“My queen,” I said, deep and clear, “Jade Bryan. My girl, Jade. Baby…” I let the grin spread slow and cocky across my face. “I’m coming for you next.”
Gasps and screams exploded around us. I could practically feel the entire school freeze mid-breath.
And just before the mic lowered, I winked—right at her.
Mic drop.
I turned and jogged toward the locker room with the crowd erupting behind me. But all I heard was my pulse. All I saw was her.
Game on, baby.
Chapter 13
JADE
I sat there frozen.Like the whole gym faded into background static, and the only thing that existed was that screen. His voice. My name.
"My queen, Jade Bryan, my girl Jade... baby, I’m coming for you next."
Then the wink.
Sweet. Holy. Hell.
Shani was shrieking beside me like we were front row at a Beyoncé concert, and Mindy grabbed my arm hard enough to leave fingerprints. Somewhere in the crowd, someone actuallyfainted. Probably one of Leo's fangirls realizing he just declared himself off the market.
But I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
He’d said it so casually, like we were already a thing. Like the weeks of radio silence, the heartbreak, the chaos and lies and slime-dumping were just a detour. Like this was all some grand, messy love story and he’d just flipped the page to our next chapter.
Part of me wanted to run down those bleachers and throw myself into his arms.
Instead, I swallowed hard. Blinked once. Twice. Forced air into my lungs and let it out slow.
“Say something!” Shani whisper-screamed. “Queen J! That was like... Romeo, but if Romeo had abs and a three-point shot!”
“I...” I cleared my throat. “I think I need air. I’m not sure what to do with this. My therapist can vouch for that. How am I going to survive him, twice?”
Mindy snorted. “Oh no, honey. This is war now. You realize that, right? Leo just declared full-on, all-eyes-on-you, royal-epic-gesture war.”
I stood, smoothing my jacket down over my hips. My palms were sweaty. My heart still hammering.
Let them watch. Let them whisper. Let them wonder if I’d forgive him.
I didn’t owe anyone an answer tonight.
But I knew one thing as I walked toward the doors, and felt Leo’s eyes tracking me from the tunnel: the King of Royal Oaks wasn’t done.
And neither was I.
I could still hear his voice echoing off the gym walls.
“My queen, Jade Bryan. My girl, Jade. Baby, I’m coming for you next.”
It played over and over in my head like a glitching TikTok loop. Every eye in that gym had snapped to me. Girls whispering, guys elbowing each other, and Shani cackling like it was the best damn entertainment since the new season of Yellowstone.
But before I could even process what the hell Leo Sinclair had just done, Kannon Kavanaugh was already making his play.
Cool. Calm. MVP energy radiating off him like heat from asphalt in July.
