomit. The thought of him coming anywhere near me is repulsing. He takes a step toward me and I take one back, noticing the rest of the assholes are starting to recover. I may be tough, but there’s no way I can fight off all these guys plus my uncle. Plus, I don’t know who else is out there.
For the first time since I woke up, fear settles in my stomach, and I start to wonder if I’m going to make it out of here alive. The only thing I know is that in order to stand a chance, I need to cooperate as much as possible.