Author's note: Hi there. I am changing this book over from single to dual POV. Here is the first chapter of Gio's POV for this story. I am still working out where to add two more of his chapters at the beginning of the book. This will now be dual POV for the remainder of the book. I hope you enjoy it.

Gio

We emerge from the cafeteria, and I watch the last bus pull away. The clouds are dark, but the rain is paused for now. We walk across the front of the school and onto the sidewalk, lined with small bungalows that lead to the quaint downtown. As we walk side by side, I notice again that she's about two inches shorter than me now. I smile, enjoying the height difference.

I can't believe it. I'm with Ren again!

I mean, not with her—hanging out. No big deal.

Fuck. I'm lying to myself.

Despite my best efforts to play it cool so far, my heart is still racing fast enough to feel it pulsing in my neck. Why is this happening? I don't get this way around other girls. Maybe it's because I know I shouldn't be doing this.

It's been hell debating on whether to approach her or not. She's so much more quiet and aloof than she was and I thought maybe it was because she'd heard the rumors about me by now. But today I couldn't stand it and finally worked up the nerve to go talk to her, and I'm so glad I did! She doesn't seem to know.

Damn. She so fucking pretty now. I try to check her out as she walks. The shape of her face is more adult now, less round. I love the way her soft brown hair still drapes over her ear and cascades down her shoulder. Her baggy clothes contrast with her still slender figure.

But god, one thing has definitely changed since she was fourteen, or two rather—her tits are now wonderfully... fuller. I mean, they're not huge or anything—just, perfect, on her, I don't know—they look good, is all I'm saying. I haven't been able to stop looking. They've been such a distraction in Study Hall! A nice distraction. I'm not gonna complain. My eyes subtlety linger there now, warmth gathering in my groin as I think about maybe getting a chance to hug her goodbye later today. I see her eyes flash my way, and I quickly look down.

Neither of us has spoken yet. Our footfalls and the audible swish of the loose bottoms of our jeans somehow sound impossibly loud. Looking back at her directly and striking up some sort of conversation suddenly seems so hard.

"So..." she says, breaking the uncomfortable silence. My heart skips a beat. "Do you have studying to do at the library?"

Studying? Oh, yeah, I guess the library is kind of a strange place to invite a girl you kissed once but haven't seen in three years. But I'm not often able to hang out downtown after school. I always have to take the bus home—but today is special. That's why I had to jump on the opportunity she gave me to hang out.

I clear my throat and try and sound smooth, "Nah, my brother's picking me up in the library parking lot."

"Do you not drive yet?"

Fuck. So much for being smooth—being younger than her sucks.

"No. Only a learner's permit. Ben's gonna take me out so I can practice."

"That's cool," she smiles, her eyes gleaming so attractively that I have to look away almost immediately.

"He usually doesn't have time for me, so I'm pretty stoked about it."

A beat goes by, and my brain goes blank again.

"Sooo, how's things?" she asks and then shakes her head like she's embarrassed, though I can't figure out why.

"Okay, I guess."

She waits for me to elaborate on that, but her eyes seem to be good at erasing all my thoughts. We walk on a few feet, then finally, I mumble, "School sucks."

"Yeah," she agrees and goes quiet again.

Embarrassment over my lack of conversation skills makes me overheat, which only serves to add to my paranoia that I might not have put on enough deodorant this morning. Balls. I turn my head away from her and quickly sniff my shoulder. I think I still smell okay.

"Your sister ever make it big in LA?" her voice brings me out of my head and back to the moment. She's smiling sweetly, and it relaxes me a little.

"No," I smile back. "She's back working with her old modeling firm in San Fran."

"Wow, that's pretty cool!"

That's everyone's reaction to modeling. It isn't all that cool sometimes.

"Yeah." I flash my eyes away as my jaw flexes, several unpleasant memories suddenly clouding my mind. "She likes it at least."

We approach the first stoplight and slow, silence drawing out distance between us again. Damn, it. Why am I all weird around her? Why can't I just talk to her like a regular person? Why is this so hard and awkward? I rapidly push the thin metal crosswalk button several times in frustration with myself, and we wait for the light to change.

I suck at this. I should be asking her all sorts of questions. A few of these are currently burning a hole in the back of my brain, like: Does she still have a boyfriend? Has Ren really not heard anything about me? Ugh. It never seems like the right moment to ask.

