Page 41 of Reckless Encore

“Hey.” Mason raised his hands. “That’s not a conversation we need to share.”

“Are you for real?” Ethan paled and turned his wide eyes to his father. “You’re bi?”

“Okay, let’s calm down.” Ryan sucked in a deep breath. “We need to—”

“No, I amnotbisexual,” Mason snapped. “I thought he was a woman, so it doesn’t fucking count.”

“What the…” Ethan scrambled to his feet. “You all need to stop talking. This crap is savage as fuck.” He leaned over and grabbed a can of soda from the cooler, then strode for the trail toward the trees.

Chase and Tyler followed.

Sophie remained in place, waiting for the footfalls to fade into the distance before she met her father’s scrutiny. “Now you know why we hate these story sessions.”

“You should’ve told us,” he growled.

“And risk you isolating me from more of the world?” She shook her head. “No, thanks. I already have to bite my tongue whenever I have a problem because I know you’ll lose your mind trying to protect me from the big, bad world.” She waited for him to speak. He didn’t. “I stopped telling you things years ago, Dad. Even before you went crazy trying to keep me away from every boy on Earth.”

“We’ll talk about this later.” Her mother pleaded with her eyes. “Now is not the time.”

Sophie gave a sardonic laugh. “Now is never the time. Not for you, anyway. It’s always about the music and the band. It’s never about what we’re going through and how your lives affect us.”

Her father’s face fell. “That’s not true.”

“Maybe not from your point of view.” She turned and stepped over the log. “But it certainly is from ours.”

Chapter Eleven

Sophie walked down the dark trail, the glow from the moon the only illumination through the thick trees. Halfway down the track, she heard her friends, laughing and cackling like toddlers.

She jogged to reach the edge of the tree line and stepped into the small clearing. They all stood spread out in a semi-circle facing the water, their expressions alight with excitement.

“How brilliant are we?” she asked, stopping beside Chase.

Beth turned to her, swinging her arm out for a high five. “That couldn’t have worked better if we’d tried.”

“You played the heartbroken role so well.” She chuckled. “My poor, sweet Belvedere.”

Ethan skimmed a rock across the water’s surface and spoke over his shoulder. “Did you see the look on their faces? I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack when I told her about the porno.”

Chase smirked. “Did you see the look on yours when I mentioned the drag queen?”

Ethan’s face fell. “I didn’t know that story, you sick fuck.”

Beth snorted. Maya grinned from ear to ear. Everyone exuded happiness. Everyone, except Tyler. Her best friend remained quiet on the far arc of their semi-circle, his profile haunting in its darkened beauty.

“Look what I stashed out here earlier.” Ethan jogged back toward the trees, scrambled through the underbrush, and pulled out a bottle of vodka. “It’s not Belvedere, but it will do.”

“Where did you get that?” Beth rushed toward him.

“The back of my dad’s liquor cabinet.” He took a gulp from the bottle, then handed it over. “It’s been sitting there for years.”

“He’s going to kill you.” Chase snatched the alcohol from his sister and took a long pull. “Damn. That burns.”

“Hey.” Beth shoved her hands to her hips. “It was my turn.”

Sophie ignored the scramble for intoxication and focused on Tyler from the corner of her eye. He’d changed so much over the last two weeks. Not just emotionally, but physically, too. Or maybe the great divide between them made it seem that way.

She missed the way he looked at her. All those years of friendly glimpses and sexy smiles. If he knew how reliant she’d grown on their connection, she was sure he wouldn’t treat her this way.

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