Neverbefore had I faced penance for my fondness for casual sex. I wasn’t a completebastard,no means noand all that. I enjoyed sex with women who enjoyedit as much as I did. A mutual understanding to enjoy each other without anystrings attached. But now, I sat across from a consequence—a proverbial string—ofall those one-night stands. Their faces had all faded from my memory, includinghers, but this kid’s face was my own. It was a sudden and bitter reminder of anight I had long forgotten.
“Notreally,” I replied hoarsely.
Withthose two little words, Greyson pushed away from the table and stood up. Hewalked to the door and left the building. I managed to keep my cool,straight-faced façade, with only my thundering heart giving away my persistentnerves.
Tabbyturned abruptly, staring at me with earnest disgust. “You couldn’t evenlie?”
“Oh,yeah, you know, you’re right,” I pinched my brows and nodded thoughtfully. “Ishould’ve told him that his mom and I were madly in love with each other andthat I’ve dreamt of her every night since we—”
“Okay,”she growled under her breath, gripping the edge of the table. “I get it. Butyou didn’t have to answer himat all.”
“Maybenot,” I agreed, shifting my gaze from the empty seat to her face. “But here’sthe thing, Tabby; I spent a very long time wishing he was alive so that I couldtalk to him, period. So, if I have the chance to answer one of his questions,as shitty as the answer might be, I’m going to, and I’m gonna do it honestly.”
Herfeatures loosened as she laid her palms on the table. Her stare was fixed on thewindow, and I turned to peer over my shoulder, to see Greyson standing with hisback against the glass.
“Hepunched a kid in school today,” Tabby admitted, her tone tight and constricted.
“Why?”I asked, looking back to her with a raised brow.
“Thenight Sam died, she was driving home drunk from this other kid’s house aftersleeping with his father. The kid called Sam a whore.” She bit her upper lip, scrapinga bit of her lipstick away. “Greyson got himself a week of in-schoolsuspension.”
Thatlittle bastard.
Somethingprimal whispered from deep within me. Something that only spoke for my parentsor sisters, until now. I clenched my fists on the table, not caring that Tabbycould see my blanched knuckles.
“What’dthey do to the little shit who said it?”
Tabbyshrugged a shoulder, pressing her lips together. “Nothing, I’m guessing. Ididn’t go inside to ask.” Her throat bobbed with her swallow as shestraightened her slumped shoulders and lifted her chin. “Now you see, though.You see how much he’s struggling.”
Inodded, unrolling my fists and tapping my fingers against the table. “I do.”
Smoothingher top over her stomach, she looked to her hands and away from me. “Maybe youcould …” She swallowed again, mustering her courage. “Maybe you could talk tohim. Convince him to come inside and eat, and then we’ll see what happens fromthere.”
Withanother glance over my shoulder, I watched the shudder of his shoulders. Thekid was crying, just as she said he did. The cracks in his tough disguise werehuge, even if he didn’t think so with his bold choice of words, and I saw inhim someone who was even more alone than me in an empty house.
“Yeah,”I nodded. “I’ll try.”
Justto see what happens.
9
sebastian
“You know,I gotta say,” I muttered,stepping outside and squinting up at the sun. “This town fucking blows.”
Greysonturned briefly, only to look at my shoes, and then looked back at the sidewalkbeneath his feet. I figured any acknowledgement was better than none at all, soI stood beside him, my back pressed to the window.
“Igrew up in a shitty little town like this a few hours away from here,” Icontinued, revisiting my small-town childhood for his sake. “Reputations take along time to die in towns like that. Even now, when I go back to visit my parents,everyone that recognizes me talks about the stupid shit I used to do when I wasa kid.” I bumped my shoulder against his. “That’s why I changed my name fromMorrison to Moore. Well, okay, not really, but still. Itwould’vebeen agood reason.”
“Ireally don’t care about where you grew up,” Greyson grumbled, shooting me witha sideways sneer.
“Hey,well now, there’s something we have in common already.”
“Whatever,”he muttered. “You don’t have to do this shit, you know.”
“Whatshit?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Bondwith me, or whatever you’re trying to do,” he snickered, lifting his head and stabbingme with his steely glare.
