Page 128 of Their Wicked Secrets: Untouched, Vol 5 of 6

Zach smiles like he caught me and tsks me. “Such language. I don’t know if that’s befitting a princess of the court. We all know you only have so many ways to please a guy, darling. Someone’s going to get left out sometimes. Do you even qualify as a horseman now that you don’t play football anymore?”

He’s doing this to egg on Nico and being so fucking obvious about it.

Nico rubs his thumb down the side of my throat. “Go on, Harper. Nothing’s going to happen here. Not with the security cameras in the hallway.”

I nod but don’t leave Nico’s arms. He’s right. Fighting on school property has strict punishments.

“Tick tock, darling.” Zach’s laughter curdles my stomach as he disappears into the other locker room.

“I love you, sunshine.” Nico kisses my temple and releases me.

Holding his gaze, I walk into the locker room.

Kenz takes my arm as I enter. “Okay, let’s show these guys how good you clean up.”

Dragging in a breath, I release it and all the tension from the hallway. Kenz leads me over to where Penny sits with my stuff. We pass by the Cheermonsters. Sidney sneers. Ashley gives me a little nod.

Emma smiles. “Good luck tonight, Harper.”

“What the fuck, Emma?” Sidney says with a glare.

“Good luck, Emma,” I say with a smile, just to stir the pot.

When we round the corner, Penny smiles.

“I just traded with Nat. I wanted to be here when you changed.” Penny unzips the dress bag and I inhale, remembering how it looked on me and how I felt in it.

“What’s wrong with you, Emma? You’re supposed to be my friend.” Sidney’s voice is low and harsh, like she thinks we won’t hear her.

“She has as much chance as any of us to win tonight.” Emma’s tone is light. “So what if I say good luck to another girl? She’s my friend’s girlfriend.”

Sidney makes a frustrated noise, and I smile at Kenz and Penny, who smile back. I love that Sidney’s hold on them is unraveling. Her reign of terror is almost over.

I focus on my dress. It looks like something a fairy princess would wear. Even with all the threats and the worry, I can’t wait for the guys to see me in this dress. For just a moment, to be a girl standing in front of her boyfriends, all dressed up for them.

I hope they like it.

Luke

We break from the huddle and fall into line. I look to my left and to my right to make sure everyone is set. I can’t afford to worry about Harper right now. This game is close.

The Spoede High Wild Cats are always a challenge. This year they’ve really upped their defense, shutting us down on more than one play in the first half. I want another touchdown as we go into halftime to help cement our victory.

Eli shakes his hands loose as he bounces at the end of the line, ready to make a break for it. We were built to work as a team. Years of practice and a connection not everyone has. It will be hard leaving high school behind.

While most of us want to play college ball, not all of us will. Even if we all make the team. I’m not sure Eli will have time with his studies to balance everything.

Add Harper to our college experience and all of us are going to want to make time for each other. It will be a challenge but we’ll make it work, because I’m not doing anything without them.

“Blue, twenty-two!” I call down the line. “Blue, twenty-two! Hut!”

Rivera hikes me the ball, and it’s on. The crunch of bodies slamming against each other fills the air as Caden protects me from the incoming tackles. I fall back and feel the air shift. This is my chance. I have line of sight to the other receiver, but Eli breaks free from the cornerback covering him at the last minute.

I throw a spiral right to where he’ll be. It slips into his fingers, and he cradles it as he runs into the end zone. The crowd goes fucking wild. My heart goes through the roof.

Jack runs over, grabs my facemask, and bumps his helmet against mine. “Yeah, man!”

For a moment, everything is right.