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“So now you’re stuck with your father.”
She swung her head around, hearing the derision in his voice.
“My dad’s not usually like . . . like he was with you. He’s going through a lot. My mom was a bitch to him, too, but I don’t think he ever thought she’d cheat on him. She always blamed him for the fire. She wanted him to quit his job and he’d counter that she loved spending the money. She was the one who put Simon in a private school, saying it was better for him, but I finally figured out that he was just one more imperfection she was trying to hide . . .”
Gabriel reached out and ran a finger along her cheekbone, and she didn’t realize until then that she was crying. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know.”
“No one does.” She sniffed. “Until now, and Taylor’s going to put that stupid video all over the Internet.”
“It’s Friday night. People will forget all about it by Monday.”
He paused, running a finger across her cheek again. “And I’ll be surprised if people even believe it’s you.”
She looked up at him. “You will? Why?”
He picked up a curl of hair from her shoulder. “Because you haven’t just been keeping the scars hidden; you’ve been keeping sexy Layne hidden.”
“I am not sexy.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t jump you when we were sitting on the tailgate.”
“Shut up.”
His hand found her knee, and he leaned in to kiss her neck.
“Really, you’re lucky I’m not jumping you right now.”
His hand slid along the outside of her thigh, not too high, just inside the hemline of her skirt. The touch stole every thought from her head. “And you’re not . . . you’re not freaked out . . .
by the . . . um . . .”
“No. I think you’re beautiful. And I’m no stranger to f**ked up families.”
And then he was kissing her again. The addictive pull of his mouth almost had her crawling into his lap. Her hands bunched in his shirt, pulling him closer. His fingers didn’t venture higher, but teased along the edge of her skirt, brushing against her so lightly that she almost couldn’t stand it. She’d never thought anyone would touch her this way she’d never wanted anyone to touch her this way. But now that he was being so careful, the building heat in her body made her want to rip all her clothes off.
Layne always rolled her eyes in health class when they talked about hormones getting out of control. But right now, she could barely remember her name. She totally got how someone could forget something like a silly little condom.
Suddenly Gabriel was laughing. “How someone could forget what?”
She almost fell off the bench. “I said that out loud?”
“Yeah.” He leaned closer, his breath against her jaw. “Just what were you thinking about?”
“Health class,” she squeaked.
His cell phone chimed. Thank god.
Gabriel sat back to fish it out of his pocket. It threw light on his face, but she couldn’t figure out his expression.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
He shook his head. “Nothing.” He held up the phone so she could read the text. “Nick wants to make sure you’re all right.”
She read the screen.
All OK w the girl?
She took it out of his hands, oddly touched. “But he doesn’t even know me.”
