Page 125 of A Sky Full Of Stars

“Good. Dylan will love it. There’s only so much I can talk about football.” I raise an eyebrow, finding that hard to believe, and she bites back a smile. “Anyway, here. I made you a set of keys. You’re welcome any time.” I stare at her outstretched hand, hesitating until she laughs, shaking the keys in my face. “It’s just a set of keys, douchebag,” she jokes. “Take them before I throw them at you.”

I burst out laughing and take her offering, shaking my head with a smirk. “Thanks, Sum. I appreciate it. But when you’re begging me to leave, remember…you started this.”

She pulls me into an awkward side hug before punching my shoulder and saying goodbye, and for a split second, I love how it is between us. We have these easy moments that feel so natural, and then something big happens in her life, and I’m not there. I’m not a part of that.

But maybe that will change once I’m closer.

At least, I can hope. Because I don’t know what else to do.

Chapter Forty-Two

Lainey

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ll figure it out.” I frown as my brother’s black Labrador, Shadow, stares up at me with the actual definition of puppy dog eyes. She seems to be able to sense when I’m stressed, and today’s one of those days. “I didn’t like the job anyway. And how was I to know the guy I kneed in the balls was the boss’s married son? No one told me that. Includinghis son.” He’d been flirting with me for weeks. I thought it was harmless until he tried to kiss me and I didn’t want it.

Shadow’s head tilts to the side like she’s judging me, and I almost give her some sass of my own until I realize what I’m doing and groan.

“Ugh. Come on, he deserved it. Let’s go for a walk before you start talking back to me.”

One month.I’ve only been back in San Francisco for a month, and I’ve already managed to mess up. This was supposed to be my third chance at starting over. Sure, the job itself sucked, but the pay was good. And it was going to get better. I just had to pass the three-month probation to get the raise.

“God, what am I doing?”

Shadow’s head flashes my way but I ignore her. I’ve got enough problems without worrying about the opinion of a dog. A really beautiful dog that I absolutely adore.Ugh. “Okay, Shadow. You’re right. Judge away.”

I snuck back into San Francisco early last month. And by snuck, I mean, I knocked on Luke’s door and begged him to let me stay, then told him he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone until I was ready.

Talking to my family on the phone is one thing, but seeing them in person is a completely different story. The only reason I considered staying with Luke is because he flew over to meet me in Greece while I was backpacking there a year ago, and we were forced to get over the awkwardness that neither of us admitted was there. But make no mistake… It was awkward. We’d both changed so much. Okay, Luke hadn’t really changed at all, but he’d been stuck dealing with “photogate” as I like tolovinglyrefer to it, while I stayed in hiding. And that’s not something you want your brother to have to see, let alone handle.

But after we moved on from the weirdness, it was like no time had passed, and now I’m here, staying in his overpriced bachelor pad, while trying to find a job that sticks.

Shadow nudges my leg, reminding me she’s there, and I laugh when I realize I’ve slowed my pace. “Alright. Let’s go. Grab your leash.” She bounds away in search and returns back with the strap clenched between her teeth, and I swear she smiles at me.

I really need some more human interaction.

We walk aimlessly for about fifteen minutes until the dog park finally comes into view. I find that if I take Shadow straight here, she goes crazy with excitement and it’simpossible to calm her down, but if I wear her out first, she plays nice. You could say we’ve gotten to know each other well.

Shadow starts pulling on the rope as soon as she realizes where we are, making me pick up my speed, and we’ve just stepped through the gate when I hear my name.

“Lainey?”

I freeze, my gaze dropping to the oversized sweater that covers my short shorts, as I cringe, remembering I left the house without brushing my hair. I was not expecting anyone to know me here, but of course I was wrong.

Turning slowly, I come face-to-face with the one and only Dylan Mathers and have to fight to hide my shock. “Dylan, hi. It’s been a while.”

“It has. A long while. Years in fact.” There’s the hint of judgment in his tone, but since he’s one of the nicest guys I know, he doesn’t say what he’s really thinking. It was me. I disappeared on them. Twice. Apparently it’s what I do.

“What are you doing back in San Francisco,” he asks, continuing on politely. “The last I heard you were blowing all your money in Amsterdam.”

“What?!” I burst out laughing. “Let me guess… You heard that from Luke?”

“Yeah, I did…” He hesitates and I laugh again.

“He’s such a dick.” I went to Amsterdam for three days on a tour. Yes, it was pricier than some of the other places I visited, but I didn’t blow all my money. “I did travel, but for the most part, I was working with children in Indonesia.”

“Holy shit, that’s amazing. I knew you were volunteering, but I kind of pictured you picking crops or something.” He chuckles.

“Oh, I did some of that, but I spent most of my time with the kids.”

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