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“I hope not,” he said, opening the door to the hall and holding it for me. “You good for the wide circuit?”
“Six miles?”
He nodded.
“I can do six miles.” My blood was already pumping. “Can you keep up?”
“Try to lose me,” he murmured as I passed him.
It was my turn to chuckle, but once we were in the hall I glanced at the door to Aubrey’s suite where I presumed Payton was hiding out.
Lachlan didn’t say anything until we were on the ground floor and pausing to put on our face masks and hats. I had neoprene; he had a green gaiter that matched his eyes.
“What you saw yesterday…”
“Was none of my business,” I told him firmly.
“Ace…”
“I mean it, Lachlan, I don’t want to know what you two were doing or—not doing. Just…”
“Payton is the past,” he said firmly. “I didn’t invite her there or let her in. She showed up; I showed her the door.”
I met his gaze, and he was so damn serious.
“She was naked.”
“I know, I was asleep and she woke me up like that.”
Wait… what? “That’s…invasive.”
“Do you believe me?” He didn’t look away once, I swore he bored right into my soul.
“Does it matter?” I challenged him.
“It matters, Ace.”
I pushed the door open and walking out into the dark with the cold wind hitting knocked the rest of the sleep away from my brain.
“Okay.”
He followed me as I set out for the trail. “Okay? That’s it?”
“You told me. I know. Do I believe you?” I shrugged. “It seems important to you…so I’ll accept your version of events. Fuck knows I’m not asking for hers.”
I held out my second earbud to him before I raised my phone. “Requests?”
“Whatever you want, Ace. I’m in.”
Twenty-Nine
JONAS
The spring term started on Monday, and I got back in on Saturday. I actually spent the last five days of break with my dad rather than stick around Tahoe. Gibs had been too locked into his music, and struggling. That was kind of painful to watch.
Mom was so angry with all three of us. I assumed it was all three, I just dipped whenever her temper spiked. I couldn’t deal with her disappointment or her rancor. So, I found other places to be until my planned trip to see Dad. I almost felt bad for leaving Ramsey behind, but he told me not to worry when he took me to the airport.
“You sure?” I couldn’t help the skepticism. He didn’t like confrontation any more than I did. While I could, and would, just walk away, he would stand there and take it.
