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“So you see?” He links his fingers with mine, and our eyes meet. “It really was nothing, which was why I told you nothing had happened between Lily and me because, in my eyes, nothing has. And if I’m being truthfully honest, you were the one to give me my firstrealkiss.”
My heart melts, and the anger I was feeling a moment ago melts right along with it. “I was?”
“Yeah.” He smiles, looking at me with adoration, and my heart melts further. “You were.”
Feeling giddy, I look away with a broad smile but soon remember one other problem we now have, which wipes that smile away in an instant. “Do you think Lily will tell Logan?”
“No, she wouldn’t do that,” he says with confidence, but I’m anything but convinced. “But I will talk to her anyway.”
I nod my head. “So, do you believe me now that she has a crush on you?”
“Well, of course she does. I mean, look at me—” His hand waves over his body. “Who wouldn’t want a piece of this fine specimen?”
I swat his arm. “You’re so full of it.”
He chuckles and wraps his arm around me, planting a kiss on my cheek. “But don’t you worry, my beautiful Flower. This fine specimen is all yours.”
* * *
“Why didyou fight with Hadley, babe?” Lyndsey’s voice cuts through the silence of the car as we drive home. Cadence and Chelsea rode home with Grayson today, and I know it’s because Lyndsey wanted the chance to talk to me alone. We haven’t been spending much time together lately.
With her constantly getting detention and me spending all my time with Mason, I feel like I never see her anymore. And being here with her right now has made me realize just how much I have missed my best friend. I’ve missed talking to her and have definitely felt the absence of her strength. She’s my rock. She always has been.
“Logan told her about my mother.”
“He told her?” she exclaims, looking at me with wide eyes.
“Yep,” I reply popping the p. “He told her everything right down to the bottle of wine she drinks every night. Here I thought he was just a crappy boyfriend, but as it turns out, he wasn’t much of a friend either.”
“Son of a bitch,” she hisses through her teeth.
“I-I don’t want this to hit the gossip pool, Lyns,” I stammer. “I haven’t even told Mason yet.”
“I will take care of it. Don’t you worry about that,” she replies, the assurance in her tone already making me feel at ease. I know she will. Lyndsey has her ways, and no one fucks with her. Ever.
“What is going on with you and Mason?” she asks, and I avert my gaze out the window, not wanting to meet her stare. I know I can confide in her. Out of all my friends, she is one who I know wouldn’t breathe a word of it. But for some reason, I can’t seem to bring myself to confess the truth.
“We are just friends,” I finally answer, and she exhales a breath.
“You’re lying to the wrong person, babe,” she responds with a sharp tone. “We have been best friends for ten years. I know you better than anyone, and I know when you are lying to me. Which brings me to my next question. Why are you lying to me? We always tell each other everything.”
“I know.” I let out a sigh, turning to look at her. “I’m sorry. Everything is just so complicated.”
“So something is going on between you guys then?”
I roll my bottom lip between my teeth and nod my head. “We are sleeping together.”
“Jesus.” She draws out with a heavy sigh. “Do you have any idea what Logan will do when he finds out? And I’m telling you right now, he will find out.”
Anger spikes, causing my back to stiffen. “Well, he has no right to dictate who I spend time with or who I sleep with,” I snap. “I’m sick and fucking tired of him trying to control my life. Who I date is none of his business.”
“And I wholeheartedly agree with you, but what we think doesn’t matter. You could tell him until you are blue in the face to back off and mind his own business, but it’s not going to stop him. He’s not letting go of you, Ava, and there is nothing anyone can do to change that. You know what he is capable of, and he has gone after people for a hell of a lot less than this. When he catches wind of this, not only is all hell going to break loose, but he will go after Mason with everything he has.”
A weight bears down on my chest as the reality of her words sinks in. “What did I ever see in him, Lyns? He’s an asshole, and I can’t even deny that I didn’t know that. I’m starting to question what kind of person I am for staying with him for as long as I did.”
“Well,” she sighs. “He wasn’t always like this, and you know that better than anybody. Maybe your problem is that you were holding on to that boy who he once was. The sweet, funny, and caring boy who everyone loved. The boy who stuck by your side when you lost Blake. But unfortunately, that boy is long gone. He let being captain of the football team and popularity go to his head. Everyone worshiped him, and instead of being humble about it, he let it inflate his ego. He’s been treated like a god, and rather than using that power for the greater good, he chose to abuse it.”
“It’s not just that. His father was a real asshole to him growing up,” I confess, and she glances at me briefly before looking back to the road.
