Fuck, that answered that. I puffed my chest with a deep breath and locked my gaze on Jake's. "Leave her out of it. The new season is between you and me. You're going down." "Yeah? Why don't we settle it right now?" He stepped around her tiny blockade. "I should beat your ass just for your pathetic existence." With the injury risk, I had no intention of fighting him, but fuck, what I wouldn't do to give him what he deserved one day. Tomorrow wasn't soon enough. Bullies were cowards and I had no reason to bow down to one. "Save it for the field," I deflected as a vein popped on his temple. Mystery Girl gave a, 'I tried, your funeral' head shake, but Blondie shoved Jake. "Dick comparison later, Jake. Elle's sick, for fuck's sake." L? Like the letter? Jake softened into an unrecognizable stranger. "Harper, take Ellie to rinse her mouth." Hold the fuck up here. On the field, he was so fucking arrogant. Off the field? Part of their celebration involved trashing our starters' houses and vehicles. Assholes. Three years and I'd never seen a look of concern on Harrison's face, but there it was, directed at Ellie. Ellie's wistful smile dissolved into an eye roll when I smirked. L-E or Ellie? Didn't matter. I could salvage my fuckup. No, I could work it in my favor. Harrison had a weakness, a tiny, hot sister crack in his asshole armor… who got sick at the sight of my chest. She glanced at Jake before turning and walking away with Blondie. The watery look in Jake's sister's eyes evoked as much discomfort as my slimed toes. He and his last insult could kick rocks into the ocean. Death on the field, retribution off it, blah blah Harrison blah. I glared at the back of his head, but she made me smile. She was an adorable, clumsy, chihuahua-sized stick of dynamite. "You okay?" Josh's voice accompanied the hand on my shoulder. "You're staring like a total creeper." I pushed an exhale out my nose. My brain had fucking whiplash. "Yeah. My pretty face survives another Jake Harrison threat." "Good." He laughed, but it was humorless and more like 'stop with the death wish.' "I don't care about your face, but we need your eyesight." "We do." Based on Jake's unhinged anger, I was insane. And yet, a thrill rushed through my veins. My skin tingled. Harrison's hot sister? Getting back at him? Challenge accepted. She turned her head and I snapped a discreet picture. A profile was a start, but Josh was right. A creepy stalker was a bad first impression. I preferred the dashing, handsome, charming, heroic rescuer of clumsy damsels. "How can she say chivalry is dead?" Josh frowned at my rhetorical question. "I caught her. Not my fault she preferred to fall." He shook his head with a laugh. "Proof's in the puke, bro." Fuck, the view from the back was nice too. She was so small, the top of her head reached my armpit, and yet she yanked me on an invisible leash. This wasn't me, but I had no explanation. This girl couldn't have projected 'not interested' louder unless she tattooed the words on her forehead, yet interest churned in my chest. "She's… I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Giving my number to a stranger was a new move, one I'd given zero thought toward. Josh's gaze burned a hole in my face, followed by another shoulder bump. Amusement glinted in his eyes. He knew what my rounds of staring meant. Trouble. "You alright, bro?" Smirking, he touched the corner of his mouth. "Your mouth is leaking." Of course, he enjoyed this. "I will be." Harrison ruined my view by sitting near… fuck, his sister. "Don't sign your own death certificate," Josh mumbled. "The guys wanna hit up a few rides before they close. I'm gonna hang back to see if Harrison returns to rearrange your guts." I didn't spare a glance at our JV babysitting charges. "My guts appreciate that." As I washed my feet under a shower, my eyes found her silhouette, joined by Harrison's teammates. Seeing them cry in their helmets would be lit. What kind of gold mine of Jake Harrison blackmail material was that girl in possession of? With the right approach, this girl, served with a side of Harrison's retribution, would be mine by tomorrow. L-something Harrison at Santa Cruz couldn't be hard to find. I searched through my socials. Zero hits on Ellie, Elle, El, and L. Harrison, other than a Larry in Sacramento. "Josh," I mumbled, my fingers working the keypad. "What's Ellie short for?" "Ellen? Eleanor? Elenora? Who the fuck cares?" "Eleanor." I frowned at one possibility, E_Harrison, unknown location. Her banner was a fucking basket of kittens. Jake and Harper were two out of three of her followers. Success, except… She had zero pictures. None. Nada. Not even a blurry thumb or ground shot. No comprendo. I didn't know any girl without selfies plastered over her page, flowers, sunsets, inspo quotes, makeup tutorials, or some hint of personality. Ellie was a blank slate. "What the fuck are you playing here, Logan?" Josh made a valid, indirect point. My original plan was… I didn't have one. I followed the same gut sense that prompted me to give my number to my rival's sister. Harrison's ugly mug was plastered all over his football-centered page. No Ellie. Harper's mixed creative insults and profile selfies. Not a single brown-haired head in any of them. Were they hiding her? "Bro." I held up a 'wait' finger to Josh and followed her. "Uno momento, Josh." The lack of dirt here was problematic. I needed more than, 'Hey, we just met and you puked on my feet, but I think you're beautiful' to charm around these roadblocks. Time for plan B… I didn't have a plan B. Her third follower was Alex Henderson until sporadic teammates of mine followed my follow. Right when I clicked on him, Alex followed me. How convenient, a Plan B. Me: Hey He took a while to respond, so I swiped through his page. A skinny kid obsessed with reading and no Ellie. AlexHenderson: Hey. Friend of Elle's? My grin was so wide, it threatened to split my face. Here we go. Me: Nope, boyfriend. Given his delay, I probably exploded his brain. AlexHenderson: Boyfriend??? Wow, I had no idea. AlexHenderson: Boyfriend???