"So, you skateboard still?" she asks as the light changes.

"Yeah. I skate with some guys by the Community Center, but only if I know I can scam a ride home," I say while checking to see that the cars are slowing before I lead Ren out into the wide main street toward the start of downtown.

"You still live out in Bayfield?"

"Yep."

Walking south past the little shops, I open my mouth to continue but can't think of anything else interesting to add that would impress her, so I snap it closed again like a goldfish. Bayfield and my house is a dump. She's lucky to live in this cute little town. I bet her life and her house is as sweet and beautiful as she is.

We slow again as we reach the bookstore, which is a shortcut to the library parking lot. I open the heavy wood door with some effort and let Ren pass through first. The bells tinkle as we walk in. She stops for a second to look at the new fiction display on one of the low oak bookshelves. I come to stand beside her, watching her pick up a book that has attracted her eye with a beautiful cover.

The moment seems to suspend just for me. Come on! Ask it, Gio.

"So... Aayla never said anything about me?"

She turns to look right at me, still holding the book in her hands. "No," she says sincerely.

My brow knits itself together. I don't understand. Did Aayla lie to me about talking to Ren? She told me Ren said she wasn't interested in me anymore. Why would she say that? What else did she lie about?

I only realize I've been staring intently into Ren's beautiful blue-grey eyes when she drops hers, putting the book back in on the shelf. "I thought you were still in LA."

"Huh." My eyes settle on a bright book cover on the rack, and I drag my finger slowly across the title's raised lettering—Undaunted Courage. I take a steadying breath and then take the leap, "Well... Aayla, um, also told me you... have a boyfriend?"

"Oh. Yes. Ryder. Did have—last year. Not anymore," she grimaces, stumbling through her words.

A zip of excitement sparks through me, "Oh?"

"Yeah. Um," she drops her eyes and her voice, "Do you... have a girlfriend?"

A rose blush warms her pale cheeks, and I've never wanted to touch her more.

"No," I respond in a horse whisper.

YES! She cares if I'm single! She had a boyfriend last year. Ryder. Wh—hold up.

I bury my hands in my pockets. "Wait, you dated Ryder Hensley?"

She lifts her eyes, "You know him?"

Fuck. I hate that fucking guy. Think about the biggest, smug, shit-talking, dicksplash jerk you know, times it by two, and that's Ryder Hensley. I can not believe Ren dated him! I don't wanna even think about it.

"Kinda," I shrug with a darker tone in my voice. "I've skateboarded with him a few times. He's friends with Eddie... and so am I."

Eddie, on the other hand, is a pretty decent guy. He lives just down the street from me. Yeah, he's a bit of a doofus—always getting in trouble, but never on purpose. He's always trying to convince me to skate with him after school and bum a ride home, but no one ever wants to drive us that far. Getting home has been a disaster on many occasions, and I like not to piss off my mom if I can help it these days.

"Oh, you know Eddie?" her voice brightening. "I hang out with him sometimes, too. He's a pretty sweet guy. Though, he has been calling me 'girly' ever since the one time I wore a dress to the coffee shop last summer," her nose wrinkling in annoyance.

All I hear is 'summer dress,' and I'm already visualizing it—she looks smoking hot.

"So you're still friends with Charlie, I see," she says hesitantly, breaking the spell of my short-lived dress daydream.

Oh, yeah. Charlie. Fuck. I guess we'll have to talk about him at some point.

"Yeah, he's still my best friend," I admit. Hopefully, this won't become a problem again.

"Does he go to Ives High, too?" she asks, biting her lip with a cute panicked expression.

"Nah, don't worry," I laugh. "He's out at Redwood High," and she breathes out a sigh of relief.

We continue walking through the bookstore to the back, where the ceiling drops lower, and the back staircase disappears up to the back parking lot. We trudge up the steep stairs—my shoes clomping too loudly on the old stairboards. I push through another large set of heavy wood doors and hold one open for her.

We cross the small bookstore parking lot, across a back lane, and up another flight of cement stairs to the back of the library. There are no benches in the back, so we dump our backpacks on the ground and stand next to an enormous redwood tree in the corner of the parking lot to wait for my brother. A light mist begins to fall, creating soft taping sounds all around us on the parking lot pavement.

"So..." she hedges. I feel like she's about to ask me something I'm not going to like. "Why'd you never call me?"

