The Haunting Crush (Mesa Boys #4)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

K ai stepped through open sliding-glass pocket doors onto a flagstone patio and stopped, scanning over the other teenagers in t-shirts, ripped jeans, and shorts, hovering around a beer pong table.

A blond boy threw the ping pong ball into a triangle of red Solo cups, hitting his target. Beer splashed out of a cup and the throng cheered, some with hands raised.

Kai’s attention turned to Bryce, who stood beside him, his brown hair cut around his face and swept to one side, his large blue eyes fixating on the game. He sipped beer from a clear, plastic cup.

“Pretty nice place Conner lives in, right?” Kai swung his long hair over his shoulder.

Bryce gave him a sly smile. “These entitled kids have it all. I mean, look at this fucking place.” He waved his arms. “It’s got to be at least eight thousand square feet. Crestview is fucking lit. Fountain Hills’ finest. Even better than Firerock Country Club.”

Kai nodded, taking in the Grecian columns between arches of stucco and red draperies hanging down and tied to each one. Out beyond the immense patio lay a manicured lawn with palm trees rising up around a rectangular pool with a hot tub attached in the middle. A few teenagers splashed about in the turquoise water. As he drank his beer from his clear plastic cup, he looked out over the expanse of natural desert hills beyond an iron fence, saguaro cacti rising up with what looked like their arms raised. The nearest neighbor had to be acres away. “Anyway, it was cool Conner invited us to his graduation party, right?

“Good thing you’re his chem lab partner.” Bryce gulped some beer and chuckled, peering at him. “You got some good taste, man. Too bad he’s not gay.” He smirked at Kai.

“Can’t have it all, I guess.” Kai let his smile fade and stared at his beer. Conner Mitchell, football quarterback, homecoming king, biggest crush of his life. Nothing would ever come of it, but at least they’d become friends at school. All because he was good at chemistry and Conner wanted his help.

“Bro, I’ve been thinking.” Bryce gave him a wide grin.

“Oh, no. What now?” Kai shook his head and leaned against the edge of the door jamb, stuffing a hand inside the front pocket of his gray, board shorts.

“So, you know how they say some Asians are bananas? You know, yellow on the outside and white on the inside?”

“Yeah... Do I really want to hear this?” Kai released a puff of air.

“Well, you’re an apple. You know, red on the outside and white on the inside.” Bryce erupted in a belly laugh.

Kai lowered his brows and grinned at the same time. “The fuck? What’s wrong with you? My skin is not red. It’s barely even brown.”

“But you’re native. That’s makes you red, right? And you act white, get it?” Bryce slapped his arm.

“You’re fucking crazy. Natives are not red. I’m only like one quarter Navajo anyway. My dad was half.” Kai frowned. At least that’s what his CDIB card said. If only his father were alive, then maybe his mother wouldn’t hate him so much. He drew a deep inhale. Time to change the subject. “I need to take a piss.”

“Sure, man.” Bryce looked him over and wrinkled his brows. “ You’re not mad at me, right?” He touched his arm. “I didn’t mean to make you think about your dad.”

Bryce meant well. He just wanted to make me laugh . “No, I’m not mad.” Kai flashed a forced smile at him. “I’ll be right back.” He walked off through a large family room with modern leather furnishings and high ceilings, attached to a kitchen with alder wood cabinets and high-end, stainless-steel appliances.

Paige stepped to him and swung her dirty-blonde hair behind her shoulders, her red bikini showing off all her curves. “Hi, Kai. Glad you could make it.” She held a glass of red wine.

“Hi, Paige. Can you tell me where the bathroom is?” She gave off a bad vibe. He wrinkled his nose. He was never really sure what it was exactly that bothered him so much about her. Maybe because she’s Conner’s girlfriend? He smirked. Maybe.

“Oh, I think all the ones on this floor are taken. There’s one upstairs, next to the office.” She pointed up to an open balcony hovering over the room with a black iron railing and bookshelves lining the walls.

