Page 74 of Study Buddies

He released a long exhale. “Lucas was everything my father wanted in a son. My dad doesn’t give a shit about sports. He thinks they’re a waste of time. And then he met Cherry—Lucas’s mom—and he got a complete do-over. New wife. New son—the smart kind he always wanted. You should have seen him during Lucas’s valedictorian speech.”

Ouch.

“I’m sorry.” Sorry for him, sorry for the way his father had treated him, and very sorry for asking him about the past instead of letting it be. I patted his leg, and it was a testament to his mood that he didn’t comment on it. “I’m sorry that your dad doesn’t appreciate you for who you are. It’s ironic. Probably ninety percent of American fathers would be thrilled by having the sports star son. I’m sorry that yours isn’t.”

“Just my luck, I guess.” For the first time since I’d met him, he sounded bitter.

“So that’s why you and Lucas didn’t get along? Before… all that other stuff, I mean?”

His head tilted toward mine, but it felt like he wasn’t seeing me. His attention was locked in the past.

“We never liked each other when we met freshman year. It happens, right? There are some people you hit it off with, and other people you just don’t like for one reason or another. Imagine if you met someone you didn’t like and then boom, your parents married, and you had to live with them. It sucked.”

“I can’t even imagine.” I really wanted to take his hand in mine, to give him my support, but for once, he had both of his on the wheel. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, life does sometimes suck. Like when I have a paper due.” He threw me a quick glance at that, but there was no humor in his eyes. “And I think that wasn’t what you really wanted to ask me.”

“I don’t want to anymore.”

“Do it anyway,” he demanded. “Better to get it over with.”

Crap. Why hadn’t I just kept my mouth shut? We could've had a fun, flirty conversation the whole ride home. Or hell, we could be at the batting cages, doing whatever people did there. But here we were. “Did you… sleep with Lucas’s girlfriend?”

Kyle flinched, although he had to have been expecting that. The silence grew uncomfortable. “Do you think I did?”

“I don’t know,” I said softly.

“I guess you do, since you asked me.” His voice was tight.

“I asked because I don’t know, Kyle. As you pointed out, Jayden wasn’t there. And neither was I.” I hated the look on Kyle’s face right now—but I’d seen pain on Lucas’s face, too. “All I know is that Lucas gets so angry he can’t see straight. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen him let emotion overcome that logical brain of his. It’s like you’re the one thing he can’t be rational about.”

“They were in love,” Kyle said simply.

“Did… did you know that back then?”

“Yes.”

“And you still… with her…?”

His face tightened. “That’s how the story goes.”

“But is it the truth?”

“Everyone thinks it is.”

“But is?—”

“It doesn’t matter, Tori. It’s over. The damage is done.”

I’d never heard Kyle’s voice rise above a lazy drawl—until now. I’d never really heard him get emotional before. “I don’t think you could do that,” I said quietly.

He propped his elbow up on the ledge under the window, putting his hand over his eyes as if shielding them from the sun. “You don’t know me very well.”

Yet.That was the word I added in my head. I didn’t know him that well yet. But I wanted to. And then, maybe someday, I’d learn what the truth was. He was right, in some ways. It was over and done. Nothing was going to change the heartache Lucas went through. But on the other hand, it was important. Important to them, and important to me. Because I cared about both of them.

I turned to the window, blinking back the moisture that lined my lashes. “Can we talk about something else?” I asked quietly.

“Be my guest.”

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