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Returning inside, I close the door, leaning against it as my head spins from the unexpected encounter. Is this really happening?

Fast forward to Friday night under the stadium lights. The crisp fall air is thick with the smell of popcorn and freshly cut grass. However, standing by the bleachers after the game, the atmosphere felt suffocating. Loud music thudded from the gymnasium across the field, where people were already heading for the after-party. That’s never been my scene. The last thing I would ever do to my grandfather, after devoting his senior years to raising me, is give him one more thing to worry about.

Standing near the equipment sheds, clutching a paper cup of lukewarm soda, I stand on my tiptoes trying to find my grandfather so we can leave.

And then I see him.

Sam was leaning against the chain-link fence, surrounded by his usual crowd. He was laughing, appearing effortlessly cool in his varsity jacket. A tall, blonde girl was tucked under his arm, whispering something in his ear. Her hand rested on his chest.

I turn away immediately, feeling a bitter knot tighten in my stomach. None of my business. He hasn’t been any of my business in years.

Making a break for the path behind the home bleachers, I push past a cluster of band members into the cool, dark air. Inhaling a deep breath, I let the quiet night calm the frantic racing of my pulse. Hating the stupid thought that always invades my mind.

That should’ve been me.

“Running away, Patterson?” the voice cuts through the dark like a knife, stabbing my soul.

I jump, whirling around in the direction of the familiar, unwelcome voice.

Sam steps out from the shadow of the stadium, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets. The bright floodlights catch the sharp angle of his jaw and those deep blue eyes. Eyes that used to look at me with affectionate mirth, but now held nothing but a turbulent storm.

“I’m not running away from anything,” I snap, stepping back and balling my fists tightly on my hips. “I was looking for Grandpa to head home. Unlike you, I don’t feel the need to hold court in front of the entire school.”

“Right. You’re above all of us, aren’t you?” He takes two slow, deliberate steps toward me, closing the distance until I can smell the faint scent of his cologne. That electricity is back, lighting my nerves on fire.

When will that stop, for Pete’s sake?

“Little Miss Perfect. And now you’re riding shotgun with the star quarterback.”

I take a step back, surprised he knows. But why should I be? Chad isn’t the modest type. I’m certain there was some agenda there. I just don’t know what exactly. Did he think together we made some sort of power couple? I mean, it’s not like he’s actually interested in me. He’s never once bowed down to try to have a real conversation. Up until he arrived on my doorstep to ask me to homecoming, the most we’ve spoken has been nonverbal. He’d winked as he walked by in the hallway at school, surrounded by an equally popular jock crowd, to which I replied with an eye roll. And that was the end of that.

“What exactly is your problem with me, Sam?” The question spills out of my mouth before I can stop it, carrying months of built-up anger and betrayal. I take a step right into his space, looking up into his face.

Jiminy Crickets. When had he gotten so tall? And stupidly mouthwatering?

“Seriously, Sam. What did I ever do to you? We used to be best friends. And then you decided to treat me like yesterday’s trash. Why do you care who I go to homecoming with, so long as it isn’t you?”

The arrogant mask flickers on his face before vanishing. In its place is something dark and terrifying. Almost desperate. He takes another step forward, backing me up until my shoulders hit the cold steel support beam of the bleachers. Planting one hand on the beam right beside my head, he leans down so close I can feel the heat radiating off him. Can practically taste the mint ebbing from his lips.

My skin sizzles everywhere his shadow touches. Every hair on my body charged by his proximity.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” he rasps, his voice dropping low. It’s laced with venom. His eyes lock onto mine, burning with a fire that makes my breath catch in my throat. “You think this is easy for me? Looking at you every day?”

Was that a dig? What does he mean?

His nearness has me feeling off-kilter. I finally have the nerve to ask him why, but I can’t comprehend what’s happening right now. My lips part, but my voice has completely vanished. For three agonizing seconds, the air between us feels charged with enough static electricity to set the stadium on fire. His gaze drops to my mouth. I reach out to steady myself. My knuckles whiten against the force of my grip on the steel beam beside us.

I hold my breath, every instinct in my body screaming that he’s about to grab me. That he could finally kiss me, tearing down that wall he built between us.

Then, just as quickly as the flash of heat had flared, that cold shutter returned, slamming back down behind his eyes. Sam lets out a harsh, dry laugh before pushing himself off the beam, stepping out of my space. The distance feels like the temperature in the air dropped thirty degrees.

“Forget it, Lexi,” he says, stepping toward the field and tossing a dismissive glance over his shoulder. “Go find Chad. Wouldn’t want you getting your pristine reputation tarnished hanging around a screw-up like me.”

Retreating toward the gym, he leaves me standing alone in the shadows, trembling from the suffocating weight of everything he’d left unsaid. Again. And what he did say made no sense. Yet somehow, this interaction feels more final. Because it has to.

It’s time to let this go and move on, Lex. You deserve better than this. No matter how much your heart is screaming otherwise.

Chapter Seventeen