“Just forget it. I’ll have to find some other way to keep them in line. I’m not letting them do shit that’ll fuck up our season. We’re gonna win every damn game, and if we don’t, they’re gonna pay.”
He finally leaves. I wait until I hear the front door open and close before returning to the sliding glass door. I open it and go outside.
“Jackson?” I whisper.
“Over here.”
He’s standing by the railing that runs along the back patio. I run over there.
“Have you been here the whole time?” I whisper.
He turns to me and smiles. “You don’t have to whisper. They’re gone.” He takes my face in his hands and kisses me. “I had to see you. I couldn’t wait.”
“Braden almost caught us! Do you know how pissed he’d be if he—”
Jackson stops me with another kiss. And then another, as his arms go around me, pulling me close.
I break from his lips and look up at his gorgeous face. He really should model, or go back to acting. A face that good-looking and a body like his need to be shown off.
“Jackson, I’m serious. We almost got caught.”
“I’m sure we will, eventually.”
“You’re not worried about that? About what will happen if—”
“Braden finds out? I don’t give a shit. He doesn’t get to tell me who I can date. He should know that by now.”
I pause, trying to figure out what he means. Is he referring to that girl? The one they both dated? The dead girl?
“You mean because of Andrea?” I cautiously ask.
He backs away. “Who told you that?”
“What?”
“Who told you about Andrea?” he asks, raising his voice.
My hands feel clammy, and my throat goes dry. I think I can trust Jackson, but that story Shayla told me put doubts in my mind. People think Jackson killed that girl. Why would they think that? Why would they think he’s even capable of that?
“Who was it?” he demands, grabbing my arm.
“Nobody.” I shake my head. “It’s just gossip I heard at school.”
“People at Twisted Pine don’t talk about me. Not anymore. They won’t even say my name. They think I’m a traitor.”
“That’s probably why they were saying that stuff about you. To make you look bad.”
“What stuff? What were they saying about me?”
“Nothing. Just forget it.” I try to pull my arm away, but he keeps hold of it.
“What did they say about Andrea?”
“That she got drunk at a party.” I pause. “And fell. Over a railing just like this one.” I look down at it.
“They said it was an accident?”
I nod really fast.