He looked up. “How do I get there?” This house was immense.

She pointed to a hallway, behind a wet bar. “Did you see that stairway by the front door? That goes up there.”

“Yep, thanks.” He sipped his beer and strode over tan travertine flooring, under the balcony and through a hallway, then up a flight of circular stairs with green Berber carpeting. At the top of the stairs he found an open set of tall double doors leading into an office covered in dark wood, then an open single door and closed single door beyond it. He could barely make out a tile counter behind the middle door. “Must be that one.” He walked into it, flicked the light on, shut the door, and locked it.

He turned and scanned over a bathroom with a travertine tile counter, gold fixtures, and deep-red towels. He gulped the rest of his beer down, then threw the cup into a gold waste basket. “Nice.” After using the toilet, he scrubbed soap over his hands from the white ceramic dispenser, then examined himself in the mirror—his straight, brown hair parted off-center, falling down the sides of his face just past his broad shoulders, the large, almond-shaped brown eyes under curved brows, the smallish nose, and full lips. His skin wasn’t red. Bryce was an idiot. It was definitely darker than his white friends’, but not as dark as the Pima on the rez.

He shut off the water at the sink and dried his hands, looking over the white NASA graphic t-shirt covering his chest. With all these rich kids in town, the Goodwill here always had great stuff. He smirked. Maybe this shirt came from a kid at this party. I wonder if they’d notice?

He should have graduated this year with Conner. He thinned his lips and hung the towel on the rack, folding it to match the others. Maybe if he hadn’t spent that year in foster care after his dad died... He whispered, “Oh well.” He sighed, opened the door, and stepped out.

Conner stood in the hallway, wearing black swim trunks, looking him up and down, his muscled chest bare. He licked his lips. “Kai.”

His breath caught. “C-Conner?” He took in Conner’s chiseled male-model looks, the ice-blue slightly narrowed eyes resting under straight dark brows angled up at the outer edge, the pointed nose, the generous lips with a bit of pout, the longer wavy brown hair on top of his head parted on the side and draped over his forehead. His angled jaw held a sprinkling of stubble. He stood a good four inches taller than Kai’s five-foot ten frame. He drew a deep breath and focused on the inch-long scar running over Conner’s cheek, under his left eye. The sack Conner took that day was scary. It had looked like Conner might have lost his eye.

“What are you doing up here?” Conner came in close, his bare chest brushing against Kai’s.

Kai knit his brows. “Um, just had to use the bathroom. Paige told me they were full downstairs.”

Conner raked his teeth over his lower lip, then threw Kai’s arms over his head, crushing him in a deep kiss, tossing his back against the wall, thrusting his hips into Kai’s.

Kai widened his eyes. Holy fuck. He opened his mouth, allowing Conner’s exploring tongue inside. He tasted of beer and pizza and everything he’d always wanted. How the fuck is this happening?

Conner seized him by the waist and shoved him through the third door.

The back of Kai’s legs struck something hard, throwing him off balance. He fell to his back on a bed and bounced. The door slammed shut. The room went dark.

Conner came down over him, devouring him with open-mouthed kisses, grinding his hard cock on Kai’s hip, groaning. “Fuck, this is okay, right?” Seduction and desperation laced his voice.

Kai stole a deep breath, fighting to keep up with his demanding mouth. “Y-yeah.” He kissed him with more intensity, sensation building in his swollen cock with each thrust of Conner’s hips.

Conner roamed his hands down Kai’s body, found his hands, and lifted them up over his head, holding them down. He shifted his hips to thrust against Kai’s thigh, gliding his hard cock over him through his shorts. The thrusts became erratic. “Fuck, I’m close. Are you close?”

Jesus, is he going to come? Kai drove his hips harder, faster against Conner’s, sliding his solid cock against his groin, letting delicious pressure and friction pulse through him. He wound a leg around Conner’s, frantic for more. His peak teased him. “A-almost.”

