“I guess I have to be. You can’t help who you love.”

He couldn’t be more right about that, but he’s not specifically taking about me, he’s also talking about himself. “You need to talk to Becca.”

“Am I that obvious?” He pops open the button on his suit jacket, not enjoying being dressed up any more than I am.

“She mentioned you’ve been talking.”

“It’s really not a big deal.”

“To me it is. I care about you both, and you two have been tip-toeing around a relationship for what seems like forever.” He neither agrees or disagrees with me. He just stares at the coffee table. “I take it you haven’t met any other girls on campus?”

“I’ve met plenty—kind of hard not to in the dorms, but I’m not dating anyone. I barely have time to breathe outside of football.”

“But you find time to talk to Becca.”

“There’s just something about that girl. I can’t for the life of me figure it out, but I can’t stop thinking about her. And it’s screwing with my head.”

“Maybe she reminds you of home. What do you guys talk about?”

“School, our classes—she’s concerned about my math grade. I don’t have the heart to tell her I’m actually really good at math.”

“I think she’s known all along, but she enjoyed tutoring you too much to say anything.”

“Maybe. Has she been talking to any guys at school?”

I swallow, wondering how I can talk myself out of this. If I tell Wyatt the truth, Becca will kill me. But if I keep it from my brother, I’ll be the worst sister—especially after what he’s done for me by coming home. I owe him the truth at the very least. “She’s sort of with Jake.”

Like he’s seen a ghost, his face pales. “Why is she with that douchebag? She could do ten times better than him.”

I don’t want to get into the middle of this mess, but at the same time, I’m happy to see him pissed off. Maybe this is what he needs to finally speak up and go after Becca. Now that he has competition, there’s a chance he’ll lose her completely. “It’s been a couple weeks. They’re not serious or anything, but they hang out at the football parties and talk at school.”

“Is she screwing him?”

My eyes nearly pop out of my head. “Becca? No way. She stayed with him a couple parties ago after he got too drunk to drive her home, but nothing happened. Even Rhett made sure.”

He stands from the couch, fists opening and closing like he’s on the verge of punching a hole through the wall. “She slept in his bed—with him?”

“For a little, maybe.”

“Jesus Christ.” Yanking his phone from his pocket, he paces back and forth, typing text after text.

There’s no time for me to warn Becca. I already know she’s the one he’s texting. All I can do is drag him to this football game and hope he’s able to work it out with her by the time he goes back to school. “We have to go, Wyatt.”

He stuffs his phone back in his pocket, but not before huffing at the screen. “Right, yeah. Come on, Kinny.”

I try making conversation the entire way to the field, but Wyatt’s distracted. He drives on auto-pilot to the field he’s played on for years. Only this time, he goes back as a starter for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

As soon as we’re through the gates, it’s like an announcement was made that he’s arrived. All eyes are on him, and kids rush to him with questions about football as they ask for autographs. My brother is even more of a big deal in this town than he was a year ago.

He’s polite to each and every kid, even making small talk with a few parents. I couldn’t be more proud of him. “I’ll be in the stands, take your time,” I tell him before walking to find the reserved section I’ll be sitting in.

I’m spreading my blanket over the cold metal bleacher when I hear my best friend before I see her. “Kinsley West, you look amazing!” Becca jogs up the few stairs, hugging me tightly. “Even if you don’t win, I’m so proud of you, but I swear, if Mandi wins, I’ll shove that crown down her throat. I can’t listen to her brag for the rest of the year.”

I laugh, mostly because she’s serious, but I also need to have a little talk with her about my brother. “You’re not mad at me?” I ask cautiously.

“Oh, I’m pissed, but I’m not going to ruin this night for you. I’ll deal with Wyatt if he messages me tonight. I’m sure he’s busy with football.”

“About that,” I start to say, but she stops me.

“No, first you’re telling me about Rhett. Don’t skip any details.”

I decide to talk as fast as I can so I have a chance to tell her about Wyatt before he gets here and surprises her all on his own. “It was actually a little bit of a disaster, Becca. First I get a case of verbal diarrhea and tell Rhett I love him, and then I told Wyatt about Jake.”

“What! Did he say it back?” she asks, curiously, completing ignoring my comment about my brother. “I can’t believe this.”

That makes two of us. “Once I said it, it was perfect—like a movie. He told me he loves me, too, and I really think he meant it. It feels different now. It’s like we’re on a new level or something. I can’t really describe it.”

She’s staring at me, hanging on my every word. Becca’s always been the real romantic out of the two of us. I always thought it would be her falling in love first. But, before I can talk about Wyatt, and inform her he’s here, he climbs up the stairs and stands right next to her. “Hey, Becca.”

She whips around so fast, she almost falls over. “Wyatt? Ohmigod!” Her face lights up like she’s just been reunited with her other half. I’ve never seen her look at Jake that way—not even once.

My brother’s noticeably mad, but he lets her hug him, all while biting his tongue. It’s not going to last long though, I can tell. “Nice jersey,” he says coolly.

She pulls away from him, her smile falling. “I’m glad you’re here,” is all she says. Ignoring the comment entirely

“Are you?”

Becca glances at me, but I pretend to be oblivious. “Of course I am. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you.”

Wyatt points to Jake’s jersey. “Couldn’t have missed me too much.”

She glances at the number scrawled across her chest. “It’s not what you think, Wyatt.”

He sits down backward on the bleacher in front of us, his head bowed at first. When he raises his eyes, they land directly on Becca’s. “You couldn’t possibly know what I’m thinking. If you did, you wouldn’t be walking around in that thing.” It’s a spiteful response—one I wish he wouldn’t give her, but he can’t help himself.

It only gets worse when the team jogs onto the field for their pregame warm-up with Jake front and center. He watches as Becca returns Jake’s wave, and any control he was holding onto, disappears. “Why are you wasting your time on him?”

She crosses her arms over her chest, protectively, looking down at the ground. “It just happened.”

“Yeah? So, it’s okay if I just happen with some girl in my dorm then?”

Her eyes land on his and her sadness is gone. In its place is jealousy. “How do I know that hasn’t already happened? I mean, look at you. You’ve never had a hard time getting attention from girls.”

He tosses his hands in the air. “You’re right, Becca. I could have any number of girls, no questions asked. Yet somehow the one girl I’ve had my eye on wants nothing to do with me. How do you explain that one?”

“You really want to do this right now? Here in the stadium?”

“That’s just it, Bec. There’s never a right time with you. You’re always pushing me away, and you know what, maybe I should take the hint. Maybe I should give up on you and go have some fun. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

She turns her head away from him, shaking her head. “That’s not what I want. Jake and I aren’t serious. He’s fun to hang out with, that’s all.”

“Do you know how many fun girls there are, Becca? Does that mean I get to waste time with all of them while I wait for you?”