Page 60 of Study Buddies

Lucas loomed over Kyle, who pulled his hand back. I jumped, clamping my knees together.

“Get the fuck away from her,” Lucas thundered. The coffee table moved again, and I realized he’d kicked it. Kyle’s feet thudded to the floor.

Mortification washed over me. Cringing, I squeezed my eyes shut for a long moment, leaning so far away from Lucas’ disapproval that I was practically in Jayden’s lap.

Why had I done that? Why had I let Kyle touch me in front of them? I’d gone out on a date with Lucas just two nights ago, and now he was furious. At Kyle, at me… he definitely had reason for both. Hopefully he hadn’t been able to see Jayden stroking my leg, too.

Kyle’s voice was mild when he looked up at his stepbrother. “Spoilsport.”

“She’s not asport,” Lucas snapped. ”Go play with your bat and balls and leave her the fuck alone.”

Kyle chuckled, probably because he knew it would make Lucas even angrier. “My bat and balls—good one, bro.”

“I’m not your brother, and she isn’t your toy.”

If there were a trap door here, I’d gladly sink down into the basement. Anything to get away from this humiliation. From thedisgust in Lucas’s voice. And from the feeling that I’d let him down. All the excitement I’d felt minutes ago was gone, replaced by shame.

Jayden moved behind me, and the cushion shifted as he got to his feet. Probably as disappointed with me as Lucas was.

I couldn’t look at any of them, while Lucas and Kyle continued to argue, but then fingers swept over my shoulder with a light touch. Jayden had his hand out, offering it to me.

In the dark, I couldn’t properly see his face, but the vibe I was getting from him wasn’t disgust. I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet. He kept hold of me as he led me around the arguing stepbrothers and out into the kitchen.

I twisted around to look back, feeling immense guilt at the way they were still saying such hurtful things to each other.

Jayden grasped me by the shoulders and waited until I met his eyes. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Tori.”

His words almost made me cry. I didn’t believe them, but they were said with kindness. But still, the raised voices came from the other room. “I should go back in there,” I began, though it was the last thing I wanted to do. But they were fighting because of me. Because of my lapse in judgment.

Jayden kept hold of me. “This isn’t your fault.” He sighed, his gaze on the living room before he turned back to me. “Want to go lay on the hammock and look at the stars?”

His offer was an escape route—and it was also support.

“I really, really do.”

20

LUCAS

“Why are we here again?”I asked, standing at the back of the dark pub.

“Because they don’t card.” Jayden handed me three red darts. Likely he wanted me to throw them at the target, not take them back home and stab my stepbrother.

I took a few practice throws. I was a little rusty—but so were the stools lining the bar. “How’d you find this place?” He’d driven us twenty minutes away to Janson Falls, one of many small towns nestled in the hills.

“Tori’s friend Hailey told me about it. This is her hometown.” He took a drink of his beer. My soda was untouched on a table nearby.

I frowned. “When did you meet her?”

“One day when I gave Tori a ride home. They were hanging out while she waited for my class to finish.” I stepped aside as he took aim with a blue dart.

“And you just marched up to this woman you don’t know and demanded she tell you about a weird little pub in her hometown?”

“Basically, yes.” Jayden threw his darts, one after another, with a quick flick of his hand. “That’s what I do.”

That was valid. He was a collector of odd, out-of-the-way places. And it wasn’t bad here. It was Saturday afternoon, so it wasn’t crowded. Just kind of dark and empty. At least I didn’t have to worry about any scenes like the one last night.

Jayden plucked his darts from the board. “Not bad, if I do say so myself.”

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