“The text musthave gotten lost in the ether,” I improvised.
“Yeah, thathappens… in the ether,” Flash mused.
“Well, I’llleave the two of you to get caught up,” Mom said.
Flash crossedhis arms and continued to stare at me. “Thanks, Mrs. Burke.”
Mom walked awayand I leaned against the sofa. “Well, I should get upstairs. I have stuff—”
“Bullshit,”Flash hissed. “You’re gonna stand here and tell me why you didn’t tell me youwere home, then I’m gonna take you out to dinner to celebrate.”
“Listen here,dough boy.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s not what’s going to happen.You’re going to walk your butt back out my front door and leave me alone.”
“Tate, I haven’theard from you in three years.”
“That’s nottrue,” I argued.
“You text me onmy birthday and at Christmas, but if I try to call you back, you send my callstraight to voicemail.”
“I have been inlaw school,” I pointed out. “I’ve had to focus.”
“Are you pissedat me? Holding a grudge about something?”
It wasn’t just agrudge. He’d shattered my heart and I had vowed then and there to never let himdo it again.
I took a deepbreath, then lied my ass off. “No. There is no grudge, Flash. I’m just movingon with my life. I have things I want to accomplish and hangin’ out withsomeone in a motorcycle gang isn’t really conducive to my success.”
“Are you fuckingkidding me?” he breathed out.
“No.” I droppedmy eyes to my feet again, knowing that was a really low blow. “I’m not kiddingyou.”
He steppedcloser to me. Crowding me. God, he smelled incredible. Leather and soap and allman. I stepped back but he followed me until my back hit the console by thesofa.
“Look at me,Tate.”
I took a deepbreath and met his eyes. “What?”
His eyes movedover my face. “Did something happen?”
I played dumb.“When?”
“Why won’t youjust fuckin’ tell me what I did so we can move through this?” he asked. “Youwere my best friend, then all of a sudden—”
“Were.”
“Excuse me?”
“Wewerebest friends. We’re not anymore, Flash. And I’m okay with that. I just need youto be as well.”
“Well, that’snever gonna fuckin’ happen, Tate, so get that out of your head.”
“I get to choosewho my friends are, so you have no say over it.”
He dragged hishands through his hair. “Just tell me what I did.”
“No.”
He smirked.“Okay, so I did dosomething.”
