Chapter 43: Bye-week - Monet

"Has Cole not said anything to you about bye-week?" Amy frowns. "I thought we were the Fearless Four, sticking together and all that shit."

Cole is not talking to me. I sent him a text after I saw him in the parking lot, but he left me on read again.

"They go camping for bye-week, and if you're not invited by a football player, you can't go."

"Maybe we can sit this one out?" I know it's not going to be taken well even while the words are leaving my mouth.

"Sit bye-week out!" Amy exclaims like I just told a horror story. "You must be mad, right? There's no way I'm letting some girl go into Luke's tent!"

I stop walking, and she follows me.

"So how were you thinking the camping situation was going to go, exactly?" I ask curiously. "Are you planning on sleeping in Luke's tent? Where am I supposed to sleep, then?"

"You always sleep with Cole." She says as if it's a given.

"What if Cole has a girl in his tent?"

She ponders that thought, frowning. "We'll think of something."

"I thought you were staying away from Luke."

"Relax!" She starts walking again, and I follow suit. "I'm not jeopardizing his spot on the team or anything. My father will never find out if something happened between us. Right now, he doesn't even want to look in my direction anyway."

I'm pretty sure Luke likes Amy too, and that he's just very scared to do anything about it. The guy is fiercely loyal, and if Coach said that the players should stay away from his daughter, then Luke will probably honor that. It's just the type of guy he is.

"We are not getting excluded out of bye-week!" My best friends stomps her foot like a toddler who can't get their way. "I have a tent ready and everything."

She looks like a girl on a mission, and me like her puppy walking behind her as she checks something on her phone and leads the way to the student center.

Lo and behold, we find Cole and Luke at the ice cream parlor with girls hanging off them like dirty laundry.

Jealousy rushes through me as I look at Cole, who is smirking down at a brunette that is licking her ice cream cone like she would rather lick something else.

I have no place to feel jealous, I went out with Damon the night before, and we kissed. Nothing with tongue or anything, but it was a kiss nonetheless.

His smile drops when he lifts his head and sees us coming, and my friend Amy is scared of nobody as she sidles to Luke's side that is not occupied with a sneer on her face. Poor Luke looks like he's about to faint on the spot.

"What's up guys!" Amy says cheerfully. "Why don't you introduce us to your friends here?"

I can feel Cole's eyes burning on me, but I don't look his way, my eyes fixed on Luke who is downright blushing at Amy.

"I'm Samantha!"

My eyes immediately switch to the girl with Cole, who appears quite chirpy, but I can sense the bitchiness in her tone as she looks me up and down.

"And who is your friend, Luke." Amy smiles sweetly. "Are you inviting her to go camping for bye-week?"

"No!" Luke straightens to his full height, his eyes wide like he did something wrong. "I was gonna ask you and Stinker to join me."

I almost burst out laughing when the girl who was standing next to Luke gives him a dirty look and storms off.

Amy smiles widely at him. "Good choice. Do you wanna share a tent with us? I have a two-room one."

"Yes."

"You're the best." Amy hugs him around the waist, making him beam.

"Samantha is coming with me." There's a challenge in Cole's eyes when he looks at me, like I'm supposed to object to that.

"Okay, so everything is sorted. Are you picking us up at my house?" Amy continues, oblivious to the fact that there is a silent war raging between Cole and me.

What the hell is happening right now? Why is he looking at me like he wants to strangle me or something?

"Yes." Luke ruffles her hair. "See you guys tomorrow morning, be ready at nine sharp."

Amy hooks her arm in mine, steering me away from them and out of the student center. "See, that wasn't so difficult, right?"

"Wait." I look at her suspiciously. "How did you even know they were going to be at the ice cream parlor."

She purses her lips, trying to look innocent.

"Amy!"

"There is nothing wrong with putting a tracking app on your man's phone when he is sleeping." She says nonchalantly.

My mouth drops open in shock. "That's an invasion of privacy! You can't do that!"

"I can and I did." She doesn't sound regretful about it either. "Now let's go, we only have one night to make sure I look absolutely irresistible at that damn lake tomorrow."

How do I tell her I don't even want to go? Because I definitely don't want to see Cole up in a girl the whole damn day.