I nod in agreement. He’s right. It shouldn’t have.
“Let’s call a truce. No more fighting or pranks. We have less than a year under the same roof. Then we’ll be graduating and moving on with our lives.” His voice softens, becoming almost uncertain. “We can get along for eight months without trying to poison one another, can’t we?”
“I didn’t try to poison you,” I say quickly, but my voice lacks conviction. How did we end up in this place? I’ve never had an issue with anyone. I get along with everyone. Carter has always been the exception. I shake my head trying to make sense of it all. “I’ve never understood why you have a problem with me.”
His gaze flickers to something at the far corner of the yard. Time slows, and I wonder if he’ll bother with an answer.
Is there one?
I can’t imagine what it could be.
“There was never a problem.” Avoiding eye contact, he keeps his gaze trained on something in the distance.
Disappointment sets in and I sputter out a laugh. For a moment there, it felt like we were making progress. Guess not. “Oh, come on,” I mock. “You’ve never liked me. You’ve always been a prick.” My upper lip curls with the memory and the subsequent confusion and hurt that quickly followed in its wake. “You never gave me a chance.”
The longer Carter remains silent, the more restless I grow wondering if he’ll finally give me the real reason for his behavior.
Looking distinctly uncomfortable by the forced conversation, he shifts on the lounger. His gaze bounces around the yard never once landing on me. “It was never like that.”
I jerk upright and swing my legs around to face him. Our knees bump. This time, the contact does nothing for me.
How can he lie with a straight face?
This conversation is probably the longest one we’ve ever engaged in without sniping at each other. I should count that as a win and move on. Not five minutes ago, Carter called a truce.
I need to let this go. For my own sanity.
But I can’t.
I want an explanation. As much as I hate to admit it, his behavior has always bothered me. It’s like a painful sliver I’ve never been able to dislodge from beneath my skin. One that’s been festering for years.
How can I possibly ignore it?
I drag in a breath and attempt to settle all the rioting emotion inside me. “It’s always been like that and you know it.”
He mutters something unintelligible under his breath.
I lean toward him so that we’re closer. All I want is for him to look me in the eye and tell me the truth. No matter what it is, I can handle it. Only then can we move forward with a clean slate. “I’m sorry, I missed that. What did you say?”
He glances up, his gray gaze skewering mine. My breath catches as emotion flashes in his eyes. It’s so much more than I’m used to seeing from him.
There are times when it feels as if Carter has built a wall aroundhimself. At least where I’m concerned. Although with other people—girls especially—he’s relaxed and even gregarious. For some reason, he’s always treated me differently.
“I never meant to come across that way.” His voice is painfully uncertain. “Can we just forget about it and move on?”
Even though I want to push for answers, it’s doubtful he’ll be honest with me. Maybe I just need to let it go and bury the hatchet. “Yeah, I guess we can do that.”
He nods, relief transforms his expression. “Good.”
His lips lift. My gaze drops unconsciously to the full sexiness of his mouth. An unwelcome rush of desire floods through my body before pooling at my core.
What am I doing?
It takes effort to shake myself out of the weird mental fog that has fallen over me. I shoot to my feet, needing to put a little distance between us.
At my sudden movement, Carter bolts upward as well. You wouldn’t expect someone so large to move that fluidly, but he does. We’re practically standing toe-to-toe.
There’s a devilish voice inside my head urging me to stroke my palms over the graphic t-shirt clinging to his chest and arms. The material wraps around his thick, sun-kissed biceps.
