I do have some pride left.
I wiggle my eyebrows at her. "And all it took was finding the nurse that helped you ten years ago. Piece of cake."
She catches on, and just for that, I want to kiss her. She could’ve busted my balls for being all emotional, but that’s not her. She changes the subject.
"You didn’t answer my question."
"Huh? Oh, which one?"
"What did you tell her?"
"Oh yeah, I didn’t tell her anything. She doesn’t know I’m not skiing. I honestly don’t even remember if she knew I was going in the first place."
"Why?" I don’t expect her to remotely understand what Kat and I are. We don’t have a relationship in the traditional sense; we don’tshare. I’m not proud of that. It’s exhausting to always pretend in front of everyone.
I explain, "I didn’t tell Kat because she wouldn’t have cared. She’s in Florida, enjoying the sun, probably banging some rich country club dude and heir to the next big business empire."
"What? That’s awful. Why would you be with someone like that?" Lilly exclaims, disgusted.
I sigh. "I told you before that Kat and I have a silent arrangement. We’ve never officially talked about it; it is simply understood. We give each other an image, something I needed to save face when it came to my feelings for you. She has never been faithful to me—not when she’s traveling. And she knows I know, but she probably just assumes I'm one of those dumb jocks who jump everything with a pussy."
"Crass much?" Lilly shakes her head. "Is that why you always have sex in public? The image?"
Ah, we’re back to that.
Still baffled, I ask,"When did I have public sex?" I’m honestly curious. I generally don’t pay attention to the gossip or whatever Kat tells people. I mean, we used to have sex—a lot, actually, in the beginning, since my main goal was to work Lilly out of my system, and Katishot as fuck. But that never worked, and over time, the sex became less and less. I don’t even remember the last time. Definitely weeks, if not months.
"Uh...um...Kellan’s party. Sloane heard you guys in the bathroom."
"Kellan?" I rack my brain. "Oh, Jager’s pool party."
We fucked there?Not that I remember, and I wasn’t hammered enough to forget that. Then it clicks, and I burst out laughing. I can’t stop, and Lilly glares with her lips pursed.
I finally gain control and declare, "That wasn’t me."
"But Sloane saw you and Kat go in the bathroom."
She’s right, we did go in there together, but I never touched her. I left through the adjoining bedroom and out the patio doors. I have no idea what Kat did after I left. A laugh bubbles up as I try again. "Oh God, that is priceless."
"WHAT?" Lilly is growing impatient. She thinks I’m making fun of her.
I explain, "Kat was in rare form that night. She was already smashed by the time I got to Jager’s, and she kept dry-humping me to make a public statement or some shit. You know her—well, thepublicher. Anyway, she dragged me into the bathroom with the intent of what youthinkhappened. But there was no way I’d touch her in that state. She was all sloppy and—whatever, that’s not important. She got pissed that I wouldn’t comply, so I left through the bedroom and out the patio doors. I went home from there. I had no clue she put on a one-woman show." And with that, I howl with laughter.
Lilly gawks at me, perplexed. "You’re saying shepretendedto have sex? Alone? In the bathroom?"
"I guess so." I wipe a tear from my eye.
"That is...wow. I mean, I don’t even know what that is."
Every so often,one of us randomly giggles. I can’t wait to tell Wes about that when we get home. Maybe I’ll even text him later; I haven’t checked in with him since we left.
When "Good Goodbye" comes on, I see Lilly shiver out of the corner of my eye. She has her legs pulled up, and her chin is resting on her jean-clad knees. Her head is tilted toward me, and her face heats when she realizes I’m watching. I want to question her what this is about, but instead, I focus on the road, concentrating on singing along to my favorite song.
"I almost named that one as my favorite," Lilly mumbles.
Even though her voice is low, it startles me, and our eyes meet before I focus back on the road.
"Uh...what?"