The smell came first. Sweat and Sharpie markers and excitement and boredom somehow all mixed together in one big nostalgia-bomb. High school for Griffin was all tied together with Mom’s death (freshman year), Kai’s leaving (junior year), not to mention that run-in with Coach Nelson (also freshman year.)
His only relief during the entirety of high school had been sports. Getting outside and using his body to its absolute limit.
Starting in junior year, when he shot up above six feet and sprouted muscles, girls had noticed him, and he’d noticed them. But he’d been wrapped up with being big brother to the twins and Gracie, and dealing with his father, and none of those girls had truly registered with him. Not the way Serena did.
Being with Serena was different—like turning on Technicolor i
