“I know you want to be alone, but two days is a long time.”
I blinked up at her. “What time is it?”
She was dressed in gym clothes, and her purple hair was up in a ponytail. “Ten. You have plenty of time to get dressed and ride with us to the gym.”
Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know if I can do it today.”
She stretched down beside me. “I know. The first day is the hardest. But you keep doing it, and eventually you realize...”
I was pretty sure both our thoughts had drifted to how she was when she and Slayde were apart. “How much you never stop missing him?”
More silence. The two of us lay on the bed with our heads together while Lane sat on the floor playing with his truck and making motor sounds with his little mouth.
“Want to tell me now? Why you came back so suddenly?”
Instantly, tears heated my eyes. I took a shaky breath. “He thought I was there to trick him. He thought I was after his money.”
The shock and outrage I anticipated never came. She didn’t answer, and I twisted around to look at her. “That doesn’t surprise you?”
“I mean, it makes sense. He’s probably got more money than fu... freakin Derek.”
“How do you know that?”
“How do you not know that? First, their family has money. Patrick’s loaded. Second, he’s thirty-six, single, no debt, worked in overseas security. He was active duty so long, he never paid taxes... He’s gotta be at least a millionaire.”
Now it was my turn to be quiet. “I never thought about it.”
My friend rolled onto her stomach and smoothed back my hair. “What did you think about?”
I remembered the day he walked into the gym. “He
was hurt. He was wounded, and he needed me.”
“He’s also hot as hell!”
A hint of a smile tickled my lips. “Okay, I thought of that, too.”
“Good in bed?”
“Ugh!” The duvet was over my head again.
“Seems like I remember saying he would be.”
I didn’t come out. “He’s the greatest lover.”
“Yeah he is, slut. You gave him your cherry!”
Lane’s little engine noises stopped. “Cherries!”
“Oops!” She laughed. “Sorry, baby. They have cherries behind the juice bar at the gym.”
I slapped the duvet down. “Is that a veiled reference?” Kenny’s round eyes met mine. We both burst into giggles. After a few moments, I took a deep breath. The pain only receded for a moment before it washed in again full-force.
“I miss him so much.” My voice cracked.
Kenny pulled at the shirt I wore. “What’s this?”
“I stole his shirt.”