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“You’re fucking scary, girl. At least I know you always have my back. Zoe, you really are the best friend I’ve ever had. Thank you for being there for me. I love you tons.”
Zoe choked up briefly, then flashed me a smile. “Yeah, you’re my fave as well, and I love ya, too.”
I leaned over and hugged her before I grabbed a spoon from the coffee table and plunged it into the creamy goodness. “It’s thawed enough.” I handed her a utensil, then placed the container between us. I’d forgotten how much I missed Zoe and the simple things we shared. No pressure to be perfect or live up to our family names. Just us, no judgment, and complete transparency. That’s what a real best friend was.
“So, do you think the mafia would pay me to torture people for them? Hell, I would probably become rich in my own right.” She snickered.
“You would probably make damn good money.” I laughed, relieved that we were moving away from discussing the assault. Granted, it was a strange conversation, but it didn’t matter. The weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and Zoe was in the know about what had gone down.
Zoe scooped some Chubby Hubby from the container, then shoved it into her mouth. “Fuck, that’s cold.” She squinted and shuddered. Zoe was funny to watch when she got brain freeze.
“All right, fill me in on the good stuff.” Her attentive gaze landed on me. “When did you and Cole fuck?”
I hated my fair skin. Heat traveled up my neck and fanned across my cheeks, revealing the truth to her.
Zoe nearly squealed. “Oh, hell! He’s that good?”
“It’s only been once, but so far … the best I’ve had. He definitely knows some hip moves.” I giggled, still mentally pinching myself that I’d just had sex with my step … with Cole.
“How are you going to tell your dad?” Zoe wiggled in her seat, clearly excited about the turn of events.
“They knew Cole had feelings for me before I did.” I continued to explain the conversation with Daddy and Julia, the artwork on his motorcycle, and the similar tattoo of me on his back.
“Holy shit, that’s so fucking hot. So, he’s been into you for at least two years, and you didn’t have a clue? I mean, come on, Shae, not even an inkling?”
“Not really. I simply thought he couldn’t stand me and loved making me absolutely miserable. Squashing my dating life, getting pissed when he saw me with Ibrahim and Matt, David … I just figured he was the kind of guy that got off on other people’s misery.”
“Well, there are people like that, but I’m pretty sure everyone else saw more.” Zoe took another bite of the ice cream.
Somehow, we’d eaten over half of the pint already. “There’s something else about Cole, though.” I played with the hem of my Halsey concert T-shirt Julia had packed for me.
“What is it?” Zoe stared at me, her spoon hanging in mid-air while she waited for me to answer.
ChapterTwenty
“Ithink something horrible happened to him when he was younger.”
Zoe motioned for me to continue.
“When Julia and Daddy strongly implied that they knew how Cole felt about me, Julia said she’d urged him to tell me about his past.”
“Oh, that’s juicy.” Zoe reached for the lid and placed it on the empty container. “Did she say anything else?”
“No. That was it, but today when we’d finished messing around, I felt some scars on his back. I’d never noticed before because of his tattoos, but I think the tats are there to cover up the marks.”
Zoe’s forehead creased as she tapped her finger on her chin. “It could be anything, but he’s always been super tight-lipped, ya know?”
“Yeah, he has. All I know is that Julia and Cole moved here from Hayden, Idaho. She and Daddy met through mutual friends, so it’s not like I was able to learn a lot about them. I mean, it’s only an hour to Idaho, but I don’t know anyone outside the Coeur d’Alene area. And honestly, I was so upset with Daddy for remarrying that I didn’t give a fuck about Cole and Julia.”
Zoe reached over and squeezed my knee. “The stepmom bit was hard to digest after you lost your mom. At least she’s not a blazing bitch on wheels. She actually seems pretty cool, right?”
“I think so. She was sweet after the video got blasted.” I groaned. “I was so humiliated.”
Zoe tucked her hair behind her ear, a wide grin playing across her lips. “Girl, we all thought your social life was over unless a guy was only after your holes.”
I snickered at her terminology and smacked her on her arm.
Her expression grew serious. “Sorry, that was probably uncalled for after what Ibrahim did to you.”
