I stared.

Then I stared some more before mumbling, “I can’t deal with you today.”

He gave me this dumb look that begged for a smack. “What?”

It should be noted that years ago, Mase and I had thrown away twenty of Eli’s stupid, ugly polo shirts that were way too small on him while simultaneously making him look like a giant douche-bag. Because apparently, he wasn’t informed that wearing not just one, but two polo shirts at the same time with the collars popped was… just… no. No. I almost shuddered having a flashback of it.

Had he complained about what we’d done? No. He’d bitched. He’d bitched and he’d bitched some more. But Eli was cheap, and he thankfully never went back to buy any more polos to layer.

Until now, apparently.

All two hundred pounds of Barreto stood there proudly with a clean, emerald green polo, which would have been nice and fine… if it didn’t have the collar flicked up straight. Ugh. “You likey?” he asked with so much enthusiasm I couldn’t find it in me to snort.

I shot a look over at Mason who was standing behind him, staring right at his friend’s neck with a funny expression on his face. I think his eye might have been twitching.

“Nice, huh?” Eli asked again for confirmation that only someone who had once worn a trucker hat could give.

Forcing the grimace from my face into a reluctant grin, I nodded. “Sure, E. If the year was still 2002 and you were on the lacrosse team.”

“Scissors, we need scissors, Flabs,” Mase muttered loudly enough for my brother to hear.

Eli frowned and told us to fuck off before we started walking around the bus toward some hamburger place they’d heard was good. We’d barely made it around the building when I patted my back pocket and realized I’d left my phone.

“Damn it, I left my phone in the bus. Let me go grab it real quick.” I didn’t even wait for them to agree that they’d stand there for me to get back before I started jogging back to the bus. Knowing them, they’d wait maybe five minutes. If I weren’t back within that time, they’d leave me. The fact was, I didn’t trust leaving my phone around these guys. Not even the guys in TCC. Though I hadn’t spoken to Miles or Julian since the incident with Brandon, I still got along well with the rest of the TCC entourage and wouldn’t hold it past them to post dick pictures on my social media pages or something else my mom could see.

I got on the bus to find Gordo on his computer on one of the couches. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Nothing. I forgot my phone, and we were on our way to eat. Do you want me to bring you something back?” I asked, already moving through the bus on my way to the middle section.

He shook his head. “I’ll grab a bite later.” He tipped his chin up and jerked his head to the side, in the direction of the bunk area and the back. “Hold on, Flabs. Sacha’s back there with a girl…”

There was a girl back there with Sacha?

What?

There was a girl back there with Sacha?

I…

I felt… I felt my stomach drop to my knees, then continue on a path through the first layer of the Earth’s crust and head straight down to its core.

He was back there with a girl.

My heart sputtered, choked and died a little in that split second.

But somehow I found myself nodding, still even-faced at Gordo’s warning.

Girl. Back. Sacha.

Sacha, Sacha, Sacha who had just gone to the movies with me and said something about my ass.

Back there with a girl.

Good grief. Why did my chest hurt? Was this what a heart attack felt like?

Before I could think about it too much, I made the snap decision to still go into the bunk area because if I didn’t, Gordo would know something was wrong. Tension throbbed right between my eyebrows at the mystery behind what I could possibly see… or hear…