Chapter 28
Sadie's POV
Watching him hold that sports drink made the heavy heat feel even more suffocating. The sunlight seemed harsher somehow, and halfway through the next drill, a wave of dizziness hit me.
My vision blurred at the edges. The noise around me felt distant, like I was underwater.
Zoe noticed first. "Sadie? You okay? You look really pale."
I tried to smile. "I'm fine. Just... a little hot."
But my hands were shaking.
Brooklyn's eyes widened. "Okay, no. You're not fine. Did you skip lunch again?"
I shook my head.
Maya immediately pulled an energy bar from her bag. "Here. Eat this. Now."
I took it, but my hands felt too weak to open the wrapper.
Down on the field, Liam glanced up toward the bleachers during a water break. His eyes landed on me, then narrowed.
He jogged over to Jake and tapped his shoulder.
Jake didn't look up. "What?"
Liam nodded toward the bleachers. "Sadie. She looks like she's about to pass out."
Jake's head snapped up.
His eyes found me instantly.
I was leaning against Brooklyn's shoulder, my face probably ghost-white.
For a second, Jake just stared. His jaw tightened. His hand flexed around the water bottle he was holding.
Then he looked away and muttered something I couldn't hear.
Liam raised an eyebrow but didn't push it.
Jake turned back to the field, but his shoulders stayed tense.
---
A burst of laughter echoed from the cheerleading side of the field.
I glanced over automatically.
Vivienne stood near the practice area with Madison and a few other girls from her sorority. Even from here, Vivienne looked perfect—platinum hair glowing in the sunlight, tiny white tennis skirt, glossy lips curved into a smile that never quite reached her eyes.
Madison leaned toward her and whispered something.
The girls laughed.
One of them looked directly at me before wrinkling her nose.
Heat crawled up my neck.
Brooklyn noticed too. "Ignore them."
Easy for her to say.
Vivienne's gaze flicked past me toward the football field.
Toward Jake.
And suddenly I understood exactly why she looked so irritated.
My stomach twisted.
---
Down below, practice finally started wrapping up. Players tossed helmets into bags and headed toward the benches, sweaty and exhausted.
I spotted Liam talking animatedly with Cole and Tyler.
Jake stood beside them, quieter than the others.
Then Mason wandered over. He still looked a bit tense from watching Vivienne earlier, but his broad shoulders and intimidating rich-boy aura were firmly in place.
He said something that made Liam laugh.
Then Liam pointed up toward the bleachers.
Toward me.
"Oh my God," Brooklyn whispered. "Why are they pointing?"
"I don't know," I whispered back, already wanting to disappear.
Mason looked up.
His eyes landed on me, and to my horror, he kept looking.
Not in a mean way, exactly.
Just... openly.
Like he was studying me.
Beside him, Jake went completely still.
Even from across the field, the shift in his body language was obvious.
The relaxed posture disappeared.
His jaw tightened.
---
Jake's POV
The whistle finally blew, cutting through the heat.
Practice was over.
Around us, guys started tossing helmets into duffel bags and reaching for water bottles. The bleachers were already beginning to clear out.
I grabbed my bag off the bench, trying not to look up.
Trying not to look at her again.
Didn't matter.
I could still picture her sitting up there wrapped in that oversized t-shirt, pale enough to scare the hell out of me.
Liam jogged over first.
"Yo. Food. I'm starving."
Cole slung an arm over Tyler's shoulders.
"Finally. Thought Coach was trying to kill us today."
Tyler pointed toward the parking lot.
"Burgers?"
Liam hesitated for half a second.
Too casual.
Too deliberate.
"How about we invite Sadie and her friends?"
My grip tightened around my sports drink.
Tyler looked between us immediately.
"Wait. Seriously?"
I kept my expression neutral.
"Why?"
Liam shrugged.
"Dude, she looked like she was about to pass out."
I looked away toward the bleachers before I could stop myself.
She was still there.
Brooklyn was saying something to her, but Sadie barely reacted.
Still pale.
Still shaky.
Something low and irritated twisted in my chest.
Liam kept talking.
"Least we can do is make sure she actually eats something, right?"
Cole smirked instantly.
"Ohhhhhh. Liam has a crush on his own stepsister. That's weird, man."
"Shut up," Liam shot back.
"She's my stepsister, you asshole. Of course I care about her."
Then his eyes slid toward me.
Deliberate.
"Plus, she's living with us. Might as well be friendly, right?"
I didn't answer.
Because I knew exactly what he was doing.
And I wasn't about to give him the reaction he wanted.
Mason wandered over then, helmet tucked under one arm.
"What's going on?"
Liam jerked his head toward the bleachers.
"We're trying to convince Sadie to come get food with us."
Mason followed his gaze automatically.
And immediately spotted her.
Of course he did.
Even sitting halfway across the field looking exhausted, Sadie stood out.
But Mason's eyes flicked to me almost immediately after.
Quick.
Sharp.
Like he'd caught something.
His mouth twitched slightly.
"Wait," he said slowly.
"Which one is she again?"
Liam pointed.
"Oversized t-shirt."
Mason looked back at Sadie for another second.
Then casually:
"Huh."
A pause.
Then a little too innocently, "She's pretty."
Cole's grin widened instantly.
Tyler muttered, "Oh, this should be good."
I felt my jaw tighten.
Mason noticed that.
I knew he did.
Because the second he saw my expression harden, something amused flashed across his face.
Not genuine interest.
Recognition.
Like he'd suddenly figured out a secret nobody else had.
And decided to poke at it.
He leaned against the bench casually.
"So..."
His eyes stayed on me this time, not Sadie.
"Is she single?"
The question hit me harder than it should've.
Like somebody throwing gasoline straight onto a fire I'd been trying very hard not to acknowledge existed.
Liam blinked.
Cole looked way too entertained.
Tyler outright choked on his water.
And Mason was still watching me carefully now.
Waiting.
Testing.
No.
Absolutely not.
"She's off-limits," I said flatly.