The guys let me go to bed without too many questions, though I did take a shower and scrub my arms for a good half hour before I was done. The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual. I took a shower and did my usual morning routine. Today I wore my usual boot-cut dark blue jeans and a black boyfriend shirt. I made sure to put all my cleaned bracelets back on. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and headed into the kitchen. I woke up early enough that we could have a real breakfast today, so I pulled out eggs and a big slab of bacon. By the time the guys started coming downstairs, I had a huge plate of eggs and a huge plate of bacon waiting.

I was sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar, finishing my last piece of bacon, when Miles came into the kitchen. He wore dark blue jeans, black converse, and a white shirt with a large picture that looked like it was taken from the Hubble telescope. That I now kind of wanted to steal; I liked the colors.

He looked around then over at me.

“You are my favorite person today,” he declared as he headed to get himself a cup of coffee.

“Did I make enough?” I asked, worrying. The guys ate so much I didn’t know how much to make.

Miles looked over the counter. “Yes. That should fill up everyone, even Isaac and Zeke.”

I got up and washed my plate then sat back down. It wasn’t long before the others walked in. Asher looked around and grabbed a plate. Today he was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a green and gold football jersey with the number six on his chest. It didn’t do much for his eyes.

“Who cooked?” He dumped a big spoonful of eggs on his plate. Miles pointed at me while he took a drink from his mug. Asher’s eyebrow rose. “When did you get up?”

“I’ve been up for an hour.” I shrugged then gestured at his shirt. “What’s with the jersey?” It looked odd on him, not his usual style.

He came and sat down on the other side of me.

“All the football players wear their jersey on games days, well, when we have home games,” he explained before he began eating.

Huh. I’d never heard of that. Then again, I’d never paid much attention to what was going on around the other schools I attended.

Zeke came in next, his hair wet but combed. He had actually shaved this morning. It made him look more “the scary guy next door” rather than his usual “menace to society” look. For the first time since I met him, he wore dark blue jeans and a scoop-neck, long-sleeved black t-shirt. The neckline showed the dip between his collarbones at the base of his throat. I wondered if it was laundry day and he was out of black jeans.

He raised an eyebrow at the food. “Did Asher cook?” He was looking warily at Miles.

“Ally did,” Asher answered before biting into a piece of bacon.

Zeke raised an eyebrow at me and then eyed the food.

“It’s not as good as Asher’s cooking, but it’s food,” I told him honestly.

Zeke grabbed a plate and dished up his breakfast.

Ethan came in next; his midnight black hair was wet and tucked behind his ears, the ends resting on his jaw line. The silver earrings against the black of his hair, as always, they caught my eye. Today he wore a faded black Metallica shirt and his usual black jeans. When his chocolate eyes saw the eggs, they lit up.

“Food!” He hurried over, avoiding Zeke who ate with his back leaning against the sink.

He was dishing himself up some eggs when he paused. “Did Miles cook?” Ethan’s voice was filled with dread.

“Lexie did.” Zeke supplied.

Ethan looked at me and blew me a kiss.

“Thanks, Beautiful.” He dished himself breakfast then stood at the end of the breakfast bar, his plate on the counter.

I heard stomping down the stairs.

“Very fucking funny guys!” Isaac shouted. He turned from the stairs and stormed into the kitchen, still wet from the shower, wearing only a towel around his waist.

The guys burst out laughing while I took the time to ogle him a little. The muscles in his broad shoulders caught my eye, which then ran down to his defined chest. He didn’t have Zeke's mass, but he did have more muscle than most guys did. Then there were his abs, he had the definition everyone wished they had. His Adonis belt was defined, making the v that disappeared into the white towel. The guy had definition all over. I forced my eyes back up at his face, which was scowling at the other guys.

“Where are my clothes?” The guys burst out laughing again. Isaac just shook his head and waited it out.

“Upstairs, linen closet,” Ethan and Asher told him still laughing. Isaac turned and headed off to get dressed.

“Why did you guys do that?” I asked, making a mental note to lock the door next time I take a shower.

“Isaac pranks us so much, that when an opportunity to mess with him comes up, we take it,” Asher explained as he took his plate to the sink. It wasn’t long before Isaac came back downstairs fully clothed, wearing his usual jeans and sneakers. Today he wore a green long-sleeve shirt and his blue hoodie.

“Who made food?” he asked, already grabbing a plate and dishing himself up some food.

“Lexie.” Miles and Zeke answered at the same time.

Isaac looked over at me then gave me puppy eyes. “Marry me?”

I rolled my eyes as the other guys threw wadded up napkins at him. Isaac smiled at me before biting into a piece of bacon. I ignored the proposal and finished off my coffee.

“So, is everyone coming back here after school?” Zeke asked, putting his plate into the sink and leaning against the counter near it.

“I won’t, I have to stay after to get ready for the game,” Asher announced, taking his coffee mug to the sink.

“Wait, are we still only taking one car?” I asked looking around the group.

The guys shook their heads.

“Last night I checked everyone's car out, and then Ethan salted everything. So we should be good.” Zeke said, rolling his neck; I heard it crack from here.

“I’ll probably stop by my house to pick up a change of clothes; I’m meeting Kristina at the game,” Ethan announced. “Then hopefully to the party.”

“Have you asked?” Isaac asked.

“Not yet, but I’m sure she’ll say yes.” Ethan boasted.

I rolled my eyes. Ethan did have charm; I couldn’t deny that.

“I should pick up some clothes then, too,” Isaac said, thinking out loud. “We can get ready for the party here.”

It made me think about the party tonight. What did I have in my closet that would look good?

I got to my feet and headed toward the sink with my empty mug. “Well hell, if everyone else is getting pretty,” I muttered as I stepped past Zeke and put my mug in the sink. “I might as well too.”

“You don’t have to,” Zeke pointed out, shrugging. “I’m not changing.”

“Guys don’t have to look pretty, Zeke, but girls? It’s kind of our thing. So I’m going to do the girly thing tonight.” I kept my voice matter of fact before turning and leaning against the sink.

“Are we going to see Red in a skirt?” Isaac exclaimed, his face lighting up as if it was Christmas.

I laughed sarcastically.

“No,” I told him flatly.

His face fell.

I looked over to Miles. “Miles, do you mind if I use that big tub in the master bath tonight? Cause it’s kind of calling my name,” I asked sweetly.

He smiled at me. “Of course.”

I smiled cutely at him. “Thank you.”

“You might want to add a layer today, Ally, it’s going to be cold,” Asher advised, taking his mug to the sink.

