The Boys Who Loved Me - Krista Wolf Page 0,19
in the cozy little nest Luke had built with his own two hands, that despite his earlier assertions, he still felt some measure of responsibility for our friend’s demise. That somehow, if he’d only zigged instead of zagged, he could’ve prevented her from the overdose that ultimately ended up taking her life.
“She always was her own person,” I told him after our second round, tracing slow lines down his chest with one painted fingernail. “Elizabeth never listened to anyone. What makes you think she’d have listened to you?”
But Luke wasn’t in a self-absolving mood. “We lived in the same town,” he shook his head. “I saw her at the bars, and probably a little too often. I should’ve known. I should’ve checked up on her.”
“Can’t think of it that way.”
“Why not?”
“Because even had you approached her, Elizabeth would’ve seen right through what you were trying to do,” I chastised him. “She was way too smart for us. Always paranoid, even before she started taking those pills.”
His eyes dropped sadly. “I still should’ve recognized what she was doing,” he said. “She was still taking painkillers even years after that injury. And not just taking them to kill the pain, but also to—”
I shushed him with one slender finger pushed against his kissable lips.
“None of this is your fault, remember? This was on her. This was on Elizabeth.”
His frown faded as I used his own words against him. We lay quietly for a few long minutes, listening to the sounds outside. The whir of autumn insects. The sound of a distant boat motor, humming around the lake.
“Why’d you come back?” I asked abruptly.
“Hmm?”
“Well you went away to college. Accounting, I heard. Or you were studying to be a business major.”
“So?”
“And now you’re here again, at North Glade.” I rolled over, my eyes lingering helplessly on his beautiful torso. All those delicious lines and ridges… I shook my head as I tried to focus.
“So what do you do here?”
Oddly, he didn’t answer right away. In fact, he looked downright uncomfortable.
“Surely you’re not still slinging produce at the Safeway.”
He laughed nervously. “No. My days of coring pineapple and washing broccoli are long since over.”
I cocked my head. “Then… what?”
A phone suddenly buzzed — his phone — rescuing him from my line of questioning. Luke glanced at it and I saw his eyes change. He sat up.
“Sorry, but I need to go.”
I chuckled, gesturing back to my own nakedness. “So… hit and run?”
“Something like that.”
I let out a long, exaggerated sigh. In response, he rolled over and kissed me. “Remember, you were the one who dragged me into the loft.”
“Dragged?”
“Uh huh,” Luke winked. “You took total advantage of me.”
“If I remember correctly,” I pointed out, “you built this place just so you could kiss me here.”
“I did,” he admitted, reaching for our scattered clothing. “And I will. Plenty more times.”
“Hmmm.”
Just then a pair of panties hit me in the head. I rolled onto my back and slid my legs through them, as my shirt landed nearby.
“We all meeting up at the funeral?” I asked carefully.
Luke pulled his jeans up over his magnificent abs and zipped them up. He paused mid-button.
“Yeah. I guess so.”
I winced a little before asking the next question. “You… talk to Warren?”
He didn’t look back at me. He only continued dressing, pulling his shirt over his head.
“I just don’t think I could do this without everyone,” I added. “Elizabeth was a part of all of us. It wouldn’t seem right if—”
“Don’t worry,” he assured me stoically. “We’re all gonna be there.”
I examined his expression, trying to gauge his reaction to potentially seeing the others. It didn’t seem to bother him. However, there seemed to be something else. A sudden aloofness I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“Well thanks for breakfast,” I said, standing up. “And also… lunch.”
Luke smiled and winked again. “C’mon. Let’s get you back to your hotel.”
Fifteen
KAYLA
The trail was still the same, only less used and more overgrown. It wound the forest like it always did, only now I found myself ducking branches and keeping track of my footing as I jogged along the old exercise path.
Three, Kayla.
Elizabeth’s funeral wasn’t until six. I had the whole afternoon to kill.
You hooked up with all three of them.
I was a little shocked and surprised by my actions, but oddly enough I didn’t feel any regret. I had history with all three of them. Deep, meaningful history that somehow never fully got resolved. Warren had slipped away after our breakup, at a time