Dane grows still next to me and gives me side-eye, which I refuse to acknowledge. Liam is his best friend, and like the good twin he is, we’re in sync; he knows when I want to use my fists.
“Come on, let’s go in,” Dane murmurs, his shoulder jostling mine.
“Mmmm, maybe Liam and I need to hash out some shit before we walk in,” I say lightly.
Liam swings his head back to me, meeting my eyes and turning his unease into a careful smile. “Ah, man, forget it. It’s gonna be a good year, alright? Our team’s going to win that trophy this year. You and me, right, Knox? We’re tight. We’ve been tight since freshman year.”
It’s me and Dane who are tight, asshole. Never you. “Yeah,” I say.
The four of us step onto the long sidewalk that leads to the entrance. Liam opens the door, and I head in first, carefully searching the faces in the foyer then the hallway.
Nothing.
She isn’t here yet.
Wait.
A blonde girl catches my eye down the hall, her face hidden and ducked. My steps falter, pausing as I trail behind the other three guys. I’m about to head toward her—
I touch my scar, rubbing it.
Nope. Nope.
Don’t follow her, Knox. Let it go. Right.
A familiar dark green Jeep flashes in my peripheral as it whips into the lot and speeds past the sidewalk. I frown, my gut tensing up. Ava. So the blonde wasn’t her. A tight feeling settles in my chest, and unease mingled with excitement washes over me as I watch her park and get out of her car. I bite my lower lip, my body tightening.
With what?
Tension? Fear? Lust?
Yeah, I’m a regular split personality.
Part of me never wants to see her face again, but the other side of me…well, that’s the one I have to worry about.
Liam rushes off to the headmaster’s office to get his schedule figured out while Dane, Chance, and I linger close to the door, checking out the incoming freshmen and waiting for the friends we haven’t seen over the summer.
But I know why I’m really standing here.
Dane leans his head against the wall and scrubs his face.
“What’s up with you?” I ask, one eye on the door, watching.
He raises his head. “Nothing. Stop hovering.” Gray eyes the same color as mine give me a look. His pupils are dilated.
My jaw grinds, but I keep my lips zipped. The more I ride him, the more belligerent he gets, and you can’t argue with—
Shit.
There she is.
It’s been months since she graced the hallowed halls of Camden with her long, lean legs and big aquamarine eyes.
A suffocating feeling grows in my chest.
She.
Is.
Here.
My thoughts jumble back to the past. I still remember the day she showed up freshman year, that look of hope on her face, full of optimism that Camden was going to be a new beginning for her. She made me look at her, and I hated it. Even now, I itch to peel the sensation right off my skin.
No feelings allowed in this body for her.
Not a single one.
“She’s back,” Dane says, straightening up from the wall, an enigmatic expression on his face. “Gotta give it to her—she’s got balls.”
“Mmmm,” I say, studying her while she isn’t looking. Gone is the long blonde hair, replaced with jet black. She looks harder. Her mouth is frozen in a smirk with bright red, glittery lipstick on her full lips, accentuating the sensual curves there, the paleness of her skin. Small freckles dot over her nose, same as before, but it’s the tense set of her jaw that tells you she’s not the same. Her skirt is a hair too short by the school guidelines, the hem hitting about three inches above her knee instead of the required two. I wonder if scholarship students get the last pick when it comes to uniforms. I guess their clothes are free, like the textbooks. Do they give her just a couple of sets of each one? Two jackets, a few shirts and skirts? I can’t even count the number of uniforms in my closet at home, so many khakis, perfectly starched white shirts, and a myriad of ties.
Her red blazer with the Camden dragon crest is draped over her arm, her white blouse snug around the fullness of her breasts. On her feet are ragged black Converse. My gaze lingers, taking in the tall white socks on her calves.
“Why are you staring at her like that?” Chance hisses at me, standing on my other side.
“Like what?”
Who is she deep down? To walk into this place, eyes lit with a vicious edge.
My hands curl.
She’s so sweet.
So forbidden.
“Like you’re fascinated or some shit.” His voice is hushed.
“Mmmm,” I murmur.
I can feel him still watching me watching her as he says, “Leave her be.”
I narrow my eyes at her, not even listening to him, feeling annoyed by the vulnerable hunch in her shoulders that grows, the one she keeps attempting to straighten as she walks closer to us.
I shrug, keeping the movement cool and light. “She’s definitely a spark that just might ignite and catch fire.”
“And burn us all down in the process,” Dane mutters. “I agree with Chance—stop.”
“Can’t do it,” I answer under my breath. I lick my lips, battling internally to drop my gaze from her, feeling baffled by it.
She came back, she came back, she really did it.
Chance’s jaw pops as he watches her, grappling with control.
She seems rooted to her place in the hall, sweeping her eyes over us. Students jostle past her, giving her a wide berth.
Come on, little Ava.
Come closer to me, fierce girl.
One more step.
Let me touch you. On the arm. Your hand. Anything.
Please.
My fingers twitch.
“I can’t believe she’s back,” Chance grunts and looks at me, keeping his voice low so she can’t hear us. “Did you know?”
“Why would you think I’d know?” I say dryly.
“Because you always know shit. Your dad is on the board.”
I laugh. Oh, if he only knew the information I have—all of it about defiant, charity case Ava. I have so many details about her life it makes my head spin, makes my cock hard—
Stay far, far away.
Chance’s chest rises. “My father took my car away after that party. I still don’t have it—when I did nothing wrong. She was my date, and that was all it took for him to judge me and hold me responsible.”
Yeah, but he left with Brooklyn.
Annoyance tugs at me. “Weren’t you in love with her?”
He inhales sharply, but his voice is subdued. “No.”
Liar.
I chuckle under my breath.
My gaze lingers on her heart-shaped face, watching as she stumbles, her feet pushing forward and stopping about four feet from us, staring at Chance. Hate flows from her, almost palpable. Hot. Electric.
He pales and his throat bobs, some of that anger leeching out of him and turning into…hmmm, fear? Nothing ruffles him these past months like someone bringing up Ava, and seeing her for the first time since that night—well, he looks as if he’s seen a ghost.
He drops his eyes.
“You over her for real?” I stare at him hard.
“Fuck yeah.”
Last year, he was totally lost in Ava. I saw it when he gave her puppy dog looks in class, and shit, even I heard angels singing when she gazed back at him. I saw it when he’d throw down his helmet after a game and dash over to pick her up and twirl her around. He talked about her constantly, how he thought she might be the one. He didn’t brag about his sexual conquests with her. No, he kept that under wraps.