I frowned, not wanting Trip to know how his parents acted toward me the first time I met them.
“If you don’t tell me I’ll call them. Actually, I’ll call Harley. She’ll tell me.”
“Fine. Your dad really loves you.”
“And?”
“Well, when he found out you were hanging out with one of your players he was upset. He was afraid with me being around, you were making bad choices. He only wants the best for you, Trip.” I placed my hand on his shoulder when I saw his jaw tense up.
“He shouldn’t have said anything to you. You’re my friend and if I want you around, I’ll have you around.”
“He made a good point. Man, you two are so alike. Look at the extreme you went to protect me by pretending you’re dating Robin. He was doing the same thing; he’s protecting someone he loves. I mean, not that you love me,” I added, feeling my cheeks burn from the blood rushing into them.
“McKenna—” Trip’s voice was soft, his southern accent sounding like a dream.
I cut him off, not wanting to know what he was going to confess. “Your parents invited me to lunch to apologize. Your sister corrected their assumption that Gwen was the one helping you turn your reputation around. Harley made it seem like it was me and they wanted to thank me. I corrected them and told them it had nothing to do with me and it was all you. After we ate and they told me embarrassing stories about you when you were a kid.”
Trip groaned but then his face turned serious. “McKenna, it is you who has helped me turn my life around. Being friends with you has made me want to be a better person. The tabloids were right, you know. I was running from a very enraged husband when I got into my car accident.”
“Trip, you don’t have to tell me. And I may be helping you along the way, but I don’t want you to pin your change on me. I never want you to resent me. At no point in our friendship do I want your change turned back on me, where you tell me the only reason you’re the way you are is because of me. I refuse to take the responsibility.”
“That will never happen. But can’t you see, that’s the same reason I’m dating Robin? I never want you to resent me for getting you kicked off the team, or messing with your graduation dreams, or anything else. You’re still so young and have so much to look forward to.”
“Well, I don’t want you to resent me for this Robin façade either.”
Trip smiled and traced his calloused finger over my jaw.
“I’m not going to resent you, McKenna. You’ve changed my life for the good.”
I opened my mouth, and he put his finger on it to stop my words.
“I wanted you to know about Robin because I refuse to let some miscommunication get in the middle of us. There are things we need to talk about, but those will have to wait until you have lived your life to the fullest.”
“Like what?” I asked around his finger.
“You’ll see, Raine. Just trust me.”
I gazed on his perfectly shadowed face, as more heat simmered throughout my system. A tiny bit of hope that maybe Trip had feelings for me that weren’t friendship surfaced, but I tamped them down. We were friends. He mentioned the word many times. I just needed to accept it and stop buying into my stupid fantasies.
“No more talking tonight. Go get your phone so we can listen to the rest of the book.” Trip winked and my breath caught.
With clumsy limbs I got off the bed and grabbed my earphones. Trip took one and I took the other. We fell asleep side by side, immersed in a fictional world where magic was real.
