“Bullshit.”
The harshness in his tone made me flinch. I heard him sigh, then his footsteps approached until he was standing right behind me.
“Jesse,” he said, softer now. “Look at me.”
I couldn’t. If I turned around, if I looked into those blue eyes, I’d break. I’d tell him everything, and then it would all be over. Everything we’d built these past few months would crumble. But I couldn’t resist Cole when he went soft on me. Never had been able to.
His hand settled on my shoulder, warm and heavy. “Please.”
That single word, so rarely spoken by Cole Nelson, undid the last of my resolve. I turned slowly, forcing myself to meet his gaze. The concern in his eyes made my chest ache.
“Evelyn saw us,” I whispered, the words escaping before I could stop them. “At the party. On the deck.”
Cole’s face went completely blank, then drained of color. His hand dropped from my shoulder as he took a step back. “W-What?”
“She saw us kissing at midnight,” I continued, the words tumbling out now. “She knows about us, Cole.”
He ran a hand through his hair, his breathing suddenly shallow. “Fuck. Are you sure?”
“Yes. She just told me in the kitchen.”
“Fuck.” Cole’s voice was barely audible. He turned away from me, his shoulders hunching forward. “FUCK!”
His fist slammed against the countertop, making me jump. The raw panic in his eyes when he turned back to me was exactly what I’d been dreading.
“Did she say anything?” he demanded. “Who else knows? Did she tell anyone?”
“No one else knows,” I assured him quickly. “She told me in the kitchen she wouldn’t say anything. That it wasn’t her story to tell.”
“But she knows,” Cole said, pacing the kitchen like a caged animal. “She fucking knows.”
“She’s not going to tell anyone,” I insisted, though I couldn’t stop my own voice from trembling. “She actually seemed... okay with it.”
Cole froze mid-step, his eyes narrowing. “Okay with it? There’s no way. No one in this town would be okay with it.”
“She’s not just anyone,” I reminded him. “She’s practically family.”
“That makes it worse!” Cole slammed his palm against the refrigerator door. “She’s known us since we were kids. She watched us grow up as brothers, for Christ’s sake.”
“Step-brothers,” I corrected automatically, then winced when Cole shot me a withering look.
“You think that distinction matters to anyone around here?” He ran both hands through his hair, gripping it at the roots. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. This is why I said we needed to be careful.”
The accusation in his tone wasn’t subtle. I felt my defensive walls rising. “I didn’t plan for her to see us, Cole. It just happened.”
“Nothing ‘just happens’ with you, Jesse,” he spat. “You’re always pushing, always testing boundaries. On the deck? At a party with half the county inside? What were you thinking?”
“Me?” I stepped toward him, anger flaring hot in my chest. “You kissed me, remember? I wasn’t the one who couldn’t wait until we got home.”
“Because you’d been manipulating me all night!” Cole’s voice rose dangerously. “Making those eyes at me, saying all those things about falling for me… is that how you got through so many guys all these years? Were you justsluttingyour way through life with pretty words and a tight ass so you didn’t have to come home and deal with real life like the rest of us?!”
I stood there frozen, his words still ringing in my ears. The moment they left his lips, I watched his face fall. Anger was quickly replaced by panic and regret. And I felt the hot streaks of tears running down my cheeks.
“Jesse…” he muttered. “I… I didn’t?—”
“Fuck you, Cole,” I said, my voice quivering despite my best efforts. “Fuck everything about you.”
With that I pushed my was past him and up the stairs toward my room. I heard him try to speak once and falter, but I didn’t care. And I was almost relieved when he didn’t come after me. The last thing I did was slam my bedroom door behind me, so he knew exactly how I felt.
