So everyone insisted on telling me. Knowing Corbin had driven Lake and her friends here tonight, I'd seen the beer in his hand and my mind went to the worst. Maybe some of my overprotectiveness was unfounded, but I'd actually known people who'd died as a result of drunk driving, and I'd bet Corbin did, too. My gaze went directly to the girls, as it had been every couple minutes. They stood right at the shore, the water creeping up to their bare feet, reaching for them after the smash and fizz of each wave. I shuddered.
"You go out with Tiffany?" Corey asked.
I nodded. "Are you the one who dated her?"
He laughed a little. "No, that's my oldest brother, Cane. I mean, I wouldn't say they dated. I think they probably hooked up a couple times in high school. Sorry."
I shrugged. "I didn't know her then. She says your brother had a crush on her. Not Cane."
"Corbin? Maybe. She was a senior when he was a sophomore. They all had crushes on her." He blew smoke out the side of his mouth. "But that was before he met her sister. Corbin's fucking whipped on that girl. He's so in love with Lake, it's stupid. And she treats him like crap."
"Yeah?" I asked. That didn't sound like Lake. "How?"
"She just strings him along. Says they're best friends or some shit, won't sleep with him. But he keeps hoping she'll change her mind." He shook his head. "He's a pussy. He gets lots of girls. Just not the one he wants."
Lake was a heartbreaker, that wasn't news to me. I'd seen how Corbin looked at her. I'd probably worn the same expression. She'd break more hearts than ours. I couldn't muster any sympathy for any other motherfucker. Maybe Corbin was the gentleman everyone claimed. Maybe he was in love with Lake and wasn't out to hurt her. Maybe he'd even be good for her. But he was still the one who could get everything I wanted with one word from Lake.
"It's not that she doesn't want Corbin." At some point, Val had inserted herself between us. She slurped from her beer can. "She just can't see him. Someone else is in the way."
"Who?" Corey asked.
"I'm not sure." Val glanced at me and then the girls. Tiffany had her arms around Lake. "I'd bet a hundred bucks that right now, Tiffany is asking Lake to be in her wedding."
Fuck. Tiffany wouldn't waste any time. From now until she walked down the aisle, all eyes would be on her. I couldn't do anything about it without making things worse for all of us. There were some things I couldn't protect Lake from. She'd have to handle herself. I looked into the fire, swallowing down my guilt.
"You guys getting married?" Corey asked.
"Maybe it'll be a beach wedding," Val said. "Right here. Picture it. The sun setting, all your friends and family in the crowd, Tiffany complaining that she can't wear heels, that her dress is dragging in the sand. Lake walking down the aisle, catching the bouquet."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Val knew. Her attempts to get me to open my eyes were cute, but they wouldn't do much good. As long as I believed this was best for everyone involved-not just Lake, but for me and Tiff, too-it was the right choice.
"Sounds epic," Corey said, but neither of us looked at him. He flicked his cigarette into the fire. "I'm gonna go see if Cane's back with more alcohol yet. He'll need a hand."
I still had half a cigarette left, and I didn't like giving up something I'd once fought a man over, but I felt like I should offer. "Need help?"
"Nah, we're good," he said and took off, leaving Val and me.
"You think I'm an asshole, don't you?" Val asked.
I hadn't been sure what to make of Val when I'd met her. In some ways, Lake's relationship with her reminded me of hers with Tiffany's-one loud and attention seeking, the other composed, reserved. Except Val seemed to recognize that Lake's quiet confidence wasn't to be mistaken for meekness. She challenged Lake in a way her friends and family didn't. Not even her dad, because Charles didn't really want Lake to think for herself. "I think you're a good friend."
"Because I don't have a dick?"
I pulled back, frowning. "What?"
"When Corbin tries to look out for Lake, you go caveman. Is it because you want her for yourself?"
I set my jaw. She had no right telling me my business, but my anger was diluted by the fire her words lit in me. Want her for myself. Want. Lake. For. My. Self. Lake did bring out the caveman in me.
"You can't have it both ways," Val said as Tiffany headed back in our direction. "But you can have her. Of that, I'm pretty sure."