Conner pushed frenzied thrusts against him, kissing with urgency, letting out groan after groan. His body shuddered and his head reared back, his face tensed, and he released one gasp after another.

He’s coming. As an intense sensation engulfed Kai’s cock, he drove harder, letting wave after wave of orgasm spurt cum into his boxer briefs, moaning with each one.

As it calmed, Conner lay over him, panting. “Shit, I’m sorry.” He rolled to his back.

Kai laid on the bed, staring up through the dark, the only light weaving in through shades drawn across the window next to the bed. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

Conner rose up and stood from the bed. “Don’t tell anyone. Okay?”

Kai lifted up on his elbows, squinting at him. “Sure.” What the hell was going on? How did he feel about this, never mind Conner? He swallowed hard and pursed his lips.

“Y-you know where the bathroom is. Maybe I’ll see you downstairs.” Conner glanced at him, drawing his brows together, then opened the door and left, shutting it with a soft click.

Kai fell to the bed with a sigh. “What the fuck?” He lifted his forearm to rest over his eyes. How many times had he imagined doing something like that with him? At least a hundred. He raised a corner of his mouth. But now it had happened, and he felt... empty. Fucking alone. He never in a million years thought Conner had any interest in him, or any interest in guys at all. Why would he do that? Because Conner knew he was gay? Everyone knew it at school. It wasn’t a secret. That must be it.

He rolled to his side with a huff. He should get cleaned up and go home. The last thing he wanted to see was Paige hanging on Conner all night. Not now. Fuck that.

He rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom, cleaned up with a washcloth, then strode out, jogged down the stairs, through the hallway and found Bryce, still standing on the patio. “Hey.”

He grinned at Kai. “What took you so long?”

Kai shifted his weight and scowled. “You’ll never fucking guess.”

Bryce looked behind Kai and lifted his chin. “Hey, Conner. ”

Conner brushed up behind Kai. “Hey.” He glanced at Kai, frowned, then walked off to the beer pong table.

An ache built in Kai’s chest. This was fucked up. He pressed his lips together. He didn’t want to feel something real for Conner. He shouldn’t feel something. There was no way what happened was going to turn into anything. He was a crush and a fantasy, and nothing was going to change that. “Let’s go home.”

“What? Why? The party’s just getting started.” Bryce lifted his brows.

“You stay. I’ll go.” He went to leave.

Bryce grabbed his arm. “No, I’ll take you home. It’s five or six miles, it’s hot out, and you won’t have any water.”

“I can run that in forty-five minutes easy, but okay. Let’s go.” The run would have helped to clear his mind, but Bryce was right about the water. He hung his head, then glanced at the beer pong table.

Paige had her arms draped around Conner’s bare chest, smiling, leaning her well-endowed body against his.

As Conner gulped beer from a cup, he wound his arm around her shoulders.

Tears stung Kai’s eyes. That was the Conner he knew. Not the one from upstairs. Not the one who kissed him until they both came. That Conner didn’t exist. Why should it? Who was he? Just some poor-ass gay, not really white, not really native fucker. With a wince, he shut his eyes tight and blinked the tears back.

“Fuck, Kai, are you okay? What the hell happened?” Bryce grabbed his arm, creasing his forehead.

“Nothing. Just take me home.” Kai bit his lip and headed for the front door with Bryce following, swerving through laughing, drinking teenagers. Should he tell Bryce, or keep Conner’s secret? Bryce had a big mouth, so telling Bryce might let it slip out. So what. Conner was graduating in a few days. What would it matter?

Kai came to a large set of wooden double doors with an ornate iron handle, opened it, then stepped out into an entryway paved in more travertine. A lion head fountain rested on the wall, dripping water out of its mouth into a basin. This place was over the top.

Bryce shut the door behind them. “You going to tell me what’s going on now?”

