Page 96 of A Sky Full Of Stars

I roll my eyes but accept her excuse because that’s exactly what he’ll do. “Okay. Okay. For that, I’ll let you leave.” I laugh. “He probably has a GPS on your car. It’s best if we don’t openthatcan of worms just yet.” We both know Luke’s more of a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy.

Lainey laughs, but from the exaggerated grimace, I can tell she’s over his antics. “You’re probably right,” she says. “I’d much rather keep this a secret for now. He doesn’t need to know about our sex life.”

Sex life.That doesn’t seem like the right term for what this is, but then again, what is? We haven’t really defined it. All I know is that I feel this intense desire to be around her at all times. And yes, it always involves some form of intimacy, so I guess that means Lainey’s spot-on. Either way, I’m fine with keeping it a secret and delaying my death, because I know with absolute certainty that Luke is going to murder me.

But I also know it will be worth it.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lainey

Luke’s waiting at a private outdoor table with his eyebrows raised, silently letting me know he expects an explanation, and he’s not taking any bullshit. Not that he’s ever been good at seeing through my lies, but I have to give him something. It’s my fault we’re here.

I let out a long sigh as I walk toward him, the tension in my body causing a dull ache. I don’t want to have this conversation. I just had it with Thomas, and while I felt semicomfortable with him, with Luke, it’s a different story.

“You worry too much,” I say the second I sit down, laughing when he frowns.

“Lainey, you—”

“I shouldn’t have said anything when you called. I was having a bad day.”

“But youdidsay something, and I can’t pretend that didn’t happen.” A server comes over but he waves them off, his eyes never leaving mine. “What happened at Jaiton? I know you didn’t leave voluntarily like you said you did. I never believed you’d be that rebellious, and I heard Gran’s bitch session about it. I’ve given you space, hoping you’d come to me on your own. But you haven’t. Even though I’ve shown you time and time again that I’m here to listen.”

Guilt works its way into my chest and I sigh. He’s right. When I first moved away, he called often to make sure it had been mydecision to leave and to ask if I was okay. Then when I got back, he tried to help me find somewhere to live, knowing I didn’t want to move home with my parents,andonce again, checked in on me every other day. Way more than I deemed necessary.

But I never planned to tell him the truth. He caught me off guard when he called yesterday, and I slipped up.

How do you tell your big brother that you were kicked out of ballet school because you performed mostly naked in front of the entire cohort just to show them they couldn’t hurt you, days after turning up to class with bad hair dye? What’s worse…how do you tell him that the reason you were mostly naked is because the only person you trusted, or thought you trusted, ripped your dance costume to shreds while you were in the bathroom, minutes after coming all over your chest?

I’ll tell you. You don’t. Because while yes, Luke was there for me, even when I didn’t want him to be, he’s also extremely protective and can’t see reason once he’s been set off. There’s no way he’d hold back if he found out the truth.

It’s why I leftthatinformation out of my confession to Thomas. We may not have defined our relationship, but I’m not stupid. If I’d told him about Travis, he’d burn the world down to find him, and if I’m being honest, once it was in motion, I’d struggle to stop him.

An unwanted memory comes to the forefront of my mind, and for the first time in a while, I struggle to push it back down.

Travis groans as he stands and grabs his tee, wiping my chest with a smile. “Fuuucck, you know how to work me, Lains. That hand of yours is almost as good as your pussy.”

He runs a finger through my heat and raises it to his tongue as my whole body shivers. “God, I want to taste you again, butwe have to go. Don’t wait for me. I’ll clean up here, you go and shower.”

I smile as I jump up, my core still pulsing from my release. He’s right. We have a whole school performance in an hour and I’m a mess. I need to get ready.

I shouldn’t have let him into my room, but when he smiles at me with his adorable dimples, I struggle to say no. Plus an orgasm always helps with the tightness I hold in my chest whenever I’m around my peers, and I need a clear mind—an impossible feat on my own.

After I’m showered and glamming myself up to ballerina perfection, I stare in the mirror, no longer recognizing the girl staring back at me. My alarm goes off, snapping me from my disgust, and I rush to get ready, knowing it will take me a few minutes to get into my costume in the dressing room.

Grabbing my dress bag, I’m out the door and running into our rooms with seconds to spare, ignoring the eye rolls and sharp expressions aimed my way.

“Come on, Miss Bennett,” one of our helpers snaps at me. “You have four minutes before you need to be on stage.”

“I’m on it.”

Like always, I make my way to the back corner of the room, away from the cliques, and pull my tights out of my bag. Whispers start up around me, but I pay them no mind, softly singing instead.

I’ve just lifted my dress from the hanger when the room falls silent, and it’s not until I look at my costume, I know why.

My heart seizes, but I hold my composure, my face impassive as I stare down at the destroyed silk in my hands. I suck in a subtle breath as my eyes water, but I stand tall, hanging the destroyed dress over a chair before removing my clothes.

In silence, I stick to the schedule, keeping up appearances as I get ready for my moment, and when it comes time for my dress, I carefully glide the ripped material along my body, keeping my eyes off the mirror until it’s all secured in place. Though I don’t need to see it to know that it’s bad. The air on my exposed skin gives the game away.

---