There was no sign of Brennan or Stone in the gym hall.

As two teams were sent on to play on the court, a flirty voice from the side-lines called out "If you wanted to give me a sneak peek then you could have at least done it in private."

I faced the culprit of the words that came in the form of the blonde captain of the football team.

"Not that I am complaining." Chase added while letting his gaze roam my exposed stomach.

"You better get a good look." I gritted out as he neared "This is as much as you will be seeing from now on."

The quarterback let out a laugh like he did not believe me.

"Should you not be coming up with a game plan with your buddies right now?" I pointed out in a subtle way of trying to get rid of him "We both know you hate to lose."

Chase offered me a cocky smile as he conveyed "We will have to see if your friends offer any competition."

I followed the footballer's gaze as he turned and looked at the two well-built males standing at the side of the court.

Stone was flicking his dark feral gaze between Chase and me. He appeared even more slaughterous and ruthless than normal.

I did not know how I did not notice him as soon as he entered the room.

The giant stood way taller and broader than the rest. The clenched jaw and the tensed body looked like he was about to go war radiated his wrath and that made him noticeable also.

Chase turned back to face me, and he cleared his throat before speaking "So are you coming to my back-to-school party Friday night?"

I would normally jump at the opportunity to go to a party with him, but I was not feeling it. I told myself that it was because of his comment in English class.

"I think I’m busy." I answered vaguely before swiftly changing the subject "When am I getting my panda?"

"Oh." Chase uttered in surprise "Did you actually want the panda?"

I tilted my head and retorted like it was obvious "Yeah. I did."

"I put it in the trash." He informed me with no sympathy at all.

"You did what?" I blurted out and then I raised my voice to curse at him “You...You stuffed animal sociopath!"

Chase laughed, still unapologetic about Pete's passing "I will get you another one next time."

A feeling in my gut told me that there was not going to be a next time.

I never enjoyed myself the last time. I ended up ditched and panda-less.

"How was your stupid fight thing that you ditched me for anyway?" I asked him to make conversation "It must have been important because I have never seen someone move so fast."

His whole playful demeanour dropped suddenly. His smirk fell into a frown.