Page 111 of Secret Obsession
“Yes,” he agrees.
I didn’t mean to speak aloud. But now that it’s in the open, my shoulders relax. The tension seems to fade away. It doesn’t mean I won’t keep secrets, or rebel in my own way, or try to steal the control when I think he doesn’t have it.
But maybe that’s just because I want him to prove me wrong.
Like… like about him leaving me.
I stop and close my eyes, pulling free of Miles. I don’t want my thoughts to go in that direction, but it seems we’re careening down that path regardless.
As much as Miles might tell me not to go there, or not think about it—I have to. I have to deal with the fact that Knox was an asshole who didn’t give a shit about me.
There.
He didn’t give ashit.
And Miles…
Miles always has.
33
MILES
TEN MONTHS AGO
She’s upset. I hate that I can tell from here, with the shadows swarming around us. There are so many other things to focus on tonight, but I seem to be drawn to her. My gaze keeps flicking to the curve of her spine, ignoring everything else. The air around us is buzzing, alive with music and laughter, but she’s turned to stone.
Like me.
Her shoulders are hunched, a faint tremor shivering her skin in the cool night air. I saw her arrive and go straight inside, then come right back out. She went to the far end of the porch and sat, and she’s been there ever since.
My first impulse is the one I go with, no hesitation. I strip off my jacket and stride forward, draping it over her shoulders.
It’s May. We’re at the end of our playoff season, which means bigger parties. Classes are almost over. Girls around here have no concept of wearing warm clothing to parties. Too often, the ones who start off smart end up leaving their coats and sweatshirts behind.
There’s a closet in the basement where we put them all. There’s a growing collection of girls’ clothes. And maybe I could’ve gone to get one of them, hoping for the perfect fit, but I think I rather like my jacket around her.
She stiffens, straightening.
I’ve surprised her.
And then I lower myself to the porch floor beside her, letting my legs dangle off the edge, and she relaxes. Just a little bit. She trusts me, and a dark part of me relishes that. I haven’t done anything to break her trust… or earn it. So the fact that I have it makes me glow on the inside.
“What did my asshole brother do now?” I ask her, leaning close and pitching my voice low.
She’s got tears in her eyes, although she sniffs and wipes them away at my closer inspection.
Knox has run the gamut of idiocy. Thinking he’s done something to make his girlfriend cry isn’t a leap. It’s just connecting the fucking dots.
She runs the back of her hand under her nose. “He was flirting with another girl. I walked in, and their heads were bent together…”
My heart bangs around my chest. I want to kill him for putting us through this stupid bet. “That’s not right.”
Willow glances at me, then pulls my jacket tighter around her. She appears to have just come from a dance competition—maybe the last of the year. Her curled blonde hair is in a high ponytail, tied up with blue and silver curled ribbons. The makeup that was probably on thick for the performance is now running down her cheeks in blue and black streaks, belying how long she’s actually been crying. Even her red lipstick is smudged.
Sure enough, when my gaze drops lower than her face, I see her dance uniform. The tight white-and-blue crop top, the blue skirt and the black shorts peeking out from under it. Her white sneakers and tall socks.
Fuck.
