I cock a brow, looking at Tess, and all three of us laugh as I run my hand over the top of her head. I nudge her toward Mack. "Go."
She darts away, still giggling to herself, and I instantly step closer to Tessa.
"Nice sweatshirt," I say as casually as possible.
She runs her tongue over her teeth, attempting to hide a smile. "Yeah, funny story… I found it folded on my bed this afternoon."
"Hmm," I hum, false confusion in my expression. "Weird. But probably for the best… It's still pretty chilly at night. Wouldn't want you to catch a cold."
"Mhmm." She nods, playing along as she inches closer. My heart rate kicks up. Her voice softens when she leans in. "Did you… spray it with your cologne?"
A laugh rips out of me unexpectedly, and my hand flies to my mouth to catch the tail end. "Maybe…"
Tessa smirks and shakes her head. "You really might be fifteen."
A smile floods my face that I couldn't hide if I wanted to—which I don't—pure happiness racing through me. She grins back, then folds her arms over her chest with mock attitude.
"What?" I ask.
She glares. "Ruthie thinks you left it because I don't have anything to wear—and I quote—'other than that cringey flannel.' " Another snort escapes me, catching Ruiz's attention as he walks through the locker room door. I nod toward him as he heads to the bus.
"You laugh, but she also said it's pretty cheap of you not to get me my own instead of making me wear yours."
My chuckle continues.
"It's not a bad idea," she admits, and that grabs my attention. "Getting my own, I mean. Maybe I'll hit the Gator Shop on the way out."
"Don't you dare," I say, a ridiculously real panic coating my pretend threat.
She wiggles her brows playfully, but I'm stuck on the very serious annoyance at leaving her again so soon.
"Will I talk to you while I'm gone?" I ask, cutting through the banter.
"Of course," she says quickly. "I'll let you know what Ruthie's up to and keep you posted on how the game goes."
I nod. "Yeah, okay. Cool." The door behind us opens, and Jace walks through it, headphones on and eyes to the ground. I wait to see if he'll look up and offer me some sort ofI told you so look, but he doesn't. I turn back to Tess. "But that's not exactly what I meant," I explain.
"Oh…" Her cheeks flush the perfect pink. "You mean…"
I risk moving another inch closer, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Ruthie doesn't notice. Luckily, she's busy talking Mack's ear off—or maybe it's the other way around. But Jace is sitting on the bus with his window down and headphones still on, staring in our direction.
I ignore him, putting my attention back on her. "I mean, I'm gonna miss you, Tessa. And since you can't come with me…" I trail off, remembering her words from the shower. "I just… I don't want to go another few days without talking to you."
Her lips tug upward. "Me either."
"Well, good. Then it's settled. I'll… talk to you."
Tess's phone buzzes in her hand. She glances down at the screen, sucks in a slow breath, then smiles again and shoves it into the back pocket of her jeans. "I'll talk to you," she echoes, distracted.
"Everything okay?" I ask, sensing the shift.
She purses her lips, shrugging it off. "Yep, all good."
I consider pushing, but her eyes darken slightly. Suddenly, I forget my name, let alone what I was going to say.
"I'll miss you too, by the way," she whispers.
"Yeah?"
