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seems different now.”
    “Yeah, well, he's kind of an asshole,” Kai laughed, glancing over at me. The streetlights flickered through the window and highlighted the wide bridge of his nose. “And he definitely has a reputation, but he's the best damn QB this school has ever had. He's on his way to a career in the NFL.”
    “How long have you known him?” I asked, wondering if Tyce had ever mentioned me. Based on Kai's reaction, I highly doubted it.
    “Since he was seventeen. We actually finished up our junior and senior years together at Thurston High. He practically lived in my basement,” Kai joked, pausing at a stoplight and looking over at me again. Something on my face must've given me away because his laughter cooled and he looked serious all of a sudden. “I don't remember him mentioning you before, but it's probably because I'm a dumbass and I wasn't paying attention. I have a habit of missing things.”
    “Thanks,” I said, trying not to lose the spirit of the night. Too late. I could feel the heavy weight in my chest. Tyce ran away from home to couch surf and finish school here. Why? Why not come back home and visit us? Or at least call? I couldn't figure it out without asking him, and that was something I just wasn't prepared to do yet.
    Kai and I finished the drive in silence, and when he asked if I'd like him to walk me to my door, I said no. We could both tell that nothing else was going to happen between us tonight—not that I'd been planning on sleeping with Kai or anything. Still, I had a feeling that the ghost of Tyce had interfered in my life yet again. I doubted Kai Duran would be calling me back for a second date.

“You didn't tell me you had a childhood sweetheart,” Kai said the next morning, ambushing me in the locker room. He snapped his towel at my ass which he knew I hated. I turned around, letting my dick hang out, nice and proud, and flipped him off.
    “What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked as he slipped off his shirt and tossed it on a bench. He was smirking when he turned and punched in his key code for the locker door. They were fancy as hell, like something out of a sci-fi movie, all hooked up with ventilation and temperature control, things that Teagan and her mom hadn't even had in their trailer. I felt like a prick just being in here sometimes. I knew the facility had to cost tens of millions of dollars, and whether it was donated or not, I felt uncomfortable there at times. In my mind, I knew I'd earned the right to stand here, but in my heart, I felt like a coward.
    “You know, that sexy Irish thing with the cute little freckles,” Kai told me with a grin, holding his hands out in front of his Swedish pale chest. “She was stacked out to here and packing an ass like nobody's business. Too bad she was too caught up on you to have any fun.”
    Before I realized what I was doing, I was shoving Kai in the chest and sending him stumbling back into the row of lockers. Before I could chase him down and pummel the crap out his ass, he was holding up his hands in surrender.
    “Dude, I'm sorry. Chill, man, relax. Jesus Christ.” He swore under his breath in another language and rose to his feet, looking at me carefully, studying me like he thought I might come at him again. I managed to reign myself in, clenching my fists by my sides and taking deep breaths. I stared at him across the locker room and tried to come to terms with the fact that he might've slept with Teagan. I knew logically that it wasn't any of my damn business, but just imagining my best friend's hands on her made me want to scream. Last night, I'd chased down a good party, had a good time with a hot girl and still, I couldn't stop thinking about Teagan.
    This is exactly why I left, I thought to myself as Kai slicked his fingers through his blond hair and gave me a sheepish look.
    “Nothing happened between us, okay? I'm sorry, bro. I didn't realize you had a thing for her.”
    “I don't,” I