Read Pep Talks (Pepper Jones #4) for Free Online

tell her. “He’s the baseball pitcher. And he’s probably going to the Major Leagues when he graduates.”
    She whistles under her breath. When the professor arrives and draws our attention to her, I’m relieved. Clayton Dennison is complicated.  He’s not someone I want to think about, and until today, I haven’t really had to in a while. 
    Last year, Clayton had helped save me from crazy Savannah Hawkins. The first time, he got me out of a public situation when she drugged me – yes, she put roofies in my drink – during my official recruit visit at UC. The second time, he was the first at the scene when she hit me with her car. So when I say crazy, I mean crazy .
    Before those episodes, Jace was worried Clayton was going to be a problem. In high school, Clayton’s reign at Brockton Public was tainted by the presence of Jace Wilder, and when Jace became a student at UC last fall, the same thing was happening all over again for Clayton. Jace once again became the hottest athlete on campus as a freshman, and it looked like Clayton was going to target me in order to bring Jace down a notch. 
    But he must have changed his tune after realizing we had our own issues without his interference. Last time I asked Jace about Clayton, he said there was nothing going on there. Clayton backing off could also have been because Jace didn’t really go out much, and kept a low profile. Clayton could still pretend to be the top dog in the social scene, though when Jace did show up at parties, it was an even bigger deal because it was so rare. Either way, Clayton backed off. At least, he had stopped his flirtations with me. Until today.
    I would have to give Jace a heads-up. He didn’t like it when I kept stuff like this from him, and after all we’d been through, I didn’t blame him. Jace had stalkers and enemies and people who wanted to challenge him, felt threatened by him. Staying in the loop as to who these people were and what they had on their agenda was simply part and parcel of being with Jace Wilder. We’d had a reprieve from drama since the Savannah Hawkins showdown, but that didn’t mean we were in the clear for good. 
    After my morning classes, I’m excited to meet Jace for lunch. He texted me this morning to meet him at Molly’s Deli. It’s off campus, which allows us to eat together without all our teammates. I like that he makes time for just the two of us, especially today, my first day of college classes. I’m already worried about all my assignments and I want to vent my worries to Jace and get his take on the syllabi for the classes I’ve had so far.
    Jace isn’t waiting for me when I arrive, so I find a little table in the back and wait. It feels good to take off my backpack. College text books are seriously heavy and we don’t have lockers to go to between classes like high school. Ten minutes later, and still no Jace. I’ve checked my phone for a text, because he’s rarely late to meet me, but there’s nothing. Eventually, my stomach is growling so I order two sandwiches. Maybe by the time Jace gets here they’ll be ready.
    But he never shows. I call him, text him, eat my sandwich. I’m a little worried. He always has his phone on him. I can’t imagine he forgot our lunch date and his phone. Something must be up. 
    My anxiety increases as the day goes on, and when there’s still no word by practice, it’s morphed into anger. I’d take out my emotions on the workout, but it’s just an easy recovery run today. The anger mixes with worry when I don’t see him at Chapman Hall with the rest of his teammates at dinner.
    Frankie, Jace’s roommate, catches my eye from across the cafeteria.  He tilts his head toward the hallway leading to the restrooms and I nod. My heart is racing when I see his stern expression. I try not to let my mind wander but all I can think is that he’s in the hospital. That something horrible happened to him. I don’t know why my mind goes straight there, but it