Lucas and Callie were working through their side of it—which was far worse than anything I had to deal with—but they were doing ittogether. I was just glad they didn’t let something as devastating as that break them.
As for me, life went on as usual.
I’d never been one to dwell on things, especially those I had no control over and couldn’t change. I didn’t believe in obsessing over what-ifs and could-have-beens, and I was big on closure, whether it was from the source or given yourself.
If my dad were still alive, maybe I’d feel differently because I could confront him and demand answers. But the fact of the matter was he was gone, and any answers I wanted were buried with him.
That was it.
I couldn’t let myself dwell on the betrayal over what he did or why he chose to be a part of it. It wouldn’t change or fix anything. And theonlyclosure I wouldeverget was going to come from myself in the form of accepting it—accepting he was wrong, accepting he wasn’t the man I thought he was, and moving on.
I was no longer trying to uphold a legacy I now knew wasbuilt on a lie. Moving forward, the only legacy I worried about was my own.
As for me and Morgan, things had been relatively the same, even after that awkward night at her apartment.
When I showed up that night, I wanted a distraction. I wanted to get out of my head, to not think about my dad or what he did. I could have gone somewhere—anywhereelse to find that diversion I was craving, but I went right to her place without a second thought. Perhaps it was because of our deal and thinking we’d have sex and just be done with it. That wasn’t what happened at all. She saw right through the reason I was there.
And that night…I saw a glimpse of a different side of Morgan.
I’d been expecting her to throw it back in my face ever since, waiting for her to make a jab about how I’d shown up at her place desperate and distraught to piss me off or rub it in my face…but she didn’t. We still bickered, fought, pissed each other off, and got under one another’s skin, but she never once brought it up. We treated that night like it never happened at all.
Susan dropped off my platter of wings, and my mouth salivated—I was always starving after sex. I’d just slid a flat into my mouth when the bell above the door rang, and my eyes shifted to see Morgan walking inside. I smirked around my wing, seeing her in a turtleneck tank top as she approached the table.
“There you are,” Callie said with a grin.
“Yeah, sorry. I had to take care of something.”
I could see her fighting for her life not to shoot me a glare, both of us knowingexactlywhat she had to take care of. Her long brown hair was down, draped over her shoulder on the sidewhere the hickey was, using it as extra coverage over the turtleneck.
She ordered her drink and something to eat, and when Susan brought it over for her, she brushed her hair back—clearly without thinking—to keep it out of the way of her food, and my eyes slightly widened. The hickey wasn’t entirely hidden; I could see the top of the mark visibly peeking out beneath the fabric of her turtleneck. It looked like she’d put some kind of makeup over it to help conceal it, but it seemed to have rubbed off.
Do I say something? Tell her to put her hair back where it was?But how would I do that when she was across the table? Unless…
I lifted my leg, kicking her beneath the table. “Ow!”
“Whoops…”
She shot me a look, and I tried to give her one back, but she didn’t catch on before turning her focus back to her basket of onion rings. The others weren’t paying any attention, so I did it again. Her leg shot up, and she kicked me right back, much harder than I’d done to her, earning a grunt from me.
Fine. Leave your hickey on display.
A few minutes later, Callie glanced over. “Can I steal an onion ring?”
“Of course,” Morgan answered.
Callie smiled and leaned over to grab one, but when she did, her eyes landed on Morgan’s neck, and a snort escaped her. “Is that a hickey?” She tried to keep her voice down—God bless her—but it wasn’t low enough, and Gabe and Lucas looked at her.
I shoved a wing into my mouth to muffle my laugh when Morgan’s eyes slightly widened. “No. I-It’s?—”
“A hickey,” Gabe interrupted with a laugh. “You can’t even use the curling iron excuse for that one.”
Lucas chuckled. “What guy gives hickeys anymore?”
“It was obviously not supposed to happen!” Morgan shot back. Callie tugged at the fabric of her turtleneck, but Morgan playfully swatted her hand away.
“Right?” I snorted, adding to the conversation despite being the cause. “Sucking on someone’s neck, that’s so middle school.”
I laughed as I bit into another wing when Morgan shot me a murderous glare. “Shut up,Wesley. No one asked you.”
