Roxie slipped away before Karen could change her mind.

She moved with the crowd at first, letting the noise cover her. Students pushed toward the field. Parents leaned over the railing with phones raised. The band played over the chanting, messy and loud, while the Ravens ran across the grass with helmets lifted high.

"Undefeated! Undefeated! Undefeated!"

The chant followed her down the side of the bleachers.

Her heart beat harder with every step.

She knew this was a bad idea in the way every hidden thing with Zac felt like a bad idea. The kind she still walked toward. The kind that made her fix her hair twice even though her fingers were shaking. The kind that made her aware of her skirt, her ribbon, the sweat at the back of her neck, and the way her lips still remembered her bedroom.

That thought made her slow.

She had thought about that kiss more times than she wanted to admit, and now he was somewhere ahead of her, fresh from the game, still carrying the heat of the win.

She should have been used to him by now.

She was not.

The space under the bleachers was colder. The stadium lights came through the gaps above in pale strips, cutting across the concrete floor and the steel posts. Feet stomped overhead. People laughed and shouted. Somewhere nearby, a soda cup dropped and rolled down a step, making a sharp plastic sound.

Roxie stopped beside a thick support beam.

"Zac?"

A hand caught hers and pulled her gently behind the beam.

She gasped, and her palm landed against his chest.

"Zac."

His hand released hers right away. "I’m sorry."

She looked up at him.

He still had his shoulder pads on. His jersey was damp and stained from the last drive. Sweat clung to his hair and temple, and the scrape near his jaw looked darker up close. On the field, he had looked untouchable. Under the bleachers, with his hand hovering near her waist and that careful look on his face, he looked almost nervous.

Roxie’s anger at being startled softened before it could grow.

"You scared me," she said.

"I know." His smile came out small, shy around the edges. "I’m sorry for pulling you here like that. I saw you standing there, and I wanted to get to you before everyone else did."

Her chest tightened.

The words were simple. That somehow made them worse.

Roxie looked down at the front of his jersey because looking at his face felt dangerous. "You just won. Everyone is looking for you."

"I know."

"You should be with your team."

"I was with them."

"For about thirty seconds."

"That was enough."

She gave him a look, trying to hold on to the attitude that usually protected her, but the corner of his mouth curved, and her face warmed again.

"You looked proud," he said.

Roxie’s fingers curled around the strap of her bag. "Everyone was proud. The whole stadium was screaming."

"I was looking at you."

That shut her up.

Above them, the bleachers shook again as the chant returned, louder near the student section.

"Undefeated! Undefeated!"

Zac’s eyes stayed on her, bright from the game and softer now that they were alone. Roxie could still hear Karen’s warning. Too many girls. Too much trouble. Bianca had proved that. Karen had every reason to be mad.

But Zac was standing in front of her like she was the first place he had wanted to go after the biggest game of the season.

It made Roxie feel shy in a way she hated.

"You played really well," she said.

His smile deepened. "Really well?"

"Don’t make me regret saying nice things."

"I’m trying to enjoy it."

"You already enjoyed enough. The whole school was screaming your name."

"I liked hearing yours."

Roxie looked away fast.

He gave a low laugh, but it faded quickly when she touched the dirty mark on his jersey near his ribs. The movement was small, almost absent, but Zac noticed. His hand settled at her waist, light enough for her to step back.

"You got hit hard," she said.

"A little."

"You stayed down."

"For two seconds."

"That was long enough."

His expression changed.

The teasing eased out of him, leaving something quieter. "You were scared?"

Roxie wished she could lie.

She lifted her eyes. "Yes."

Zac stared at her for a moment, and the noise above them seemed to move farther away.

"I liked seeing you cheering because of me," he said.

Roxie’s heart gave one hard beat.

The feeling came back all at once. The last drive. Zac breaking out of the tackle. The throw. The crowd rising before the catch even landed. His eyes finding hers after the play like her reaction mattered more than the scoreboard.

She had wanted to hide how much it affected her.

She was doing a terrible job.

"I was a bit excited," she admitted, quieter now. "You were amazing tonight."

His hand tightened slightly at her waist.

For a second, neither of them moved.

The silence between them felt different from the bedroom. There, the walls had made everything too close. Here, the whole stadium was above them, and still the space around them felt smaller than any room.

Zac lifted his hand to her face, then paused.

That pause made her breath catch.

He could be so bold on the field. He could walk through school like everyone already expected him to win. But with her, here, after everything, he still waited.

Roxie leaned into his hand before he could ask.

His fingers touched her cheek.

The first brush was light. Careful. His thumb moved near the corner of her mouth, and Roxie’s eyes dropped to his lips without permission.

Zac saw it.

His breathing changed.

"Roxie," he said, voice low.

She looked up.