I looked around at the guys.

“Okay, who has an extra hoodie I can steal?” I asked them. I could probably get away without one, but I really didn’t want to be cold. Cold was really cold up here in the mountains.

The guys looked at each other expectantly.

“I don’t have one,” Zeke announced. “Even if I did, it would be huge on her.”

“I’ve got a red one, but it smells from band practice,” Ethan admitted apologetically.

“Same here, from football,” Asher added.

“I’ll get her one,” Miles announced, narrowing his eyes at the guys. “The girl needs a hoodie, not an appendage.”

I raised my eyebrows at that as he left the kitchen to go upstairs. The guys laughed when he was out of earshot.

“What did you guys do?” I asked suspiciously.

“We just annoyed Miles,” Isaac explained. “He’s a big believer in chivalry. You know, treating girls like ladies and all that.”

I smiled. That did sound like Miles.

“Besides,” Isaac continued, “he’s the one closest in size, and his hoodie will still be big on you.”

Made sense to me.

Miles came back downstairs and handed me his gray hoodie. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thank you, Miles.”

His ears turned pink as I pulled away.

“Wait, he lends you a hoodie, and he gets a kiss on the cheek?” Isaac scoffed, his voice full of disbelief.

I saw the mischievous gleam in his eye; he was messing with Miles or me.

“Damn straight.”

Isaac chuckled. “So classy, Red,” he said, teasing me.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and everyone laughed. I put on the hoodie--it reached mid-thigh. I held my arms out and laughed.

“If I had leggings, I could wear it as a short dress.” I giggled at myself. The boys chuckled at how small I was.

When it was time to go, we all made sure everyone had their charms on. I made sure to use my rosemary oil again. We decided to split into two cars; I was planning on riding with Miles, Isaac, and Ethan. I pulled on my leather jacket over Miles' hoodie and stepped outside. Then immediately wanted to step back inside. There was actual frost on the windshields, and my nose felt frozen already.

“Holy, freaking, mother... it's cold,” I complained pulling the sleeves of Miles hoodie over my hands. The guys laughed at me as I hopped into the back of Miles' car.

“You still need a scarf and gloves, Beautiful,” Ethan informed me as he got in the front seat.

“I haven’t exactly had time to go shopping,” I reminded him.

“Excuses, excuses,” he muttered.

I narrowed my eyes at him then scooted up behind his seat. I took my freezing hands and shoved them down his back under his shirt and jacket. He shouted, wiggled, and cursed.

“Oh look, I found a heater!” I taunted as he continued to complain.

Miles and Isaac laughed so hard that we were almost late to school.

The morning went on as usual. In World Civ. the girls to my left talked to me again this time about the coming weekend. It was nice to talk to other girls for once.

I was on my way to English when I got a text from Rory. Looks like the woman, Emily Hanns, was going to live and make a full recovery. It made my morning.

I was sitting in English waiting for class to start, when Eric sat to my left again.

“Hey Alexis, what are your plans for the weekend?” he asked, flashing me that dimple.

Oh, the usual, use my freaky abilities to beat a Bitch Ghost into staying away from my friends. I was even a smart ass in my head. Instead, I shook my head.

“I have a project I need to finish, and probably a lot of sleeping in.” I shrugged “What is there to do in town?” I asked curiously.

He gave me a friendly half-grin.

“Not much in the fall, really. Mostly the movies, hiking trails, or parties.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “There’s a party after the game tonight. Out at the Dotson’s, their parents are out of town. If you want to go.”

Was he asking me out? Or was he just letting me know?

“Yeah, I heard about that one. My friends were going to take me tonight,” I said, hoping to sound vague.

The teacher walked to the front of the classroom, class started, and I was miserable. I hated the story of Romeo and Juliet, how other girls fawned over the tragic love story. I couldn’t see the appeal. A little communication and honesty on their part and the whole death thing could have been avoided. But judging by the way that the girls were gushing as they answered questions, I was in the minority.

When class was over Eric walked out with me.

“Which way are you headed?” Eric stopped and turned around. I pointed toward the east hall. He smiled.

“I’ll walk you,” he offered, already walking along side me.

Okay, this was a first. The only people who ever walked the halls with me were the guys.

“This town doesn’t really have a lot to do in the fall, but after the first good snow, there’s a lot more going on,” he said.

He told me about parts of the lake freezing over, the pickup hockey games that happened every Saturday. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to be nice, or if he was working his way up to asking me out.

He was talking about going to the game with a group of his friends when Zeke and Asher found us in the hallway. They were walking along when Asher spotted me, saw Eric, grinned and said something to Zeke. Zeke smirked. Oh no. They made a beeline towards us.

“So, if you want to go to the game...” Eric trailed off and stopped walking when Zeke and Asher reached us.

“Hey, Ally,” Asher greeted me before his eyes went to Eric. “Who’s this?”

Zeke stopped in front of Eric. He eyed Eric up and down, being obvious about it. His frown was very much in place.

Great.

“Eric, this is Asher and Zeke, a couple of my friends.” I gestured from the boys to Eric. “Eric’s in my English class.”

Asher smiled, his face open and friendly. Zeke was his usual frowning self.

“We were just talking about the football game tonight,” I told them both.

“It should be a good game,” Eric offered, his gaze still on Zeke who had crossed his arms over his chest.

That shit!

Eric looked uneasy as he looked back at me. “I’ll see you later, Alexis.” Then he disappeared into the crowd.

I looked up to see Zeke’s smirk back in place.

“What was that about?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

“We wanted to meet the guy who was asking you out on a date,” Asher explained.

“He didn’t ask me out,” I argued.

“He was trying too.” Zeke chuckled.

I shook my head at them. I didn’t know if I should be mad, annoyed or just laugh.

“And you stopped him,” I pointed out. “Is this going to become a thing?”

“Isn’t it better if you know right off if he has a problem with your five guy friends?” Asher asked.

I rolled my eyes. He had a point; that didn’t mean I liked it, but he was right.

“Good point.” I shrugged dismissively. “Besides, I got a date with Dylan tomorrow night.”

Asher’s eyebrows went up, his eyes widened. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to his side smiling.

“And when did this happen?”

I snickered as I wrapped my arm around his waist. “On the phone last night.”

“Where is he taking you?” Zeke asked, adjusting his bag and looking a bit tense.

“I’m meeting him at Vegabond.” I looked up at Zeke. “By the way, he wants to thank you for kicking that guy's ass last Saturday.”

Zeke made a puzzled face. “It had nothing to do with him,” he said, looking uncomfortable.

