"Thank you," he says after a few seconds, leaving me puzzled and surprised. He doesn't budge, milking the last of his climax and the intimacy of just being close to me.
"Thank you?" I echo.
He nods into my collarbone. "Yeah, I kinda needed that. Thank you so fucking much."
***
My friendship with Shane may have taken a backseat, but I still feel guilty about his car. After class one day, while I send him to get us coffee, I slip an envelope with a few hundred dollars into his backpack. It’s stupid, since this is pretty much confessing that Ty’s to blame and because I, myself, don’t have a penny to my name. But I do it anyway, to scrub off at least some of the guilt. I haven't asked Ty because I know the answer. He totally did it.
I hope Shane doesn't notice the money in there for a while. Luckily, he is busy with his assignment. The assignment I pretty much worked my ass off on, because he’s transmitted all of his interview questions to Izzy through me. I guided her, pressed and pestered her until she came up with the good stuff. I also took it upon myself to gather all the phone numbers and e-mails for the PR agents, lingerie designers and other key players he wanted to interview.
In short, after giving him the money and doing his assignment for him, my conscience should be clear. And by clear, I mean spotless.
"Want some pot?" Shane enquires with a sinister grin as he hands me my coffee.
We sit on our red bench. It's a hectic day, full of classes, an exam, a study group and on top of things, a shift at Ned's.
I shake my head firmly. "No, dude, thanks. I'm done with that stuff. I started working out and I think the pot really messed with my body. I'm in bad shape."
Plus, Ty loathes the fact that I smoke, and as much as I'd hate to admit it, his opinion matters to me.
Shane almost chokes on his laughter, but he still tucks the blunt back into his special cigarette pack. Good, he's put off too.
"Sure, okay. Don't want to be a bad influence."
"I take it Gemma doesn't mind?" I bump my thigh into his.
Shane wrinkles his nose, like he is trying to remember who the hell Gemma is. "She knows the score." He lifts his gaze back to my face. "What's up with you, B? Seeing anyone?"
This subject is explosive, but I don't want to lie to Shane. Whether he still wants me or not, lying will only make matters worse.
"I'm kind of dating someone, but I still don't know where it's going." Maybe I'm downplaying it, and maybe it's the truth. After all, Ty and I are not officially together. We haven't discussed it yet.
"Do I know him?"
I take a big gulp of my tasteless coffee, then clear my throat. "The MMA guy." I reduce Ty to what he does, and hate myself for it.
He is not the MMA guy. He's the guy who makes me laugh and giggle and see the world with more vivid colors. Oh, yeah, and come twice in twenty minutes, which no one has ever done before.
"Wilder?" Shane’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Dawson is married and Jesse has a girlfriend, and Shane is freaking good at math, so he gets it quickly. He snorts. "Well, that's a random hookup."
Okay, that's good. He is taking it like it's a joke, not like he wants to kill me, or unfriend me, for that matter.
"I get what you're saying,” I say. “We're pretty different."
Shane offers a grim smile. "Ain't that the fucking truth. So you chose him over me?"
I shake my head. "No. Never. You're my best friend." My voice is high-pitched as I hide behind my coffee cup.
There's an awkward silence before he gets to his feet, offering me his hand, which I take and jump up beside him.
"I don't like what I'm hearing here, at all. This conversation isn't over, Blaire. When is Izzy coming back?" he asks out of nowhere, his voice still laced with annoyance.
"Next Sunday. Why?"
Shane takes a few long strides, walking ahead of me. "Just wanna make sure I never bump into her when we hang out. Thanks for the heads up."
***
It’s five weeks into my relationship with Ty, and Izzy is due to come back from her world tour as an Elizabeth’s Passion Fairy. She’s even gotten her wings and is now one of the signature models of the lingerie label. She’s as proud of her new wings as if she had won a Nobel Peace Prize.
I arrange to pick her up from the airport with Ty, because the drive into SFA is a bitch. I text her a few hours beforehand, warning her not to bring the volatile subject of Shane up.