She took a deep breath before blurting out, "I thought we had something beyond sex."
I wanted to say 'we did’. I wanted to say a lot of things. But none of them would make this any easier on either of us.
"You said fuck. Wow, you've been misinterpreting our time together a lot," I said, sounding deliberately flippant, and I saw the exact moment the sadness in her eyes morphed to anger.
"Want to hear it again?" She leaned in close and I braced against the relentless urge to haul her into my arms and bury my nose in her divine smelling hair. "Fuck you, Kye. I hope your self-delusions keep you warm at night."
With that, she stalked away, all long, tanned legs and indignation.
I wanted to run after her.
I wanted to tell her everything.
Instead, with my heart as leaden as my legs, I picked up my bag, hoisted it over my shoulder, and waited until she'd disappeared into the clubhouse before heading for the showers.
Chapter 17
MIA
"So what's with you and the boy from Oz?" Dani gestured toward the clubhouse bar where a group of jocks were gathered. "Summer fling over?"
"Something like that." I took a swig from my beer, my gaze fixed on Kye.
If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under.
"Pity," Dani said, downing half her Margarita in a gulp. "He's hot."
Didn't I know it.
I also knew that Kye Sheldon was an arrogant, lying prick.
He thought I was an idiot who'd buy into his whole push-me-away act. Dumbass. But I was done trying to approach him. He'd made sure of that yesterday with his deliberate snide-ness.
Too bad for him I didn't give up easily. And I could play childish games just as well as he could.
"You like him." Dani's eyes narrowed as her curious gaze flicked between the two of us. "Really like him."
"Maybe." My noncommittal response hid a world of hurt. Because I more than 'liked' Kye. Which was totally crazy, because we barely knew each other and hadn't spent a lot of time together, but there was something about him that made me feel … special.
"He's playing hard to get, huh?"
I nodded. "It's complicated, him being at the academy and Dad's overprotectiveness."
Dani's brow crinkled. "That hasn't stopped your dad foisting you off on those boring tennis jocks in the past."
"That's because he could control those guys …" It came to me in a flash, why I really liked Kye.
I liked his underlying hint of wildness, his nonconformity, his confidence in himself to go it alone.
He possessed all those admirable qualities I didn't.
I was drawn to him because of it and it only served to intensify my feelings.
He'd accused me of slumming it at the start, of taking a walk on the wild side for a night. That may have been true but now that I'd been on the wild side, I wanted more. I craved it. And I hated being denied.
"By the looks of your bad boy Aussie, no-way no-how Dirk could control him." Dani popped a peanut into her mouth, chewed, then smirked. "Bet the Aussie got warned off you by Daddy Dearest."
I'd wondered the same thing myself after my chat with Dad. He'd know the power he held over Kye's future and if it came to protecting me, I was damn sure Dad would use it.
"Doesn't mean Kye had to listen," I muttered, draining the rest of my beer before slamming the bottle on the table.
"No balls," Dani said, pushing the peanut dish toward me.
I shook my head and nudged it back. "He has them, and they're magnificent."
Dani let out a whoop that had several of the guys at the bar glancing our way. Except Kye. He deliberately turned his back on me.
"Brrr … chilly." Dani rubbed her upper arms and pretended to shiver. "Hey, I know how we can have some fun."
If Dani suggested visiting the local male revue club again, I'd pass. The only naked male body I wanted to see was Kye's.
"How?"
She leaned across the table and cupped her hands before whispering, "Make the Aussie jealous."
"Uh-uh." I shook my head, not wanting to go down that route. I didn't want to give some other guy the wrong idea and lead him on, and despite how much Kye's cold behavior had hurt me, I didn't want to hurt him.
Dani snapped her fingers under my nose. "Wake up, sweetie. The Aussie is a tennis jock, which means he's driven by testosterone like the rest of his Neanderthal species. He understands competition. He thrives on it and is driven to win."
Dani sat back, smug. "What if you were the prize?"
Okay, when Dani put it like that, a small part of me couldn't help but agree. Nothing else I'd said or done had made an impact with Kye. I'd watched him at warm-ups, I'd turned up at his practice games, and I'd tried confronting him. Nada success on all counts.