He leaned in slowly, giving her enough time to stop him, enough time to remember Karen’s warning, enough time to remember Bianca and the whispers and the fact that every girl attached to Zac’s past seemed to circle him like they had a claim.

Roxie rose on her toes.

His mouth met hers softly.

The first touch made her grip his jersey.

Zac kissed her with restraint at first, like he remembered the bedroom too, like he knew this was still new enough to make them both careful. His hand stayed at her cheek. His other arm slid around her waist, bringing her closer by slow degrees.

Then the adrenaline of the game caught up to him.

Roxie felt it in the way his breath hitched, in the way his fingers spread at her back, in the way his mouth grew firmer against hers. The whole stadium had been screaming for him minutes ago, but he kissed her like the noise had only made him need somewhere quiet to put everything he felt.

She answered before she could think.

Her hand slid up to the back of his neck, fingers brushing damp hair. Zac made a quiet sound against her mouth, and the softness between them warmed into something stronger.

Roxie felt herself lose the nervous distance she had been trying to keep. She stepped closer until her body touched his chest, shoulder pads and all, and Zac held her like he was still trying to be careful while clearly wanting more.

That made her dizzy.

When they finally pulled apart, her hand stayed on his neck.

Zac kept his forehead close to hers. His eyes were lowered, his breathing uneven, and his smile came slowly, shy in a way that made Roxie’s stomach twist.

"I’m sorry," he said.

Roxie blinked. "For the kiss?"

His smile tugged wider, but his voice stayed soft. "For pulling you here. The kiss, I wanted."

Her face heated so fast she looked down.

"Zac."

"I did." He brushed his thumb once along her cheek. "I wanted to kiss you after the game."

Roxie swallowed.

There was no good defense against him when he spoke like that.

So she reached up and rubbed at the dirt near his jaw with her thumb. "You have grass on your face."

He laughed under his breath. "That’s what you got from all that?"

"I’m helping."

"Very sweet of you."

"I can stop."

"Please don’t."

The teasing softened again as she wiped the dirt from his cheek. Zac watched her too closely, and Roxie became aware of every small thing. The warmth of his skin. The rough scrape near his jaw. The way his hand stayed at her waist without pulling.

"Karen probably hates me," he said.

Roxie’s thumb paused.

"She’s angry," she said.

"She has a reason."

Roxie lowered her hand. "Bianca made her own choices."

"But she attacked you because of me."

Roxie glanced toward the open side of the bleachers, where the field lights spilled across the concrete. "Karen thinks being around you puts a target on me."

"She’s right."

Roxie looked back at him.

Zac’s jaw flexed. "I know what follows me. I know how Bianca was. Still, I came to you."

"I’m glad you did." Roxie’s chest went soft and tight at the same time.

The incident didn’t need to be said.

He stepped closer, careful again. "I’m going to protect you better."

Roxie wanted to believe him. That scared her more than his trouble did.

"You can’t control everyone," she said.

"I can control what I let happen around me."

She studied his face. The cocky grin was gone. The game glow was still there, but underneath it was something serious and young and almost desperate to be believed.

"Karen still might bite you," Roxie said.

His mouth curved. "I’ll deserve it if I make you cry."

"She will agree with that."

"She should."

Roxie looked down, smiling despite herself.

For a few seconds, they stayed there with the crowd above them, hidden between steel beams and strips of stadium light. It should have felt small. Secret. Temporary. But Zac’s hand was still at her waist, his eyes still fixed on her, and Roxie felt that dangerous glow spread through her chest again.

Then the chant above them began to change. Players were moving toward the locker room. People were starting to leave the stands. Somewhere nearby, a coach shouted for the team to hurry.

Reality returned.

Homecoming was not over.

The dance was tomorrow.

Zac seemed to think of it at the same time because his gaze moved over her face, slower now. "You’re going tomorrow."

Roxie nodded. "Of course."

"With Angela and Karen?"

"Probably. Angela already planned my night, and Karen is pretending she hates everything while secretly caring too much."

His smile flickered. "Will you save me one dance?"

The question landed between them with more weight than it should have.

Under the bleachers, it was easy to stand close. At the dance, there would be lights, music, cameras, Kendall, the court, half the school watching every move. A dance with Zac would mean something, even if everyone pretended it was nothing.

Roxie’s nerves rose again.

Zac saw it, and his hand slipped from her waist to her fingers.

"You don’t have to answer now," he said.

She looked at their hands.

Karen’s warning. Angela’s smile. Bianca’s glare. Zac’s private look from the field. His mouth against hers. His shy apology after pulling her into the shadows.

All of it moved together inside her.

Roxie lifted her eyes. "I’ll see you then."

Zac held her gaze.

Then he nodded.

Above them, the stadium kept chanting for the undefeated Ravens, but Roxie only heard the quiet promise waiting in tomorrow.