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“Who did you spend it with?”
“Seth.”
She tsks. “Just the two of you?”
“And Manon.”
“Did she cook?” Dakota’s eyes brighten. “With a French mom, I bet she has some skills in the kitchen.”
I shrug. “She did.”
Dakota is staring at me, as if waiting for more. No clue what she’s expecting from me. I stare right back.
She finally laughs and rolls her eyes. “Zane said you don’t talk much
. I didn’t realize how literally he meant it.”
Yeah, well.
I’ve known Dakota for more than a year now, ever since Zane and she got together. She’s nice, but we never really talked before, so I wonder why the sudden interest. I also wonder if that was all or she has more to say.
Turns out she does.
“You’re friends with Cassie. Cassie Reyes.”
Oh, right. That. “Not really.”
She cocks her head to the side, her wild dark hair with the pink streaks standing up at odd angles. “I saw you playing pool a few days ago, in Halo.”
“Yeah. We did.”
“Seriously? That’s all you got to say?”
What does she want me so say? It’s the truth.
I glance longingly toward the lockers, needing to get my ass outta here. Cassie… Not a topic I wanna touch. We don’t talk. We just shoot pool and have beers if she shows up at Halo. With everyone else ignoring her, I’m her only option. And I feel… at ease with her.
Maybe it’s because right now she’s as much an outsider as I am, after the mess she whipped up when she kissed Jesse at Asher’s wedding.
Or maybe it’s because I know she doesn’t want me. She wants just about any guy who’s willing, but not me. So it’s safe. Probably some sixth sense is keeping her away from me, which is good. For her, I mean.
As for me, I want her so much I sometimes think I’ll die from wanting, but that’s irrelevant.
Because I can’t ever have her. I can’t have any girl, much less a girl who needs to get physical at any chance. My heart accelerates and my fists clench when I think of her kissing Jesse—or anyone else, for that matter.
Wish it could be me, even though I know that won’t happen.
“Shane.” Dakota is giving me a strange look. “Did you hear me?”
Oh fuck. Spacing out again. “What?”
“I said, Manon came to talk to me about Cassie. Said Cassie swears she didn’t mean to hurt anyone. That it was a misunderstanding.”
I blink down at Dakota. She’s shorter than Cassie and favors combat boots instead of the high heels Cassie likes.
Stop thinking about Cassie.
“A misunderstanding,” I say blankly. What does it mean?
