Page 43 of Beneath the Hood

I grab my bottle and guzzle, the cool water chilling my throat and chest, distracting me from my thoughts. There’s a post-workout high that buzzes through my body, my limbs like Jell-O and my head floating, I focus on those feelings instead of where my brain wants to go.

What Kayla thinks doesn’t matter.

If I say it enough times, maybe I’ll start to believe it.

“You sure you won’t hit the club with me tonight? Final answer?” She sticks out her bottom lip and walks to the corner table, plopping down in the chair, her brunette hair flopping in its bun.

I shake my head, twisting the cap of my bottle closed. “I’m sure.”

“Okay,” she sighs, leaning against the wall and looking around. “Where’s Lennox? Maybe he’ll go since you’re ‘taking the night off.’”

A smile creeps on my face. “I don’t know, probably relaxing until I need him.”

“I bet I could help him relax.” She winks, her brows wiggling dramatically.

Laughing, I toss my sweaty towel in the dirty bin. “You’ve gotta give it up. He’ll never give in.”

She grins. “Giving up isn’t in my DNA.”

“If you say so,” I giggle.

Her phone chirps and she’s momentarily distracted, reading something on her screen. Popping up from the table, she grabs her purse and spins toward me. “Well, you’re in luck. My plans have changed.”

My brows jump. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Gonna go hang out withJacob.”

“Who’s that?”

She waves her hand. “He’s not important yet. I’ll let you know when he is.” She blows me an air kiss. “See ya later, babe.”

I blow out a breath of relief as she saunters out the door, my mind racing with visions of what it would be like if Lennoxdidgo out with her tonight, leaving me truly by myself for the first time in my life.

Solitude is yet another thing that’s only an illusion in my world.

It’s never bothered me before. When you’re used to living a certain way, you become accustomed to it, never questioning the things you may be missing.

But for the first time, there’s a reason for me to hate the shadows that linger at my back. A reason for me to wish I wasn’t rich. Wasn’t well known.

And that reason is Jackson Rhoades.

22

Jackson

Idon’t know why I answer when she calls.

But like an addict desperate for a fix, whenSweetheartflashes on the screen, I relapse. I tell myself it’s because I don’t want her to keep calling. The last thing I need is for her to interrupt my time with Blakely.Again.

Maybe I’m just weak. Maybe I wanted to see if she’d affect me the same, even when I’ve been getting so lost in someone else.

Turns out, she does.

Her voice sinks into my brain and filters down to my heart, squeezing around the bruises she caused.

“Things aren’tgreat, you know? But every day they’re gettin’ better,” Lee says. “I just... it’s not the same without you.”

“Hmm,” I hum my response, my dad’s dog tags cool against my skin as I slip them beneath my shirt.

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