“That’s what he told me.” I offered.

I gave Asher a squeeze and looked up at him. “Hey, I got a text from Rory. That woman, Emily Hann, is going to live.”

He gave me a big smile. “That totally makes my morning.”

I nodded and let go of Asher before heading down the hall.

“See you guys at lunch.”

When we got to our table at lunch, Zeke and Asher were already there. Zeke offered to watch our bags, as long as someone grabbed him something. I volunteered immediately. He handed me his money, and we headed to the cafeteria. As we went through the line, I picked the most healthy, tasteless food I could find. Revenge is sweet. I was headed back when my conscious twinged at me. I stopped and picked him up a candy bar I’d seen him eat earlier this week. That, I stuck in my pocket.

The look on his face when I handed him his steamed rice, chicken, and veggies was priceless.

“Lexie, what the fuck?” he asked, stunned at what I picked up.

The other guys burst out laughing.

“Revenge is sweet, Zeke.” I smiled at him across the table.

His eyes met mine as he glared.

“I made a point to pick you up healthy food that tasted good,” he pointed out.

I did feel a little guilty. I was still smiling when I pulled out the teriyaki sauce packets and put them in front of him. He was still glaring at me as he picked them up. I started laughing again as he looked at his food with a pained look. Okay, yeah, I was starting to feel bad. A little. I pulled out the candy bar and tossed it to him.

“You think I would do that to you?” I asked in my sweet voice.

Zeke smirked at me and started eating his lunch.

“So, have you asked Kristina to the game yet?” I asked Ethan as I started eating my tuna salad sandwich.

He nodded, his mouth fill. When he finished chewing, he answered. “Yep, I’ll be meeting her there tonight. Don’t really want it to be too date-like; girls get weird after that.”

“Speaking of dating, some guy was hitting on Ally in the hallway today,” Asher announced, his eyes sparkling.

I rolled my eyes and continued eating.

“Oh, who?” Isaac asked excitedly.

“What’s his name?” Ethan chimed in, resting his chin on his hand, giving me his full attention.

“How did you meet?” Isaac continued in a girly voice.

“Was he cute?” Ethan said in the exact same tone.

The other guys burst out laughing.

“Oh my god, stop please,” I said as they continued to make doe eyes at me. “His name's Eric, and he’s in my English class.”

“Oh, never date someone you have a class with, it gets weird when you break up,” Ethan cautioned as he went back to eating.

“Yeah, there’s that, ‘We’ve done stuff with each other, but now we don’t talk awkwardness when you're near each other.’” Isaac added.

“Don’t worry about that. Zeke scared him off,” I told them dismissively.

Heads turned to Zeke who shrugged unrepentant.

“What did you do Zeke?” Miles asked, his voice growing colder.

He smirked. “Mild glaring,” he admitted to them before turning to me. “If that scared him away, you're better off. Because any guy that comes around, we’re going to be asking him questions.”

“What are your intentions?” Asher offered.

“Where are you going?” Ethan added.

“When will you be back?” Isaac supplied.

I looked around the table at them to see if they were serious. They were all nodding, including Miles.

“And does this rule apply to Dylan?” I asked, hoping to hear a no.

They all smirked.

“We all just happen to be going to Vegabond Saturday night, so we might as well carpool,” Asher said nonchalantly.

I sighed and rested my forehead on my hand.

“I’m never going to date again.” I groaned.

The guys thought it was hilarious.

I looked up and pointed at them. “I am warning all of you. If you scare off every guy that wants to ask me out, one of you are going to have to go to homecoming with me, and winter formal. And prom. And anything else I want to go to.”

They didn’t stop laughing until after the bell for 6th period rang.

The rest of the day went on as usual. Gym was dull. But when I was on the phone talking to Zeke as we walked the path, I couldn’t see Bitch Ghost. It sent a chill down my spine. She could be somewhere else on campus. Then I put it out of my mind.

During art class, Asher drew stick figures jumping to their deaths. This time out of an airplane--at least there was a variation.

After class, I headed out to the parking lot, only to see Miles’ car gone. I went and waited next to Zeke’s Jeep. Isaac soon joined me.

“Where did Miles and Ethan take off to?” Isaac asked.

I shrugged, I hadn’t texted them to find out. Isaac pulled his phone out and started texting. He had a small smile on his face when they answered.

“They say they’re running errands,” Isaac told me.

As we waited for Zeke, we talked about the party. Isaac told me about the girl he had his eye on for a while now. I asked him all the questions they had asked me earlier. He promised never to do that again.

Revenge is sweet.

After a great deal of bitching, Zeke drove us by Isaac’s house and mine to pick up clothes. Soon after, we pulled into the circular drive in front of the house. We walked into the living room to hear shouting from deeper into the house. I dropped my bags on one of the couches and followed Zeke and Isaac into the family room.

Ethan and Miles were on the big couch, their backs towards me. I watched as one character on the screen continued to beat the other into submission. Zeke sat next to Miles, and Isaac took the other couch to the left. I took off my shoes and walked over behind Isaac’s couch. I climbed over the back and plopped down next to him. He bumped his shoulder into me. I bumped mine back.

“Who’s winning?” I asked, crossing my legs under me.

“Miles.” Isaac and Zeke said at the same time.

I looked over at the other boys. Ethan was cursing under his breath as he hit buttons. He didn’t look happy. I watched the screen as his character was knocked out. Ethan cursed and tossed the controller to Zeke.

“I give up. He wins every time,” Ethan grumbled. Miles smiled before leaning forward and tossing me the controller. I caught it.

“Before we start, what are we doing for dinner since Asher isn’t here?” I asked, eyeing the boys. They all looked at each other, seeing if anyone had an idea. I rolled my eyes. “Is there food in the kitchen? Like, ingredients?”

“Usually,” Miles replied.

“I’ll go see what I can make.” I got to my feet and headed for the door. “Since none of you are getting off your asses.”

“Oh, wait, we’ll help,” Isaac called in a very uninterested voice. I left the family room, walked into the kitchen, and opened the fridge. I pulled out 2lbs of hamburger and put it on the counter. If we had breadcrumbs, we were having meatloaf. I checked the pantry and found breadcrumbs. Yay, I can make something I know how to cook. I preheated the oven and began looking for the rest of what I needed. I was trying to reach a big metal mixing bowl when a hand with silver rings reached up and snagged it. I jumped and turned my head, Ethan was bringing down the bowl from the cabinet. He held it out to me.

