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“I’m serious. Sage. Have you ever looked him up online?”
“Yes, but too many people have his name so I gave up trying to find which one was him.”
“I didn’t. I went through all of them, and not a single one matched up with a writer from California.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. Kyle is a private person. He’s not someone who puts all his information out on the internet. He doesn’t even have any social media accounts.”
“You don’t think that’s strange? Everyone our age has that shit. The only people who don’t are the ones who are trying to hide something.”
“Like what?” I look back at Jesse. “What exactly would Kyle be hiding?”
“Who the fuck knows? But if I were you, I’d find out. This guy could be dangerous. He could be playing you. And when he’s done with you, who knows what’ll happen? You really want to put yourself at risk for this guy?”
“I’m not putting myself at risk. We’re dating, not getting married. This isn’t serious.”
“Sure seems serious when you’re spending every night at his house.”
“How do you know that? Are you spying on me?”
“Seriously? Like you don’t know by now that everyone around here knows everyone else’s business?”
I look back at my computer. “I’m done talking about this. It’s my break and I’m not going to spend it arguing with you.”
“If this guy really likes you like you claim he does, he shouldn’t be hiding shit from you. Other people? Yeah, fine. But his girlfriend? That’s fucked up. It means he doesn’t trust you enough to tell you. Is that really the type of guy you want to be with?”
I don’t answer. I turn my back to him and look at my phone. When I turn back, he’s gone.
As much as I hate to admit it, Jesse’s right. Kyle shouldn’t be hiding things from me. We’ve been dating for a month. We spend every night together. By now, he should be able to answer my questions but he won’t. If I ask, he gets moody and quiet, so I just stopped asking. But it’s not right. It’s not right for him to be this secretive with me.
CHAPTERTWENTY
KYLE
Sage talkedme into going to this dinner but I shouldn’t have let her. Having dinner with a cop is one of the worst things I could do. What if my father filed a missing persons report? It’d be in the system. Any cop, anywhere, could see it. If Josh saw it and recognized me, he’d alert my father and I’d have to go on the run again, or they’d find me before I could and I’d be dead.
“They’re late,” I say, shoving my keys in my pocket.
We’re sitting in a booth at the local pizza place. There are only five restaurants in town and this one has the fastest service.
“They’re only two minutes late. It’s not a big deal.” Sage scoots away from me, just a few inches, but enough to let me know she’s pissed.
I’m pissed too. I told her I didn’t want to be here but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’m also pissed at Nina. The girl is so damn pushy. She’s always making Sage do things and Sage always just goes along with it.
It’s not our job to babysit Nina and Josh. They have a fucked-up relationship that can’t be fixed by anyone but themselves. If their constant arguing leads to screwing, then I say just go with it. If that’s their biggest problem, then good for them. It’s not like Sage and me, where I’m living a fake life every damn day, lying to the girl I love.
That’s right. I love her. Which makes this whole situation even worse. I haven’t told her I love her but I think she knows. Girls know this stuff. Us guys take longer to figure it out. Like with Sage? I have no freaking clue if she loves me. Given how she’s acting right now, I’d say it’s a definite no, but beneath her anger it’s possible she loves me. And that too is a problem, because it means I’ll break her heart when I leave. But mine will be broken too.
The door swings open and Nina walks in with Josh right behind her.
“Sorry we’re late.” Nina slides into the booth across from Sage. “Hey, Kyle.”
“Hey, Nina.”
Nina still doesn’t like me. She pretends she does for Sage’s sake but she really doesn’t. She told me that when she came to dinner at my house. I was trying to win her over but it didn’t work. She says she doesn’t trust me. She has good instincts, I’ll give her that. She knows I’m not being truthful, but since she can’t prove it, she puts up with me.
Josh sits across from me. “Good to see you again.”
“You too.” It’s such a lie. I’m already nervous having him here. He’s doing that staring thing he did the night of the fundraiser, as if he can stare the truth out of me.
