“How? I wasn’t even around!”

“Do you remember when we went to LV State for my campus visit?”

He shrugged. “Sure. You got trashed.”

“That night, you told me that Eric Wilkins was gay!” she spat. “And you told him that I was a slut and to stay away from me!”

Gates looked at her and then busted out laughing. “Holy shit! I forgot all about that.”

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“Hey! I never said he was gay! You inferred that. And, at the time, I didn’t want anyone else near you.”

“Yeah, well, thanks for the heads-up. Jesus. I spent the last year thinking he was gay, and now…he’s not.”

She looked away from Gates, but she was sure he had read her expression. They had known each other for too long that even a little distance couldn’t change that.

“So, you like him.”

“No,” she said fiercely. She didn’t know what she felt for Eric. She still couldn’t get the image of him with Audrey out of her mind even if she knew it was irrational since she had been with someone else the whole time. But she missed him, and that sucked. “It’s complicated.”

“Everything always is with you.”

BRYNA RETURNED TO LAS VEGAS on cloud nine. She’d road-tripped with Stacia up I-15 a week early, and both girls were happy to return to cheer practice. It worked Bryna’s lax summer muscles and kept her mind occupied. By the time classes were starting again, she was ready to face school once more, but this time, it would be with a bright new outlook.

After talking with Celia, Bryna had been feeling a strange calm about her family life that she couldn’t remember existing since middle school. Baby Zoe had made an impact. Not that everything was peachy keen. She still hated Pace and had been avoiding him like the plague while at home. But now that things were back to normal between Bryan and Stacia, Bryna knew she would be seeing a lot more of him. And as much as she despised the way he treated Bryna, she knew he was as much a product of their parents’ marriage as she was.

And now she had Gates back. Things were still a little weird between them. She had expected as much, but at least they were talking. It was better than the alternative.

She walked into her film history class with a bounce in her step that she had never had before and a genuine smile that she couldn’t wipe off her face. She recognized a few familiar faces from her intro class last semester. She ignored their stares. She had gotten them last semester, too, because of who her father was. It had isolated her in the class, but she hadn’t cared then, and she certainly wouldn’t care now.

With her head held high, she took a seat in the middle of the lecture hall and pulled out her MacBook. She hummed to herself as she scrolled through pictures from this week at cheer. She felt the seat next to her shift, and she grumbled under her breath. Of all the places for someone to sit in this huge auditorium, some person had to sit right next to her.

She glanced up to make some snide remark about it, but it stalled on her tongue. “You.”

He lazily smiled down at her. “Hey yourself.”

“It’s Cam, right?” she asked uncertainly.

She had briefly met him inside Hugh’s resort last semester. She had given Cam her number on a whim, but he’d never called. She hadn’t even thought about it since then. But now that he was in front of her again, she remembered why she had given it to him.

“That’s right. And you’re Bryna? I knew I recognized you.”

“You never called,” she accused, looking up at him through her lashes.

“And I bet it broke your heart.”

“You’ve no idea.”

“Well, I’m here now. Who could have guessed we’d have a class together?”

She tilted her head and licked her lips. “So, are you a film major?”

He shrugged. “I’m kind of in between. Acting. Film. I like them both. I wouldn’t mind getting into either. I’m in an acting class, too. Are you?”

She shook her head. She had no desire to act…ever. She belonged behind the camera, like her dad, not in front of it, like her mother. Not that she was about to say that to someone she had just met. With some luck, he wouldn’t find out that her father was Lawrence Turner for a very long time.

“Too bad.”

Bryna smiled at that. She liked this. This was easy. See? She could be normal and flirt with regular college guys. Trihn and Stacia would be proud.

“It would be nice to know someone else around here.”

“Oh, yeah? I’m the only person on campus you know?”

“Well, I have a roommate, Carl, but I wouldn’t say I know him.”

“And you know me?” she asked.

He leaned forward and smiled. “I’m getting there.”

She laughed lightly. “Well, you’ll need more than one class to get to know me. I’m a woman of many mysteries.”

“I’m a pretty good judge of character.” His eyes swept her face. “I’d say you’re only as mysterious as you want to be.”

“Guess you’ll have to find out,” she murmured.

The professor walked up to the front of the room.

“Oh, I intend to,” Cam said under his breath.

Bryna tried to pay attention in class, but it was the first lecture of the new term, and she knew nothing important would happen until the next class. Instead, she tried to figure out what to make of Cam. He was hot—tall, blond, dark eyes. But he definitely wasn’t her type…even though he was a charmer. He had a laid-back attitude that didn’t mesh with her high-strung type-A personality. He was almost a little sloppy in jeans and a T-shirt with flip-flops. He looked like he would be more comfortable on a snowboard or a surfboard than in Las Vegas. Yet that was all a part of the appeal.

She was still thinking about it when the class was dismissed, and he followed her out of the room.

“Well, see you on Wednesday,” she said with a smile.

“Hey, are you free?” he asked. “Do you want to go get something to eat?”

She smiled. It was nice to be treated like any other girl for a minute. No one else in this school did it. And when she had gotten here last year, that was exactly what she had wanted. Strange how much had changed in a year.

“I’d love to, but I have cheer practice.”

“You’re a cheerleader?” He couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice.

“Yeah.”

“Oh. I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Is that a problem? It’s not like we always carry around pom-poms or something,” she said.

“Not a problem,” he said automatically. His lazy smile was back on his face. “I’ll see you on Wednesday.”

“All right. See you then.”

As she turned away to walk to the sports complex, she smiled to herself. It wasn’t as if she had a date. All he had asked was if she wanted to get food after class. Of course he was cute and seemed interested in her. Maybe if she stopped trying to scheme and calculate his motives, then she could just enjoy the moment.

She walked into the complex, and her stomach turned to knots. This place made her think of Eric. She hadn’t spoken with him yet. She knew she needed to. There was a lot left unsaid between them, but she had wanted to ride out her high for as long as possible.

She hurried to the cheer locker rooms before she could run into him, and she changed into her workout clothes. This would be a good practice. It would clear her mind of everything that kept floating around up there.

And it did just that.

The team had spent hours perfecting sideline cheers, working on stunts with the new girls, practicing dances, and working their bodies into the ground. By the time they were done, Bryna’s muscles were sore, her legs felt like Jell-O, and she was all-around exhausted. She even stuck around to take a shower at the sports complex instead of waiting to go home. She had taken too much time off this summer, and now, she was paying for it.