“Thought you might like help.” His smoky voice was back. I had to remind myself not to curl my toes. That voice should really be illegal.

“I’ll take it; can you get the eggs out of the fridge?” I asked as I started looking for the spices.

“So, what are we making?” he asked, closing the fridge door.

I was pulling down the spices I wanted when I answered.

“Meatloaf. It’ll take an hour to cook.” I washed my hands, opened the meat, and dumped it in the bowl. “Take off your rings, hon; you’re getting your hands messy.”

He groaned as he went to the sink and washed his hands.

“How did you learn to cook?” he asked with his back to me.

I chewed on the corner of my lip as I picked up the breadcrumbs. “My mom taught me before Dad died.” I shrugged, pushing away memories. “After that, if I wanted something not cooked in a microwave, I had to make it myself.”

“That sucks, Lexie.” Ethan came back over to stand in front of the bowl his hands clear of his rings. “You can always come over to our house; Mom makes bad-ass enchiladas.” He pointed to the mixing bowl. “I take it I’ve got to mix?”

I nodded and reached for the pepper. The idea of a home cooked meal made by a real mom sounded much better than it probably should have. I pushed that thought away before adding pepper to the mix.

“I might just take you up on that. I like enchiladas,” I said, reaching for the salt.

We talked about the party tonight while we finished making the meat loaf. I put it in the pan and waited for the oven to heat up. He slipped his rings back on. I hopped up on the counter and watched as Ethan did the same on the other side.

“So, tell me about Kristina,” I asked, genuinely curious.

“She’s a nice, sweet girl. That doesn’t even curse. She’s also kind of shy.” He kicked his foot against the cabinet. “She’s the opposite of what I usually go for,” he admitted.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“What are you talking about?” I asked trying to understand. “I don’t know the history here, catch me up.”

“I’ve dated all kinds of girls,” he began, fiddling with one of his rings. “Goth, Punk, Emo, geek, band geek, now I’m up to the prim and proper. And I always have the same problem.”

“Which is?”

He started to shake his head.

“Nu-uh.” I said. “No, you don’t get to squirm out of this topic; you guys know almost all my shit, now spill.”

He chuckled softly. “Fair enough.” He looked toward the door as if to see if the guys were around, then he looked back at me. “Physically we click, it’s great, and it’s hot. But eventually, she realizes I’m not who she thought I was, and she’s not who I thought she was. So we split.” His eyes darted to the doorway and back to me. “So, I’m trying to date girls that I normally wouldn’t go for, like Kristina.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” I said, trying to figure out how to say the next part. “You really do need something more in common with someone besides you both thinking the other one is hot,” I offered, trying not to overstep.

Ethan snorted. “Yeah, Miles said that too.”

I kicked my foot against the counter under me.

"Miles usually gives pretty good advice, Ethan said.

“Yeah, why is that?” I asked, dying to know the answer. “He knew I was freaking out Tuesday. And I thought I hid it pretty well.”

Ethan looked at me his eyebrows raised.

“You were freaking out?” he asked, eyebrows raised, his eyes wide.

Apparently, I hid it good enough to fool the others.

“He didn’t tell you?” Oops.

Ethan shook his head. “Guy code, Beautiful,” he reminded me.

Shit. I just ratted myself out. I was going to have to get the hang of this.

“That’s not the point,” I said, really not wanting to talk about it. “The point was, he noticed it.”

Ethan took the hint.

“Well, it has to do with Zeke, really,” Ethan explained. “A lot of messed up shit went down with his family, and his Aunt Sylvia wanted him to deal with it in a healthy way. So, Zeke went to a lot of therapy. Miles wanted to help him deal, so he learned everything he could about psychology.”

I looked up to see Ethan watching me, his face serious.

“I’m not telling you about Zeke’s shit, Lexie, that’s not my story to tell.”

“I can respect that.”

“Just know that even when Zeke is barking at you and bossing you around, he genuinely wants the best for you,” Ethan said, eyeing the doorway again.

“That’s why you guys put up with it?” I asked, getting up to put the meatloaf in the oven.

“Yeah, it’s how he deals.” Ethan shrugged.

A tense silence filled the kitchen.

I eyed him suspiciously. “Your cell phone isn’t on, right?”

Ethan burst out laughing.

Dinner was ready an hour later. I microwaved some bags of green beans and put them into a serving bowl. It wasn’t Asher’s cooking, but it was food. The guys were coming down the hall as I was pulling the meatloaf from the oven. Everyone dished themselves up some and thanked me for cooking. After we had eaten, Isaac and Ethan agreed to clean up. The rest of us went back to the family room.

I was in the middle of trying to kick Zeke’s butt at the fighting game when they came back.

“It’s a party, I need to blow off some steam,” Isaac snapped at his brother as they walked in.

“Blowing off some steam is fine, but you have training tomorrow--”

“And I’ll deal with it.” Isaac interrupted, his tone making it clear the subject was closed.

I have never heard Isaac serious about something. It was weird. It distracted me enough that Zeke got the upper hand and knocked out my character. I checked the clock and saw the time; it was 5:45 pm.

“Well, I’m going to go soak in the tub, then get ready.” I got to my feet and handed the controller to Miles. “Miles avenge my honor.”

Zeke cursed.

“As my lady wills it,” Miles said in a gallant puffed up voice.

I walked into the bedroom and dropped my bags on the bed. I pulled out everything I’d need for my soak including my mp3 player. I left my clothes and makeup to grab later, though I did take my cell phone with me. I went into the bathroom and started the tub. Soon I was soaking away all my worries with the jets on. I dunked my head once to get my hair wet, then I put my earbuds in and started my music. Everything drifted away. All the stress of the last week disappeared. It always amazes me the way a good tub soak could make you feel like new.

I was playing Angry Birds when I remembered that Dylan had a game today, so I sent him a message.

Alexis: Good luck at your game tonight.

I was just about to go back to the game when my phone vibrated. Wow, that was quick.

Dylan: Thanks, it should be a good game. How was your day?

I smiled as I texted back, feeling girly.

Alexis: Not bad. Miles had to lend me a hoodie to go under my jacket today. Why is it so freaking cold here?

Dylan: Lol, we’re in the mountains, sweetie. It even snows here.

I tried to ignore the warm feeling in my stomach I had when he called me sweetie.

Alexis: I’m going to freeze. How was your day?

Dylan: Lol, the usual. Just killing time until we need to get in our gear.

Alexis: What position do you play? You never told me.

Dylan: I’m a running back.

I smiled, that meant he was quick, light on his feet and ran the ball a lot.

