Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
She stared at him.
“Yeah, now that sounds dumb,” he admitted, “but you know things look different from the outside. It always felt like TJ was protecting you from everyone when most of us only wanted to know you. Maybe not when we were freshmen, but by the time we were seniors, everyone was kind of in awe of you. And terrified of the twins. I know Kenzie seemed sweet, but she could throw down when she wanted to.”
She still could. It was funny how everyone underestimated Kenz. It was something she used to perfection in their job.
“I’m kind of glad I never have to see them again,” Dennis continued. “Do you know whatever happened to them?”
“Yes, they work for their dad,” Lou replied. And run dangerous missions on the regular. They were part of Lou’s team. Her family.
But more and more she was realizing the friendships she had weren’t enough. She wanted what her mom had with her dad. What Uncle Ian and Aunt Charlotte had. What Tasha and Dare had so recently found.
“I heard he was a psycho, too, so I’m not surprised.”
And she wasn’t going to find anything special here. “Well, Dennis, it was good to see you. I should get back to the office.”
He winced. “You’re still friends with them.”
“The best of,” she replied.
“I’m sorry. I suppose it still stings,” he said, “and before you point out what I did would have stung like hell if you’d known, I’m truly sorry, and I don’t want you to go. I won’t say anything else. I’m sure they’ve changed since high school. We all have.”
Adulthood had refined Kala’s personality. And she had access to way more weapons now.
“Hey, how is your dad?” he asked. “I remember how cool he was.”
Dennis had met her father a handful of times and they’d gotten along, but then Boomer Ward got along with everyone. Still, she had to admit Kala did piss a lot of people off. If she refused to talk to anyone her bestie had bulldozed at some point, life would be a very quiet place.
The real question was why TJ had threatened him. She understood Kala, but she remembered how TJ had acted that day. Which made her wonder. “He’s good. He’s volunteering with a bunch of animal rescues, and I’m pretty sure he’s why my brother wants to be a vet. When did this thing go down with Kala? The one where she blackmailed you. You don’t have to tell me what it was. I’m sure she caught you cheating on an exam.”
Kala liked having intel on people she viewed as potential enemies, and that was the majority of the population. The thing was she never used that to her own betterment. Only her friends. Sometimes Lou wondered if Kala buried herself in her sisters and friends so she didn’t have to look in the mirror and acknowledge Cooper McKay was the love of her life.
“That morning before first period.”
Then it had to have been before she’d run into TJ and made that dumb joke about him not calling her sweetheart. He’d known, and he’d let her walk into it.
And then he’d gallantly offered to take her instead.
Kala had probably strongarmed him into that.
She hated this feeling. “That tracks. I kind of still wish I didn’t know.”
“That I was an asshole? Sometimes I wish they’d told you because I think I could live with being the guy who made you angry. It’s been really hard being the guy who broke your heart. I didn’t go with anyone. I skipped because I didn’t want to walk into that hotel ballroom and see you with TJ.”
“I didn’t go with him.”
“No, you stayed home with Kala. They kept you to themselves. I would bet they still do. I meet with an old group of friends for drinks once a month. We’ve talked about you a lot. You could come next time. You’ll see there were a lot of people who looked up to you.”
But she’d had everyone she’d needed back then. Did she have them now? It was such an odd feeling to know what she wanted was right there but never be able to reach out for it, to take it for herself. She had to admit that if TJ was her actual boyfriend, she wouldn’t need anyone outside of her circle, but here she was. She had friends who felt like family, and not one of them could give her the love she knew she needed. So it was time to expand. “That could be fun.”
His smile kicked up. Yeah, there was a reason she’d said yes to him all those years before, and it hadn’t all been about the fact that someone, anyone, asked her out. When he wasn’t a high school boy jerk, he was quite charming. “So you are not with TJ? Like with with him. I don’t care if you’re his friend. I can handle that now. But I don’t want to step on his toes either.”