Page 24 of Counter Bet

I squash that thought like a bug.“I don’t know what Dallas told you, but I’ll kill you if you so much as breathe a word to anyone!”

Ben chuckles heartily, which riles me up even more.

“Don’t you dare laugh!” I poke him again. We stand close—too close.

He pushes off the locker and curls a strand of my hair around his finger as he whispers, “I get hard when you’re angry.”

I freeze, held captive by his brown eyes. I know I should stop him, but I don’t.

“Breathe,” he whispers knowingly, then lets go of my hair and trails his fingers down the column of my neck in an intimate touch that sets my skin on fire.

My lungs burn from lack of oxygen.

He looks over my shoulder. “What would Rick say if the recording ended up in the wrong hands?”

“Wha—?” I search his eyes. My heart is pounding.

Dallas recorded us?

I startle when a heavy arm lands on my shoulder, and I catch a whiff of Rick’s woodsy cologne.

“Is everything okay, Em?” Rick asks, not taking his eyes off Ben.

I struggle to form a response. My mind is scrambling to make sense of Ben’s bombshell.Dallas filmed us? But why?

“Everything is peachy,” Ben says when I fail to respond.

Rick stiffens next to me. “You better watch your back. We know what you did to Jamie’s car.”

Ben raises both hands placatingly and smirks. “I had nothing to do with it. But you have to admit, it looks hell of a lot better.”

Rick charges him.

I grab Rick’s arm and try to pull him away, but he’s too strong.

Fear courses through me like a steam train with malfunctioning breaks. Dallas recorded us that night, and Ben has a copy of it. Nothing stops him from sharing it with the whole school if Rick and Jamie go after him.

I need to stop this.

“Rick! He’s not worth it! The coach will bench you. Let’s just go,” I plead, pulling on his arm.

Rick fists Ben’s collar. “You better watch your back! And stay the fuck away from my girlfriend. If I see you anywhere near her again, I’ll kill you!” He steps back, and lets go of Ben’s creased collar, but not before smoothing it down. “Do we understand each other?”

I want the ground to swallow me up.

Ben smirks, patting Rick on the cheek. “Sure thing, golden boy. I’ll stay away from your girlfriend, but I can’t guarantee she’ll stay away from me.” His brown eyes collide with mine. “After all,shechased me here.”

I swallow thickly.

“I get hard when you’re angry.”

His lips curve.

Rick goes to charge again, but Luke, one of the guys on the football team, steps in to help me haul him away.

Rick can’t afford to get into a fight. He’ll get benched by coach and could lose his chance at college football.

“You better watch out!” he threatens for the third time as Luke drags him away. I follow behind with my head down, painfully aware that we’ve attracted an audience.

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