Alexis: What're your yards per carry?

There were a couple heartbeats of silence before he answered.

Dylan: You know what stats are?

Alexis: Yeah, watched football with my dad a lot. He always answered any question I had. And I wanted to understand what was going on.

Dylan: Let me get somewhere quieter, and I’ll call you. I need to hear you talking about stats.

Panic clutched my chest tight.

Alexis: NO!

I winced as I sent that then quickly tried to explain.

Alexis: I can’t talk on the phone right now. I just remembered you had a game today and I figured you’d be too busy to talk to me.

I felt my face turn pink as I hit send.

Dylan: Where are you that you can’t talk?

I groaned, he probably thought I was on the toilet or something. That was worse than the truth. Sighing, I texted him back.

Alexis: I’m kind of soaking in the tub. I just wanted to wish you luck tonight, didn’t think you could talk.

It was a couple minutes before he replied.

Dylan: Damn, Lexie.

I snickered to myself.

Alexis: I tried not telling you.

Dylan: I’m calling.

Alexis: I won’t answer.

Dylan: I’m so going to talk to you when you're naked.

Alexis: Not today, you're not.

Dylan: Tell me there are bubbles.

I started laughing so hard I almost dropped my phone into the water.

Alexis: LMAO.

Dylan: Fine, don’t tell me if there are bubbles. Or if your hair is down or up.

Alexis: Okay, I’m hanging up now.

Dylan: Okay, I’ll behave. What are you doing tonight after the game?

Alexis: The guys are taking me to a party somewhere.

Dylan: Zeke going?

I looked at my phone suspiciously. Why did he want to know about Zeke?

Alexis: Yeah, why?

Dylan: Just suddenly very grateful you have guy friends.

My heart melted as I texted him back. But I was also a little irked he thought I needed protecting, it was a weird feeling.

Alexis: You're sweet, but I can handle a party.

Dylan: I bet you can, but you’re small, honey. There’s only so much you can do against a guy bigger than you.

I hated to admit it, but he was right. Hell, Zeke had proved that on Tuesday. I sighed, resigned.

Alexis: You want me to stick near the guys, don’t you?

Dylan: It would help me not worry about you.

I groaned. I could just tell him that I was going to stick near the guys, hell I probably was anyway. They were the only ones at school I really knew. But he didn’t need to know that.

Alexis: Alright, I’ll stick with the guys.

Dylan: Thank you.

Alexis: What are you doing after the game?

Dylan: Heading home, we’ll get back around 11:30 tonight. Then I was going to take a shower and text you to see if you were awake to talk.

Alexis: Sounds good to me.

Dylan: It’s a date. Now seriously…bubbles?

I burst out laughing and shaking my head.

Alexis: Lol, I’ll talk to you later tonight. Good luck at the game.

Dylan: ttyl

I put my phone down and laid my head back smiling. I started getting into the music and began to sing along. After I was done, I turned off the jets and unplugged the tub. I was still singing along to Halestorm’s Amen when I tied a towel around me and was dabbing my wet hair with another.

When I opened the door, still singing, I froze. All four boys were sitting there looking at me, red-faced and laughing. Miles was the only one looking apologetic standing by the bed his hands in his pockets. Oh god, they heard me singing. My face went red instantly as I yanked the buds out. Their laughter filled my ears. I grabbed both ends of the towel in my hands, flipping it into a rat-tail.

“You assholes!” I shouted at them and started whipping one end of the towel at the boys on the bed. They kept laughing as they scattered out of range. I chased them out of the bedroom, nailing a few on their butts.

“Worth it!” Isaac shouted on his way out the door.

In the hall, Ethan turned around out of range of the towel.

“Your voice is actually pretty good-”

I threw the towel at his face and slammed the door, this time locking it. I’ll never forget to lock the bedroom door again.

I finished getting ready. I did my normal hair stuff; combing, anti-frizz. But this time I added leave in conditioner and dried my hair with a hair dryer while I waited for my face to turn back to normal. Then I did my usual sunscreen moisturizer--I know it's nighttime but damn it, I’m very white. I did my usual makeup, only tonight I made the shadow a few shades darker and the black liner thicker, bringing my eyes out more. I looked at my face and thought about using a deep red lipstick. Nah, I’m wearing red already. I put on a rosy pink lipstick that was a couple shades darker than my natural lips.

I stepped back and looked in the mirror. The makeup wasn’t as subtle as normal, but it still looked good. I put on my black bra and underwear. I pulled on black skinny jeans, a dark red Henley long sleeve shirt. I made sure to unbutton only a couple buttons to show a little cleavage; I didn’t want to fall out of my shirt tonight. I pulled on my tall, black boots with black leather straps on the outside, making sure to tuck my pants into the boots.

I left the bathroom and looked in the full-length mirror in the bedroom. My hair was in sleek curls for once, no frizz or fly-aways. The skinny jeans showed the shape of my hips and thighs even more than my usual boot cut jeans. And with the still somewhat-modest shirt, I didn’t look real sexy until you were standing near; that’s what I liked, subtle but sexy. I used a quick layer of nice smelling hairspray to keep my hair from frizzing. I made sure to put my two necklaces on, tucking them into my shirt, then my onyx beads which I pulled my shirt sleeve over. I even made a point to put on the rosemary oil again. I was going to have fun tonight. No ghost drama, just normal teenage fun. Whatever the hell that means.

I grabbed my keys, cell, and wallet before leaving the bedroom. I found the guys waiting in the living room. When they spotted me, eyebrows went up and talking stopped. I took a look at them. Zeke and Miles were still in their clothes from this morning. Ethan was wearing black jeans, a black collared shirt unbuttoned, showing a black t-shirt underneath, along with his usual rings on his fingers and in his ear. But he was freshly shaved. Isaac was still wearing his dark blue jeans, only his orange t-shirt had a vintage look. He also wore an olive green short-sleeved, collared shirt unbuttoned. Isaac's hair was actually combed.

“You guys clean up pretty good,” I told them. “Well?” I held my hands out and did a turn.

I heard Zeke curse.

When I was facing them again, I looked at them questioningly.

Isaac had a confused look on his face.

“What?” I looked down, thinking I got makeup on my clothes or something. When I saw nothing, I looked back at him with an eyebrow raised.

“How do you do that?” Isaac asked.

“Do what?” I looked down at my outfit again, not understanding what he was asking.

“You are completely dressed, showing almost no skin and still…” Isaac trailed off.

“We’re going to spend all night making sure she’s not in trouble,” Zeke growled out, looking at the others.

