He cursed again and hit his hand against the wheel. “I don’t fucking know what I’m worried about. I feel like this whole year is off, you know?” He sounded haunted. “Is it just me? Is it because Mason’s not here?”

He was looking for an answer. I lifted both my shoulders up and let them fall. I didn’t have one for him. “I miss him too.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Maybe that’s just it.” He groaned, raking a hand through his hair, letting it rub over his face before dropping it to his lap. “It’s just, it’s Quinn, you know? I hate that loser. Anything she gives him makes me feel like crap. Any time she texts him or smiles at him or takes his phone call, the douche thinks he’s winning her over me. I hate this shit. I hate relationships.” He grinned at me. “I think Tate messed me up for every girl.”

“Just talk to Kris. She told me that she used to sleep with guys to feel loved, something about having daddy issues. If she’s talking to another guy, maybe it’s those old issues rearing up, and she’s just not handling them. I don’t know.” I reached over and squeezed his hand. “For what it’s worth, she’s crazy about you. I know she is.”

He turned his hand over so his palm rested against mine. He sighed, lacing his fingers with mine. “Thanks, Sam. You’re right. I’ll just talk to her first.” His eyes narrowed, and his hand tightened around mine. “Then I’ll kick his ass.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I had Logan drop me off at home. He went to the party, but I never heard if there had been any drama or not. Mark was still sleeping when I got up the next morning and headed for a shift at Manny’s. As I got to the little diner, I breathed in the smell of grease, dirt, dust, and sweat. The front door was open, and I could hear yelling, mixed with a fast country song from inside. Opening the screen door, I noticed a group of guys huddled around the bar. The top of Brandon’s head was visible as a bottle was tossed in the air. When I didn’t hear glass shattering, I assumed he was doing his usual bartending show. When I moved past the bar for the back employee room, he saw me from the side of the group. In mid-pour, he flashed me a smile. “The prodigal sister has returned.”

I grinned. “Still dreaming about being in Cocktail?

“You know it.” He winked at me. Finishing the pour, he slid the glass to its customer and held his hand towards me. “Hold up, Sam.”

I paused, but glanced around with my uniform in hand. There were two other servers that I didn’t recognize, along with Rosa and Frank, who was doing the dishes. When Brandon finished putting the money in the register, I asked him, “Where’s Heather?” It wasn’t normal to have five servers on a shift.

“That’s what I wanted to let you know. She’s at Channing’s. Rosa’s filling in for her.”

“Oh.” I was disappointed. It’s why I had picked up the shift, to work with her. “Okay. I’m still on till nine tonight?”

“Yeah, that’s the other thing. Our numbers are down, so we don’t need you today. I’m sorry, Sam. I was supposed to call you and let you know.”

Double oh.

He grimaced. “I got slammed, or I would’ve called you earlier. I am sorry.”

“So you’re saying I have a free day?”

“Go find Logan and get drunk.” He paused and then added, “Road trip to see Mason?”

I laughed, but I was considering it. I turned back and was headed outside when someone stepped forward. The screen door hit him in the head. “I’m sorry—” I started, but stopped when I saw who it was.

Jackson.

He had taken off his sunglasses and rubbed his forehead as he squinted to see me. “Sam?” He held his sunglasses up. “Apparently I need more than these. That sun is blinding. I didn’t see you at all.”

“I hit you. I’m sorry.”

“I’m good.” Giving me a grin, he turned and looked around us. He scanned the parking lot, the patio, and leaned around me to see inside the diner. “Are you here with someone?”

I held up my uniform. “I work here.”

“You do? I’ve been eating here for the last three weeks.”

“I work here,” I paused, “randomly. I don’t have that much time with cross country. You know, with school too.”

“Ah. Yes.” His hand lingered on the side of his face as he gazed down at me. “Jeff used to talk about you running all the time. You still run?”

“Yeah.”

He laughed and shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Jeff always bitched about you running. He tried to tell me that’s why he cheated on you, because you ran all the time.”

“What?”

“What?”

He said… “You and Jeff talked about him cheating?”

“Yeah—” The screen door opened again as three guys left Manny’s. Jackson glanced around, then gestured to a table and chairs in the corner. “Can we just…do you want to…I don’t know. Could we talk…a little? After what happened and last night, I feel like we should talk. Maybe for some closure or something.”

“Yeah.” That sounded good. He was right. Closure. As he sat down, I sat across from him.

I stared.

He stared back.

This was going wonderfully. “So…”

At the same time, he said, “Yeah, so—” He laughed. “Man. This is awkward, huh?”

“Little bit.” I curled my hands together on my lap. “It’s probably me. I don’t socialize much. I don’t have to. Pretty much everyone knows me by now.”

A keen look came into his eyes, and he leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table. “Yeah. Jeff said when you guys broke up, it wasn’t long before you were with Mason Kade. Since I’ve been here, I can tell that probably sent some shockwaves through school, huh?”

“You could say that.” I grinned. “Things are fine, for the most part.”

“That’s good.” His head bobbed up and down. His smile never left his face. “And your boyfriend is at Cain U?”

“Do you know that because of the gossip or—”

He shook his head. “Football. It’s known where the big recruits go. Signing day and all.”