The Lie: Rebels of Ridgecrest High (Book 2)

Friday night football.

Nothing gets the blood pumping like Friday night football. Emerson runs out beside me, all riled up to beat the Port Oak Raiders. The crowd tonight is loud, even though we’re playing at Port Oak. The Rebels know when to come out in force.

I see my girl out there with her two friends, Sadie and Cadence. They bring out a side of her that I can’t; girl talk is something I’m not good at, and they bring plenty of that to the table. Lunch has definitely been different this week.

Mila waves at me, and I love seeing her wearing my shirt and number. I double tap my chest and send her a kiss. She blows me one back, and I catch it and pretend to put it in my pocket. I can see her beaming smile and that she’s giggling with the girls.

Emerson gives me a chest pump, and I shake out my limbs as I bounce on my feet.

“You think one of Mila’s friends would wanna hook up with me at the after-party?” Emerson asks as he stretches his legs and looks over to where Mila and the girls are.

I jog in place and look back over there. “Which one?” I don’t know them very well, but I could always ask Mila. Or Emerson could suck it up and ask the one he likes to go suck his dick if that’s what he wants. I have a feeling, though, that they’re not those types of girls.

He winks over at me. “The redhead.”

Cadence. From what I do know of her, she speaks her mind. She would probably chew Emerson up and spit him out in a heartbeat if he asked her.

I grin. “Go for it. Cadence loves football players. She will eat right out of your hand.”

He eyes me warily, and I smirk. Shaking his head, he says, “Fucker, now I’m not gonna go ask her.”

“Maybe stick to the cheer squad. At least they’ll be at the party. They don’t care as long as you have a football jersey on. They will play with your little dick.”

“Fuck you, it’s not little.”

I wiggle my pinkie finger at him and watch as his face grows red. It’s so easy to mess with Emerson.

He flips me the bird and runs toward the stands. I see him waving up at Mila and the girls. Hell, maybe he’s asking Cadence to the party later. But then I see Mila’s smile as she purses her lips and blows him a kiss. All three of them do.

He comes back with a huge, stupid smile. I shove him, and he laughs.

“Oh…I got me a Mila kiss. And Cadence and…fuck, um…”

I cross my arms over my chest; he hasn’t a clue what her name is.

“What’s the purple-haired one’s name?”

I roll my eyes at him. “You’re not getting laid tonight.” I turn my back on him and jog over to the rest of the team.

I haven’t spoken to Jace all week. If it isn’t part of football, then I ignore him. Roman has been the same, but that’s different since he pretty much ignores everyone but Coach. He spent his morning in Coach’s office. I tried to overhear what they were talking about, but I couldn’t with the music and all the guys talking.

Out on the field, there’s nothing but football. All the other shit I leave behind. Jace stands behind the center and looks over at me. I tap my helmet, letting him know I’m ready, and the defense watches me.

“Gold eagle, gold eagle, hut,” Jace calls out, and it’s on.

I run, darting past the defense. Roman is on the other side of the field, running, a player gaining on him. I turn to Jace, our eyes lock, and he throws the ball. I reach out and catch it. Cradling the ball in my arm, I hightail it. Fuck yes, my blood is pumping.

A body slams into me, and we go down with a thud. Fucker. I’d had a good thing going.

Emerson helps me up. “You good?” He pats me on the back as I nod and throw the ball to the ref.

“Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.”

This time, the play is for Roman, and he takes the pass off and barrels through the whole defensive line, running faster than I’ve ever seen him run before.

“Run! Run!” I scream as I barrel down the field after him. Ten yards, five yards…touchdown. Fuck yeah! I whoop loudly and rush to him. In the moment, I forget and jump and hug him. Then I quickly drop away from him. Shit…I look to see if he’s affected, but he just grins wildly at me.

“Fuck yeah, boys,” he calls loudly, then fist pumps me and the guys coming up to celebrate our first touchdown of the game.

If this is how the night is starting, we’ll be walking away winners.

And that’s exactly what happens. We win against the Raiders by three touchdowns. Roman made most of them tonight. I’ve never seen him play like that before. Whatever Coach said to him, it seems to have lit a fire under him or something.

“Party time?” Emerson asks as I get off the bus.

“No. Mila promised Asher and Walker that we would go over to their place and party up.”

Emerson shakes his head at me. “The fuck? You gonna party with the Kings and not your teammates?”

I pat his back and chuckle.

“You’re partying with Kings? What the hell, man?” Beau shoulder-checks me.

“Those rich boys know how to put on a party,” I tease back.

Emerson snorts. “Asshole, you know my parties are the best.” He shoves me. “Whatever, man, now you’re all loved up, it just means more pussy for me at my parties.”

I agree; the only pussy I want is Mila’s. But even calling it that doesn’t sit right with me. Before I can figure out why, Mila comes running out and wraps her arms and legs around my body and kisses me.

“Hey, sexy, I played just for you. I could hear you in the stands.”

She gives me a heated look and kisses me again. I spin us slowly in a circle as I kiss her back. Fuck, Mila’s pressed against me, and I can feel myself growing hard.

I drop her back to the ground and take her hand. She looks over my shoulder at Roman. “Roman, you want to come out with us?”