Miles' ears had turned a soft pink, Isaac’s eyebrows were up, and Ethan was grinning ear to ear. I took it all as a compliment.

“Relax, Zeke. I’m not planning on drinking.”

His shoulders relaxed.

“Good.” His eyes ran over me again, the worry back on his face.

I wrinkled my nose at him.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Ethan said, going over to the couch and grabbing a shopping bag. He handed it to me. “Miles and I went shopping for you.”

I raised an eyebrow and opened the bag. There was a beautiful soft, black scarf with white skulls of different sizes all over it. I loved it instantly.

“This is awesome, where did you get it? I think I need this in every color,” I said, having a big girly moment. The guys laughed as I pulled out soft, black, knit gloves and a black beanie with a skull and crossbones design on the front. I loved them. I dropped the bag and hugged Ethan tight. “Thank you, guys. I love them!” I let go of Ethan and hugged Miles who went tense but then relaxed after a couple heartbeats.

“No problem, Lexie,” Miles told me, patting my back.

“Yeah, I was only thinking about my poor neck,” Ethan teased. I threw my scarf on and tucked the gloves and beanie into my jean pockets.

“Come on, I’ll drive,” I told them as I picked up my jacket. Everyone grabbed their coats, checked their charms, and we headed out.

When we pulled up to the student lot, it was packed. I hadn’t realized how popular a football game was in this town. I finally found a spot and parked. We paid and went through the gate. Ethan stayed behind, wanting to wait for Kristina. The crowd was thick enough that we had to go single file. I grabbed Miles' and Isaac’s hands to stop us from getting separated. Zeke was in front, making a path. When we made it to a less crowded area, I let go of the boys and looked around. We were on the far-right side of the bleachers. We followed Zeke down the cement steps till we were around the middle.

“This good?” Zeke asked, pointing to the benches.

We all said yes.

I ended up on the left with Isaac and Miles to the right. Zeke sat behind me. The guys started talking about the game and injuries some of the players had. I asked about Asher’s stats and got a couple surprised looks. Then Miles was telling me Asher’s numbers.

The bleachers were really filling up when Ethan found us, Kristina in tow. She had a cute face, with a button nose. Long, straight, brown hair and pretty, brown eyes. She was wearing an oversized lavender sweater, white jeans, and a khaki jacket. She was cute; there was no other way to describe her.

“Everyone, this is Kristina,” Ethan announced before he pointed at each of us. “That’s Zeke, Miles, Isaac, and Lexie,”

Isaac said hi. Miles smiled and turned around quickly, his fingers tapping that staccato rhythm again. Kristina looked really tense, her fingers knotting in on themselves over and over again. I got an idea.

“Thank God! Another girl!” I all but shouted dramatically, I stood up and hurried across the bench in front of us to get past the boys. I was soon sitting next to Kristina, her face lit up, her eyes wide. I gave her my pleading face. “Please talk to me about girl stuff. I’m begging you.”

The guys burst out laughing, even Kristina chuckled.

“No one wants to hear that stuff, Red,” Isaac shot out over his shoulder, a mischievous half-grin on his face. He knew what I was doing. I leaned over and popped him lightly on the shoulder.

“Shut up, we already talked about football stats. It’s my turn,” I said back before turning back to Ethan’s date. I kept asking her questions to get her to start talking. She was in the school band, played the flute and piano. She was hoping to go on to college with a great music program. The more I got her to talk, the more she relaxed and talked to the others. She asked me what it was like to have so many guy friends. I told her it was a hoot, in a deadpan voice. I told her about this afternoon and the whole boys listening to me sing incident. I left out that I was in a towel part. The guys snickered; I shot each of them a glare. Kristina giggled. Kristina also showed me several ways to fold and use my new scarf. I didn’t know there was more than one way to use a scarf. Huh, learn something new every day.

When the game started, I got up to go back to my spot. Ethan caught my eye and mouthed a thank you. I gave him a wink and went back to my spot. As the game went on, we cheered and booed the bad calls.

It wasn’t until it was well into the second quarter that I realized the temperature had dropped. I could see my breath. It was cold. I had mostly lived in southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico. It did not get this cold there. The metal bench under my butt seemed to steal any warmth I had. I pulled on my gloves and my beanie; I was a bit warmer but still freezing.

“Shit, it's cold,” I finally muttered.

“What’s wrong Lexie? Didn’t it get cold in California?” Isaac taunted.

I blew into my gloved hands.

“Not this freaking cold.” I was starting to seriously consider sitting in one of the guy's laps. I was even trying to decide whose lap I was jumping into when Zeke caught my attention.

“There’s hot chocolate at the snack bar if you want something warm.”

I was up and down the aisle in a blink. I only stopped long enough to ask if someone else wanted something. They all said no, laughing as I ran up the steps. I didn’t care; I was not used to this weather. I was on my way back from the snack bar with my large hot chocolate warming my hands when I heard my name. I stopped and looked around. Eric waved to me as he hurried over through the crowd.

“So, you made it,” Eric observed. “Where are you sitting?”

I gestured over my shoulder towards the other end of the bleachers. “With the guys on the end over there. It’s less crowded.” I took a sip of my cocoa.

“Do you think your friends will mind if I join you?” he asked, his voice uncertain.

Surprised, I really didn’t know how to answer. I had a date with Dylan tomorrow and a phone date tonight. Did that make it weird if Eric came to sit with us during the game? I was really rusty at this.

“I-I don’t think so.” I stammered, still not knowing how to answer.

Eric seemed to relax and started walking with me.

I had just finished telling him that Zeke wasn’t as protective as he seemed today when we reached the guys.

“Hey guys, this is Eric,” I announced, narrowing my eyes at Zeke, warning him not to start glaring. He gave me a smirk and went back to watching the game.

I pointed out everyone as I introduced them. “This is Kristina, Ethan, you know Zeke, Isaac, and Miles.” Everyone said hi, except Zeke. I decided to sit down next to Miles; keeping Zeke away from Eric seemed a good idea. I might not want to date the guy, but I didn’t want to have him shit himself if Zeke sneezed. The game went on, and the conversation flowed. Half time came, and my phone vibrated. I checked it.

Ethan: Who’s this guy?

I made sure Eric couldn’t see my phone and then answered.

Alexis: Guy from English Zeke scared off. He wanted to sit with me, and I didn’t know how to answer. I’m actually not dating anyone, but at the same time, I have a phone date with Dylan tonight and a regular one tomorrow.

It wasn’t long before he wrote back.

