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RJ started waving his hands around.

But Axel was looking the other way.

Come on, Axel! Turn right!

A defensive lineman lunged at him.

No! Crap.

Axel took a step back, but the defender was still able to grab Axel’s ankle.

Scarlett groaned.

But Axel somehow hopped out of the tackle.

Scarlett and I both jumped to our feet. Axel ran right, turning his head in the same direction.

And I knew he’d seen RJ when he pulled his arm back.

I held my breath as Axel threw a 50-yard bomb down the field. The ball spiraled through the air toward the end zone.

Defenders started running. And one was right in front of RJ as the ball came down.

RJ leapt into the air, his hands wrapping around the ball just inches above the defender’s. RJ fell backward, cradling the ball against his chest. He landed hard on the grass. But the ball was still in his arms.

The crowd was completely silent.

And then the refs lifted their arms, confirming that it was a touchdown.

We won! I started jumping up and down. “We won!”

Axel pumped his fist into the air as he ran toward the end zone to celebrate.

“They did it!” Scarlett yelled.

I could barely even hear her over as the crowd erupted into cheers. I grabbed Scarlett’s arm and pulled her down the stands. Students were already starting to storm the field. And I wanted to get to the guys to celebrate.

Tears started welling in my eyes. They did it. They’d really won. Screw Bernstein Prep. We won!

By the time our feet hit the turf, there were already people celebrating all over the field. I couldn’t see Jacob, Axel, RJ, or Liam anywhere. But I did see one person I knew. Mr. Halifax. He was clapping his wings together.

And I realized that not many people knew that he was the mascot. Actually, I was pretty sure it was just me and my friends. Before I could talk myself out of it, I dropped Scarlett’s arm and ran over to the Empire High mascot.

“We won!” I yelled.

Mr. Halifax turned his oversized eagle head toward me. And instead of turning away like I expected, he actually took a step toward me. Like he wanted to celebrate the win with me and only me.

That was the only sign I needed. I jumped into his waiting arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms behind his neck.

His arms fell to my back. And then slid lower, holding me in place with his feathery hands.

I froze. Is he... He is! Mr. Halifax is touching my ass!

It was possible he had to move his hands to not let me fall. But it seemed a lot more like my sexy teacher wanted to squeeze my ass.

“Congrats,” I said and kissed his fuzzy cheek. The material tickled my skin in the best way possible and I tightened my legs around him.

And I swear he groaned.