“I’ll carry you.” He points to an exit off to the side. “I see an opening in the fence. Can you jump down?”

“I think so.”

“You sure?” He has concern written all over his face. “I can carry you, and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Okay?”

He looks serious, as if shielding me from the police is his number-one priority.

“Don’t be mad at me for coming here.” I look away. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool.”

“I thought I could do this.” I’m so mad for thinking I could challenge myself and prove to everyone that I’m capable of being mischievous.

“You can do this. Come on,” Vic says as he ducks under the bleachers. He holds out his hands for me. “Jump.”

I look down at him. “I’m scared.”

“I got you,” he whispers, urging me to jump into his arms. “Trust me.”

I take a deep breath and wince as I shimmy through the opening and jump into his waiting arms. He holds me close as I wrap my arms around his neck.

“Now what?” I ask, leaning into his bare, muscular chest.

“Hold on,” he says as he heads for the fence obscured by some bushes on the opposite end of the field that the police are on.

If we’re caught, we’ll both be in trouble. But Vic is an expert at this as he stealthily moves to the fence and finds a way to duck underneath a weak opening.

With me holding on, Vic jogs through the streets until we’re far away from the school.

“Thank you,” I tell him as I let out a sigh of relief. “You saved me tonight.”

His eyes meet mine, and in this embrace with his bare chest against my skin, I feel an intimacy I haven’t felt in a long time, maybe forever. It must be my adrenaline working overtime, because I fight the urge to hold him close.

My lips are suddenly dry. I lick them. “Vic?”

He’s staring at my now wet lips. “Yeah?”

There’s silence as we stare into each other’s eyes.

Neither one of us say a word, but I swear I can see something soft and sweet in the depths of his chocolate brown eyes. I’ve never noticed it before, but his eyes are mesmerizing.

Intoxicating.

I feel so vulnerable emotionally and physically right now. This is so intense. Too intense.

“Umm… you can let me down now,” I say, needing to break the connection.

“Oh. Sorry,” he mumbles, then slowly sets me on the ground.

I step away from him, and the warmth of his body is replaced by the cool night air. I still feel off-balance and confused. Not knowing what to say to him without making an idiot out of myself, I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and call Ashtyn.

“Is everything cool?” Vic asks after I hang up the phone. He shoves his hands in his pockets as if he’s restless and doesn’t know where to put them.

“Yeah. Ash and the guys are coming to pick us up.”

He nods. After a minute he blurts out, “What are we gonna tell Trey?”

Is he talking about me joining the guys tonight or the fact that something transpired between us that wasn’t quite innocent? I mean, it was innocent, but it felt intimate. “I’m not telling him anything,” I say.

“Keeping secrets from your boyfriend probably isn’t a good idea.”

The side of my mouth quirks up. “Yeah, well, spray painting our rivals’ football field probably isn’t a good idea, either.”

“You have a point,” he says just as the rest of our accomplices drive up.

We hurry inside the truck.

“This was an epic night,” Derek says. “Right, guys?”

I’m sitting next to Vic, our fingers almost touching. “Yeah,” I say, wondering why I’m suddenly hit with another wave of crazy thoughts about Trey’s best friend.

I push those thoughts aside and focus on the throbbing pain in my knee. It’s easier to focus on that than anything else.

Chapter Eleven

VICTOR

Just as Mr. Miller splits us into groups and has us brainstorm ideas for social experiments, Officer Jim knocks on the classroom door.

“Principal Finnigan needs to see Victor Salazar,” the officer says. He points to me, then motions for me to get up.

“Mr. Salazar, do you think it’s possible for you to spend one week in my class without being called to the principal’s office?” Miller asks. “That’s not a rhetorical question.”

I shrug. “I don’t know, Mr. Miller. Principal Finnigan obviously has nothin’ better to do than chat with me.”