He shakes his head and makes his way to the white car he’s been driving while his Harley’s in the shop. I haven’t a clue how long it’s going to take to get it fixed, but he’s still driving the crappy car, so the bike must be really fucked up.

“Let’s go party with the enemy.” I kiss her hair, and she laughs.

“It’s not the whole team, silly. Walker’s keeping it small.”

True to Walker’s word, the party is small, and it’s mostly couples. The music isn’t so loud you can’t hear anyone, and the drinking games aren’t played with some shit beer. They have the good shit here. Walker’s house is easily twice the size of mine. He gave us a room for the night. Since his parents are rarely ever home, he has most of the team parties here.

“Mila, you wanna strip off and get in the hot tub?” Asher calls out to where she stands beside a dark-haired girl. He sways on his feet beside me; his eyes are glassy, and he winks at her.

“The fuck man, that’s my girl.” I give him a little shove, and he stumbles into a potted plant but rights himself before breaking it.

“I know she is. She’s probably gonna be my stepsister when Coach finally asks my mom to marry him. So, fuck you, dude. I was just asking if she wanted to go in the hot tub. She’s been in mine the past couple of days. Said it relaxes her body and shit.” He shoves me back.

Oh, fuck. How could I forget that? He’s right, their parents look very cozy. It’s just a matter of time before they get married.

I take another shot and shake my head. Last one. No more, or I’ll be wasted like Asher is. And I don’t intend on being drunk…I have plans. With Mila.

“Yeah, sorry. The way I heard it…I guess it just didn’t sound like a step-brotherly comment.” Maybe I’m drunker than I thought. He did say “strip off,” I’m sure of it. That’s not normal, right?

Walker wraps his arm around my shoulder and sloshes some beer on my feet. Fuck, not on my Jordan 4 Black Cats. This is their first night out. Fucker.

“Oh, no. You heard that right. Asher here has a hard-on for Mila something fierce. But don’t worry, she cockblocked him straight up. And me.”

Don’t worry. What. The. Fuck. Asher doesn’t even deny it. He’s got a stupid grin on his face.

“Fucking stay away from her, Asher,” I growl lowly to him. No idea why I’m suddenly so worried that Mila would leave me for him. I’ve been worked up since the game tonight. Maybe I just need some sleep.

He puts his hands up and sways again. “We do family dinner and shit. It’s all good. It’s true she cockblocked me from the get go. It’s cool with me. The whole Garden of Eden thing, she said.”

“The what?”

I watch as Asher stumbles into a chair and drops his red cup and watch as the contents empty onto the ground.

Walker chuckles beside me. “The forbidden fruit. Mila’s off-limits, so it makes her more desirable to Asher. He wants her only because he can’t have her. You get me?” Walker fills me in, and Asher just shrugs.

Well, fuck. What do I do with that?

Mila crooks her finger at me, and I follow her down to the basement. There’s a whole gaming room down here, but it’s empty of partygoers; the rest of the party’s upstairs.

“You beckon, and I come.” I smirk as I back her up against the pool table. She squeaks in surprise, and I wink down at her.

Lifting her up, I place her on the edge of the pool table. I cup her face gently and lean into her neck, inhaling. “God, Mila, you smell so good.” My tongue traces up the nape of her neck, and I place a kiss just under her ear. Pulling back, I look at her and she chuckles.

“I got the soft and gentle Hunter tonight?” She licks her lips, and I run my thumb over them.

“Well, we’ve both been drinking, and I don’t want to take advantage of my girlfriend. I need to know where your head’s at.”

“Let’s just say, if you needed me to drive home right now, I’m good to go.”

I pull my face from hers and look into her eyes. “You haven’t been drinking?”

She shakes her head. I thought she had a beer earlier. My mistake. “Well, you can take all the advantage of me you want. I’ve had a couple, but I’m fine. Not driving fine but fucking fine.”

She cracks up with a deep belly laugh. “Fucking fine,” she repeats, snorts and giggles erupting. “That’s gonna be my new favorite phrase.”

I run my hands along the waistband of her jeans, snaking my hands up under her t-shirt. She does the same to me, feeling the hard plains of my abs. I flex a little under her touch and she groans.

“God, you’re so hot. Smart and funny. You’re the whole package,” she purrs.

Mila tips her head back as I run my hand between her breasts. She closes her eyes, and I use it to my advantage. I pull her tee up, exposing her red bra and breasts. I kiss between her cleavage, one on each tit, and place small licks and kisses up the column of her throat, then her chin, until my mouth lands on her lips. She gasps, our mouths against each other, and her tongue dances with mine.

I press my chest against hers, and she lets out a loud moan.

“Get a room,” Walker says from behind, startling us both. We pull away just enough so I can see Walker and not expose Mila to him. He’s grinning at us. I flip him the bird, and he chuckles. “Or use my pool table. Whatever floats your boat.”

Reaching behind me, I grab one of the pool balls. I roll it, and it smacks into a few others.

Mila sighs into my chest. “Getting a room is the best idea.”

“Lead the way, babe.” I smack her on the ass and she jumps. I watch the glint in her eyes. She likes it when I spank that perfect ass.

Feeling giddy all of a sudden, I flip her over my shoulder and take off running.

Hell yeah. I can’t wait to taste Mila.