His erection presses against my stomach, and I’m beginning to grind myself against it when reality trickles into my brain. I hear the whine of the door as it opens. At first, I think a teammate must’ve walked in on us, but when Penn plasters himself against me, covering my semi-naked body, and I find myself chasing his touch with my hips and lips, I realize he doesn’t want to make out with me—he is shielding me.

I blink, desperately trying to sober up.

“…much explaining to do.” A metallic voice seeps into the room like chemical warfare, causing my eyes to pop open.

Oh, Marx.

When I twist my head, I see Principal Prichard standing in the doorway, filling it with his intimidating frame. He is alone, but I’d rather the entire school watch me making out with Las Juntas Bulldogs captain than him. Penn steps in front of me and tilts his body fully toward Principal Prichard so I’m still covered. Instead of apologizing or explaining himself, he rummages in his back pocket for gum, unwraps it, and tosses it into his mouth. The wrapper falls to the floor.

I think he just unlocked a badass level I’ve only seen Vaughn and Knight ever reach.

“Principal Prichard.” My mouth feels like it’s full of cotton. He stares at my face behind Penn with raw anger that makes my cheeks burn. I shouldn’t feel like a cheater—Prichard and I are not like that—but something about the scene feels wrong. Disloyal.

“Penn Scully.” He clucks his tongue. “When I invited you to join our team, I meant the football one, not cheer, and I definitely did not count on you taking a tour in our facilities unannounced.”

“Should’ve clarified.” Penn pops his gum, running his fingers through his hair.

“Step away from Miss Followhill.”

“Not before you look the other way,” Penn shoots back.

To my shock, Principal Prichard averts his gaze to the lockers on the other side. Mr. Prichard doesn’t do nice very well, so I need to fix this. Fast.

“This one’s on me.” I jump in front of Penn before he has the chance to escalate the situation any further. “I dragged him here. It was my idea.”

They both stare at me, stunned. I don’t mind taking the fall for this since my reputation is already toast with Principal Prichard, what with the way I let him use me. Plus, I genuinely feel crappy about what happened with Via.

I want to atone for what I did to Penn’s sister. I’m not a monster.

“He’s here because he wanted to come here. He has full motor control of his two legs,” Mr. Prichard snaps.

“Three, if you count the important one, sir.” Penn rubs his cheek, indifferent boredom dripping from his voice.

He is sticking it to Prichard. This punk is unreal.

“Actually, he is here because I lost a bet and needed to kiss a thug. We’re done here, anyway.” I snort, slipping into my cheer skirt and cropped shirt. I don’t dare lift my gaze to see their reaction. It’s a lie, but it’s one that would pacify Prichard and make him understand that Penn is not my boyfriend. That way, Penn won’t get in trouble.

Prichard narrows his eyes at Penn.

“I don’t appreciate you talking back to me, young man.”

Penn rolls his eyes as though the man’s dramatics have exasperated him.

“Penn,” I whisper-shout. I clutch the fabric of his shirt next to the hole, and he shakes me off, still staring at my principal. He is fearless. That’s when I realize I’m not only attracted to him. I envy him, too.

“If I see you on my school grounds one more time, I’ll inform the authorities.” Principal Prichard turns around, his whole body rigid. I chase after him on an impulse. Penn grabs my wrist, pressing his thumb to my vein.

His snake eyes ask me a question I haven’t given anyone a straight answer to.

What the fuck?

“I got what I needed from you.” I wiggle free of his touch, yawning. “If you’re here to clean the lockers, the mops are in the maintenance room across the field.”

The walk to Principal Prichard’s office is silent and long. When we reach his door, he tells me to forget about making it to cheer practice today.

“Esme can cover for you. She’s quite clever when it comes to getting what she wants. Besides, we have some business to attend to.”

He locks the door. My heart races.

A click never sounded so final in my life.

You

Make me

Want to grow

Even though you act so small

I want to put you in my pocket and save you from yourself

“Yo, Penn, heard your balls are softer than Tom Brady’s. Maybe you could use them as stress relievers.”

Some tool from All Saints High burps behind me, crushing an empty bottle of Gatorade in his fist and throwing it in my team’s direction. We’re standing in the tunnel leading to their football field because All Saints High has a fucking tunnel like it’s the NFL. Their entire facility is top-notch and cost the parents a pretty penny. Yet the locker rooms for our use, the guest team, are closed due to flooding (read: Gus being his usual dickhead self). So we’re in one tunnel. Together.