Ethan: A double pull…nice, Beautiful.

I snickered and put my phone away. No judgment from Ethan; I liked that about him. I went back to watching the halftime show.

We were in the third quarter when it happened. Hoots and whistles went up through the crowd. I didn’t understand until Miles touched my shoulder gently.

“Lexie,” Miles said his voice serious. “The big screen.”

I looked up and my heart dropped. There was a photo of me in my underwear. It was obvious I was changing in the locker room and that I had no idea the photo was being taken. Words flashed across the bottom of the screen: “Call for a good time”, followed by a phone number. My mouth dropped. More cheers and laughter rang out through the crowd.

“Oh my goodness.” Kristina’s voice was shocked.

“What the fuck?” Ethan cursed, his voice low with controlled anger.

“Who the hell did that?” Isaac growled.

“Why is it still up there?” Even Miles' voice was cold.

I didn’t hear anything from Zeke, and I knew that wasn’t good.

“Is that your phone number?” Eric asked, stunned.

I read the number again.

“No,” I said as I took a really good look at the picture. At first, it looked bad--I admit; I was in my underwear on a big screen. My underwear wasn’t skimpy; in fact, it covered more than some swimsuits. Once I thought of that, I felt better, and it didn’t bother me so much. It looked like I was wearing a two-piece swimsuit. The only reason anyone knew it was underwear was because of the locker next to me and the jeans in my hand. I decided to look on the bright side and laugh this off. “At least I don’t look half bad.”

I heard Kristina make a surprised laugh behind me. The twins immediately agreed with me, if only to make me feel better. That’s when I heard Zeke get to his feet and step into the spot where I was sitting earlier.

Then everything happened fast.

“Zeke!” Isaac called out a warning.

Zeke stepped down onto the next bench and started walking up that bench toward the center aisle.

“Oh-no,” Miles muttered.

“Lexie, stop him!” Ethan shouted. I got to my feet as he began to pass me and jumped onto his back like a spider monkey.

“Zeke! Stop! Calm down!” I told him, my voice hard as I was clinging to his back with my knees around his ribs and my arms around his neck. I had managed to get high enough on his back that my face was near his ear.

Zeke barely noticed my weight. He kept going and stepped out into the center aisle.

“It was a girl,” I told him. “I was in the locker room. You can’t kill a girl. And you can’t do it with me on your back, you’ll make me an accessory to murder!” I pointed out, hoping that would stop him. He stopped walking.

“Get off me, baby,” he growled; his whole body was tense under me. His hands went to my arms as if to pry me off. I grabbed his wrists and squeezed tighter with my legs.

“It was probably Jessica; we have gym the same period. You can’t beat up a girl,” I explained desperately. He was so pissed he was actually shaking to hit someone under my weight. He twisted his wrists from my grasp and started back up the steps. Oh, shit.

Miles, Isaac, and Ethan had run up the steps and were trying to stop him.

“But the guy running the damn screen isn’t. And he hasn’t taken the fucking thing down,” Zeke snarled, still climbing.

“Miles will get him to take it down,” I assured him as I looked up desperately at Miles. “Miles go get them to take it down!”

Miles instantly turned and ran up the steps two at a time. Isaac took Miles’ spot, blocking Zeke, but it wasn’t working. They were just slowing him down. So, I kept talking.

“Yeah, I’m in my underwear, but that covers more than most swimsuits do. It’s not even my real phone number.” I kept going as he kept climbing. “I’m not that embarrassed, I don’t look too bad. Sure, I need some muscle tone, so I’ll probably start working out with you guys. But otherwise-”

“It’s down,” Ethan announced, not relaxing from his defensive position. Zeke stopped a step down from them. I felt his back rising and falling as he took deep breaths. I kept talking.

“Zeke, I don't care about it. It’s okay,” I whispered to him.

He shook his head.

“It’s not okay, Lexie. Some assholes putting up a picture of you like that is not okay,” he said, snapping over his shoulder at me. He kept taking deep breaths as he was fighting to keep control.

Miles came back down the stairs his face pink, his eyes running over us.

“Are we good?” he asked, watching Zeke like you would a wolf.

I shook my head. We weren’t good, we were out of “emergency”, but we weren’t good. An idea sparked in my mind.

“Zeke, if you calm down we can call Rory,” I offered calmly. At my words, Zeke looked at me over his shoulder. I continued, “I just turned 17 in August, and someone just put a photo of me in my underwear on display.”

“Technically, that is child pornography. It’s a felony,” Miles chimed in, seeing where I was going with this.

“And I am the niece of a very overprotective cop,” I reminded him. Personally, it only irritated me, but if I had to call Rory to get Zeke to calm down, I’d call Rory. I felt Zeke’s body relax a little under me. “Rory will scare the shit out of her and whoever helped her,” I said in a singsong voice.

He ran a hand through his hair and gave a big hard sigh.

“Fine, call Rory.” Zeke’s voice was still not back to normal.

I gave him a nudge in the ribs with my right knee.

“Take me back to my seat first. Mush,” I said, teasing him and hoping to get a mouth twitch.

I got a snort, even better.

Zeke turned around and walked down the steps carefully. We were almost back to our seats when Eric met us.

His eyes went from Zeke to me on Zeke’s back “Not that protective, huh?” he asked. Zeke didn’t stop so I could talk to Eric, he kept moving

“Can ya blame him?” I asked sarcastically. If he didn’t understand why one of my friends would be pissed over this, then he could fuck off.

“See you in English, Alexis,” he said before heading back up the stairs.

Zeke’s hands came back and wrapped around my knees, giving me more support as he continued down the stairs. He gave me a gentle squeeze, probably apologizing.

“You know it’s like I’m riding a dinosaur up here,” I told him so he knew I wasn’t upset, the other boys laughing behind me. I sat up a bit and started looking around. “So, this is what you see if you’re tall.” I felt him chuckle. I smiled, pleased with myself.

When we reached where Kristina was sitting, Zeke went down another step before he let go of my legs and squatted down enough for me to touch the ground. I let go and waited for him to get back to his feet.

He looked at me expectantly.

“Call Rory,” he demanded.

I pulled out my phone and dialed as everyone else sat back down. I started back to my seat only to see that I had knocked my hot chocolate to the ground. I picked up the now empty cup and set it aside to throw away. Rory answered as I was scooting in to sit next to Miles, Zeke sat next to me. I explained to him the situation and how I wanted to scare the shit out of the ones responsible. Rory agreed completely; he was going to send a couple guys on duty over to the game and take care of it.

