Yeah, when he was strapped for cash as a freshman, both Declan and I floated him loans. For us, Sorensen started out as an investment. But that’s not what he is anymore. Now he’s a partner whose debts were paid long ago.
“Then don’t consider it a bonus. Call it a Christmas gift.”
“If you say so.” Briefly flashing a grin, he shrugs. “I’ll get going. Gotta contemplate all the unwise ways to spend that money once football’s over.”
Sorensen goes down the porch steps, and I nod my goodbye when he’s behind the wheel of his SUV.
Once his truck is out of sight, I head into the house. Avery’s waiting just inside, her eyes filled with kitten curiosity.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“Nothing. You gonna change clothes?” I catch her hips, drawing her to me. “If so, I’ll help with the unzipping.” My hand comes to rest on the back of her slacks.
Avery brushes my fingers away and steps back. “When will you trust me with the truth?”
How’s never, I think.“The truth about our relationship? I told you, ask me anything.”
Avery shakes her head. “C’mon, Shane.”
I’m not just keeping secrets to protect myself and my partners. An equally important issue is that there’s no way I want the things I do to end up on her conscience.
“Baby, listen. If you go to work for a tech company with proprietary secrets, I’m not going to ask you to open the corporate files, so I can read them. It’s the same for my business.”
Avery frowns. “Except my company won’t be doing anything illegal.”
“Who says mine is?”
She shrugs. “I feel like there are important things you’re not telling me. Things I should know.”
I don’t respond.
She sighs. “Okay. I need to study. First final is tomorrow.”
My arm corals her. “Give me a kiss first.”
Avery moves closer and kisses me. Her lips are petal soft and sweeter than honey. I know her curiosity is a problem, but that innocence of hers is impossible to resist.Sheis impossible to resist.
Sorensen and Declan both question whether I can trust her. That’s not even a consideration anymore.
The stage I’m at now is “ride or die.”
28
AVERY
Shane's asleep when I slip from his bed in the middle of the night.
I can’t sleep because I’ve gotten wrapped up in campus posts about Casanova, and I’m thinking about how shady it is that the gas can from the arson attack is still sitting in Shane’s garage. Casanova could be the one who started the fire. If so, the gas can should’ve already been turned over to the police, in case there’s forensic evidence that matches something collected from the abduction crime scenes. If Shane’s aversion to the police allows Casanova to remain free longer than he should, I will not be all right with that.
Turning in the gas can is something I’d be happy to do on my own. But the police would probably want to visit the house, at least to look at the exterior. For multiple reasons, I really need to know how serious Shane’s criminal endeavors are.
On top of which, I’m annoyed because he’s shamelessly creating a double-standard. While Daniel and I were working online to finalize our project for submission, I left my phone unattended. When I walked into the kitchen to grab it, I found Shane going through it.
His claim that he needed to check my calendar to make holiday travel plans may have been true when he unlocked the phone, but at a glance, I could see he was reading my text threads, too. Which tracks with my suspicion that Shane thinks it’s acceptable for him to keep secrets from me, but not for me to have secrets from him.
Scowling now, I take Shane’s phone from the nightstand and tip-toe out into the hall. I don't know his code, but I've watched his finger move as he swipes a figure-of-eight pattern to unlock it.
It takes three attempts for me to get in.
