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I frowned at that. “How did your mother see me?”
“With her eyes?” she retorted with a half-smile. Then, she explained, “She works here. Didn’t any of us tell you’d she’d retrained? She’s one of the counselors.”
“No,” I admitted. “I didn’t know that. Good for her.”
Lauren’s smile was tight. “Yeah. Great for her.”
I sighed, seeing and hating her concern. “He told me a lot of bullshit.”
She frowned then hesitantly asked, “About me?”
I nodded. “I didn’t believe a word of it.”
“Then why do you look so angry?”
The quaver in her voice had me reaching for her hand and squeezing it. “Because I want to kick the shit out of him but violence solves nothing.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re angry because you think he’s…”
“I think he’s a bastard,” I snapped. “He’s spreading bullshit lies about you because he’s a jerk. I want to smash his face in for even daring to try.”
She gnawed at her bottom lip. “You only believe me because you knew I was a virgin.”
I snorted at that, then seeing I’d offended her, sighed. “Maybe that helps. How can it not? I know for a fact what he was telling me was utter bullshit, aimed at you and meant to hurt you by damaging our relationship, Lauren. That’s not right.
“But more than that, he was making out that you weren’t good enough for me and that I shouldn’t be with you because you’d fucked around.” I shrugged. “I honestly wouldn’t care so long as you’d wrapped that shit up. But he was making that crap out when I know for a fact he had a couple of STD health scares that Coach Edel got involved in.”
Her eyes widened. “Ewww. That’s gross.” She shuddered, then winced a little. “I kissed him.”
Though rage flew through me, I couldn’t be angry at every guy she’d kissed in the past. A past that had been absent of me through no fault of hers. “Really?” I asked, my voice like gravel.
She nodded, and the bruised look faded to be replaced with a blank expression as she turned to watch the football players. “I got drunk one night, about five months after you left. I was too drunk, but Jed came up to me and I was just so messed up in the head that I kissed him. I wanted to see if I could feel what everyone else felt for him. He was one guy I should have felt attracted to, but I didn’t. I couldn’t kiss him and carry on. He wasn’t who I needed. He wasn’t you.”
“You mean the jerk’s been holding a grudge all these years?” I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. But then, rage overtook my irritation. “The bastard. I really wish I’d pounded his face in.”
She reached for one of my clenched fists. “No. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble over nothing. It doesn’t matter, Coop. None of that crap matters.”
I shook my head. “I know it doesn’t matter. I’m just angry on your behalf.” I gritted my teeth when a sudden thought came to me. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No. He didn’t try to force me. And you know that.”
“There are other ways for him to make himself a… nuisance.” I settled on the word because it was easier to say that than say sex pest—I didn’t want to trigger anything with her.
I knew she’d had issues with a teacher before, and now Jed? Christ, it was lucky she wasn’t more messed up where sex was concerned.
I ran a hand over my face as relief cascaded through me when she shook her head. “No. He just tried to make things uncomfortable for me. That’s all.”
“That’s too much,” I growled, and she smiled.
“I like this growly, protective side of you. It’s hot.”
I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling. “I’m happy to be of service.”
She grinned, then tucked her arm through mine, linking the pair of us as we stared out at the chilly autumnal day.
I let out a deep sigh. Trying to wash the negative energy that had spilled into me after my encounter with Jed. None of that mattered. Not now I was with Lauren.
She seemed to agree because her head tilted to the side and she relaxed into me.
