I’m deep in thought about it when Rhett tugs on my jersey as I sit down. “I like this on you.”
“I’m glad someone does.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Rhett picks up his bag and hops over his stool to sit in the empty one next to me. “Who was it?”
The last thing I want to do is complain. I’m happy—I really am. Even if Mandi made me feel it was only a matter of time before Rhett came to his senses and ran back to her. “It’s nothing, really. I’m okay.”
“I see it in your eyes, something’s wrong. Tell me what it is.”
“It was Mandi. She told me you’re still in love with her.”
Rhett squeezes the pencil in his hand so hard, it snaps in half. “I was never in love with Mandi.”
I believe him because the way he acts around her, definitely isn’t anything that can be confused with love. “Do you still have any feelings for her?”
He shakes his head while playing with the pieces of his broken pencil. “None. I’ll tell her to back off.”
“That will only make it worse.”
“She’ll get used to it,” he says, confidently.
I can’t help but think it’s only wishful thinking. She’s not the kind of girl to give up easily. Before I can say anything else, Mr. Jasper begins class.
“Rhett, you’re up first. Let’s see what inspires you,” Mr. Jasper announces to the room.
He winks at me before he pushes his stool under the table, walking confidently to the front of the room. He doesn’t stand nervously like I would. Instead, he hops on top of the work table with his perfectly framed picture in his hand. I haven’t seen the final version yet.
“My choice was Kinsley West,” he starts. “At first when we were asked to take a picture of something inspiring, I thought of the football field with my helmet sitting on the fifty yard line, but I’m sure that’s been done. It would have been a great shot, but the more I thought about it, I wanted something only I had—something special to me. And that would be Kinsley.”
There’s a collective round of sighs from the girls in the class, wishing it was them he was talking about. Some of them turn around to stare at me, no doubt wondering what it is he finds so appealing. Others actually look like they want to be me—and that’s never happened before either. I have no choice but to duck my head and stare at the doodles I have scribbled on the front of my folder. Anything to make myself less visible.
“I followed Kinsley while she took her picture for her own presentation. She didn’t know I was near her, and without her permission, I took this shot.”
“It’s a beautiful picture, Rhett. Can you tell us about one of the properties you focused on? Either lighting, composition, or scale.”
Rhett nods his head. “Honestly, I got lucky. Kinsley was standing in the perfect spot. The lighting is just the sun shining through the window behind her. It’s drawn to her the same way I am.” He pauses for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “I can’t really explain it, but it makes perfect sense to me. She’s my sunny-girl—she makes me happy.”
Mr. Jasper nods his head. “I think we’re all following. I just have one more question.” He turns to face the entire class before continuing. “I’ll be asking each one of you why you picked your source of inspiration, so start thinking of your answers.” And then he faces Rhett again, and I know what’s coming. It’s a question I’m both scared and excited to hear the answer to. “Rhett, why did you choose Kinsley as your inspiration?”
“Look at her,” he says. The sweet timbre of his voice forces me to raise my eyes to find his. As soon as our gazes meet, he says, “She’s everything.”
Mr. Jasper clears his throat, not so subtly ending our moment. “Is there anything else you’d like to add before you take your seat?”
“Yeah, just one more thing. Will you go to homecoming with me, Sunny?”
I cover my face with my hands, shocked stupid for the second time today. He can’t keep doing this to me. My heart is thumping so wildly, I can’t focus. All I can do is watch as he hops off the table, hands his picture to Mr. Jasper, and takes his seat next to me—still waiting for an answer.
I blink slowly, my expression blank. “Is that a yes?” he questions.
“You are absolutely crazy, Rhett.”
“That’s a yes, isn’t it?”
I want to smack him, but I can’t. His presentation was intense, and I’m quickly learning that’s how he rolls with most everything he does. Rhett doesn’t do anything halfway—he’s all in, all the time.
“I’ll go with you.”
“You hear that guys? She said yes!”
I drop my head to the table. “Ohmigod,” I whisper.
Luckily, Mr. Jasper continues class, ending my embarrassment when everyone turns around to face the front of the room again. Rhett leans in, pulling my stool toward him so I’m sitting sideways in between his legs. His hand reaches for mine, and he links our fingers together before resting them on my thigh.
“You’re cute when you’re nervous,” he whispers, only loud enough for me to hear.
I raise my head to watch the rest of the presentations, not once chancing a glance in Rhett’s direction. I’m afraid what’d I find if I looked at him. Even my own presentation is a blur, as I stumble through every one of my explanations. All I feel is Rhett’s energy—his eyes holding me when his body can’t.
It stays that way for the rest of the class as Rhett’s fingers rub light trails up and down my back. We’re in the back, and nobody else can see, which only makes it that much better. He’s not doing this for attention. He’s doing it because he wants to touch me, and so I know I’m his.
The only thing that makes him stop touching me, is the sound of the bell, ending first period. “I’m glad you said yes to the dance. It would have really sucked if you didn’t.”
“I almost threw up,” I admit with a laugh. “I had no idea what you were going to say today.”
“I meant every word I said.”
“I feel like I’m dreaming, Rhett. Like this is one big joke and tomorrow I’ll wake up and go back to being the nobody I was.”
He tips my chin up. “This is real, I promise.”
“My brother knows.”
“Really? How bad does he want to beat my face in?”
I smile. “Pretty bad, I think. That’s part of the reason I was late. He sent me a text. I have no idea who told him, but there must be a snitch around here somewhere.”
“We’ll figure it out. I hate that he’s mad at you because of me though.” Rhett looks a little angry, but I get where he’s coming from. It would be so much easier if people would mind their own business and leave us alone.
“It doesn’t matter. I was planning on telling Wyatt myself. I love him, but he doesn’t get to decide who I go out with.”
“You mean that?”
I nod my head. “It might take a while, but he’ll have to get used to it. I’m not giving you up.”
He leans in and kisses my forehead. “You have no idea how happy that makes me, Sunny. Now, get your cute butt to class before you’re late. I’ll see you at lunch.”
“I like when you call me that.”
He smirks. “Good, because I wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon.”
The sunshine brought us together—a simple picture with a bright halo surrounding me. I’ll never forget how one frame changed my entire world. The day Rhett saw me for me and captured it forever.
“DUDE, KINSLEY’S FRIEND is smokin’ hot. Think she has a date for the dance yet?”
I already know who he’s talking about before I even look toward the entrance where my Sunny- girl is walking into the cafeteria with Becca. They’re deep in conversation, and after the morning I put Kinsley through, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were talking about me.
“Becca’s a cool girl. You interested?”
“I might be. I need a date and I sure as hell don’t want to get stuck with Mandi. It’s bad enough I had to give her my jersey this morning when she was crying on my shoulder about not having yours.”