I stand there like an idiot for a beat, watching them go, my jaw so tight it could cut glass.
Great. Now I get to spend the rest of the day picturingthat guy's armdraped overmy girlwhile she laughs at all his dumb jokes.
I shove my hands into my pockets before I do something stupid, like march over there and rip his arm off at the socket.
Nope. Can't do that. Bad idea.
What Icando?
Figure out who the hell Adam is.
Full name. Class schedule. GPA. Favorite cereal. Blood type. Every single embarrassing post he's ever made on social media — I want it all.
Hell, I might just run a full FBI-level background check on this guy tonight.
No — scratch that — full-blown CIA operation. I need to know what I'm up against. If I'm going to fight for Caroline, I'm not walking in blind this time. I want his stats, his hobbies, the last time he got a haircut, his entire dating history — I wanna know if I'm going up against a choir boy or a closet heartbreaker.
Because I'm done standing on the sidelines, waiting for someone else to shoot their shot with her. Look how that turned out last time — total disaster.
Not again.
This time? I'm staking my claim. Loud. Unmistakable. The kind of obvious that makes every guy on campus take one look at her and know she's already spoken for — even if we technically aren't. Not yet.
Hell, I'll make a damn PowerPoint presentation if I have to. "Why Caroline Is Already Taken — Featuring Yours Truly."
Yeah. Totally not losing it. Totally normal.
And it hits me —is this how she felt?
All those times she saw me with other girls — at parties, in the hallways, flirting, laughing — did it feel like this? Like her chest's in a vice and her brain's screaming to go punch a wall just to get the pressure out?
God. It had to have been worse for her.
Adam's probably just a friend and I still want to throw him into a locker. Caroline thought every single girl I was with was my hookup.
I drag a hand through my hair, jaw tight.
I deserve this — every spike of jealousy, every second of this slow burn eating me alive — because I'm just now getting a taste of what I put her through for years.
I stalk off in the opposite direction, jaw still tight, every step buzzing with pent-up frustration. Screw sulking alone — I need backup.
I yank out my phone and open the PUCK BUDDIES group chat.
ME
Boys. We have a situation.
LUKE
Uh oh. What did you do this time?
ME
Not me this time. Some dude might be trying to steal my girl.
CODY
??????