Should he tell Bryce? Maybe part of it. He needed to think on that. He furrowed his brows and walked down a set of cement steps. Desert landscaping, lit up from the ground, surrounded them—tall saguaros, ocotillo, and mesquite trees. As he reached the long winding driveway, he looked out at the street toward their car. A few javelina snorted and stopped to look back at him. “Shit.” He pointed.

“What?” Bryce peered down the driveway. “Fucking javelina? How are we going to get to our car?”

Kai frowned. Just what he needed. “Guess we’ll have to wait it out. They’ll leave soon enough.”

Bryce walked to the side of the driveway and picked up a landscaping rock. He drew his hand back.

Kai went to him and seized his arm. “What the fuck? You want to get attacked?” Idiot.

Bryce frowned at him. “Yeah, guess you’re right.” He threw the rock into the landscape.

With a sigh, Kai sat down on the warm cement of the driveway and wrapped his arms around drawn up knees. “Just wait. They’ll leave.”

Bryce sat next to him, crossing his legs. “So, tell me what happened.”

Kai drew a deep breath. Maybe Bryce could help make some sense of it, because right now, it made no sense at all. “Fucking Conner kissed me.”

“The fuck?” Bryce widened his eyes. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” He snickered. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or some shit?”

Kai narrowed his eyes at him and tensed his jaw. “Come on, I’m serious.” He rocked once. “He, well, he caught me outside the bathroom upstairs.” Damn, it was awesome though, really. He relaxed his shoulders, letting a faint smile work his lips. “He pinned me up against the wall and kissed me. Like, a lot.” No need to mention the rest of it . The memory flashed through his mind. Lust tingled up his spine. He licked his lips.

“Fucking Conner made out with you upstairs? With his girlfriend at the beer pong table?” Bryce dropped his jaw open.

“Yeah,” Kai said. “He told me not to tell anyone, though. So, don’t say anything.”

“You think he might be questioning and tried you out because you’re gay?”

“Probably.” Kai huffed. Of course. That settles that. Bryce had come to the same conclusion he had, so it was the most logical answer. “Yeah, that’s probably all it was.” It was time to put Conner back where he belonged, in daydreams and fantasies.

Bryce glanced at the bottom of the driveway. “Hey, the pigs are gone. Let’s go.”

Kai released a short laugh. “They’re not pigs. They’re peccaries.” He stood up and brushed off his behind.

“Yeah, whatever. They look like hairy pigs.” With a laugh, Bryce rose up and walked down the driveway.

Kai sat in the passenger seat of Bryce’s old Honda Accord, picking at a worn spot in the gray cloth seat, his arm resting on the open window frame. It was already hot at night, and it wasn’t even June. “Dude, if you don’t get the AC fixed in this car, the summer’s going to be brutal.”

“Yeah, whatever. When are you going to get a car?” Bryce glanced at Kai and smirked.

“After I get some money saved.” He looked out at the spray of cactus and rock beds speeding by the car under the streetlights. “After high school I can finally work full time. Janice said they’ll make me a bartender at The Fountain Bar and Grill if I stay there.”

“Yeah? Cool, man. They do pretty well. I was thinking of trying that place out.” Bryce pulled the car into a drive and came up on the side of the street. “The Village. Home sweet home.” He pushed the shifter into Park.

Kai looked out over sets of plain square stucco buildings, the living quarters on top and open carports underneath, all with flat roofs and cream paint, nothing bigger than a two bedroom. Everything was different here, no fancy columns, no natural desert. It was as if they put the plainest buildings they could think of out in the desert and then surrounded them with pine trees, oaks, and palm trees to cover them up. He opened the car door. It groaned in protest. “You need to oil these hinges or something.”

Bryce stepped out of the car and shut the door with a thud. “Whatever. At least it runs.” He turned toward the buildings. “Hey, is that your sister over there?” He pointed.

Kai surveyed the area around his building and frowned. “Yeah.” Something’s up.

