Jack might be leaving school in the morning, but the rest of us still had tests and homework to do while he was gone.

Me, I had a love/hate relationship with his traveling, hating it because I didn’t get to see him pitch. Knowing he was out there throwing and I wasn’t able to watch was a special kind of torture for me. My entire childhood was filled with memories of Jack playing baseball, pitching better than anyone else we knew, and being able to hit the ball as well.

When he excelled, I couldn’t help but feel proud. Especially after he’d gotten into so many fights, prompting some people to say he wasn’t going to amount to anything, and that he was a loser. Jack being able to pitch the way he did was like a giant middle finger to all the doubters who never believed in him. And it was as much a middle finger from me as it was from him.

On the flip side, I loved Jack’s road trips because I thought they were cool. The whole idea of getting to travel someplace new to play baseball seemed like the best of both worlds. Plus, Jack always had the best stories when he came back. If he went somewhere that was known for something famous, he made sure to always bring something home for our grandparents and me. That thrilled us all because Jack was the only one in our family who ever left town. It was sad, but true.

“I’m gonna stay at Cassie’s tonight,” Jack told me as I sat at my desk, highlighting an upcoming chapter in my history textbook.

“And you’re telling me this, because?” I asked, not even bothering to look up from my work.

“Because I’m going to have her take me to the bus tomorrow morning.”

I placed my pen on the desk and looked up to see him standing in my doorway, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. “Are you leaving the Bronco with her?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Although she calls it the deathmobile,” he said with a laugh, and dropped his bag to the floor.

I gaped at him. “She doesn’t like your truck?”

What wasn’t there to like about Jack’s Bronco? Sure, it was covered with dents and scratches, and the paint had chipped in places, but the thing was a classic. And it looked badass.

Jack shrugged. “I think it scares her. Anyway, she doesn’t have a car here, so I thought I would leave it with her. But only if you don’t need it, and you’re cool with that.”

I thought about it for a moment. For the last two years, I’d driven Jack to the bus for every road trip, and then he’d left his truck with me. As much as I loved driving it while he was gone, I knew I didn’t really need it.

“I don’t need it,” I said, and picked up my pen again to highlight more passages.

“Are you sure? I know you usually take me and then you get the truck, but I figured if you didn’t mind—”

“Seriously, it’s cool. She should take you, and I don’t need it. Plus, I’d sorta love to see Cassie driving that thing,” I said with a laugh. I couldn’t picture her in the driver’s seat, and that sight alone might be worth it. “I don’t have any plans this weekend, and I can always borrow Gran’s car if I need to.”

Jack grinned at me. “I promise I’ll buy you a car when I get my signing bonus, you hear me? You and Gran both. New cars.”I waved him off, not wanting to hear any more. I honestly didn’t care about any of that. When Jack got drafted, that would be enough for me to know that he’d accomplished his dream, reached his number-one goal. I didn’t need a stupid car out of the deal.

“Go, already. Take your deathmobile to your girlfriend’s house and—” A thought struck me. “Wait! This is the first time you’re staying over there, isn’t it?”

He cleared his throat. “Uh-huh.”

“You, uh, have everything you need?” I waggled my eyebrows as I reached into my back pocket to pull out my wallet. I peered inside. “Shit, I don’t even have one. I think it got old, and I threw it out.”

“I’m good, but thanks for your concern.”

“So you’re protected then? Of course you are. You’re Jack Carter, king of condoms and getting laid.”

“I’m actually all out, but I don’t plan on sleeping with her tonight.”

I almost choked. “What? Why?”

He shrugged, not meeting my eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe because I’m fucking in love with her. I’m so in love with her, I can’t imagine not being in love with her. And it doesn’t seem like the right time. I can’t have sex with her and then leave the next morning for four days. Something about that seems fucked up.”

“You really are in love with her.” I smiled, wondering when I would get used to hearing him talk this way about someone.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

“Well, go tell her. She’s probably the one that needs to hear it.” I threw my highlighter at him, hitting him square in the chest.

Jack grabbed his bag and smirked at me. “I’m trying to leave, but my little brother keeps trying to give me old condoms from his wallet.”

“You suck!” I yelled at his retreating back.

“No, you do,” he shouted back. “So blow me!”

Laughing, I bent over to pick up my highlighter from the floor.

• • •

When the baseball team was out of town, it seemed like the entire campus shut down. Not really shut down, per se, but it was a hell of a lot quieter and not nearly as interesting as when the guys were here.

There were fewer females hanging around, and the normally crowded student union wasn’t even halfway filled. The lack of obnoxious fangirls was actually a relief, but I did miss my brother. It felt odd being here when he wasn’t.

