Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 86878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Ford grins. “Taco Tuesday it is!” He pulls out his phone. “I’ll call the girls. They can meet us there.”
“Guess I could put away a few tacos,” Bridger adds, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
A curvy body slams into mine and I find Larsa Middleton hanging off my neck. She’s got dark eyes that always seem to sparkle with mischief, and right now they’re locked on mine.
“How about me? Am I invited to Taco Loco?”
I give her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, sweetheart. I won’t be heading over. I’ve got other plans this evening.”
Her lower lip juts out in a pout that probably works on most guys. “Can’t you change them?”
I shake my head, not even tempted in the least. “Nope. Maybe next time.”
She stretches onto the tips of her toes and nips my earlobe with sharp teeth, whispering, “That’s too bad. I was hoping we could spend a little one-on-one time together. Or, if you’re up to it, maybe two-on-one.”
Before I can respond, movement catches the corner of my eye, and my head swivels so fast that I nearly give myself whiplash. My attention locks on the blonde striding across campus about twenty yards away. Her ponytail bounces with every determined step she takes.
Ava.
The girl I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since our memorable encounter in the locker room.
As if she can feel the heat of my stare, she glances up from her phone. Her eyes narrow as soon as our gazes collide. The smile I flash is met with a scowl before she dismisses me and continues on her way.
“Hayes?”
It’s only when Ava disappears around the corner of a building that I glance at Larsa and realize she’s still clinging to me. “As fun as that sounds,” I say, untangling her arms from around my neck, “I’m gonna have to pass.”
“Boo.” She swings away, eyeing Ford and Colby for a few seconds before dismissing them. Larsa knows better than to mess with either of my teammates. Carina and Britt both made sure of that. If she crosses the line again, it won’t end well for her.
The grin Steele flashes her way makes his dimples pop. “You can ride on the back of my bike.”
She gives it a second of consideration before setting her sights on his cousin. “No, thanks.”
“Okay, the girls are in. They’ll meet us at Taco Loco in ten,” Ford announces, pocketing his phone.
I glance back to the last place I saw the petite blonde. The words are out of my mouth before I can reel them back in. “Did you guys know Coach has a daughter?”
Ford glances at me with mild confusion. “Yeah, there’s a picture of her in his office. You never noticed?”
I frown. “Nope.”
With a smirk, Bridger shakes his head. “You’re totally oblivious, dude.”
“Not when it matters,” I shoot back.
Colby raises an eyebrow. “And when exactly would that be? On the ice and between the sheets?”
I point at him and smile. “Correctamundo.”
Before the conversation can spin any further out of control, our phones buzz simultaneously with an incoming text. The air around us shifts as we all exchange uneasy glances. Ever since last semester, Bridger’s been getting blasted by mass messages from the university’s system. Nobody’s been able to figure out who’s behind it. The texts started out as a joke, but now they’re way past funny.
More like brutal.
I unlock my phone and glance at the screen.
Shit.
It’s bad.
The image might be blurry, but it’s unmistakable.
Bridger’s pants are down, and some girl’s face is smashed against his groin.
Can’t say she doesn’t have game.
But this doesn’t seem like the time to point that out.
Even Larsa’s gone quiet as she stares at her phone in disbelief.
“Dude…” Steele mutters, reaching out to comfort his cousin.
But our teammate swats his hand away before snarling, “I’m so fucking sick of this bullshit.”
“I know,” Colby says, his usual humor nowhere to be found. “We’ll figure out who’s doing this.”
Bridger pinches the bridge of his nose. “How? I’ve tried. Whoever’s behind it knows what they’re doing.”
“Can’t we talk to the cyber security department at the university? Maybe they have connections who can help,” I suggest.
Bridger sighs. “My dad already reached out to them. There’s nothing they can do. But I guess it’s worth another shot.”
When his phone rings, he silences it without even checking who it is.
“Is that your dad?” Ford asks carefully.
“Probably. I’m not really in the mood for an ass chewing right now.”
Steele nods toward the parking lot. “Let’s get out of here and grab some food. It’ll take your mind off it for a while. Then we’ll try to come up with a plan.”
Bridger shakes his head. “You guys go ahead. I’m gonna stop by my dad’s office before he loses it.”
“Want us to come with you?” his cousin asks, a hard glint filling his gray eyes. “There’s always strength in numbers.”