I’d thrown on an old T-shirt while combing the room for the ribbon. “He’s on his way over right now. He wants to talk to you. Do you want him to know Bryan was here all night? To find out this way? To see you like that?”
My heart raced. My mind had turned to sludge.
“I don’t know what to do.” I bowed my head and lifted my pleading eyes to my brother.
“Well, you can buy a little time to figure it out if you take a shower and do something about the redness on your face.”
“Okay, yeah, that’s a good idea.” I started to duck back into my room to grab some makeup and clothes. But his next question stopped me.
“I confronted Bry. He said it was just a one-time deal. Is that the way it was for you? Or do I need to kick his ass?”
Tears sprang to my eyes. The only good thing about this that I could see right now was that my brother was looking out for me. I pressed my lips flat and swallowed.
“It was just sex,” I said huskily without turning around. The lie surely burned brighter than the whisker burns on my skin.
How had this happened? I’d been so light and happy last night, but this morning, I felt so dark and empty.
“No ass-kicking needed. I’m a big girl. I knew what I was doing.” Another lie. “I mean, Bryan didn’t make any promises or anything.”
I love you from a guy in your bed who wanted a little more action the next morning didn’t mean anything. Except it had. It had meant everything to me. And I’d meant it with all my heart when I’d returned the words to him.
Even if he didn’t.
War
“Hey.” I stood from the chair in her uncle’s living room when Lace came down the stairs. Her hair was dripping wet, her T-shirt old and faded, and so were her jeans. She wasn’t in a glittery prom gown with her hair all done up, but to me she was beautiful.
“Hi.” She gave me a little halfhearted wave.
That, more than anything she could have done, set me on edge. Lace didn’t do anything halfhearted. Not with me. She was mad as shit at me or happy. Never this lukewarm middle ground.
Had I totally screwed up with her? Had the wake-up call at Kyle’s been too harsh? Or had someone in the group told her about the lap dance in LA with the stripper?
“How’d prom go?” I asked.
Pink spots of color hit her pale cheeks. “It went.” Her gaze darted around. “I saw Chad.”
“That’s nice,” I said carefully. Crossing to where she’d stalled out in the small foyer, I took her hands. “Did Bry do something wrong?” I gave her my earnest expression. “He’s a damn good guitarist, but say the word and he’s gone, Lacey. You hear me?”
“He didn’t do anything.” Her gaze bright, she shook her head. “He did nothing. Nothing at all.”
My brows drew together beneath my bandanna. That didn’t sound right. I moved finding and interrogating my best friend to the top of my to-do list.
“You two have a fight?” I asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this now. They’d never even raised voices to each other, that I knew about, even with Lace being a hothead like me. But hey, I might have a handle on most stuff, but I didn’t control everything.
“No. He came like you asked him to, apparently.” Her expression turned bitter, like her tone. “He took me to prom. He left. End of story.” She removed her hands from mine and rubbed her temples. “I have a headache.”
How convenient. My eyes narrowed, and she noted it.
“But Dizzy said you wanted to talk to me.” She gestured to the kitchen. “There’s ibuprofen in the cabinet. I’ll take some, and we can sit down and talk.”
Sure, I wanted to talk. I wanted to talk now. But I preferred to do it somewhere else. Somewhere I could take my time. Somewhere I could have her completely to myself. Get her naked.
“Why don’t you go ahead and take your pills. Get rid of your headache. I’ve got some shit I need to do.” Mainly, I needed to find and talk to Bryan. “I’ll swing back later and take you to get some food. Then we’ll grab a few drinks and party after. Tempest has some major offers on the table, babe. We have a lot to celebrate.”
“Party at Kyle’s?” she asked. “Usual people there?”
“Yeah, maybe