Slamming my locker shut, I turned to him. “Your mom.”

He shook his head with a chuckle. “Hope she was a good time.”

“That’s gross.”

“You’re gross.”

“And you’re four.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re being a dick.”

I was. “Sorry, man. Bad night’s sleep.”

“With my mom?”

We both laughed.

That was as deep as any of our conversations ever went, and that was how I liked it.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever. So much so that when the final bell rang, I hauled ass out of there. On the way to my car, I checked the weather on my phone, trying to plan my next run. When I raised my eyes, all the air left my lungs.

She was a few feet ahead of me, and this time, I was certain it was Abby. I would recognize her walk anywhere. She wore an oversize T-shirt and jeans cut off just above her knees. Her outfit hid the curves that had been so obviously on display when I had seen her last. Her hair was tied up in a messy knot on top of her head, like it had been earlier when she was sitting under that tree. “Abby!” I called out, shoving my phone in my pocket and picking up my pace. She didn’t turn around. “Abby!” I called again. Still nothing. I hesitated for a second before grabbing her arm.

She turned to me, and her eyes went huge. “Oh shit,” she whispered. She looked shocked. Or scared. Or both.

I let my breath out with a whoosh. “It is you.” I swallowed my nerves. Why was I nervous? “I was calling your name.”

“Oh shit,” she said again. Same tone. She spun on her heels and started walking away.

I caught up and matched her step for step. “What’s going on?” Her reaction confused me. “Why are you acting like you don’t know me?”

She sped up.

“Abby, stop!” She eventually did, throwing her backpack into a shitty old convertible. She fingered the door handle, but I rested my ass against the door, making sure she had no choice but to speak to me. I linked my hands behind my head and studied the sky, letting out a frustrated groan. “You go to school here?”

She shrugged but kept her eyes down. I dropped my arms. “Abby!” I tried to get her to acknowledge me again. She didn’t look up, but I thought I detected the hint of a smile. My voice was flat as I asked, “Do you want to enlighten me on what’s so funny?”

She giggled. God, just hearing her giggle brought back all the feelings from our time together.

“My name’s not Abby.”

“What? You gave me a fake name?”

“So did you!”

“What? No I didn’t!”

And right on cue, Will showed up. “Hunter! You coming to . . .” He trailed off. Maybe he noticed the look in my eyes, pleading with him to fuck off. “What?” he asked me. Then he glanced from me to Abby—or whatever her name was. “Oh,” he said and began to nod. “New toy?” He eyed her up and down, rubbing his hands together and licking his lips.

I wanted to punch him.

Pushing off her car, I stood between them and faced Will. “I’ll catch up with you later, alright?” I didn’t have time to fuck around.

He raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, man.” He walked off, but not before winking at her.

I ignored the need to beat his ass and turned to her. “So your name’s not Abby?”

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “And your name’s Hunter?” she asked skeptically.

I shook my head. “Are you new—to this school, I mean?”

“No.”

“Then how the hell do you not know who I am?”

She laughed. “Are you some kind of god who I should bow down to?”

“No.” But then I replayed my words in my head—I sounded like a dick. I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Sure.” Amusement filled her eyes. I wanted to laugh with her, but she suddenly grew serious and took a step back.

Then the worst thing that could possibly happen happened.

“Babe!” Hannah shouted.

“Fuck.”

She was at my side instantly. “I was hoping to catch up with you before you left.” She rose up on her toes and kissed my cheek.

Every single part of my body tensed.

I didn’t want her there. I didn’t want Abby—or whatever her name was—to see us together. Not like this.

“Hey . . .” Hannah cooed. She was talking to Not Abby. “You’re in my gym class, right?”

She nodded.

“Chloe, is it?”

She chewed her lip and then nodded once.

Chloe.

Her eyes met mine—conveying an emotion I couldn’t decipher. And then she turned, leaned over the back door of her car, and reached for something. She held my letterman jacket out to Hannah. “I spilled soda on your boyfriend’s jacket, and I offered to dry-clean it; he was just asking for it back.”

“Oh,” Hannah said quietly, taking it from her hands.

I stood there frozen, not knowing what to say or do. Then Hannah’s fingernails dug into my forearms, and she turned me to face her. My eyes never left Chloe. Not until the wrong pair of lips brushed against mine, and her tongue invaded my mouth.

Then I heard a car start.

Pushing Hannah away, I spun around, but Chloe was already hauling ass out of there. I turned back to Hannah. “This game’s getting a little old, don’t you think?”