“I don’t want to charge them,” I repeated for the fifth time to Rory. My uncle sounded so pissed that I felt I had to keep reminding him.

“I got it, Lexie. Trust me. We’ll have them in cuffs by the end of the game, and it’ll be very public.” Rory reassured me before hanging up.

I tucked my cell phone away. Then I looked up at Zeke.

“He says they’ll have them in cuffs before the end of the game, and it’ll be public,” I announced.

“Good,” Zeke said in a satisfied voice.

Everyone agreed.

Then I remembered Asher. If Jessica were responsible, it would be his sister that was put in cuffs. I cursed.

“Asher’s going to be mad, isn’t he?” I asked no one in particular, biting the corner of my lip.

“Nah,” Isaac reassured me. “He probably saw the photo, too.”

Zeke shook his head, the worry back on his face. “You know what’s going to happen now, right?” he asked, getting all our attention. “Guys are going to start catcalling you, harassing you, the creeps are going to start coming around....” Zeke trailed off. He was clearly dreading the fallout of the photo.

“Then I’ll deal, and if anyone gets handsy, I’ll punch them.” I bumped my shoulder into his, getting his attention. “It’ll be okay, Zeke. I’m a big girl. I can sock a guy in the jaw just as easily as you can.”

That made the corner of his mouth twitch. He looked away from me his eyes finding my empty paper cup.

“I owe you a hot chocolate.” He heaved himself to his feet and headed toward the center aisle.

“No killing, Zeke,” I called after him.

“No killing,” he grumbled back.

“Or maiming!”

He turned to me with that smirk finally on his face. “No maiming,” he assured me before heading up the stairs.

It was only a few moments later when Ethan started laughing. Then Isaac started up, then Miles. Then even I was laughing, the relief actually leaving me light headed. But for the others, it was something else.

“When I said to stop him, I didn’t mean for you to jump on him, Lexie.” Ethan managed through his laughing.

“It just kind of happened,” I explained. “Besides, Zeke wouldn’t go into a fight with me on his back. And I was clinging like a monkey.”

That brought another round of laughing.

“Oh, I wish I had that on camera,” Isaac admitted.

Soon we all settled down and watched the game. It wasn’t long till Zeke was back and I had my hot chocolate warming my hands again.

It was near the end of the fourth quarter when Zeke looked to our left. I turned, and sure enough, two uniformed police officers were going down the stairs toward the front of the bleachers. I couldn’t help but smile as they approached the cheerleaders.

“Oh, here it comes! Here it comes!” Isaac said excitedly. He even had his phone out, recording as Jessica was handcuffed and taken back up the stairs in front of everyone. When they were out of sight, Isaac stopped recording.

I leaned over to him.

“Send me that video,” I whispered to him.

“Are you kidding? I’m putting it on Youtube.”

I watched as he did just that. I looked to my right at Zeke.

“Feel better now?”

He nodded his head, grinning. “Yeah, I do,” Zeke admitted.

I nodded myself. “I kind of do, too.”

The game was over soon after that, and we all headed out to wait by Asher’s car. Kristina had left after the game, saying she had a curfew. We all turned our backs and walked away a bit to try to give them some privacy. We made small talk loudly so we couldn’t hear them till they walked off into the parking lot. Ethan came back after walking her to her car, frowning.

“Didn’t go well?” I asked, wincing.

Ethan shook his head. “It’s all right; we managed to stop Zeke from killing someone, so it wasn’t so bad,” Ethan said as he leaned against the car next to me.

I leaned over and rested my head against his shoulder.

“Sorry.”

Ethan's arm moved to wrap around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze. I put my head back on his shoulder.

“Not your fault,” he said.

“We are going to a party,” I reminded him, hoping to cheer him up. “Lots of girls to use that smoky toe-curling voice on.”

Ethan smiled down at me. His chocolate eyes warm.

“Yeah, you're right.” he nodded.

“Besides, it looks like one of you guys is going to have to take me to homecoming and winter formal,” I informed them, sulking a little.

“Yeah, what was up with that Eric guy?” Isaac asked, moving to stand across from us. “Your photo gets put on the big screen, and one of your friends goes berserk.” Isaac spread his arms palms up. “You help calm him down, and he bails?”

“I think it was because that friend was a guy,” I suggested and then added, “That Zeke is protective of me just tipped the scale.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Miles chimed in. “Zeke’s protective of all of us.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Zeke called over to us from a few steps away.

We giggled.

“It doesn’t matter, anyone I date has to hold their own around you guys otherwise they can go,” I told them honestly. Ethan pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. It made me feel warm. That cared-for feeling washed over me again; I think I was starting to get used to it.

“You mean like Dylan?” Ethan teased.

I snorted. “We’ll find out tomorrow night.”

“I’m just speculating, here but Eric could have not liked what he saw on the big screen,” Miles suggested.

My mouth dropped as I looked at him. The other boys groaned. I heard Zeke curse.

“Miles, I know I need some muscle tone, but did I look that bad?” I asked, using the question to point out what he had said wrong.

His eyes went wide when he realized his mistake.

“No, no, no, no.” He waved his hand in front of himself as if he could erase what he said and start over. “I mean the attention; he might be a more low-key person.”

I looked over to Isaac. “Can I start working out with you guys? I want that muscle tone.”

“We start tomorrow at 7 am,” Isaac said, grinning at me.

“Sadists.”

“Who’s a sadist?” Asher asked coming up to the group. His blonde hair was wet but combed. He was back in blue jeans, a white long-sleeve shirt, and dark blue hoodie. His eyes went to my face assessing. “And what the hell happened on the big screen?”

“Your sister snapped a picture of me in the locker room,” I explained. “She got some guy to put it up on the screen with a fake cell phone number.”

“Zeke was dead-set to go on a rampage, but Beautiful here jumped onto his back. She latched onto him like a monkey,” Ethan said.

“Red managed to stall him long enough for Miles to run up and get the picture off the screen before Zeke killed the guy.” Isaac continued for Ethan.

“And once the screen was off, Lexie calmed Zeke down by offering to call Rory. Since she is only 17 and that was her... not dressed,” Miles continued for Isaac.

“This made it child porn, which is a felony. The guy controlling the big screen and your sister were cuffed and taken to the police station.” Zeke finished for all of us.

Asher’s face was stunned.

“I’m not pressing charges, my uncle’s cop buddies are just scaring the shit out of them,” I assured him before he started worrying. It took him a minute to process everything before he responded.

“Okay, she deserved it. Let’s hit the party.”