“Me too, Carrington. Me too. You can go and find your family now.” Callum gives Mark a dismissive look and turns to me. “Why don’t you girls find the boys while I have Durand bring the car around?”

“Uh, sure,” I stutter, but as he starts to walk off, the urge to find out exactly what he knows comes over me and I drop Val’s hand to chase after him. “Callum, wait up.”

He waits for me. “Yes?”

“Why’d you do that?”

He gives me an impatient look. “I’m never the first to know things that are going on. I left that up to Maria, but I always figure it out eventually. So I know that your car was gone for a week because someone gave it a bath in honey and I know that Reed and East fight for the hell of it on the weekends and I know that you’re not just wearing this for the sake of school spirit.” He fingers the cuff of the Reed’s jersey, then releases the fabric and, with a crooked smile, turns me toward the field. “Go find our boys, honey, and I’ll see you all at home. Don’t be too late and stay close to your brothers.” He stops and then sighs. “Well, I guess they aren’t your brothers, are they?”

God, I hope not. My mind whirling, I walk back to Val.

“Did Callum just threaten Uncle Mark?” she asks in confusion.

“I think so?”

“Did you tell him about your car?”

I shake my head. “No, I was too embarrassed. Reed took care of it for me. I just got it back today.”

“Callum definitely knows something.”

“Obvs. But do you think his talk with your uncle will actually change anything?”

“Sure. Uncle Mark could cut Jordan off. If he felt his business was being threatened by something she did? He’d come down on her hard.”

“Hmmm. We’ll have to see.” I’m not entirely convinced.

Val squeezes my hand. “I guess you’ll have to lose your own underwear after PE now.”

I stick out my tongue. “Who says I wear them anyway?”

“Please tell me the two of you are going to kiss,” Easton interrupts. He grins as we look at him.

“If we did, it wouldn’t be for your benefit,” I answer.

“Oh, I don’t care. I just want to watch. Preferably when we’re somewhere a little more private, but with a lot more light and a lot less clothing.”

“You have to be eighteen or older for that show,” Val teases.

“Then I know what I want for my birthday. It’s in April. Start planning now. I’m partial to sexy maid costumes.”

“Halloween is over, brother,” Reed says as he comes up to us. He leans down and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “What’re our plans?”

Easton jiggles his leg impatiently. “Whatever we’re deciding, let’s do it quick. I’m tired of standing around.”

Reed and I exchange worried glances.

“You just got done playing football,” I remind Easton.

“Exactly. I’m full of adrenaline and I need to spend it. My preferred vices are sex, alcohol, pills. You two are down on me drinking and getting high so that leaves sex.” He sends a pointed look in Val’s direction.

She laughs and holds up a hand. “I’m not volunteering. I don’t think my poor body could take the pounding you need to give. Let’s go find someone for you, though. I’ll be your spirit guide through the rocky shores of high school hookups.”

“I lay my tender body into your hands.” Easton slings his arm around Val’s shoulders. “You two have to fend for yourself,” he calls back.

I arch an eyebrow. “Leftover adrenaline?”

Reed winks. “There’s some truth to that.”

“I’m not really interested in any party.”

A wicked smile spreads over his face. “Yeah? I have some ideas about how we can spend our post-game celebration. Wanna hear them?”

I grin back. “I think I do.”

27

Reed

I take Ella out to the beach. One thing I’ve always loved about our place is how close it is to the ocean. The beach isn’t big—not much more than a fifty-foot stretch that’s about ten feet wide before the tide swallows up the sand on one side, while the rocky outgrowth on the other forms a natural wall from the back lawn to the shore.

But it’s still ours—quiet, peaceful, and most importantly, private.

I lay down a heavy wool blanket, toss a down comforter on top, and drop the rest of my supplies. “Have a seat while I light us a fire.”

She shucks her shoes at the edge of the blanket before sitting down. I catch a glimpse of dark-painted toes before they disappear underneath her legs.

There’s always a pile of driftwood against the rocks, and in no time at all I have a small fire going, enough to provide us with a little illumination and heat. Don’t want my girl to get cold.

“Watching you make a fire is weirdly sexy,” she comments as I sort through the dry wood for the best pieces.

I twist around to grin at her. “Handy dudes are like porn for chicks. You like that I can do things.”

“If I was a cavewoman, I’d definitely drag you back to my lair,” she agrees.

“Is that how it worked back then? The men would create fire and then the women would come along and bonk the guy with the best twig from the pile and have her way with him?”

“Yup, but we let the men write the stories because their fragile egos needed the boost.”

I throw one more log into the fire to keep us toasty, then join her on the blanket. She smooths the comforter over my legs as I stretch out beside her. For a while, we watch the fire dance and listen to the crackling of the tinder as it breaks under the heat. There’s a simple pleasure in our closeness. The ocean is vast, the sky is endless, and Ella and I are together. Finally.

Her feet rest beside my jean-clad thighs. My arm is wrapped around her back and my hand is cupping her sweet ass. I wish she was wearing her uniform so I could slide my hand underneath until I find nothing but bare skin and heat and softness.

“Thank you for getting me my job back,” she says finally.

“What makes you think I did?”

She gives me a wry look. “Who else would it have been?”