May sat on the tar drive under the building, her knees drawn up and picking at something unseen in the asphalt. Her long brown hair fell over the shoulders of her white sleeveless shirt and flipflops covered her feet.

“Shit, that’s not good.” Kai walked toward her.

“You need help, man?” Bryce followed him.

He held his palm out to Bryce. “No. Mom probably had a spell again. Just go back to the party.”

“You sure?” Bryce knit his brows together.

“Yeah. It’s not like I haven’t dealt with this a million times already.” He pursed his lips. He never knew when his mother would go off. One minute she’d be fine, and the next it was like a bomb exploded and everyone around her was a target. “See you later. Let me know if anything interesting happens.”

“Sure.” Bryce got back in his car and started up the engine .

Kai stepped to his sister and narrowed his eyes, placing his hands on his hips. He didn’t like the look of this. “May.”

She peeked up at him with her big brown eyes, glistening in the dark. “What are you doing home so early? I thought you were looking forward to the big fancy grad party?”

He tensed his lips. She didn’t need to know the details of what happened. “Just didn’t feel right staying.” He sat next to her, crossing his legs on the pavement. “So, Mom?—”

“She’s fucking insane.” She huffed and focused on him. “I cannot wait to graduate in three years and get the fuck out of here.”

It was exactly what he’d thought. “What was it this time?” He drew a deep breath.

“Does it matter? The God damned pizza she ordered for dinner had onions. She hates onions. You’d think someone took a shit on her food.” She scowled.

He released a quick laugh. “Maybe someone should.”

She snickered and dropped her legs down, resting on her hands behind her. “I’m not sure you should go in there just yet.” As her attention turned to him, her smile waned.

He let loose a puff of air and placed his elbows on his knees. “I’m just going to go to bed. It’s been sort of a shit night and I’m tired.”

“Oh, what happened? Want to talk about it?” She lifted her brows.

He gave his head a quick shake. “No.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Did someone bully you at the party? Maybe one of those asshole jocks?”

He flashed his eyes at her. “No.” He wasn’t sure he’d call what happened bullying, or the jock who did it an asshole.

She made a frustrated noise. “Fine.” She glanced at the building behind her. “But if you go in there now, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Yeah.” He rose up from the pavement and brushed his hands together. “Don’t stay out here too long.” He glanced toward the wash beyond the masonry stucco wall, at the scraggly mesquite and palo verde trees mixed with tall, broad-leafed cottonwoods. “At some point all the addicts are going to come crawling out of Saguaro Woods. You should be inside before that happens.”

She let loose a long exhale. “I know.”

With a sigh, he went to the door inside the carport and opened it, walked up the steps and out into the main room. Everything was dark. He scanned the area. Where was she? Maybe she’d gone to bed already.

“Kai.”

He startled. No such luck. “Y-yeah?” He flicked on the light at the wall and took in the worn green couch the cushions with permanent dents, the oval oak coffee and end tables, the white ceramic lamps with maroon shades, all from the local Goodwill. He assessed his mother, her dark hair cut just above the shoulder, parted on the side, her age showing in the hint of jowls and wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, her blue eyes gazing back at him. She was the only one in the family with blue eyes. The only one not native at all. Her brown t-shirt with kittens on the front didn’t quite fit her mood. He twitched a corner of his mouth.

“Kai, why is your sister outside? Tell her to come in. It’s not safe out there.” She glowered, then lifted a red, plastic glass and twirled it, the ice making clinking noises.

Shit, she’s drinking. He stared at the floor and frowned. “I-I tried, Mom, but she wants to stay out there a little longer.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She slammed the glass on the coffee table, the contents splashing out, and stood up, her body menacing, even with her thin frame. She stalked toward him. “I told you to get her. Do what you’re fucking told for once!”

He cowered and grimaced. “I-I just want to go to bed, Mom. Okay?” He stole a peek at her.

Her face relaxed. She came close and whispered in his ear, “ You’re so fucking pathetic. You know that? Just like your father.”

