“Yeah,” he rasps. “I get it.”
“But I have to learn to live without him.” I shrug, almost feeling bad for saying it. Tyrell was Atlas’sbest friend.Will this feel like a betrayal to him? Atlas’s girl moving on? “I’m hoping a change of scenery will help,” I finish in a rush.
“It will,” he assures me. “I wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t had this place. I would have… drowned in Colorado Springs. He would have haunted me around every corner. Being up here has… helped me… move on.”
My eyes shoot up to meet his tortured gaze. “Yet you still know exactly how long it’s been since that night.”
His forehead wrinkles, and I can feel his pain, still so raw. I get it. We can try to wrap our wounds, cover them with Band-Aids, but you peel back that tape and it’s still just below the surface, fresh and painful.
“Hey, Dani! We’ve got people waiting,” Jed calls. “Can I get a hand down here?”
“Sure thing.” I hold up my finger, relief flooding me. “One second.” Looking back up at the tall man in front of me, I give him a smile—a familiar affection pulsing inside me. “It’s nice to see you again, Ty.”
And I mean it. Although his presence brings with it a plethora of painful memories, there are also a bunch of happy ones in there too. This nostalgic feeling is kinda nice.
“Yeah, you too, Dani.”
I spin and walk back down the bar, heading for the group of girls—a giggling clump out for a good time.
Taking their orders, I focus back on opening bottles and mixing cocktails.
I force myself not to search the space for Tyrell. I don’t want to look at him again tonight.
As nice as it is to see him, it’s also a knife right through the chest. It took all of two seconds for us to start talking about Atlas, reliving our shared pain as if it only happened yesterday. Do I really want to be hanging around someone like that?
It’s like intentionally putting myself in the line of fire, and… well, I came to this place to move on.
How could I forget that Tyrell had come here to play football?
I still remember when Atlas found out he’d gotten in. He’d been gutted. He wanted his best friend to play at Denver U, but the boy got a scholarship to Nolan instead, and he took it.
Atlas never once let it show, but he turned up at my house the night Tyrell told him with tears in his eyes. All I could do was hold him tight. He spent the night in my bed, glued to my side, and I didn’t know what to say to make him feel better.
Shit. If I’d remembered Tyrell was here, would I have taken Tobin up on the invite to move in with him and Jed? Would I have taken this job at Offside?
The truth is… probably not.
Because I’m trying to put my past behind me… and Tyrell Jackson is a glaring reminder of everything I lost.
Thank God graduation isn’t too far away. Hopefully he’ll be leaving town. Maybe he’ll move to Texas to be close to his family.
I don’t know, and I can’t care.
As long as he leaves Nolan, everything will be okay.
All I have to do is avoid him for the next couple of months… and maybe then I’ll have a shot at leaving Atlas behind me and creating a life with someone new.
CHAPTER 2
TYRELL
I weave my way back to the table, knowing I’ll be facing a plethora of questions the second my ass touches the chair. Thankfully, only Wily and Satch are still at the table, but that doesn’t last long.
Within a minute of taking a seat, the pool game is abandoned, and I’m surrounded by six sets of curious eyes. Shit… I’m gonna have to say something.
“An old friend from high school.” I point over my shoulder, hoping that’s enough of an explanation… but knowing it’s not.
Sienna grins. “She’s cute.”
