Page 92 of Mad As Hell

She grinned back. “Yes.”

“That dress belongs in a club,” I protested, “not on the bleachers.”

Now it was her turn to scoff at me. “Okay, I know you’re usually on the field in cheer uniform for games, but you’ll see tonight that these games are basically a fashion show. Besides, this is blue. You’d be showing school spirit.”

A slow idea started to form in my head. “School spirit, huh?”

“You know, when you smile like that, I get scared.” Bex began to shake her head and back away.

I grinned at her. “Let’s go. We have a stop to make before the game.”

“We do?”

“We do,” I assured her before whirling away.

It was time to show Ryan I meant business.

* * *

I was fully aware of the eyes on me as I walked through the crowds packing into the stadium an hour later.

“Explain how this is less revealing than the blue dress?” Bex whisper-hissed at me, staying close so we wouldn’t be separated. Ryan had given me tickets on the fifty-yard line behind where the team would be, but getting to the seats required walking down a set of concrete stairs that might literally be the death of me.

The black stiletto heels with the red soles I’d selected were shiny under the stadium lights. One wrong roll of my ankle, and I could see my head cracking against a step.

I glanced down at my outfit and grinned. The skinny jeans, a pair of Madelaine’s that I hadn’t been able to fit into at the beginning of the term, were molded to my legs like a second skin, but it was the top that had people’s mouths dropping open.

Using the key Ryan had given me, I’d slipped into his room and snagged one of his extra jerseys. I was swimming in it, but had tied it in a knot on one side and put on a flesh-toned strapless bra under it so it looked like I was naked beneath the jersey with a million holes. The V-neck hung off my bare shoulder, and I’d pulled my hair into a high, sleek ponytail to show off the column of my throat—a feature I knew firsthand drove Ryan crazy.

I checked the seat number on our tickets and started down the stairs, moving slowly until I reached our row and slipped inside. When I sat down, I realized I knew the girl sitting to my right.

“Imani, isn’t it?” I asked hesitantly. We’d never really spoken, except at one of the first games of the season when she’d given me the cold shoulder, but it felt rude not to say something now.

She turned, arching a perfectly shaped dark eyebrow. “Am I supposed to be impressed that you remembered the little people, Queen Cabot?”

Okay, so she still hated me—or, rather, Madelaine—as much as the last time we’d met.

“You changed your hair,” I tried, nodding to where her previous black and gold braids had been replaced by a shiny curtain of waist-length hair with blunt ends. “I like it.”

“I don’t care,” she replied with a fake smile to match her tone. Her gaze moved past me and softened. “Hey, Rebecca.”

“Imani,” Bex greeted softly. “How’s Eddie?”

The smile that lit up Imani’s face was breathtaking. Seriously, this girl belonged on a runway. “He’s great. Looks like he’ll be one of the first-round draft picks, if his season holds up.”

Okay, she couldn’t be all bitch if she was being nice to Bex.

Bex smiled. “That’s amazing! Congrats.”

Imani’s eyes went cold and flat as she turned to me. “Kind of surprised to see you hanging out with the ice princess again, Rebecca. Unless this is some new form of torture?”

“Maddie and I are friends,” Bex told her firmly. The slight growl in her tone made me smile inwardly. My bestie was a kitten with claws, and it was kind of adorable when she used them.

Imani looked confused. “Seriously?”

“Yes,” I cut in. “Seriously. Just like I’m seriously with Ryan.”

Her amber colored eyes narrowed.

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