The day after the team left, I sat at our usual lunch table, waiting for either Melissa or Cassie to show up. Frowning, I forked at my plate filled with meatballs. The crappy sauce they served here tasted nothing like Gran’s.

Melissa slammed her bag down with a bang before plopping down next to me.

“Shit. I didn’t even see you come in,” I said nonchalantly, trying to act like she hadn’t just scared the shit out of me.

“I noticed. You were too busy having a love affair with your balls to notice me.” She batted her eyelashes and poked out her bottom lip in a pout.

Damn, I want to suck on that lip. Or at least kiss it.

I thought I’d get over my crush on Melissa the more time we spent together, but it only seemed to intensify, which frustrated me. I didn’t know what to do about it.

The best-case scenario would have been for Melissa’s feelings for me to grow as well, but they didn’t seem to. I enjoyed the times when she flirted easily with me, and rolled with it, but the second I even hinted at crossing the friendship line, she pulled back and pretended nothing was going on between us.

I was still too much of a wimp to confront her about it. I told myself it was because I didn’t want to put her on the spot or make her uneasy, but the truth was because I was terrified of her response. What if I scared her off altogether and she stopped wanting to hang out with me? Avoiding the awkward conversation meant that I got to hang around with her, so I ignored it and hoped that one day I’d get her to change her mind. Or maybe she’d attack me with her mouth.

I was about to say something witty to Melissa about my balls, but the sound of laughter caught my attention. Not a funny-ha-ha type of laughing, but the mean kind girls did when the joke was on someone else.

A girl had stopped Cassie and was showing her something on her cell phone while her friends waited nearby, laughing as they watched. Cassie seemed unfazed as she sauntered away from the girl, but once she met my eyes, hers changed completely. If looks could kill, Cassie would have incinerated me.

“What was that?” I asked when she got to our table.

She was practically vibrating with emotion when she dropped into one the chair across from her. “That was a picture of some chick walking into Jack’s hotel room.” She swallowed bravely before swiping at her eyes. “And then another one of him closing the door behind her. Did I mention the smile plastered all over his face?”

“No way.” I shook my head, not believing for a second that my brother would cheat on Cassie.

“Yes, way. Fuck. I’m such an idiot.”

I put my hands on top of Cassie’s and squeezed. “Maybe they’re old?”

“What are you talking about?” she asked as she yanked her hands away.

“There are a lot of pictures of Jack and other girls out there, Cass. Maybe they’re old?” I shrugged, offering the only explanation I could think of in the moment.

There had always been pictures of Jack circulating around campus, so it made sense to me that maybe these pictures weren’t recent. Maybe the girls were just trying to get a rise out of Cassie, jealous that Jack liked her and not them.

“Jack wouldn’t do that to you,” Melissa said to reassure Cassie, and I nodded in complete agreement.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she choked out, her tone ice cold.

Melissa frowned. “Why would you say that?”

“Because Cassie knows my brother.” I glanced at Melissa before looking back at Cassie. “And she’s waiting for him to screw up because he keeps telling her he’s bound to.”

“Well, for the record, I want it noted that I don’t believe it,” Melissa said with confidence. “Not for one second.”

I wanted to hug her, but settled for giving her a small smile. “I don’t either.”

“Well, it was definitely Jack in those pictures,” Cassie said, her voice tight. “And the shirt he was wearing was packed in his bag. I saw it the other night.”

She tried to fight the tears threatening to fall, but lost. When one dropped to her cheek, she jumped up from the table and sprinted away.

Melissa stood up just as quickly. “I’d better go see if she’s okay.”

“I don’t think he’d do anything, Meli. Honestly.”

“I don’t either.” She rested her hand on my shoulder before jogging off to the ladies’ room after Cassie.

I waited for the girls to come back to our table, too upset to finish my lunch. A few people gave me curious glances as they walked past while I pushed the meatballs around, watching them get cold.

Melissa came back a few minutes later. Alone.

“No Cassie?” I asked as she sat down next to me.

“I pissed her off. She thinks I’m taking Jack’s side, but I just don’t think he’d do that to her. I saw them together before he left, Dean. He’s crazy about her.”

“He’s in love with her.”

“See? And Jack Fucking Carter doesn’t just fall in love all willy-nilly,” she said as if trying to convince me.

I sighed. “My brother doesn’t fall in love at all. Sure, he’s been an idiot in the past, we all know that, but he’s trying his damnedest to be good enough for her.”

Her concerned blue eyes bore into mine. “So, what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “She’s your best friend. Go fix her.”