the air as an order of fajitas hisses its way past us.
I just sit and stare at Cooper almost-dead Flanders as he glares over at me an inordinate amount of time.
It was Laken.
I just asked the fucker who the girl was in his bed, and he copped to it being my girlfriend without missing a beat. Either something’s not right, or Flanders has a death wish I’ll be more than happy to make come true.
I shake my head. “Rattle out your excuses because we both know damn well you’ve got ‘em.”
Grayson and Laken come back just in the nick of time.
Great. I bet Coop will be sweating out one excuse after the next until we get a chance to continue our conversation. I’m sure he’ll think he’s bulletproof. Doesn’t matter. I think it’s time I arrange a happy accident for Flanders—send a couple girls his way he won’t be able to resist, then have them bite his balls off. Serves him right for thinking about Laken, and God forbid touching her. The thought makes me insane.
“Everything okay?” Laken picks up on the tension and scoots in next to me—probably to read my mind.
The food arrives and I give a depleted sigh as we start in on our meals.
I lied. I didn’t go to Coop’s looking for Laken. I went to Coop’s looking to accuse him of letting Laken suck off his neck. Little did I know this was a nightly occurrence. Hattie Tobias said Laken hasn’t slept in her bed in weeks. What the fuck?
After I left Coop’s, I panicked and tried to call her—to find her, and that’s when Kres reared her wicked head. She offered to comfort me in ways that were far from emotional, but I turned her down cold. Grayson was just covering her own corrupt tracks when she tried to rat me out for something I didn’t do. Not that I didn’t rat her out in the end, but that’s what a night like tonight is for, spilling greasy secrets, watching each other slip in the mess.
Coop pays the bill before I can whip out my wallet, and we rise from the booth, thankful this nightmare is over.
“Good stuff.” Coop stretches like a bear. “I’ll take you home, Grayson.” He ushers her out with his hand over her shoulder and gives Laken a high-five as they pass one another.
Her face smooths out in horror as they let off.
He told her.
She knows.
It’s cold as hell, but Laken agrees to drive to Charity with me. We exchanged small talk on the way over, mostly about how the evening went, and I’m shocked she didn’t try to force-feed me a mountain of bullshit.
The stars are cleverly hidden beneath a wash of pink fog. The lake shines like a silver platter under the harsh glare of the moon. I lay a blanket over the ground, and we sit on the shore with my jacket wrapped around the two of us. I hold her hand off and on, terrified I won’t be able to control my thoughts, that I’ll spill everything I know about her and Coop, and she won’t have a chance to tell me a single lie. Deep down inside, I wish Laken would lie to me. I want to soak in all the dishonesty she’s willing to sling my way just to keep this relationship going. The desperate hours have arrived. Our relationship was on life support all along, and I was the last to know.
“I want you to tell me something,” I say, pulling her in by the waist.
We’re going to have to go there. If she and Cooper are as close as I’m afraid they are, then we’re going to have to dig up the casket of our love and look inside no matter how hideous the results might be. I’m sure he’ll call her in a few hours, and they’ll have a teleconference over what an idiot I am. Or worse, they’ll gloss over it in bed before they detonate over one another.
“Tell you what?” She rocks into me.
The pale wash of moonlight strips all the color from her face, from her hair. It leaves those pale eyes of hers glowing like that of a cat, and I want to lie her back in the sand and show her exactly how much I love her right here without another word soiling what I thought was so pure.
“I love you,” I whisper.
“I love you, too.” She wraps her arms around my waist safely away from