Page 86 of Lawton

Her hand, still in mine, grew stiff. "I see."

"Does it matter?" I asked.

She glanced away. "No."

It was a lie. She hated him. I got that. But he was my brother. And I wasn't going to kick him to the curb just because he and Chloe hadn't hit it off. There was still time. Or at least, I hoped like hell there was.

"Look," I said, "yeah, Bishop can be a dick sometimes. Come to think of it, he's been a dick for five, six years now. Long story. But you don’t know him like I do. If you did, you'd like him. Hard as that is to believe."

From the look on her face, shedidn'tbelieve it. But she didn't say so. All she said was, "We're getting off track. You never answered my question."

There was a question? "Which one?" I asked.

"Why didn't you invite me to your party?" She gave me a pleading look. "And I want the truth, even if you think it's something I don't want to hear."

The truth? It was messed up, just like everything else. The party had been Amber's idea, not mine. My friends were loud and crude, even when they were sober. Then, there were the girls – Amber, Brittney, and more. Finally, there was Chloe. She was too good, too sweet, too civilized for that kind of scene.

Still, Ihadwanted her there, and not only for the party. I'd have kept her close, watched out for her, made sure she was okay. And if anyone tried to mess with her – well, they wouldn't. I'd make sure of it.

In front of me, Chloe was still waiting for my answer.

When it came down to it, the truth boiled down to one simple fact. "Alright," I said. "I figured you'd bring someone."

Her brow wrinkled. "What?"

"Yeah." I thought of the douchebag, or maybe some other guy. At the thought of Chloe withhim, whoever he was, my muscles tensed, and my voice hardened. "And I didn't want to see it. I still don't want to see it."

"Someone?" she said, pulling her hand from mine. "Like a date?"

"Date, boyfriend, whatever."

She stared up at me. "I don't have a boyfriend. And the only person I've been dating is, well –" She shrugged. "No one. Not really."

I studied her face. "Uh-huh."

She drew back. "Are you calling me a liar?"

Was I? Maybe. "I don't know what I'm calling you." I looked away. "You know what? Just forget it."

"Forget it?" she said. "Is that what you want?"

"Yeah." I turned back to her. "That's why I'm hanging outside your place like some kind of idiot."

She gave a confused shake of her head. "I don't get it. Until last night, I thought we were just friends. I didn't realize you even thought of me that way."

I made a scoffing sound. "You're kidding, right?"

She looked down. "I don't know."

"Do you know how many times, walking with you, I've wanted to reach out and touch you? Wanted to see you look at me the way I feel like looking at you?" I leaned closer. "So yeah, I could've invited you to the party, but then, I'd have wondered who you'd show up with. Because I knew if you brought him –" I shook my head. "It wouldn't end good."

Her face softened. When she spoke, her voice was very quiet. "For the last time, there is no him."

I wanted to believe that. "Then who do you live with?"

She glanced away, but said nothing.

I felt my jaw tighten. "Some guy?"