Sophie caught my arm. “Nope. You talked about this all summer. Hell, you’ve been talking about it for 17 years. We’re doing this now…” her voice trailed off. “Hi, guys!” she said in a super upbeat voice, dropping my arm.

“We’re seniors!” Jacob yelled, not giving a care in the world that teachers would probably scold him. He hugged me, lifting me up just enough so that my feet no longer touched the ground, and twirled me in a circle.

I laughed as he set me back down on my feet.

Axel put his arm around my shoulders. “Gigi already giving you a hard time?”

I looked up at him. And for a second, I forgot what he’d just asked me. His skin was golden from the sun and his blonde hair looked lighter too. He’d spent the entire summer at the beach. He and Jacob both got jobs at Rehoboth. I’d begged my parents to let me go with them, but my mom was too worried about my fair skin being in the sun unsupervised. Sophie had stayed in New York with me out of solidarity. But also because her crush had stayed in the city and she had stalker tendencies.

“Scar?” Axel said.

My eyes locked with his. He belonged at the beach. His skin tanned perfectly and his blue eyes were the color of the ocean.

The side of his mouth ticked up. “You okay, Scar?”

“Hm?” Oh my God, had he been talking to me this whole time?

“I asked if Gigi was already giving you a hard time?”

“Psh,” Sophie said. “Who cares about Gigi when we should be talking about how hot Scarlett looks. Haven’t you noticed, Axel? She’s on fire.”

Axel’s eyebrows lowered.

Jacob whistled as he leaned against his locker. “You ditched the glasses and your skirt isn’t to your knees. Everyone’s noticed,” he said. “And Soph is right, you look sexy as hell.”

I could feel my face turning red. I looked up at Axel, but instead of seeing a flirtatious smile like Jacob’s, all I saw was a frown.

I swallowed hard. “What?”

“I liked your glasses.” He stared at me for a second and then dropped his arm from my shoulders.

I suddenly felt cold without his arm around me. My plan was going down in flames. Shouldn’t I have been feeling hot?

Axel stared at me for another second. “Gotta get to class,” he said. And with that, he turned and walked away.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. What? He liked my glasses? He’d had seven years to tell me that. Seven years where I’d thought that he thought I looked like a loser. Seven years of hell.

Sophie’s face fell as he walked away.

“Why so glum?” Jacob said. “We’re seniors!” he shouted again. “Catch you guys later. And Scar…you really do look hot.”