“Logan’s just being Logan,” Riley tells him. “He’s pissed, man. Just give him space. He’ll be good by practice this afternoon.”
Jax sighs and drops down into Logan’s vacated space before reaching across and stealing the french fry right out of Arizona’s fingers. He glances toward me. “So, what’s up with you?”
“Huh?”
His gaze flickers toward Riley’s before turning back to mine. “Before when you were texting, you looked like you wanted to murder someone. That’s why this asshole came over here in the first place.”
“Oh,” I say, glancing up at Riley. “That true?”
“Yeah,” he says. “And seeing as though Tanner didn’t seem to be brooding any more than usual, I figured it was someone else. I was curious what could have possibly gotten you all worked up like that.”
I smile up at him, feeling guilty because at some point, I’m going to have to shut down this strange little crush of his. “It was nothing,” I assure him, the girls still listening to my conversation. “Just bullshit drama with some people from my old school.”
“Which school was that?” Riley asks, his brows furrowed as though not knowing these tiny details of my life is bugging him to no end.
Glancing over his shoulder, I find Tanner still watching me, and I remember our conversation up on the roof, and I stand by everything that I said—Riley doesn’t really like me, he likes the idea of me, likes the idea of a girl he has no chance of getting close to. Because if he did, he’d have to open up and become vulnerable, and guys like Riley simply aren’t capable of that … at least, not yet. One day he’ll find that one girl who makes him want to share every aspect of his life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. But until then, I’m not going to be the one to lead him on, not when something between us could cause all sorts of fresh hell between him and Tanner.
“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.”