Page 56 of Shane

“For some.”

“You’re just moving into this house? When did this arrangement begin?”

“We’ve known them since we came for training camp. They were here for a summer program, and we met them just hanging out at the dorms.”

“So this arrangement started in the dorms?”

“It’s not necessarily an arrangement. They’re not paid sex workers or anything.”

"And have you benefited from this arrangement?"

“If you’re asking me if I’ve been with one or two of them since I got to VCU,” Shane lets out a nervous chuckle. “Then yes. I’m not a saint.”

“So you slept with one or both of them?”

“Gia,” he mumbles incoherently.

“Who?”

“I slept with Gia.”

I fucking knew it.

“More than once?”

I know I shouldn’t be jealous. Just because Shane made me come once doesn’t give me the right to grill him like this is an inquisition. I’ve got a lot of nerve, but a deep, dark part of me wants to go back downstairs and kick her in the teeth. I at least want to know if I’m justified in feeling that way.

“Kennedy,” his voice tries to become commanding as if I’m suddenly wrong but I don’t give a shit what he thinks.

“You put your hands down my fucking pants. Just tell me the truth.”

“Yes, more than once.”

“Recently?”

“No, Kennedy.”

My eyes narrow, scrutinizing his face for signs of deceit.

"You sure about that?" I ask.

Shane shakes his head. “I haven’t been with anyone else since the crawl.”

It's tough to accept his explanation straight away. But Shane's earnestness has slowly started to chip away at my skepticism. He's always been candid with me, and it doesn't make sense why he'd lie now.

"So you aren't... involved with her or the other girl?”

Shane shakes his head again, this time more emphatically. “If I was, I wouldn’t have brought you here and introduced you to my teammates. They all know who you are, Kennedy. They know you’re special to me.”

“I’m special?”

“Absolutely. We’re two people with this oddly fated connection, but more importantly, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” I nod, my head still tilted up, staring into his thoughtful gaze.

“We could be so much more if you let us, but I’m not going to push you. I know the whole our parents are dating thing is making you hold back.”

I shrug my shoulders like it doesn’t matter, like I don’t know what he’s talking about. I’m only fooling myself. My body continues to give me away.