She bats her eyelashes. “Well, at least these days you’re rolling in the dough. I bet Reed pays as high as a hundred for your services.”

I flip up my middle finger but don’t bother with a retort. I’m not going to let this catty girl ruin my good mood. I’m finally out from under Steve’s watchful eye and about to spend the night with my boyfriend. Jordan can suck it.

To my disbelief, some other girl sticks up for me. “Ha! Reed doesn’t pay her a dime,” the brunette—I think her name is Madeline—says from the seat behind me. “That boy is freaking in love with a capital L-O-V-E. You should see the way he stares at Ella during lunch.”

I blush again. I thought I was the only one who noticed that Reed’s intense gaze is always on me.

“How sweet,” Jordan says dryly. “The killer and the stripper love each other. It’s like a Lifetime movie.”

“Reed didn’t kill anyone,” another girl pipes up, her tone as dry as Jordan’s. “We all know that.”

My head swivels toward her in shock. Does she seriously believe that, or is she being sarcastic?

“Yeah,” someone else agrees. “He probably didn’t.”

“And even if he did,” the first one says, waggling her eyebrows, “who the fuck cares? Bad boys are hot.”

“Killers are killers,” Jordan sneers, but I notice that some of the venom has left her voice. Her expression is almost…thoughtful.

Fortunately, the conversation ends because we arrive at our destination. The bus pulls into the parking lot behind Gibson High School, and we all climb off with our gym bags. I’m the only one who’s also carrying an overnight bag.

I squeal when I notice a familiar car parked across the lot. “You beat us!” I yell to Val, who hops off the hood and meets me halfway.

She throws her arms around me in a hug. “Your car is built for speed, babe. I had so much fun letting it loose on the highway. Do you have time to pop over to the hotel before warm-ups? I want to give you something.”

“Hold on. Let me ask Satan.”

Val snickers as I hurry over to the crowd of girls and tap Jordan on the shoulder. Technically Coach Kelly is the one in charge of the team, but I learned pretty quickly that it’s on paper only. Jordan calls all the shots here.

She turns around with an annoyed look. “What?” she snaps.

“When do we warm up?” I ask. “Val and I are staying in town overnight and we just wanted to drop off our stuff at the hotel.”

Jordan makes a big show of checking the time on her phone, but then she heaves a sigh. “Fine. But be back by seven-thirty. The game starts at eight.”

“Yes, sir.” I give her a mock salute and dart back to Val.

It only takes three minutes to drive from the high school to the hotel. It’s a sprawling, three-story building with tiny patios on the ground-floor rooms and balconies on the upper floors. It looks clean, and Val and I researched it online and determined that the area is completely safe.

We check in at the front desk and then climb the stairs to our third-floor room and deposit our bags on the beige carpet. I take out my phone and find a text from Reed saying the football team arrived an hour ago and is warming up soon.

“I should head back,” I say regretfully, watching as Val plops down on one of the double beds.

“Not yet. First you have to open this!”

She unzips her backpack and removes a striped pink bag with the words Victoria’s Secret emblazoned on the front.

A groan slips out. “What did you do?” I accuse.

She smiles broadly. “What any good wingman does. I’m making sure my friend gets laid tonight.”

Curiosity has me reaching for the gift bag. I sift through the pink tissue paper and find a matching bra and panty set in my size, though I have no clue how Val knows my exact cup size. The demi bra is ivory-colored, with thin straps, pretty scalloped lace, and hardly any padding. The underwear matches it, a teeny scrap of ivory lace that makes me blush.

“Oh my God. When did you get this?”

“After school today. I got my aunt to drop me off at the mall.”

The thought of Mrs. Carrington accompanying Val to purchase lingerie for me makes my face go pale.

Val is quick to assure me. “Don’t worry, she dropped me off and left. I took an Uber home.” She beams at me. “Do you like?”

“I love,” I confess, running my fingers over the lacy edge of the bra. My throat tightens suddenly. I’ve never had a real friend before and now it seems like I won the friend lottery. “Thank you.”

“Thank me later,” she says with a grin. “Reed is going to lose his mind when he sees you in that.”

My cheeks heat up again.

“By the way, I expect details. It’s in the best friend code.”

“I’ll think about it.” I roll my eyes and tuck the naughty items back in the bag. “But it works both ways, you know. I expect details, too.”

“Details about what?”

“You and Wade.”

Her smile fades. “There is no me and Wade.”

“Yeah?” I raise one eyebrow. “Then why did you drive three hours to watch him play football?”

She huffs in outrage. “I didn’t come here for him. I came for you!”

“Uh-huh, even though I’m not even going to see you tonight because I’ll be with Reed?”

Val scowls. “Someone needs to have your back at the game. What if Jordan tries something?”

My lips twitch. “We both know I can handle Jordan. So why don’t you just admit it? You came for Wade.”

“It’s the first matchup of the playoffs, and it’s an away game,” she grumbles. “Astor Park needs all the support it can get.”

I burst out laughing. “Oh, now you have school spirit? God, Val, you’re such a terrible liar.”

She flips me the bird. “You know what? I don’t like you right now.” But she’s laughing as she says it.

“That’s okay,” I answer sweetly. “You can fill your liking quota with Wade, because, um, we both know you do.”

That gets me a pillow to the head. I catch it easily, then toss it back to Val. “I’m just teasing you,” I assure her. “If you like Wade, great. If you don’t, also great. I support you in everything you do.”