She nodded. “Guys are no easier to understand.”
“Bullshit. Guys are simple. We want what we want and make no bones about what that is.”
“Until you don’t want it anymore.”
That must have sent up red flags because he gave her a questioning look. “Sounds like you got your own tale to tell. So, spill. Who was he?”
She shook her head.
“Come on, I shared. Now it’s your turn.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“When?”
“Before you left for California.”
He frowned. “Babe, you were what, eighteen?”
She nodded.
“Someone you went to school with?”
She shook her head. “No. He was older.”
“How much older?” He straightened, the frown still there, but now more intense.
“He was twenty-three.” She watched his head tilt to the side, his eyes remaining locked with hers, and she could see the wheels turning.
“You were at the clubhouse a lot that summer.” When she couldn’t keep eye contact with him, he moved to stand over her. “Do I know him? Was it a brother?”
She kept her eyes averted and didn’t reply.
“Skylar, answer me.”
“You know him. But he wasn’t a brother. Not then.”
He sucked in a breath. “But he is now.”
She nodded. “Yes.” And then the pieces must have clicked into place because he snarled his name.
“Shades.”
She looked up at him then. “What gave it away?”
“It explains why he’s been drilling me with looks like he has every time I see him. Every time he sees us together.”
“I…hadn’t noticed.”
“Bullshit.” He called her on it. “I’ve seen the looks pass between you. I just hadn’t put it together till now.”
“He looks at me like he hates me, and I suppose he does. But he was the one that broke it off.”
“He was a prospect back then. He should have stayed clear of you. And you, babe, should have stayed clear of him.”
“He knew what he was risking—sneaking around with me. We both did. I guess in the end, it was too much of a risk for him. I guess I wasn’t worth it.”
“Skylar, don’t say that. You’re worth it, and don’t you ever let a guy make you think you’re not. You hear me?”