Page 32 of Rastor

"I saw the disk," I said. "Remember?"

I didn't bother spelling out which disk. I'd seen it sitting right there on her kitchen table. The label on the case, written in big, black letters, was a dead giveaway. Rastor Sex Tape.

When I'd first spotted the thing, I'd assumed it was something worse – footage of me and Chloe. Now that I knew it wasn't, I should've been relieved. Hell, Iwasrelieved. But I still wasn't loving the idea of Chloe and her best friend watching me screw another girl.

The way it looked, they'd even had popcorn. It was nice to know I was so entertaining.

But Chloe was shaking her head. Her voice grew quiet. "Erika brought it over. You know, for my birthday. She didn't know that you and I were together. She thought it would be funny. You know, because we're neighbors."

She blew out a shaky breath. "But you and Iweretogether." She glanced away and whispered, "At least I thought we were."

She was so close, and something in her voice warmed my heart. I could hear it, the same longing for me that I felt for her. I said her name. "Chloe."

She looked up, hitting me with those eyes of hers, and I felt myself swallow as everything else faded to nothing. I leaned closer. "We were. I still wanna be."

Her eyes grew warmer, and she said, "Anyway, it just seemed wrong to watch it." Her lips formed the barest hint of a smile. "Plus, well, I guess I didn't reallywantto watch you doing that with anyone else."

I had to smile. "Yeah?"

She stood, still and silent on the darkened street. The air was frigid, and the wind had picked up. I should've been freezing, but the warmth in her eyes was warming me to the bone.

I hadn't lost her. Not completely.

She gave a small shiver, and I almost smiled, because this one, I knew, wasn't from the cold.

"So with Brandy," she said, "you two ended up having sex anyway, and she taped it?"

Oh yeah. Brandy. My smile faded. "Not exactly. This one night, outside the club, I was supposed to meet her there at closing time. Get a coffee or something. So I pull up to the back entrance, and she's already there." At the memory, I felt my muscles tense. "And she's crying."

"Why?" Chloe asked.

"Well at first, it was hard to get the story out of her. But from what Ididget, a couple of guys jumped her in the parking lot. Tore at her uniform, and tried to–" I paused. "Well, you know."

"Oh my God," Chloe said. "Did they ever find them?"

At this, I had to laugh. It was a bitter sound in the quiet night. "No. And you wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"Because they didn't exist."

Chapter 16

Chloe was shaking her head. "What do you mean they didn't exist?"

"It was all a big show," I explained. "The torn clothes, the fake tears. By then, she knows me pretty good. Especially with this friend of mine feeding her information. And she knows I can get a little intense when people I love are hurt…"

I couldn't finish the sentence. There was only one girl I loved, and shehadbeen hurt tonight. By me. I had some serious making up to do.

Chloe's voice was quiet. "So you loved her?"

"I dunno. Not like that." An image of Brandy flashed in my brain. "It's not that she was unattractive–"

"You already said that."

And there it was again. The spark of something. She still had feelings for me, whether she'd admit it or not.

"Alright," I said, "you want the truth? I didn't see her like that."