I pad out into the hall, inspecting the vicinity and tiptoeing toward the bathroom. I slip inside to find Will waiting for me, leaning against the sink. Silence drifts between us. He smiles, looking painfully beautiful, as always.
“Lock it.” He gestures to the knob with his chin.
I oblige.
In response, he cuts across the room, anchoring me to the door and ravaging my lips with an openmouthed kiss I return right off the bat. His tongue pushes past my teeth as he finds one of the blonde braids cascading down my shoulders and swirls it around his index.
“Fuck. Love the schoolgirl look, by the way.” His voice is packed with lust, his lips remolded by a mischievous smirk. I come to my senses just as he’s angling my chin for more.
I mash my palms to his chest, keeping him at a safe distance.
His smile wears off.
“What’s wrong?”
I peel our bodies apart, wriggling out of his hold. His features pinch with worry.
“Do you really have to ask?”
He nibbles on his bottom lip, knowing damn well what I’m getting at. We were so happy just three days ago. He seemed so sure. Like there wasn’t a doubt in his mind as far as telling Kendrick went. He even asked me to prom. Convinced me my brother would know about us by then and now…
Now we’re hiding in a bathroom.
And that speaks volumes.
“Will, you promised we’d tell him.”
“I know.” He exhales.
“It’s been three days.”
“I know, I’m sorry. It’s just… not the right time.”
“Don’t you get it? It’s never going to be the right time. He’s going to be just as pissed whether we tell him now or in two months. The quicker we rip the bandage off, the quicker he’ll get over it. Because he will get over it. Unless, of course… you changed your mind.”
He clamps his mouth shut, obviously conflicted. His lack of a reply hits me where it hurts.
“Got it.” My gaze strays to the bathroom tiles. I turn away, but he beats me to the door.
“I didn’t”—he cups my face—“change my mind. I didn’t. I’m never changing my mind about you. Fucking never, okay?”
I refuse him the eye contact he seeks.
“I’ll talk to him. I promise. No more lying,” he relents.
He kisses me once more, and I feel my pain decreasing at his touch, my body softening under his fingertips, and it scares me shitless. Because I know a few more minutes of that kiss—who am I kidding, a few more seconds—and I’ll be right back to where I started.
Back to making excuses for him. Back to believing promises he has no intention of keeping.
After Blake, I swore on my life I’d never be that girl again. The one you sweep under the rug. The secret.
And I won’t.
Not even for him.
“Okay?” he asks again.
I cave. “Okay.”
Will
“Man, you’re never going to guess what I found out,” Kendrick says halfway through an arcade racing game. Our movie ended twenty minutes ago, and while Kass, Winter, and Ryder wanted to get coffee across the street, Kendrick, Alex, and I decided to hit the arcades by the theater. Okay, fine, we sent Ryder on coffee duty.
Consequences of being a newbie.
“What?” I act uninterested, but inside, I’m counting down the seconds to my last breath. If Kendrick found out what I think he found out, I won’t survive the rest of the day.
“Blake fucked my sister.”
I swear when he says that, I squeeze the fake steering wheel so tight I swerve off the virtual tracks and crash into a concrete wall at full speed. GAME OVER, the screen taunts, and the irony isn’t lost on me. My gaze flicks to Alex, who shifts in his seat, eyes glued to his console.
Snitch.
“Really?” I clear my throat.
“Yeah. For six months, too. They dated behind my back. Can you believe this shit? She’s been with two of my friends. Fucking two out of three.”
Looks like Alex skipped the part where he covered for them the whole time and never actually dated Kass himself. How convenient.
“What’s next? She’s going to sleep with you, too?”
Someone kill me now.
“You going to talk to her?” is all I can bring myself to say.
He shrugs. “Nah, last I heard, the asshole broke her heart. Plus, it’s not her I blame. She grew up with a shit dad, so she goes for the shit guys. Oh, except you, man.” His gaze whisks to Alex, who nods in appreciation, playing the part.
This is getting ridiculous.
“So, you’re fine with Alex dating her but not Blake?” I ask.
“Yeah, because Alex is… Alex. Blake is a self-serving asshole with girls. He doesn’t do serious.”
“Neither do you,” I point out.
Kendrick’s only ever dated one girl: Nicole. And it always ended with him hurting her. Always. This time, it was him leaving town overnight with Winter that did it.
“Exactly. I know guys like you and me, man, and I’d die before letting a guy like that anywhere near my sister.”
My stomach twists.
“Mark my word, if the bastard was still here, he’d wish a bullet in the leg was all he got away with.” Kendrick refers to Blake’s injury the night we rescued Winter. “If that piece of shit ever shows his face again, he’s fucking dead.”
I don’t speak again, my mind racing faster than the arcade game’s pixelated cars. The guys go on to talk about an open house party happening tonight, but I don’t give a flying shit about some party.
My phone buzzes with a text.
From her.
Control freak: Winter heard us in the bathroom this morning. She knows.
Control freak: It’s only a matter of time before Kendrick finds out. I’m working all afternoon, but I think we should tell him tonight.
He’ll get over it. Kass’s words loom in
