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Jessica just disappeared down the hallway. I’m unnerved, but I try to hide it from Wyatt.
“Yep,” he hums.
“What happened between you all?” I finally give Wyatt my full attention.
He’s still looking at me, brazenly tracing the features of my face. “Zane and Jessica got together in high school. One night, at a party, they got into a fight. And to get his attention, Jess came on to me.”
“And you just couldn’t resist her?” I surmise.
“Have you seen her?” He chuckles. “She’s hot.”
I ignore the way my stomach twists as Wyatt points out the obvious.
And where are Zane and Jessica?
“I was happy to be used by her,” he states.
I frown. “But what about Zane? Aren’t you two supposed to be best friends? How could you do that tohim?”
Wyatt scoffs. “Zane is no victim. He knew I liked Jessica first. But he went after her anyway. So, if anyone was betrayed, it was me.”
I narrow my eyes while trying to assess the sincerity in his statement. I’m not sure I believe his version of events. Wyatt doesn’t seem like the type of guy to sit back and watch idly while someone is taken from him. But still, he plants that little seed of doubt in my mind.
“So … an eye for an eye?”
He meets my stare head-on. “Something like that.” The water swirls around his torso as he shifts, placing an arm along the back of the tub behind me and leaning closer. “Kind of reminds me of you.”
“Me?”
He nods slowly. “Just like Jess back in the day, I liked you first. So, Zane just had to have you.” He observes me as I digest his words. “But I was surprised. I didn’t think you’d fall for his game. I thought you were too smart for it.”
I don’t miss the edge of bitterness in each word.
“Is that what this is?” I ask him. “One big game?” It feels like I’m being manipulated right now.
“Not to me.”
That’s what Zane said. And I suddenly don’t know which one to believe. These are two very opposite sides of the same story. Which one is the truth?
And Zane and Jessica are still missing.
Some movement in the hallway catches my eye. I see Zane moving forward, stopping when a manicured hand grasps his arm. The two of them are in the shadows, but I can see her gesturing as she talks animatedly. Her face is angry but desperate at the same time. Zane speaks, and her face scrunches up even more, but I can’t hear what they are saying over the motor of the hot tub even though the windows are still open.
“How much longer are you here?” Wyatt asks, his voice low and near my ear.
“One more week,” I answer, my eyes still on the arguing forms inside of the house.
“Well, enjoy what time you have left.”
Somehow, I don’t think he means my vacation. He’s talking about Zane and me. He’s telling me to enjoy the snowboarding legend because our time is about to come to an end. We’re temporary. A brief, meaningless love affair. One of those vacation flings you talk about when you’re older.Remember that one time I met the snowboarding king…
And I don’t like the way my stomach drops with that notion.
The water pours from Wyatt’s skin as he stands and steps out of the hot tub. He dries off a few feet away and then pulls on a sweatshirt and sweatpants without glancing back at me. He joins the others at the firepit.
Emptiness and turmoil are swimming inside my chest when Zane steps back onto the deck. He walks behind me, and I bristlewhen his hand lands on my shoulder. He freezes, confusion marring his handsome face.
“What’s wrong?” His voice rolls over my skin.