Her favorite jab. It still hurt. Tears stung his eyes and he gulped hard. May was right. He should have stayed in the driveway with her. Mom was on a rampage. He bit his lip and stepped toward his room.

She seized his arm. “Don’t you walk away from me. Not when I’m talking to you.” The words spat out of her mouth. She sneered at him, studying his face.

He peered down the hallway. If only he could get to his bedroom, then he could lock her out. His lower lip trembled. Her alcohol-laced breath shivered over his cheek.

“You crying now? Is that what queers do? Cry at every little thing?”

He winced and yanked his arm free. He didn’t need this shit tonight of all nights. “Leave me the fuck alone.” He blinked, and a tear raced down his cheek. As he strode to the hallway, he swiped his face and rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t let her get to him like that.

He walked into his bedroom, slammed the door shut, then locked it. Would she try to open it? He tiptoed backward, fixating on the doorknob, holding his breath. Maybe he’d get lucky. But would that mean she’d go after May in the driveway now? He wrinkled his brow. She usually knew better than to do this outside. Child Protective Services wouldn’t hold back if someone called them again.

His mind flashed to a tattered, bare house, no electricity, and no running water. His father lay limp on a linoleum floor, a water bucket fallen sideways by his head. A puddle of water all around him. He remembered screaming, then his mother blaming him. How could he possibly have known that his father hadn’t taken his insulin that day? How could a five-year-old kid be responsible for that? He shook the memory away. She was fucking insane. Maybe they’d be better off if they’d stayed in foster care .

It’s quiet. Why? Did she go back to her drink on the couch? He released a long sigh. “Shit.” As he slumped his shoulders, he made his way to his twin bed, one of two mattresses on the floor, with a few brown blankets thrown on top, and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. That was close. It could have been so much worse. He gulped hard and lay down on the bed, looking up at the popcorn in the ceiling. “What a fucking night.”

He rolled to his side, pulling his legs part way up and sliding a hand under his pillow. Hopefully, mom would fall asleep before May came back in. If not, he’d have to deal with her all over again. May... He smirked. She was supposed to have a Navajo name like him, but the idiots at the hospital fucked it up and put May on her birth certificate instead of Mai. Figured. She didn’t look native one bit. Not like him. No one ever asked her where she came from or what her ethnicity was. No one ever asked her if she was adopted.

He nuzzled into the pillow and shut his eyes. He should sleep. Tomorrow he would have to study for finals. He popped his eyes open and whispered, “Shit, Conner.” He would have to see him in chem class on Monday. That would be awkward. Would things be the same between them, or was their friendship, whatever friendship they had, ruined? He wasn’t going to solve it tonight. He closed his eyes.

Kai raced past a burnt-orange brick building with letters in cream, reading Fountain Hills High School over a metal awning painted in turquoise. His black backpack bounced on his back as he ran. As he approached a turquoise iron fence, he slowed and strode through the open gate, over cement walkways with natural desert all around, scrubby bushes, short mesquites, and palo verde trees dominating the area. The cactus had been removed. Didn’t need some teenager falling and getting a body full of needles. Other teenagers milled about, laughing, and talking, stuffing Pop Tarts and Nutra-Grain bars in their mouths, drinking Gatorades.

Sweat beaded on his brow. The morning sun was already warm, and the run didn’t help. As he walked under a metal awning to a brick building with the letter C over the door, he stopped and looked down at his maroon Volcom t-shirt, black shorts, and worn black Vans sneakers, the holes at the pinky toes taunting him. Maybe he could find a new pair at Goodwill this week. He lifted the corner of his mouth. That was the least of his worries.

His heart pounded. It was time for the chemistry final. Time to see Conner. A bump lurched him forward and he took a step. He twisted his head to see Lucas, Conner’s friend .

“You going in there or what?” Lucas, his blond bangs falling over blue eyes, freckles rolling over his nose and cheeks, sneered at him, then held up his fist. “Get out of my way, gay boy.”

