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Lucas ran a few feet behind me, his breathing even as he kept himself at my much slower pace. He’d caught up ten minutes into my jog, and I’d nearly tripped at the sight of him wearing a hat pulled low over his brows, a white shirt with the arms cut off, revealing large sections of his chest with each of his movements, and a pair of loose-fitting shorts. He’d kept his earbuds in when he said good morning and didn’t attempt to overtake me on the path.
There was a familiar, comfortable silence between us, even though I knew I was supposed to keep some distance between us. Some protection against all the hurt I still held for him. All I really wanted to do was keep moving forward, letting exhaustion take over my body with each step, and forget about all the reasons why I should still be mad at him.
I cracked my neck and doubled my pace, then tripled it until I was flying down the road at full tilt. Lucas’s groan was lost to the noise of my pulse in my ears as I pounded my feet against the ground, propelling me forward.
Lucas’s loud steps grew closer as we approached the front lawn, but if I could just hang on a little longer, I’d win.
I stepped on the curb leading up to the guys’ lawn, ready to claim victory, but my toe slipped off. I wheeled my arms, trying to stay balanced, but tumbled forward toward the grass.
Strong arms came around me, hauling me back up, and the scent of sandalwood and cinnamon filled my lungs as I took heaving breaths to get my heart under control.
“Thanks. That was close,” I said between pants.
“You always were clumsy.”
“Was not.” I collapsed like dead weight, and he released me slowly to the ground, where I lay out on my back with my eyes closed.
My chest squeezed at the sound of the door swinging shut, but I ignored it, instead appreciating the ache in my muscles. It had been entirely too long since I’d pushed myself like that.
Memories of when I’d raced Lucas to the cliffs flooded my head and how he’d held me to his chest to stop me from falling forward. I thought he was going to kiss me that night when he’d remembered my birthday, but he took off with some other girl.
A shadow fell over my face, and I opened my eyes to see a grinning Lucas.
“You should see your face right now,” he said, holding out a bottle of water to me. “You are bright red.”
I groaned, grabbing the water from his grasp, but didn’t bother getting up. “Yeah, well, not all of us can be blessed with your skin tone. Some of us are the color of the inside of a banana, and we turn bright red when we’re hot. Win some, lose some.”
He chuckled. “It’s fucking cute.”
“Uh-huh.” I took a long sip, letting the water cool the back of my throat before reaching out my hand.
He grabbed it, hauling me up to my feet, not letting go until I was steady. “What are your plans today?”
I smirked, my nose scrunching up, and tilted my head to the side. “Class.”
Today was the first day of the semester, and I was all set to start my kinesiology major with a business minor. I may have bitten off more than I could chew.
“Oh, right. Yeah, me too.” His eyes darted away, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
The moment grew taut, and a creeping awkwardness that had never been between us crept in. I cleared my throat, breaking the moment. “First day with the Huskies volleyball team this afternoon.”
“They kept your spot. That’s great, Piper.” Lucas’s voice was warm and seemed to hum inside me before I really processed what he said.
Heat flushed my cheeks. “I’m an alternate, but I get to earn my spot.”
Lucas’s fingers slid along my jaw and tilted my face to his. “Nothing to worry about. You’ve got this.”
His touch sent heat curling over my skin and a shiver down my back. His mouth was so close, and his soft eyes were looking into mine. His chest rose and fell with mine, and everything in me wanted to take a step closer. Have him wrap his arms around me and lift up on my toes to press my mouth against—
Lucas pulled back. His hand dropped from my jaw to pat my shoulder. “Go get ’em.”
He turned and disappeared into the house like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I rubbed my hands over my face. I needed to get over him. A slow smile spread over my lips. No better way to show him I didn’t care anymore than winning the Hunt.
* * *
I stepped inside the classroom, and my mouth hung open. It was at least three times the size of any stadium-style class I’d been in before. This was the type of room you got lost in. The kind where you’re just a number because there was no way anyone could know everyone. There was something comforting in that.
In this room, I wasn’t the girl who nearly died in a fire, and I wasn’t the girl who’d lost her brother. I was just one in a few hundred.
