I gave him a wry smile before shaking my head and getting back to eating, and though they all waited for more details, I didn’t give a single one, and they eventually let it go and moved on to other topics of conversation.

After a few moments, I casually stretched my back, arms reaching up overhead as I twisted left and right. My gaze caught on one of the tables of cheerleaders, on a pair of warm brown eyes that had once felt like home.

Maliyah watched me with a hundred questions brewing in those irises, her jaw tight, lips almost pursed before they spread into a hesitant smile. She lifted her hand, just an inch, a small wave at me from across that crowded cafeteria.

But I simply cracked my neck and turned back around, finishing my lunch without another glance in her direction.

I wore a smug smile on my way out of that room and down the hall to the defense meeting. At least, until Holden caught up to me, pulling me to a stop.

“That was quite a show,” he commented.

“Glad you enjoyed it.”

Holden shook his head, eyes narrowing like he was onto me. “Look, I’m all for you moving on. God knows you’ve been a miserable prick since…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, probably because my glare had turned murderous daring him to.

“But… Giana is a sweet girl.”

I crossed my arms. “And what, I don’t deserve her?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“What exactly are you saying then?”

He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his chin before he looked back at me. “Just be careful, man. Okay? She’s not a rebound. She’s not the kind of girl you fool around with to make yourself feel better.”

There was something in the sincerity of his voice, in the way he looked at me with that request that rendered me without a smartass remark to combat it. I just nodded, and he did, too, before clapping me on the shoulder and heading the opposite way toward his own meeting.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Giana: Well, how’d I do?

I smirked, continuing my walk down the hall as I typed back.

Me: A triumphant performance, Kitten. A+

Giana: I almost passed out when I saw everyone staring at us.

Me: I would have caught you.

She sent back an eyeroll emoji, and then the little bubbles popped up that signaled she was typing more.

Giana: So, when’s my first lesson in seducing Shawn Stetson?

I couldn’t contain the laugh that bubbled out of me.

Me: Eager much?

This time, it was a middle finger emoji that came through.

Me: Name the time and place.

Giana: Let’s just get through Chart Day and go from there. I think I’ve had enough… excitement for one day.