Ashley’s eyes shot up, and looked at Grady dubiously. “Talking about your brother doing the nasty weirds you out, but you can openly talk about Kennedy’s sexcapades?”
“Well duh,” Grady flicked his hand, and rolled his eyes. “As long as Kennedy’s sexcapades don’t include my brother, then we’re good.”
Grady fixed me with his stare. “I’ll begin. Do we know him?”
I took a bite of my burger, and chewed in lieu of answering. That was probably the question I feared the most.
“Obviously she doesn’t want us to know who he is,” Jade huffed. “So we’ll skip that, and move on to the good stuff. Is he hung?”
I lifted my burger to my mouth, but not before she caught my grin. She could interpret it any way she wanted because I wasn’t giving them a straight-laced answer.
“Oh my, you lucky bitch!” Shouted Jade. “He is totally hung!”
I ignored the stares that Jade’s statement garnered, and focused on eating rather than entertaining their stupid game.
“Okay,” Grady spoke up. “Next question. Is he any good?”
Thoughts of just how good Dane was flooded my mind, and I knew my cheeks were reddening because of the images playing out in my head.
Me on top…
Him behind me…
Me beneath him…
Up against the wall in the shower…
Me in his lap…
“She’s totally thinking about it,” smirked Ashley.
Busted.
“It’s official,” added Jade. “I’m jealous.”
“You could have any guy you want,” I replied, opening my mouth for the first time since their stupid little game had started.
“Oh no she can’t,” Grady sing-songed. “The one boy who Jade really wants is playing the ‘our friendship means too much’ card.”
Jade glared at Grady, and Ashley cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable with the turn our conversation had taken.
I looked at Jade, and gave her a sad smile. She didn’t need to say anything else. I knew exactly who Grady was talking about.
Ashley left and we made plans to have Chinese for dinner when we got home. Grady and Jade continued their silent stare off, and I twisted around to look at the other students just for something to do.
That’s when I spotted him.
A few tables away with his friends.
Staring at me.
We avoided each other at school, and when we happened to cross paths he treated me like he had before, only now it was less defensive. We simply pretended that the other didn’t exist.
His gaze was heated, and the upturn of his mouth made me wonder if he might’ve heard what we’d been talking about. I held his stare a little longer, lingering on the promise in his eyes. My heart stuttered and came to a halt when I realized that I cared about him. A lot. Maybe I always had.
A tall redhead sidled up to his side, and drew his attention away from me. It was the slap in the face I needed.
It was just sex between us. Nothing more.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Dane
I WAS AGITATED. On edge. I’d left the cafeteria – after spending most of the time trying not to stare at Kennedy - after lunch and headed to the football field. We had a game in a few hours, and I wanted to run over our plays with Coach Ford before the guys started getting ready. I also wanted to distract myself from my preoccupation with Kennedy.
When I walked into Coach Ford’s office, the sight of my father sitting in one of the chairs stopped me cold. I hadn’t seen him since before our classes started, and I was more than happy to keep it that way. If only he’d stuck to the same plan.
“Coach,” I greeted first, giving him a nod. My father turned in his chair, and gave me his standard icy stare. At fifty-five years old, Derek Winter’s was as intimidating as he was astute. His hair was the same color as mine, with a few streaks of grey coming through, and his eyes were brown, and lifeless. We looked alike, but that’s where our similarities ended.
“Dad.”
“Dane,” he replied. “I was in in the area. Thought I’d stop by and chat to Coach Ford.”
You mean to check on me.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I told Coach Ford. “I can come back when you’re done.”
“That’s okay,” my father said. He stood up, buttoned up his black suit jacket, and reached over the desk to shake Coach’s hand. “Bentley, it was good to see you again. Looking forward to tonight’s game.”
“You too, Derek,” replied Coach. “As I said earlier, Dane here is doing a fine job with the team. I reckon he’d be able to take my job when I retire.”
My father’s smile was tight as he said, “He has other things planned for his future, but I’m glad he’s proving to be of use to you.”