"Thanks, but if I'm dorky now, I was worse back then."
He smiled. "Perm? Glasses? Braces?"
"Two out of three."
"Which ones?"
"Like I'd tell you." Having the hot guy trying to imagine me with a perm and braces wasn't how I wanted to end tonight.
"I'll find out."
"Like hell." I bumped him with my hip again and he bumped back, the gesture soft and teasing and perfect for the way we were in sync tonight. "What about you? Did you have a mullet and wear acid washed jeans?"
"I'm not that old," he said, the previous warmth in his tone replaced by a deliberate coolness that saddened me.
We had a physical connection, a great one. But the sooner I figured out that didn't equate to anything more, the better off I'd be.
I shouldn't push him, should retreat back to banter. But I wanted to know more about Kye. Wanted to know everything.
Because while I could logically pass this off as a physical fling, emotionally I was already craving answers to so many questions.
"Or were you one of those tennis jocks, too cool for school?"
His lips compressed and his expression tightened, before he released a reluctant breath. "I was a loner. Learned it was easier to keep away from people than face the consequences."
From what he'd already told me about his mom, I could guess what he'd been through. "You were teased and got into a lot of fights?"
He nodded, his somberness making me want to hug him and make it all better. "Guys were jerks. Always making lewd comments about Mum. Trying to use me to get into the strip club underage." He gripped my hand so tight I wiggled my fingers and he immediately eased off the pressure. "Sorry."
"Don't be. I get how mad that stuff must've made you."
"You have no idea." His icy tone made me want to rub my bare arms.
Wishing I'd never started digging, I tried to alleviate the mood. "At the risk of sounding like an ignorant American cliché, was your go-to place the Sydney Opera House?"
The corners of his mouth twitched. "Is that the only Sydney landmark you know?"
I placed a hand over my heart. "Guilty as charged."
His eyes glazed over for a moment, as if he was deep in thought. "My go-to place was Rushcutters Bay. I liked the calm of the water after the hustle bustle of the Cross."
Glad he was finally opening up, I risked pushing him further. "What's the Cross like?"
"Chaotic. Sleazy. Dangerous."
A little shiver ran up my spine at his audible bleakness. "I grew up there, and Mum was known as a local, so I was usually safe."
He shook his head, his faraway gaze fixed on the end of the pier. "But I saw too many kids arrive at the Cross looking for adventure and a good time, kids who ended up druggies or hookers or dead."
A lump formed in my throat. "Was tennis your go-to place too?"
His head snapped up and he fixed me with a startled stare. "How the fuck do you know me so well when we barely know each other?"
"I-I … care about you," I said, sounding lame but meaning it and terrified he'd clam up more now than he had before. "I think we click with some people in this world and time's irrelevant."
I expected him to scoff so when he took my other hand and squeezed both before looking into my eyes, I melted a little.
"We click, huh?"
"Absolutely." I nodded, sounding way more emphatic than I felt.
Truth was, I wanted to click with Kye so badly I could taste it. The burning question was, did he want to click with me?
"I don't click with many people in this world," he said, dropping a light kiss on the tip of my nose. "But if I had to click with anyone, it'd be someone just like you."
I wanted to kiss him and hug him and not let go.
I settled for a goofy grin. "Want to grab a hot dog?"
"Nah, let's head back."
And just like that, my fantasy bubble burst.
Kye blew hot and cold. I knew that.
Why did I have to fall for a guy who'd shut me out as soon as he let me in?
Chapter 13
KYE
I was in deep shit.
Worse than the time I'd been surrounded by a gang of bullies near the fountain at the Cross. Worse than the time I'd been busted by Mum peeping at the girls getting dressed when I was thirteen. Worse than the time Dad had been called to the Academy after I'd busted that dickhead's nose and he'd stared at me with disappointment and pity.
Yep, hanging with Mia, holding her hand, sharing snippets of our past, was way worse than any of those other times. Because this time, I didn't want to get away.
I wanted to do this forever, sharing hot dogs on Santa Monica Pier, pretending like we were just another couple. But we weren't. We couldn't be. Not when my future depended on staying away from her.