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And when they do call me in, I’ll say exactly what I saw, because there’s no chance this happened all on its own. The only person I saw anywhere near the lecture hall while I was away was Jayden as he rushed out of there.

There has to be proof somewhere. If someone swapped my presentation with this shit, they had to do it in person and plug in a flash drive to copy their horrible files and change mine. Things like that don’t just happen out of nowhere.

When someone looks at the computer, they’ll have to see someone else, possibly Jayden, did something to my presentation. There’ll be records, a change log, or whatever. Besides, why the hell would I sabotage my own presentation? And even if they believe I was so careless as not to check before and it was all mine, why on earth would I collect random students’ profiles?

If it was Jayden, then he must have copied my first slide onto the front of his fake presentation, so it’d look like mine the moment it started. I push myself off the wall, my hands curling into fists at my sides.

What is even the point? Some dumb hazing thing they do to freshmen here? A prank? Because if that’s what it is, it isn’t funny. Not even a little, especially if I get blamed for all of it.

And Jayden... I should’ve trusted my gut about him from the very start, because a guy like him is trouble. Pretty face and charming smile hiding something disgusting, ugly, and twisted. I don’t know what his problem is, or why he picked me of all people, but he’d better hope the college likes him, because I’m so going to tell them everything about what I saw and what I suspect.

He’s fucking with the wrong person, and he’s going to regret it.

Chapter 7

JAYDEN

AS WALTON CHIPS THE ball across to me, I trap it under my foot and knock it right back without really looking, because someone’s heading toward the field and it pulls my attention away from the drill. Long dark hair, quick steps... Even from this far off, I know it’s Veronica, and a grin tugs at my mouth.

Finally. I’ve been half expecting her to come find me, and now she’s here, coming straight for me on her own so I don’t even have to go looking for her. Is she going to ask for my help because of what happened with her presentation? Being friends with a popular guy can fix anything, even something as embarrassing as that.

Everything went even better than I hoped. I spent the whole night compiling the fake slides and kept thinking about a bunch of small things that could go wrong, but I got lucky. My original plan was to copy the fake presentation, and then remotely access the computer and switch the slides during Veronica’s presentation, but she actually came in early and I had her real presentation right there. So instead, I copied her beginning and pasted it onto the fake presentation. She then basically did the whole job for me.

But as she gets closer, I realize she isn’t here to flirt or ask for help. Her hands are balled into fists, her jaw tight, and when her eyes lock onto me, they’re full of fire. Alright. Even better. If she’s this worked up already, then great. My plan to rattle her is working.

Coach blows the whistle for a water break right as she reaches the sideline, so I jog over to her before anyone else can get curious about who she is and why she’s glaring at their captain. Declan’s off to my left with his camera up, snapping shots of the guys for the college page.

“Was it you?” she says before I can even open my mouth. “Did you fucking mess with my presentation? Tell me!”

Shit! She wasn’t supposed to figure that part out, but I’m well prepared. I arch my eyebrows as if I’ve got no clue what she means, then lift my jersey and wipe the sweat off my face. Let her stare at my abs and get distracted.

“Sorry,” I say. “What presentation? I don’t think I even know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb,” she snaps. “You swapped my slides for a bunch of people’s personal profiles, made it look like I’d been stalking half the class, and I got kicked out in front of everyone, so don’t act like you have no idea what I mean.”

I let my mouth fall open a little, as if the news genuinely surprises me, but I’m loving every second of it, because it means the whole thing worked even better than I hoped. Getting kicked out in front of the class, the laughing... She’s had a rough morning, and it’s all thanks to me.

I have to bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning, because doing that right now would give my whole game away, and I’ve been at this too long to slip up over something that stupid.

“Damn,” I say, shaking my head. “Someone actually did that to you? Man, that’s messed up. I’m sorry. It really sucks, but I swear I’ve got nothing to do with it. I don’t even know why you’d think that. If someone told you it was me, they’re lying.”

“I saw you.” Her eyes narrow. “You came out of the lecture hall in a hoodie, rushing out as if you didn’t want anyone getting a good look at your face, but I saw you anyway, so don’t fucking lie to me.”

I keep my face expressionless. A glimpse of a guy in a hoodie means nothing without proof, and she doesn’t have it.

“Wait, back up.” I hold my hands up as if I’m the reasonable one here. “You think you saw me? There’s no chance, because I’ve been out here with the team since early this morning, warming up and getting ready for practice. I haven’t gone anywhere near the history department. You’ve got the wrong guy.”

She snorts. “Just tell me why. Is this some stupid hazing thing you do to freshmen? Some kind of prank? You could get me expelled over this! Do you fucking understand that? So just admit it, and at least tell me why you’d do something like that to someone you don’t even know.”

“Hey.” I soften my voice, which is what gets girls to trust me every time. “I get why you’re upset. What happened to you sounds awful, and whoever did it is a real piece of shit. But it wasn’t me. I’ve got no reason to mess with your presentation, and I sure as hell wouldn’t try to get some freshman I just met thrown out of college. Come on. Think about who you’re talking to here.”

She opens her mouth, but I’m faster.

“Just think about it for a moment. The history department’s on the far side of campus. The locker room and the field are on the complete opposite end of it. There’s no chance I could’ve left here, gotten over there, did whatever you think I did, and made it back without anyone noticing I was gone. It takes ages just to reach that end of campus on foot, and you’re telling me I went there and back just like that? Come on. The whole team was with me. Ask any of them.”

Her eyes flick toward the field as if she’s wondering whether the guys would cover for me, which they absolutely would, because I’m their captain and half of them owe me for one thing or another. But I’ve got something a lot better than their word, and it’s going to shut the whole thing down for good.

I turn and wave Declan over. “Hey, Declan. Bring your camera a sec.”