I took a step toward Leo, needing the space but also needing the answers. “Why are you helping me? What’s in it for you?”
His eyes dropped to my mouth for a fraction of a secondbefore finding mine again. I saw the flicker—of heat, of something I couldn’t name—and it made my breath catch.
“Why do you care?” I pushed. “You don’t evenlikegirls like me.”
Leo didn’t flinch.
Didn’t blink.
Just stepped closer, the space between us charged and crackling like an exposed wire.
“There’s something about you,” he said softly, head lowering until his forehead nearly touched mine, “that makes me care.”
I should’ve pulled away.
Should’ve screamed at him, or at least demanded a real explanation.
But my body betrayed me.
And so did his.
Because the next thing I knew, his hand was cupping my jaw, tilting it up just enough for his mouth to find mine.
And when Leo Holt kissed me—it wasn’t like before.
It wasn’t showy.
It wasn’t for content or to make a point.
It was slow. Hot. A searing imprint of emotion I didn’t know he had in him.
My knees wobbled. My breath hitched. His thumb brushed along my cheekbone and I swore my heart forgot how to beat.
And then, like a switch, he pulled back—just far enough to look me dead in the eye.
“That’s why,Gitanilla,” he whispered.
My stomach twisted at the sound of that name on his lips.
And just like that, I wasn’t tired anymore.
I wasn’t broken or invisible.
I was wildfire, lit and burning.
And Leo Holt? He was gasoline.
Chapter Nine
LEO
She wassodamnhot at tryouts.
And I don’t just mean the legs or the ponytail or the way her jersey stuck to her in all the right places when she moved. That was a bonus.
I mean the way she played.
Aggressive. Relentless. Zero flinch in her eyes, even when half the damn school showed up just to watch her fail.
