Page 21 of Devil’s Kiss (Sunset Cove #2)

Third Year of College

D EREK STOOD OUTSIDE the law building with a cigarette in one hand and his phone in the other.

He’d texted Finn a couple of nights ago and asked if he wanted to meet up for lunch, since he wasn’t due at the gym for his shift until later tonight.

It’d been a couple of weeks since the two of them had caught up, and as Derek stood there with his back against the bricks and his foot propped on the wall, he wondered when the two of them had started to drift apart.

When they’d first started college they’d been in a couple of classes together, but soon after that first semester, when they’d branched off to do their respective courses, they’d found less and less time to hang out—unless you counted their morning runs.

Finn had started to spend every spare minute he could with his professor, and Derek…well, he’d been dealing with his own shit. Eventually the runs had stopped, and the only time they really saw one another was at Boyz, and then they were working so they rarely had time to sit down and talk.

Derek knew he’d been slack, and honestly, if he really examined the details of their slow disconnect, he would realize it had a lot to do with him not wanting to lie to the guy.

Someone he’d been friends with since he was a boy, and who’d likely feel responsible for him should Derek tell him what he’d been going through.

And maybe that was the problem.

Finn had seen Derek at his absolute worst, and when he’d had an excuse to forget about that and distance himself, Derek had allowed it to happen. What a horrible fucking friend he turned out to be.

“Hey, stranger.”

He would recognize that voice anywhere, and when he turned to see Finn pushing through the double doors of the building, Derek realized just how much he’d missed the guy.

“Danny boy,” he said, and when they met up they hugged one another. When he took a step away, he grinned. “You’re looking good, man.”

“You too,” Finn said as they headed down the stairs. “Except for that damn cigarette.”

“Yeah, yeah. That ain’t gonna change anytime soon, so best get over it now.”

Finn laughed as they walked across the lawn toward the parking lot. “I know, but I have to at least try. You still running?”

“Of course,” Derek said, and then bumped shoulders with his buddy and asked, “You? Has the professor gotten you running alongside him yet? Or do you get your workouts in other ways?”

“You’re hilarious.”

“What? I remember how hard it was to get your lazy ass out there. The only reason you ever did say yes was to run into Hayes.”

“True,” Finn said. “But there’s something totally different about running with him than there was with you.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

Finn waggled his eyebrows mischievously. “I have incentive to get home.”

“Oh God, spare me the details, would ya? I mean, what are you two now, married and shacked up?”

Finn took a deep breath and then let it out. “I wish.”

“No shit?”

Finn shrugged. “Hey, when you know you know, right?”

“I guess.”

When they reached the parking lot, Derek spotted Finn’s mother’s car and headed toward it.

“Yeah. He’s a little harder to convince, though.” Finn popped the locks, and when they both climbed in Derek looked over at his friend.

“Why do you say that?”

Finn reversed, and as they pulled out onto the main road, Derek asked, “What’s going on, Danny boy?”

“Ugh. It’s just something stupid, I’m sure.”

“What do you mean?”

Finn opened the center console and fished out a crumpled brochure and passed it to Derek. He read over the print, and the fact that it was a law school wasn’t anything shocking. He’d known that was what Finn wanted to do. But what caught his attention and held it was— “This is in Chicago.”

“I know.”

The sober tone of Finn’s voice made Derek shift in his seat to face him, and as he took in Finn’s stubbled jaw, he frowned. He wasn’t sure why the thought of Finn moving across the country was so fucking terrifying, considering they hadn’t been real close this past year or so, but it was.

“You’re not going, are you?”

Finn took his eyes off the road to look at Derek, and the side of his mouth quirked up. “Hell no. I told him to forget it.”

“So Hayes brought this up with you?”

“Yeah,” Finn said, and looked back at where he was going. “Told me it was the best opportunity. A smart choice and all that. Blah blah.”

“Yeah. Fuck that. Your family’s here.”

“I know. See, you get it.”

Derek turned back to look out the windshield of the car and had a sudden dislike for Finn’s professor. Why the hell would he tell Finn to leave? Or even suggest it. His life was here.

Crumpling the pamphlet in his hand, Derek glared out the window and wondered if Devaney knew what Hayes was up to. He’d have to ask him when he got home.

Finn pulled the car into the local burger shop and parked, and once they were inside with their meals, they sat down in a booth at the back of the restaurant.

