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“Peyton?” Jason asked.
“We’re just friends.”
“Friends,” he murmured, his eyes looking to the sky as if he was asking for some kind of divine intervention. When he looked at us again, he said, “I thought I’d seen it all… done it all, but here I am with three teenage girls under my roof. Remember your curfew,” he added, before taking off toward his truck.
“And Kaiden?” Jason glanced back at the last second.
“Yes, Coach?”
“If I catch you sneaking out of my daughter’s room one more time, I’ll string you up by your balls on the football field. Got it?”
“Got it, Coach.” Kaiden swallowed hard.
Lily’s eyes bugged out as she slapped a hand over her mouth.
“You okay there?” he whispered against her hair.
“He… he knows.”
“He’s Jason Ford. Of course he knows,” Gav chuckled.
“B-but… oh my God.”
“Relax,” Kaiden said. “He’s cool.”
“Cool about us… about me… oh God.”
Even I smiled at Lily’s freak out. “Kaiden’s right, babe. Your dad is the coolest. If he cared that much, he’d put bars on your windows and a lock on your door.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“So what are we doing?” Bryan changed the subject. “Or are you two… ya know.” His brows waggled.
“Asshole.” Kaiden punched him in the arm. “I told Aaron we’d go hang out at his house.”
“Sounds good to me, let’s roll.”
“Peyton, you coming?” Lily asked, and I glanced between her and Bryan. It wasn’t like she and Kaiden would make me feel unwelcome if I rode with them but playing third wheel wasn’t exactly my idea of fun. Especially not right now.
“I’ll ride with Bryan and Gav.”
“You’re sure?” Concern glittered in her eyes.
“Yeah. See you there.”
* * *
The Bennet twinslived in a house not all too dissimilar to Bryan’s, minus the indoor swimming pool and home theater. It was a beautiful place overlooking the river, and Mr. Bennet, one of Lily’s dad’s best friends had given his son Aaron free reign of the garden shed, letting him and his friends turn it into a hangout. There was a huge sectional facing a flatscreen, a pool table, and even a makeshift bar area. It was where we usually hung out since Lily’s sister Poppy was best friends with Aaron’s sister Sofia.
I liked it here, but I never truly felt one hundred percent comfortable seeing as Aaron and Sofia’s mom—Mya Bennet—was the guidance counselor at Rixon High, the one person who probably knew more about me than I was ever willing to tell.
“Leigh, you’re up,” Aaron called, holding out the cue for her. Ashleigh regularly kicked the guys’ ass at pool, and usually I enjoyed watching, enjoyed teasing them about it.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I wanted to be anywhere but here.
“You need a drink? Snacks?” Bryan asked from beside me. He’d sat there nearly all night, like a sentinel watching over me. It was as sweet as it was suffocating. But I didn’t have the heart—or energy—to tell him I needed space.