Fucker . “Uh, yeah.” Kai cringed, then opened a glass door rimmed in turquoise metal, stepped inside, and strolled down the hallway to the chem lab. He didn’t need another beating by that asshole. As he approached the door, he wiped his hands on his shorts, took a deep breath, then walked inside.

Kai scanned over the room, taking in the black-topped lab tables with wooden drawers running down the middle underneath, his gaze resting on the table he shared with Conner. It was empty. His classmates filled the other tables and chairs. Cabinets lined the walls all around. Conner must be late. He went to the table and took a seat on a metal stool, then slid a yellow mechanical pencil out of his backpack. He chewed his lower lip and focused on Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Lewis sat behind a desk, looking the room over, his dark glasses resting low in his nose, his gray hair cut short.

“Okay everyone, let’s get started.” Mr. Lewis walked around the room, handing out stacks of stapled, type-written papers. “ Remember, keep your eyes on your own work. I catch anyone cheating and you’re done.”

Conner burst into the room, panting. His white gym shirt pulled tight across strong shoulders, and his black gym shorts exposed the thick muscles in his thighs. As he took a quick look around, he walked to the seat next to Kai and sat down.

He stifled a grin and focused on the test sitting in front of him. “You’re late.”

“Yeah.” Conner opened his gray backpack and pulled out a green, mechanical pencil. He leaned close to Kai. “Keep it open so I can see.”

He whispered, “If you get caught, you’re going to fail the test.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Conner wrinkled his brow, hung his head, and wrapped his arms around his test.

He peeked at Conner. A flash of Conner gasping in pleasure rippled through his mind. Heat lit up his groin. He shouldn’t think about that now. But damn if he hadn’t thought about it all weekend. He almost hadn’t been able to study. He bit the nail on his thumb, then perused the test, flipping through the pages. This would be a piece of cake. And when this was over, he was going to talk to Conner.

Kai brought his finished test to Mr. Lewis’ desk and set it in a wire basket.

“Have a good summer, Kai and I’ll see you next year.” Mr. Lewis smiled at him.

“Yeah, thanks. You, too.” As he walked out of the room, he stole a peek at Conner, still hunched over his test, his fingers working over a calculator. He stepped through the doorway, placed his backpack on the floor and propped his back against the wall. His next test was in an hour, so he had plenty of time to talk. How would Conner react? So far, everything seemed pretty normal between them. But he had to know what that was. He didn’t want to go the whole summer having these questions weighing on him. He needed clarity or closure or whatever the fuck it was people needed after something like that.

Conner stepped through the door with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Hey.” Kai caught his arm.

Conner looked him over, then yanked his arm free. “What?”

Kai bit his lip. Am I really going to do this? Is it worth it? His heart thumped in his chest. His mouth opened. “Uh, I wanted to talk to you, you know, about the party.” Too late to take it back now. His mouth went dry.

Conner stared down the hallway, a frown creeping over his lips. “What about the party?” He narrowed his eyes at Kai.

He swallowed hard. “You know, what happened.” He studied his face, the blue eyes, the scar on his cheek. “With us.”

Conner freed a choked laugh, then smirked, shifting his weight. “You tell me. I was so fucking drunk, I don’t remember a thing.” He shook his head, the smirk fading. His brows wrinkled and he licked his generous lips, his attention drawing to the hallway again. “Not a thing.”

Kai blinked and furrowed his brows. So that’s how it’s going to be. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I gotta go.” Conner turned and jogged down the hallway, opened the glass door and walked out onto the cement pathway.

Kai drew his brows together. Conner remembers. I know he does. He wasn’t that drunk. What did it matter? Why the hell had he even asked? Now he looked like an idiot. An ache wrapped around his heart. Conner would never go for someone like him anyway. Even if he were a girl, it would never happen. He slumped his shoulders and released a rush of air. This sucks.