Gunner was making her laugh. She was riding with Gunner, and now she was talking to him while she smiled. Last night something must have happened to bring the two of them together. They seemed like old friends instead of strangers. They were old friends, but so was I. Why wasn’t I involved in this little moment of fucking friendship?

“Are you good with that?” Ivy asked, tugging on my arm.

Was I good with what? Gunner and Willa hanging out. No, I wasn’t. Why? Well I didn’t want to think about that too deeply. However, I didn’t think that was what Ivy was referring to. So I replied to her question with “Huh?” and saw her face scrunch up in a frown and quickly added, “Oh, sure.” Which made her smile and hopefully shut up with the chattering.

Kimmie and Serena both bombarded Gunner and blocked out Willa in one swift move as if they were operating as a whole and not two parts. I didn’t watch to see how Gunner handled it because I was too busy watching Willa roll her eyes, then move on toward the front doors. That made me smile. She wasn’t trying to lay any claim, nor did she want to. That was obvious, and I was so relieved I didn’t worry about the fact I’d agreed to something with Ivy that I hadn’t fully heard.

“Are you coming?” Ivy asked.

I didn’t much care for the possessive, bossy way she’d asked me. So I did the mature thing and started toward Willa. “Nah, I’ll see you later,” I called back to Ivy without a glance, then hurried to catch up with Willa before she got out of my sight.

Ivy called my name, but I pretended not to hear her and broke into a jog. I was being a jerk. I knew it and I felt bad about it, but my getting to Willa had suddenly become more important than being nice. Which I wasn’t going to evaluate too much. Because right now I needed to make my way to Willa and Gunner. Ivy needed some patience.

If Willa was talking to Gunner, then she must still be the Willa from our past. I wanted her to talk to me.

“Willa.” I called out her name just before she walked into the school. She paused and looked back over her shoulder at me. A confused almost startled expression touched her brow. “Hey,” I said, unsure what to do now I had her attention.

“Hey,” she replied just above a whisper. Was she nervous?

“I saw you rode with Gunner.”

She nodded but said nothing more.

“We were all friends once. I do something wrong? You don’t seem to like me much.”

Her eyes widened; then she shook her head. “No . . . but you’ve not spoken to me.”

She hadn’t talked to me. I was letting her make the move to say something. Willa had always been the outgoing one between us. She hadn’t let us get away with much, and she was the one to pull me into talking when I didn’t want to. Had she changed that much?

“Since when did I have to come after you to talk? The girl I remember used to hunt me down.”

A hint of a smile almost lit her lips. Almost. “That was a long time ago.”

Yeah, it was, but I was still as attracted to her now as I had been then. She was quieter now and not sure of herself. Almost timid. I didn’t imagine Willa turning out this way. Especially looking like she did.

I shifted the one book in my hand to the other arm, then held out my right hand. “Hello, Willa Ames. I’m Brady Higgens. It’s nice to meet you.”

This time she smiled and slipped her hand into mine as we shook. “You’re still crazy,” she replied.

I shrugged. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Pursing her lips, she looked adorable. “Hmmm . . . cocky much?”

Actually, no I wasn’t. Gunner was cocky. West used to be cocky until he fell in love with Maggie. But me, I was the good guy. I had my life planned out ahead of me. I would be choosing a college soon from the all the offers I’d had for my talent on the football field. But I wasn’t cocky. I was determined and driven.

“Just crazy,” I told her.

“Friend rule. Good ones don’t leave you cornered by those two leeches,” Gunner said, interrupting us and drawing Willa’s attention from me to him.

She smirked at him. “Maybe I’m not a good friend then.”

Gunner smiled at her with a look I knew. He was interested. Dammit. Why did I care? I had my hands full with Ivy. Who was good to me. My main focus was football, and she supported that. Reconnecting with a girl from my childhood because she was gorgeous and there was a past emotional connection didn’t justify risking what I already had.

“I’ll teach you. I have faith in you, Willa Ames. You’ll be my wingman before it’s all over,” Gunner said.

I liked the wingman comment. That was keeping it real. Gunner didn’t do relationships. He just did sex.

Willa chuckled, and the sound felt warm over my skin. “I’m sure I’ll be a pro soon.”

I couldn’t decide if this was as platonic as they sounded or if they were flirting.

“Brady,” Ivy called, and my guilt came back. Here I was getting all weird about Gunner and Willa while Ivy was trying to talk to me. What was wrong with me? This was not my typical behavior.

“You’re being summoned,” Gunner said, looking amused. “We’ll catch up with you later. Come on, Wingman, let’s go get your books for first period.”

Willa gave me a small, tight smile, then turned to walk away with Gunner. Down the hallway.

“Who is that?” Ivy asked. “She new?”

Two things about Lawton: It was fucking small, and everyone knew everything about everyone. So that question didn’t even sound believable. Ivy knew exactly who Willa was by this point, and the girls in town were all talking about her. Now that she was seen talking to me and Gunner, people would do their research and remember just who Willa Ames was, and the three of us would start being on the tongues of gossips everywhere.