Page 43 of Reckless Encore

“I acted as if it didn’t mean anything. That I wasn’t falling for my best friend. We both pretended it never really happened. Then he started dating Megan Ackerman, and the same problem occurred. He’d never done anything but kiss, so we started experimenting with other things.”

“Seriously? How did I not know this?”

“We didn’t tell anyone.” Sophie sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “He let me see him naked, and I returned the favor. Looking turned into touching. We got to second base and kinda placed a tentative foot on third. But he didn’t want to think of himself as cheating on Megan, and I couldn’t stand the thought of him thinking about his girlfriend while we were together.”

The jealousy had tormented her, eating away at her insides, pulling at her heart.

“Hey.” Ethan came to stand at her feet. “Are you two drinking?” He dangled the bottle in front of her. “Hurry up or you’ll miss out.”

She stared at the clear liquid, contemplating its numbing effects. “Yeah. Hand it over.” She grabbed the bottle, took a long pull and fought not to cough as she handed it to Chase.

He drank. One small sip, followed by another.

“What are you two up to over here anyway?” Ethan scrutinized her. “You telling secrets?”

“Yep.” She nodded. “Just sharing more stories about your dad getting sucked off by a member of the same sex.”

“Fuck you.” He snatched the vodka and stormed toward the water.

Chase chuckled, but his humor quickly faded. “Are you going to continue with the story?”

Her insides churned. She didn’t like reliving the fading memories.

“Come on.” He leaned into her, nudging her shoulder. “Spilling will make you feel better.”

Doubtful. Very doubtful. But she would give it a try. “After each experiment, we always went back to normal. He never acted like it changed anything between us. So, I kept pretending I didn’t love him… up until a month ago.”

“What happened?” Chase stared at her, the potency of his gaze making her heart heavy.

“I told him.” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat to fight the emotion threatening to overwhelm her. So much had changed. Too much. “I told him everything. I confessed all my secrets and explained what it felt like to be touched by him. And how I fell asleep each night thinking about him.”

“What did he say?” Chase leaned forward onto his knees and drew her gaze.

“He told me he felt the same.” She smiled. She could still hear the words, could still see his face.

“And then?”

She sagged under the weight of disappointment. “To sum it up, two weeks ago we went further than before… like, all the way. And it didn’t work out.”

“You had sex?”

She glared at him. “Keep your voice down.”

She chanced a glance at Tyler, and sure enough, he glowered at her, his feral stare announcing he knew exactly what they spoke about as the liquor bottle hung idly in his hand.

Great. Just what she needed—more of his disdain.

“So, you had sex with him?” Chase whispered.

She opened her mouth to respond when the snap of a twig sounded behind her. Her stomach dropped. Her heart shot to her throat.

Chase peered over his shoulder, then rushed to his feet. The horrified look on his face said it all. She didn’t need to turn to see who had eavesdropped on their private conversation. The list of adults morally capable of spying only held one name.

“Who did you sleep with?” her father snarled.

Her throat burned. Her eyes, too.

She was dead, about to be crucified, at the age of seventeen.

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