The Girl in the Hoodie is Mine

Max’s POV:

She said yes. She finally said yes!

"You guys should just give up. That yacht is mine. One thing I know for sure—Elly won’t be going anywhere else once she’s had a taste of me," I bragged, leaning back on the bench. "Jay... better start polishing those pretty keys to that sweet baby of yours."

"Yo, Max!" Dylan butted in, rolling his eyes. "You haven’t even bought that stupid motorbike yet, and you’re already celebrating like you’ve won the lottery. Plus, she’s never once responded to your ’suggestive’ glances. How sure are you she’s gonna strip naked for you on the first date?"

"C’mon, man, you know the ladies love me," I shot back confidently, smirking. "And the bike ain’t stupid. For your information, I already have someone working on getting me one."

"Yeah, well, I don’t think your father’s gonna be thrilled about you riding around on a motorbike," Jason chimed in, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He always knew how to needle me. "Jeez, man, he didn’t even like you driving; that’s why you have a driver."

Jason’s smirk didn’t faze me. They were just jealous. I was the first one to score a date with Elly, which meant I was in the lead. The bet we had was still in full swing, and I had my eyes on the prize: Jason’s yacht. They couldn’t deny it, even if they wanted to. The fact that Elly had said yes to me made them nervous. And Jason, well, I knew his obsessive little crush on her had been brewing for a while now. Seeing me get closer to winning was probably killing him inside.

"What my old man doesn’t know won’t hurt him," I replied, jabbing back at Jason’s remark. "He doesn’t have to know everything. Besides, it’s not like I’m planning to parade the bike in front of his office."

Jason shrugged, giving me that look like he didn’t care, but I knew better. He cared. A lot. Dylan leaned back, half-interested in the conversation, scrolling through his phone. I could tell Dylan didn’t think Elly would cave to any of us—he had that whole "respect" thing going on. Whatever. That was his problem, not mine.

I wasn’t about to let anyone’s doubts affect my game. I had a date with the girl everyone was after, the girl everyone was talking about. And sure, maybe Elly didn’t react to my winks and flirtations the way most girls did. Maybe she wasn’t swooning over the rich-boy charm like the others. But I wasn’t worried. I had a plan.

The bike was part of that plan. I knew she wasn’t like other girls—flashy cars and expensive clothes didn’t seem to faze her the way it did with others. She was different, and I respected that, even if she played hard to get. The motorbike, though—that was my wild card. It was something different, something unexpected. I could picture it now: showing up to our date on the bike, handing her a helmet, and whisking her away from this boring school life.

I leaned back, imagining how the night would go. I didn’t care what Jason or Dylan thought—they didn’t get it. They didn’t understand that I wasn’t like them. I didn’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps. Business was his thing, not mine. I only agreed to go into business school to appease the old man. But deep down, my heart wasn’t in it.

What I wanted... well, I hadn’t told anyone that. I wasn’t stupid. They’d laugh if they knew what I was really passionate about. No one could ever know that I didn’t care about corporate takeovers or boardroom politics. I wanted something else. Something real. Something exciting. But for now, I had to play the role of the obedient son, the future business mogul in training.

As for Elly, she was just one step closer to me winning this stupid bet. Maybe she wasn’t into me now, but after our date, I’d change her mind. I was the first one to get her attention, the first one she said yes to. That counted for something, didn’t it? She wouldn’t be able to resist the thrill of being with someone like me. And once she saw me on that bike, we’d be riding off into the sunset—her clinging to my back as I sped off with her.

"Yeah, you just wait and see," I said, more to myself than to them. "That yacht is as good as mine."

Jason just rolled his eyes again, and Dylan chuckled under his breath. They thought I was being cocky, but I knew better. I had a date with the most talked-about girl in school-the one who embarrassed Jason and without scratch, and that meant I was ahead of the game.

Whatever happened next, I was ready. This bet? It was mine to win. And Elly—she didn’t even know what was coming her way.

DYLAN’S POV:

Shocked? Hell yeah, I was. How did this idiot friend of mine, Max, get to have the first shot with her? I mean, of all of us, Max was the least subtle, the biggest flirt. How the hell did he manage to get her to say yes? The fact that she even agreed to go out with him threw me for a loop.

I knew from the start that we had a rough beginning with Elly, especially with the whole Jason incident. We’d all acted like jerks, trying to stand up for Jason. It’s not that Jason or any of us were going to beat her up—nah, Jason was many things, but he wasn’t that low.

Okay, maybe that’s not entirely accurate, knowing his history with women. He’d definitely laid his hands on plenty of them, but not in a way that’d leave them screaming in pain. His "charm," if you could call it that, was dangerous in a different way. So yeah, it’s better to say Jason wouldn’t stoop so low as to physically harm a girl. He wasn’t a gentleman, not by a long shot, but he had his limits. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Still, Elly not hiding well enough after their initial run-in was risky. Jason wouldn’t go easy on her, not by a long shot. If she’d stayed around, he would’ve humiliated her in ways that no one would recover from. But she got away—luckily. That, of course, led to this whole bet. One thing everyone knew: never mess with Jason. He hated being made a fool of, and Elly, knowingly or not, made him the laughing stock.

Life would’ve been easier if she’d just avoided him or at least stayed out of his view. But now? She was the object of his obsession, and that was never a good thing. To be honest, I wouldn’t have gotten dragged into this bet if it weren’t for the yacht on the line.

Okay, who am I kidding? Sure, the yacht was tempting, but the real reason was the challenge. We were all bored—nothing really grabbed our attention anymore. At least, not publicly. Me? I had something—someone—I was curious about, but that was my secret. No way the guys would let me live it down if they knew.

According to our "standards" or whatever Jason liked to call them, we had to meet certain expectations. And Jason, well, he met them without even trying. He already had the cold, ruthless attitude of a CEO, even if we were just freshmen. Hell, the guy helped his dad secure a massive business deal that landed him the yacht we were all betting over. And he’d done that with ease.

But this bet? It wasn’t going to be in his favor, at least not with Elly. She was unpredictable. Their little run-in after the accident had left them on shaky ground, and I didn’t see her trying to patch things up with him. Most people in her situation—working at a diner, dealing with guys like us—would’ve tried sucking up to Jason after that accident, seeking his forgiveness, or at the very least trying to get back on his good side. Not Elly.

That girl had pride. She didn’t kiss up to anyone. She’d rather lick the floor than beg for forgiveness from any of us.

She hasn’t even tried flirting with us since she started working at the diner. Heck, if she hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time, no one would’ve noticed her. Max? He flirts with every single waitress here, so I know them all by now, but Elly? She was different. And now, because of Jason’s obsession, we’re all tangled up in this mess.

I looked at Max, still gloating like he had the whole thing in the bag. I wasn’t so sure. He might’ve scored the first date, but this was far from over. And I had a feeling Elly wasn’t going to play the game the way any of us expected.

Damien’s POV:

After feeding my lovely mate and making sure the babies were satisfied too, I was finally granted permission to return to bed with her. I