Shit. That.

"Oh," averting my eyes, picking a bit of bark off the tree. "Um, I don't know, really. I guess I was scared your dad would pick up... and he'd try to talk to me." I laugh self-consciously then my smile quickly dims. "That and, well... Charlie and I had a falling out because of what happened with you after the dance, and that was... kinda shitty," making it seem lighter than it was at the time.

Her face falls, "Oh. I'm—I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I shrug, looking out into the parking lot. "We made up about it since I've been back."

"I—" we both say at the same time, followed by another awkward moment as we both simultaneously say, "No, you go." The heat from my embarrassment collects at the back of my neck, and reflexively, I reach back to rub it as she blushes and looks down.

She looks so soft and beautiful, yet she seems to hold mysteries deep within her that I ache to know. I take a step closer to her, catching her eyes and holding them, and they burn into mine deeply, and this time, neither of us looks away.

I hear a crow cawing in the distance, the sound of the rain, the smell of newly damp dust and evergreens, and my chest rising and falling with breath. It feels so surreal to be with her again. One of those times that you feel completely lifted out of your surroundings—like you're watching yourself in a movie—yet also a feeling of complete awareness, a heightened sense of every single action and noise.

"I thought about you, though—" Suddenly, my throat goes as dry as ash. I cover my mouth with my hand to cough, making it only slightly better, and continue, my voice sounding stupidly horse, "In LA... and that night at the dance."

"Me too," she whispers.

I feel a sudden spark flash between us, sent through our eyes, and it strikes into my heart—a frighteningly strange, acute ache of desire... and it couldn't have just been me that felt it, for exactly at that moment, her breath hitches. Though part of me is freaked out by the feeling in my chest just now, I'm propelled to take a step closer, and she follows suit.

Our bodies are just inches apart, eyes locked, the silence building palpable tension between us. Without thinking, I reach for her, putting my hands on her waist as my eyes lower to her mouth, and watch as she pulls in her bottom lip to moisten it. God, I'm dying to kiss her again! I tilt my head and move an inch closer. She sharply inhales, then seems to cease to breathe altogether. Hell, my heart is thumping so loud in my chest—I can't tell if I am breathing or not! My eyes close, and my lips part—

"My heart, my heart, Kick start my heart!"

We jump apart at the blaring sound of the classic Motley Crue's song, and a muscle car's loud engine comes rumbling down the street. My brother Ben's black 1960s Chevy Camaro with white stripes up and over the car pulls sharply into the parking lot, causing our heads to whip around.

Shit!

"Get a grip," I mutter low, looking around bewildered. My brother would have grilled me, maybe even told Mom if he saw me kissing a girl when he pulled up. Reaching down to grab my backpack, I then look up at her with apologetic eyes, "Sorry, um, gotta go now."

"Oh, Okay," she murmurs.

Damn it. I wish I had had just five more minutes with her. Why'd he have to be on time for fucking once?

"See you in Study Hall next week," I call as I jog over to the car.

Ben, my now twenty-four-year-old brother, gets out, leaving the door open and the engine running, and punches me on the shoulder affectionately. He's got his black Kiss t-shirt on and a black bandana in his sandy brown hair. We do look somewhat related, but he got my mom's blue eyes, and we have different last names.

I slide into the driver's side, pulling the heavy door shut with a bang. Slowly, I ease out of the parking lot. My brother will literally kill me if I even get one scratch on his beautiful baby. I'm nervous but excited to have Ren watch me drive such a sick ride.

Glancing back towards Ren in the rearview, I see her just standing, staring blankly at us where I left her. Fuck! I forgot to hug her goodbye! Damn it.

Ben glances at me, turning the volume down, "Who's that you were with back there?"

"No one," I lie.

"Sure. Sure," he smiles at me, then settles his gaze out the window. "Watch out, Romeo. Don't let your dick get you into trouble again."

My hands tense around the steering wheel, "I won't."

Ben turns the music back up, "Good."

"Whoa, yeah! Kickstart my heart—hope it never stops. Whoa, yeah, baby!"

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••• A/N •••

Thank you for reading!

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So close!

What did you think of that? Aalya told him about Ryder but failed to mention they broke up. Charlie and Gio had a falling out after the dance. He thought about her in LA. Gio's reaction after his brother comes...

Next chapter, we see what happens next study hall and learn a little more about Ren's life.