Page 82 of Lawton

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. In front of us, Chucky strained forward, barking at some bird or something. I held firm and waited.

Finally, she murmured, "I don’t know."

Well, that was nice. So she'd wanted to be invited, but wasn't sure she'd come. Why? Because she had other plans? With who? When I spoke, my voice was harder than I intended. "Yeah? I thought so."

She lifted her chin. "But you invited Brittney."

Not really. Technically, Brittney and Amber had invited me, even if itwasat my house. But that wasn't the point. "And you know this, how?" I asked.

She turned and began walking again. "Does it matter?" She kept her gaze straight ahead. "So youdidinvite her?"

It was complicated. I didn't want to get into it. "Yeah," I said. "She was part of some general invitation. It was no big deal."

"Sure," she said. "No big deal."

Wasthatwhy she wouldn't have come? Because she didn't want to see Brittney? Something in my shoulders eased. Maybe she didn't want to see Brittney withme.

At the thought, I almost smiled. "Sothat'swhat you're mad about?"

She stomped forward, picking up the pace. "I'm not mad. Alright?"

She sure as hell looked mad. With my free hand, I reached up to rub the back of my neck. "I don't get you, Chloe."

"There's nothing to get," she said. "I'm a pretty simple person."

I heard myself laugh. "You?" I stopped walking, and she did the same. "Simple?" I shook my head. "No. You're a lot of things, but simple isn't one of them."

"You want it simple?" She held up a single finger. "Okay, one simple question. Did you, or did you not, sleep with Brittney last night?"

My heart sank.

Oh shit.

Chapter 36

The question hung in the open air. Had I slept with Brittney? Technically, no. I hadn't. But unless I was willing to lie, a simple denial wasn't going to cut it.

Like a coward, I stalled. "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon, let's not embarrass either of us by pretending you don’t know exactly what I’m asking."

I knew. I just didn't have an answer. At least, not a good one.

Well, Chloe, it's like this. No, I didn't fuck her. But she did have her lips around my cock like five minutes before you showed up.

Or maybe this one?I was going to fuck her and pretend it was you. But I didn't. So, we're good, right?

In my head, the answers kept coming. They all sucked. I looked away and blew out a long, unsteady breath. "What do you want me to say?"

Her voice was quiet. "The truth."

I knew what Chloe was really asking. Last night, while she'd been doing whatever on her side of the fence, what had I been doing? Hanging out with my so-called friends or getting naked with another girl?

When it came down to it, there was only one honest answer. "Alright." Unwilling to meet her eyes, I looked down. "Yes."

I heard a quick intake of breath, and then nothing else. When I looked up, Chloe's eyes were squeezed shut, and she was looking a little unsteady. I wanted to reach out and cradle her against me. I wanted to kiss her forehead and make it all better. I wanted to tell her I was sorry, but I didn't know for what.

I mean, in spite of my own feelings, Chloe and I had been only friends – by her choice, not mine.