Page 62 of Study Buddies

“I know. And I’m sorry. But—she’s kind of in the middle of it now. And I hate to say it, but I think you’re the one putting her there.”

I raked my fingers through my hair, glaring at Jayden, who was suddenly keen on examining a torn poster on the wall. “I’m not putting her anywhere, but maybe I should. Starting now. You or I can drive her, she doesn’t need to be alone with Kyle in his truck. And no more movie nights or letting him come to the study group. And as for the tutoring sessions?—”

“No.”

“What?”

“I’m not doing that.” He stared at me, his face unhappy. “Let’s sit down. I think this talk would go better without sharp projectiles.”

A waitress came by with another beer for him, and he thanked her as she walked away. Then he slid it over to me. I gulped some down because the look in his eye warned me I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“Tori’s your friend, and she likes you. But that doesn’t mean she has to hate Kyle just because you do.”

“But the way he took Natalie from me?—“

“Was a really shitty thing to do. We’re in agreement, there. But that doesn’t mean your friends have to hate him for the rest of time.”

My breath hitched. “Including you.”

“I don’t hate him,” Jayden said simply, and it was like a punch to the face. “I’m sorry, but I don’t. He’s not my best friend, but I don’t hate his guts.”

“I get it.” I looked away. “Neither of you have my back.”

“You mean me and Tori, I assume. And you’re wrong on both counts.” He leveled a look at me. “It’s not that simple, and it’s not a fucking loyalty test. Tori’s free to like any of us—or none of us.”

“If she likes him, she has no idea what she’s getting into.” The thought was both painful and alarming. “Do you think Tori is a—“ I swallowed, feeling like a bad friend for even discussing this.

“A virgin? I don’t know. But my guess is that she hasn’t had a lot of experience—and probably even lessgoodexperience. Guys in high school or even college aren’t always known for their finesse and for putting their partners first. Present company excluded, of course.”

I took another swallow of the weak-ass beer. “We shouldn’t be talking about her and her experience level, whatever it is.”

“Yeah. But… just like your history with Kyle, we’re all living on top of each other—almost literally. So issues are bound to come up.”

“I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

“I don’t either, but that’s something we can’t protect her from. Helping her with her creepy ex roommate is one thing. But this… we’re young. We’re all just trying to figure things out. What we want. What we like. How to get those things.”

“Kyle’s sure got it figured out.”

Jayden sighed. “Don’t be so sure. He needs to pass that comp class to avoid getting kicked off the team—which is anotherreason we need to work this shit out and not be at each other’s throats. Tori needs to pass, too.”

“What a mess.”

“In some ways, yeah, but not all. We helped her out. We’re getting to know her better, and vice versa. Would you rather go back to seeing her just a few hours a week at the study group?”

“No.” I raked my fingers through my hair again. “But it just feels like Kyle has the advantage here. He doesn’t have to worry about being a nice guy. I do.”

“Just a thought—nice guys usually yell a little less.” He started to take a sip of his beer before remembering it was empty. “And Kyle doesn’t have the advantage. Not if you’d stop getting in your own way.”

“Women just seem to like him, for some fucked up reason. I guess he’s better at dealing with them than I am.”

“No, he isn’t. Of the three of us, you’re the only one who’s had a real relationship. I know it didn’t end well, but it was the real thing. You were in love. I’ve never experienced that, and I bet Kyle hasn’t either.”

“So?” I frowned.

“You and Natalie didn’t just date. You spent every second you could together. You had what a lot of us would’ve killed for.”

“Not Kyle,” I muttered. He’d wanted Natalie, that was for sure, but not to have a lasting relationship—just to spite me.

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