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As he approaches me with a wide smile, I’m reminded of the other reason I keep our interactions short: I’ve gotten the sense Will’s friendliness might not be entirely platonic. The few other guys who have flirted with me have been easy to dissuade with a few sharp retorts. I feel badly doing that to Will, but I don’t want to give him the wrong idea either.
I return his smile. “Nice game.”
“Thanks, Lennon.” He beams in response to my compliment. “It’s really nice to run into you. I feel like I never see you around.”
“Senior year, you know.” I keep my reply evasive, hoping he’ll fill in the blanks with what I’ve been busy with himself. With normal activities, like college visits and applications, rather than what actually takes up the bulk of my time: running a horse farm.
“I sure do.” Will lets out a low laugh. “Hard to believe it, huh? Seems like not that long ago we were lab partners.”
“It doesn’t feel like that long ago,” I agree. Probably because my life doesn’t look all that different. Gramps is more forgetful and has a harder time getting around. But my mornings still start early and I usually collapse into bed as soon as I finish my homework.
Aside from Cassie’s presence, high school never improved much from the disastrous first day Caleb Winters became my nemesis, and the hours spent in Will’s friendly, upbeat presence were an unexpected bright spot in an otherwise dismal year. Impulsively, I tell him so. “That class was the best part of freshman year for me.”
“Really?” Will asks. He looks shocked by my comment, which is probably warranted. It’s not exactly common for me to be nostalgic.
“Really,” I confirm, smiling slightly. “You were always nice to me, and most people…weren’t.”
“Most people are idiots,” Will states, his tone emphatic.
My laugh is wry. “Won’t argue with you there.”
Will leans a little closer and opens his mouth to say something else. I hope it’s unrelated to my pariah status. I hate talking about my parents and I don’t discuss Gramps with anyone.
I’m distracted by a sudden gush of cool wind and the slap of cleats hitting the lobby’s linoleum, but I force my eyes to remain on Will and resist the urge to watch as the baseball team walks by.
Unfortunately, Will doesn’t do the same, turning to face the commotion and taking my excuse to appear oblivious with him.
“Masterson! How’d it go?” Luke Evans pauses next to us.
“I’m insulted you have to ask.” Will grins. “Decimated them.”
“Nice work,” Luke congratulates, and then tucks his baseball glove under one arm so he and Will can do one of those half-hand slap, half-fist bump greetings guys seem to apply to every possible interaction.
“You guys are already practicing?” Will nods to Luke’s dirt-streaked baseball attire.
“Already? We never really stop,” Luke replies. “Fall ball has started running right into the spring season.”
Will whistles. “Wow. That’s a lot of baseball.”
Luke nods. “Sorry I didn’t catch any of the game. Our practice ran long. It got interrupted, so Winters had us stay later than usual.”
I wasn’t sure if Luke was among the guys huddled around Caleb earlier, but now I know for certain. I look at him for the first time since he stopped next to Will and me, and he’s sporting a cheeky grin.
It dims when I glare at him.
“Really? What happened?” Will asks curiously, missing our brief exchange.
“Just some equipment issues,” Luke responds.
I tense.
I haven’t been keeping track of the players walking past us. In fact, I’ve been doing everything I cannotto look at them, but somehow I know Caleb has just entered the lobby. Most of the basketball team and other spectators are gone, and Luke was the only baseball player who stopped during the team’s trek to the locker room.
Meaning I can hear every footfall as the spikes of Caleb’s cleats hit the tiled floor.
“Congrats on the win, Will. I’ve gotta get changed.” Luke is suddenly in a rush to depart, and despite the fact I still haven’t looked over, I know that means I’m right. Caleb is in the lobby, and Luke doesn’t want to be seen with me.
It’s too late, though. I can feel the weight of Caleb’s gaze as Luke hurries off. Which is why I turn my undivided attention back to Will. If I have to suffer through a fourth encounter with Caleb today, I’ll likely end up resorting to physical violence.
