Colin? He was involved too? I forced myself to stay quiet. Carly was holding my hand. If she wanted me to get involved I would, but right now I needed to just support her.
“Colin was protecting me, the way a brother should.”
“No. Colin screwed things up. You felt the same things I did. Don’t even try to lie.”
“Did I have a crush on you back then? Yeah, but what girl doesn’t crush on her older brother’s best friend at some point? It’s human nature.”
Brother’s best friend? Whoa.
“It was more than a crush, and it went both ways.”
“It was a crush. I was sixteen and stupid. Colin did the right thing keeping you away. And what, six months later you were dating Kim? Clearly you didn’t care that much.”
“Didn’t you ever wonder why?”
“Wonder why? No. You ended up with the perfect one. The one who did everything right. I hated Kim for a year when you guys got engaged, but then I realized I was being stupid. She deserved to be happy, and if it was with you, then fine.”
“The perfect one? Not quite. Do you realize how hard it’s been for me? All those stupid family events when you’d show up with shmucks like this one just to piss me off.”
I bit down the response I wanted to make.
“I wasn’t trying to piss you off. I’d moved on. You were married to my sister. My sister, who also happens to be the sister of your best friend.”
“We’re not friends anymore. You know that.”
“That’s your own fault. What did you expect him to do?”
“Back us up. He’s the reason we’re in this position.”
“Stop saying that. You’re in this position because you’re a jerk.”
“How am I a jerk? You spent that whole night watching me. You kept giving me those looks of yours, and you wanted me to follow you home.”
“No. I had absolutely no interest in sleeping with my sister’s husband. I’m not that kind of person, and frankly I can’t believe you’ve become that type either.”
“Don’t act like I’m a monster. It’s not like I’m sleeping around on her. Although she thinks I am. You went and told and now she’s checking my phone records, and I swear she’s hired a PI.”
“You came on to me, Jasper. You tried to talk me into having sex with you when you were married to my sister. I never said you were a monster, but you’re a jerk. You tried to guilt trip me, play on my insecurities. You know how much I wish I was Kim, how I wish I could be half as successful and perfect as her, but I’ll never be. Go home. You’re lucky she kept you in her life. She sure as heck didn’t keep me.” Tears spilled down Carly’s face, and I’d had enough.
“Just admit it, Carly. You’re in love with me.” He stepped closer to her. “You always have been.”
“No.” Carly wiped away her tears and stood up straighter. “I’m not.”
He leered at her. “We’ll see what you say when I see you without your boyfriend next time.”
My fist made contact with his face without me thinking about it. His words were the last straw.
Security moved toward us at lightning speed. They watched us, clearly deciding how to intervene.
“We’re leaving.” Carly held up her hand, and they backed off. “He was just protecting me.”
She grabbed hold of my hand and rushed toward where we parked. We didn’t speak until we were in the car and on our way back home. Fuck the hotel, I just wanted to get away from this place. I could tell she was upset. She tried to hide them, but I noticed the tears. I wanted to give her time before asking any questions.
She put a hand on my leg. “Thank you.”
“You never told me the backstory.” I wasn’t mad, she didn’t owe the whole story to me, but I wished she’d trusted me enough to tell me everything.
“I didn’t want you to think even less of me.”
“Why would I think less? That just makes the guy even more of a creep. He went after you when you were sixteen.”
She turned to look out the window.
“He didn’t. I mean I’m hoping when he said tease that means you didn’t sleep with him back then.”
“No… we came close, but you heard what he said about Colin.”
“My respect for your brother just rose again.”
“I still don’t get why she married him. She’d never liked him growing up. I was the one who did.”
“Maybe that’s exactly it. She wanted to prove she could have him.”
She turned to look at me. “But why? What did that matter?”
“I don’t know Kim, but maybe she feels the same way about you that you feel about her. Maybe she’s jealous of you.”
“That’s impossible.” Carly slumped down in her seat.
“No, babe, it’s completely possible.”
“I’m sorry this night was such a mess.”
“I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have punched him. We should have just gone back in.”
“I’m glad you did. I wish I’d had the courage to do that myself.” She stared down at her hands in her lap.
“You were awesome, Carly. You stood up for yourself and didn’t back down. I’m glad I was able to witness that.”
“Do you want me to drive? You drove so much today already.”
“No, I just want to know you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.” She squeezed my arm. “I have you.”
My heart swelled. This amazingly beautiful girl found strength and comfort from me. Maybe I wasn’t completely worthless.
“Tell me about your childhood. It had to have been more interesting than mine.” She traced small circles on my arm.
“Are you sure about that? Your late teens kind of sound like they belong on a TV show.”
“Very funny. Come on, what were you like? That first night down on the beach you told me you weren’t always cool. Were you a nerd?”
I put my arm behind her seat. “A nerd? No. More like a geek.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Yes. A nerd is all bookish. A geek is just into geeky things. And I was the kind of geek who didn’t look like one on the surface.” I passed a slow moving truck before settling back into the right lane. I wasn’t in a huge rush, but I was ready to get Carly home.
“Really? No glasses?”