“I’ll go with you.”

“You hear that guys? She said yes!”

I drop my head to the table. “Ohmigod,” I whisper.

Luckily, Mr. Jasper continues class, ending my embarrassment when everyone turns around to face the front of the room again. Rhett leans in, pulling my stool toward him so I’m sitting sideways in between his legs. His hand reaches for mine, and he links our fingers together before resting them on my thigh.

“You’re cute when you’re nervous,” he whispers, only loud enough for me to hear.

I raise my head to watch the rest of the presentations, not once chancing a glance in Rhett’s direction. I’m afraid what’d I find if I looked at him. Even my own presentation is a blur, as I stumble through every one of my explanations. All I feel is Rhett’s energy—his eyes holding me when his body can’t.

It stays that way for the rest of the class as Rhett’s fingers rub light trails up and down my back. We’re in the back, and nobody else can see, which only makes it that much better. He’s not doing this for attention. He’s doing it because he wants to touch me, and so I know I’m his.

The only thing that makes him stop touching me, is the sound of the bell, ending first period. “I’m glad you said yes to the dance. It would have really sucked if you didn’t.”

“I almost threw up,” I admit with a laugh. “I had no idea what you were going to say today.”

“I meant every word I said.”

“I feel like I’m dreaming, Rhett. Like this is one big joke and tomorrow I’ll wake up and go back to being the nobody I was.”

He tips my chin up. “This is real, I promise.”

“My brother knows.”

“Really? How bad does he want to beat my face in?”

I smile. “Pretty bad, I think. That’s part of the reason I was late. He sent me a text. I have no idea who told him, but there must be a snitch around here somewhere.”

“We’ll figure it out. I hate that he’s mad at you because of me though.” Rhett looks a little angry, but I get where he’s coming from. It would be so much easier if people would mind their own business and leave us alone.

“It doesn’t matter. I was planning on telling Wyatt myself. I love him, but he doesn’t get to decide who I go out with.”

“You mean that?”

I nod my head. “It might take a while, but he’ll have to get used to it. I’m not giving you up.”

He leans in and kisses my forehead. “You have no idea how happy that makes me, Sunny. Now, get your cute butt to class before you’re late. I’ll see you at lunch.”

“I like when you call me that.”

He smirks. “Good, because I wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon.”

The sunshine brought us together—a simple picture with a bright halo surrounding me. I’ll never forget how one frame changed my entire world. The day Rhett saw me for me and captured it forever.

“DUDE, KINSLEY’S FRIEND is smokin’ hot. Think she has a date for the dance yet?”

I already know who he’s talking about before I even look toward the entrance where my Sunny- girl is walking into the cafeteria with Becca. They’re deep in conversation, and after the morning I put Kinsley through, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were talking about me.

“Becca’s a cool girl. You interested?”

“I might be. I need a date and I sure as hell don’t want to get stuck with Mandi. It’s bad enough I had to give her my jersey this morning when she was crying on my shoulder about not having yours.”

My best friend can be a complete and total pain in the ass, but he’s also had my back for as long as I can remember. It the reason why I can overlook most of the stupid stuff he does on a daily basis—including giving his jersey to Mandi. “You didn’t have to give it to her, you know.

“I know, I was going to give it to Becca the same time I asked her to the dance, but then Mandi came along and she scares me, man. She jacked up my plans.”

I can’t help but laugh at him, mostly because he’s right. Saying no to Mandi is like risking getting your balls permanently shoved down your throat for the rest of senior year. “You still have time to ask her¸ and you better. I already asked Kinsley.”

“It’s not weird? Best friends with best friends?”

“Na, fair warning though. Wyatt had a thing for Becca. Rumor has it he almost failed his math class just so she’d keep tutoring him.”

Jake looks impressed, if not slightly annoyed. “Got to give him credit, I was never his biggest fan on the field, but it takes guts to jeopardize your GPA and your football career for a girl. Doesn’t change what I’m about to do though.”

If there’s someone who could compete with Wyatt for the jackass of the year award, it would be Jake. “Didn’t think it would.”

“I’m just sayin’, if you can get the girl, I can get the girl. I don’t even need you to wish me luck, that’s how confident I am. I’ll be back.”

I laugh at him mostly because Becca’s going to say, yes. It’s not like he even has to worry, but I still like putting the fear of Wyatt in him. He doesn’t seem worried as he runs across the cafeteria, cocky as he accused Wyatt of being, and slides on his knees until he comes to a screeching halt right in front of Becca. He stays on bended knee, taking her hand in his until she’s nodding her head that she’ll go to the dance with him. He stands up, swings her around in a circle, and then jogs back to the table leaving her completely dazed. It’s typical Jake behavior.

“Talk about a grand gesture,” I tell him when he gets back to the table.

“Nailed it didn’t I? Wyatt can suck it.”

“It was pretty badass.”

Kinsley scans the room, searching for me, but doesn’t spot me right away. I wave my hand in the air, whistling for her attention. She ducks her head and shuffles over to me, not wanting the spotlight that’s currently shining on her. I’m trying to work on a softer approach, but sometimes I forget. The girls I’ve dated in the past never cared. They’re usually louder than I am. Then again, they aren’t Kinsley. That’s why I like her so much—because she isn’t like them at all.

“Guys move your asses in a little. Let my girl through.”

“Thank you,” she says, when she finally gets to the seat I saved her. Once she’s settled, she barely looks at me, instead pushing her lettuce around on her plate the same way she did yesterday. Something’s bothering her.

Trying to take my own advice, I lean close to her, so nobody else hears me talking. “What happened?”

“I snagged your jersey on my locker. It’s not a big tear, and I can fix it up to look like new. I’m really sorry.”

She’s so nervous about jacking up my jersey, but I couldn’t care less. There’s a chance I’ll do worse to it before she wears it again, anyway. Her rambling’s cute though. She treats it like her prized possession. “I’d still like you if you ripped it to shreds, don’t worry about it.”

That earns me a glare from Mandi. She got her red lipstick on one of my jerseys last year. I remember yelling at her for it.

“Is she going to sit here every day?” Mandi asks. “I didn’t realize this table was accepting the needy.” She then glances at Becca and adds, “Or the desperate.” For added effect, she makes sure to fiddle with Jake’s jersey, rubbing it under Becca’s nose.

Becca’s mouth drops open in shock. It’s bad enough Mandi’s flaunting Jake’s jersey in front of her, and now she’s insulting the both of them, publically. I almost jump in, but when Becca’s fired up, there’s no stopping her. She’s the same firecracker she was back when we were ten.

She slams her fork down on her tray. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I’d rather be known as anything other than the bitch you are. And for the record, Jake gave you that jersey today because he felt sorry for you.”