"Your lack of enthusiasm in me is disturbing," I smirked at Bryce. "She's ballsy, though." His head tipped back with a laugh, the sun highlighting his blonde curls. "The only good ballsy girl is when it's my balls in her mouth." I shook my head with a groan. The shit this guy spewed out. Unbelievable. Bryce's hand gestures over his crotch didn't help. "The one who puked on you?" He continued as if this was a normal conversation and thankfully his hand stopped. "They were hot. Put in a good word for me. I'd tap either or both." No girl deserved to be decently satisfied by Bryce. "Unlike Ava, I'm no damn matchmaker." He let out a low whistle. "I haven't seen you go for a girl in forever. You're going to smash her tiny ass in half. Shit, I'll smash her in sloppy seconds when you're done with her." "Shit." Josh's palm met the back of Bryce's head. "Too far." I clenched the handles of my gear bags. "Shut the fuck up." Normally, I couldn't care less, but his talking about Ellie stirred discomfort in me. "And don't talk about her ass." "On the bus, twinkle toes!" Coach roared. The thrill of anticipation rushed through my veins again. Except for Bryce, I missed these meatheads. They weren't my brothers, but more awkward relatives that I had to associate with at family functions. I'd never admit it, but Harrison's leadership was his strength. He ran his team like a machine, manipulative and controlling down to the last detail. I was better on a pure skill level, but last year he had a better team. Not this year. Only two of last year's offensive starters graduated, offensive linemen who were a step slower than their replacements. This year, our last year would be our finest. A fresh start. A blank slate. Nowhere to go but up in pursuit of glory. I took a back-row seat next to Josh. From Ellie's number in my call history, I created her contact and texted her when the bus pulled away. Me: Hi Ellie. 'Undeliverable message' returned. I tried again. No bueno. "Fuck." My curse lifted Josh's eyes. I left the obvious, 'This might be harder than I thought,' unsaid. "She blocked my number." His smirk was enough, but he followed it with, "Told you." "This isn't over." We drove inland, where the scenery changed from coastline to dense woods and hilly roads. Josh was lost in Ava World. Other guys listened to music and played on their phones, showing I had seventy other unblocked numbers at my disposal. "So." Jackson's greasy head twisted around in the seat ahead. "Eleanor Harrison, huh?" Thanks to Bryce's big mouth and a bus full of bored guys, everyone knew about my 'crush' within our first hour. I didn't realize that's how I felt, but of course, they spent the next two hours roasting my ass about Harrison. It ended with a horrible suggestion. "C'mon, Logan," Jackson whined, his eyes peering over the leather seat. "Put Eleanor in the game again." My head snapped up. This runt was in no position to say that, not to me. I glared daggers at his smug expression. "No. Fuck no." In my peripheral vision, Josh side-eyed me from across the aisle. "Not if you want any real chance with her," he muttered. "Wait." One of his words registered. The leather seat under my almost-asleep ass creaked as I leaned forward. "What do you mean again?" Josh mouthed, "I deleted her yesterday. You're welcome." Jackson's casual shrug begged me to deck his ass into place, but that wasn't me. I wanted to though. "See for yourself." I pulled up that damn sheet. "What now?" The last words I ever expected sat in the last row. Eleanor - hot | virgin | Jake Harrison's sister (trifekta) - Hightower My eyes concentrated on the misspelled trifecta until the letters blurred. The longer I stared, the tighter my fist squeezed my phone. A violent rage began to build inside me. The need to smash my fist into something, or someone, trembled through my fingers. I ran my other hand through my hair and grabbed a handful. I wanted to rip it out. With a tight jaw, I closed my eyes and exhaled. "What the fuck!" I roared, not at Bryce's shit spelling. "Who the fuck did this? No. No, no, fuck no." Ellie didn't deserve to be treated like a line in that damn spreadsheet, in particular not with that word attached to her name. What the fuck were they thinking? Hot and sharp, my breath shortened. I moved my fingers as fast as possible and deleted the game and all its copies. Shared folders and cloud backups? Gone. A collective groan of confusion erupted from the rows ahead of me, followed by mutters of confusion. My eyes stung as they glared venom at Jackson. He shrugged and slunk down in his seat. That's right. Back down, prick. "She's not at our school," I spat. "And I don't do that game shit, so forget it. Leave both her and me out of it." Putting Ellie in their game? With the biggest target on her? I clenched my stomach, and my fingers squeezed the leather on Jackson's seat back. It groaned and creaked as I dented it with pressure. I wanted to throw the whole seat, with him in it, out the window. Instead, I shot up and steadied my balance. My head brushed the ceiling as I scowled at the rows ahead. "Everyone, listen up!!" Sixty-nine confused heads turned to me. "No more of this stupid shit game with girls. No fucking more! Focus on the games that matter. Football. Only." My outburst was answered with furrowed eyebrows, downturned mouths, heads shaking, and mutters of discontent. I'm not sure what that said for their level of respect for me as captain, but my outburst quieted the bus down. For now. I fell back in my seat with a grunt. Bryce shook his head and Jackson rolled his eyes, prompting me to warn, "Don't test me." "Very progressive." Of course, Josh smirked. Ava would castrate him for even thinking about looking at another girl. "Fuck, I mean it." I shook my head. "Guessing her virginity? Even Harrison's sister doesn't deserve to be treated like that." Exhaling a slow, deep breath to calm my racing heart rate, I clenched my teeth until my molars ground together. Trifecta. Un-fucking believable. Thank fuck I dodged that bullet