“So what about you?” Finn asked. “It feels like forever since we hung out.”

Derek squeezed a liberal amount of ketchup on his tray and dunked a couple of fries in it before shoveling them in his mouth. As he chewed around them, he considered what he should tell Finn.

He knew Devaney would have an absolute shit fit if anyone found out he was staying at his place, even Brantley Hayes. And really, he didn’t want to go into details. So he just nodded and reached for his soda. “Good, good. Nothing unusual happening over here.”

Finn picked up his burger and took a bite, then around his mouthful he said, “A wealth of information.”

“Always,” Derek agreed, and popped another fry in his mouth.

Finn put his burger down and sat back, then he asked, “Do you think I’m stupid?”

Derek’s stomach dropped at the question, but he schooled his features to appear unaffected. “Nope. I’d never call you stupid. At least not to your face. Why do you ask?”

After reaching for one of his own fries, Finn chomped down into it and then shocked the shit out of Derek by leaning across the table and asking, “Who are you fucking?”

Derek almost choked on the bite he’d taken of his burger, and reached for his drink to wash it down. “What?”

“You’re seeing someone.”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “I’m not seeing anyone, Danny boy. Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re the only one sitting at this table that’s sucked on anything other than a straw in a long time.”

Finn eyed him with suspicion. “You sure?”

“That I ain’t fucking anyone? Yeah.” Derek laughed. “I’m pretty sure.”

“Hmm. It’s just that I haven’t heard shit from you in months, and the last time I saw you we barely spoke. I know my excuse is Brantley, so who is yours?”

Jordan Devaney. But not the way you think, he wanted to say. But how did you tell your friend that you’d been lying to him for so long? Instead he shrugged. “No one, man. Just work and school. This year’s been kicking my ass.”

“Shit, me too,” Finn said, letting go of the inquisition, thank God.

“Yeah. Gotta say, I can’t wait to be done with school.”

“I’ve still got three years to go after this. Consider yourself lucky.”

“Yeah. You poor bastard.”

Derek laughed and finished off his burger. When he was done and scrunching up the paper, Finn asked, “What are your plans after graduation?”

“You know, I really just want to get to graduation first. But when I do, I’ve been thinking about opening up my own gym.”

“Really? That’s a fantastic idea.”

“Yeah? You think?”

Finn nodded and then piled his trash onto the tray. “Of course. It’s the perfect job for you. Where are you thinking about opening it?”

Derek grinned at Finn’s enthusiasm. “Slow down over there, would you. I’ve gotta finish school first and work out how the hell a bank would ever give me a loan.”

“True. But cool idea.”

“Yeah, I think so. I’d love to do it down on the beach. You know, like Muscle Beach?”

“Oh, that would be totally hot.”

“Right? All those hot, oiled bodies. Hmm, this is sounding better and better. I’m a fucking mastermind.”

They laughed as they finished off their drinks, and then Finn looked at his watch. “Sorry, I need to bolt. I still have to hit the library to finish up this damn paper that’s due tomorrow before I head to Brantley’s. But this…it was really great. We need to do it again. Soon.”

“Yeah, we do,” Derek said as Finn slid out of the booth.

He followed suit and picked up the tray, tossing the trash out.

When they got back in the car, Finn asked where to, and Derek pointed him in the direction of the gym.

Once there, Finn dropped him off around the back, and just as he was about to drive away Derek looked through the window at his friend.

“Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“I won’t. See you soon, Derek.”

“See you soon, Danny boy.”

As he watched Finn drive out of the parking lot he reminded himself that this was what happened as you got older.

Things changed and you got busy. Friendships shifted and sometimes even ended, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

At least Finn was still in the same town.

Maybe when things were easier, when school was over, they would come back together.

He glanced at the time on his phone. Five o’clock. He was right on time.

He turned, ready to head around to the front doors of the gym, but he didn’t get very far—the next thing he remembered was waking up on the concrete where he was curled into a ball.

Exactly where his father left him.

JORDAN SAT OUT on his balcony with his feet propped up on the table in front of him and a glass of sweet tea in hand. It’d just turned five thirty on a glorious Wednesday afternoon and he’d decided to spend the evening relaxing while grading a few final papers he had left for the next day.

He was halfway through his stack when the phone he’d placed on the table started to buzz. When he saw Derek’s number flashing across his screen, he frowned. He thought Derek had work tonight.