Val collapses on one of the floral couches. “I think Tam might be cheating on me.”
“No!” I suck in a shocked breath and plop down beside her. Tam and Val have been dating for over a year. He’s attending college only a few hours away, and from what Val has allowed to slip out, she and Tam have a lively sex life that involves things like showing off and phone sex. I haven’t even had in-person sex yet, let alone kinky sex. If any relationship could survive the long distance thing, it would be theirs, right? “Why do you think that?”
“He was supposed to visit me last month. Remember?”
I do. She’d been so excited, but then he bailed at the last minute. “You said he couldn’t come because he was slammed with homework.” At her miserable expression, I guess, “That was just an excuse?”
She releases a quavery sigh. “He called last night and said we needed to talk.”
“Oh no.”
“So we talked on the phone and he told me that college was fun and that it made him realize how much of a child he was in high school. He hasn’t cheated on me, he swears, but he thinks that the distance and the temptations are too much for him and that to be honorable,” she spits out the word, “he needed to make sure I was cool with him seeing other people.”
“Hold up.” I raise my hand. “He didn’t call to break up with you, but instead he wants your permission to cheat?”
“Right?” Val gives me an angry look. “That’s super shitty.”
“And you told him to…” I hope you told him to stick his permission down his own throat where he chokes on it, I want to say, but I don’t want to look judgmental either. That’s the last thing she needs now. Later, yes, I’ll remind her how awesome she is and that she doesn’t need a douche like Tam sucking up her energy, but for now I’m going for supportive. “Well, I hope you told him how you felt,” I finish.
“I told him he could screw all the girls he wanted but he wasn’t ever getting another go at me.” She sweeps her hair back in a careless gesture, but her hand is trembling and her eyes are glassy with tears.
“His loss, you know that, right?”
“I keep telling myself that, but I don’t feel any better. Part of me wants to steal Jordan’s car and drive up to State. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I get there. Either kick him in the balls or kiss him.” She shudders and then peers at me out from under her eyelashes. “I kicked Reed in the balls for you, by the way.”
“You did?” A wild laugh escapes as I envision tiny Val kicking giant Reed between his legs. “What brought that on?”
“His mere existence. His smug face. His refusal to tell me where you were.” Val throws herself at me and hugs me again. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
“Ahem.”
I look up to see Easton standing there, smirking at us.
“I thought you guys wanted to talk. If there’s going to be girl-on-girl action, I’m available.”
“You tell that to every female from age two to eighty-two,” Val grumbles.
“Well, yeah.” He gives a faux offended look. “I don’t want anyone to feel left out.”
He pushes away from the door and waltzes in, settling on the other side of Val. “Dude trouble?”
Val drops her head into her hands. “Yeah. My boyfriend decided we need an open relationship.”
“So he wants to eat out and still come home for dinner?”
“Yup.”
“And you’re not down with that.”
“Um, duh. I prefer guys who are faithful. You Royals might not understand that.”
“Ouch, Val. What did I ever do to you?” He rubs his chest in mock pain.
“You have a penis. Therefore you’re automatically on the wrong side.”
He waggles his eyebrows. “But I do great things with my penis. Ask any of the girls at Astor.”
“Like Abby Kincaid?” Val challenges.
I jerk my head toward Easton in shock. “You hooked up with your brother’s ex?”
He slumps into the cushions, his cheeks reddening. “So what if I did? I thought you hated Reed.”
Wow. It’s one thing for the Royal brothers to fight at home, but this kind of public dissension is new and…uncomfortable. And as mad as I am at Reed, I don’t like seeing this rift between the brothers. It makes me awkwardly sympathetic toward Reed, which, dammit, he does not deserve.
I try to change the subject. “Besides assessments, what’s going on at school?”
“Tomorrow’s Halloween, but Beringer doesn’t let anyone wear costumes to school.” Val shrugs. “But there’s a party at the Montgomery house after the game on Friday. Everyone gets kitted out.”
I make a face. “Pass.”
I’m not a big fan of Halloween. My mom worked nights at the clubs, so growing up I never got to go trick-or-treating like a normal kid. And I hate dressing up. I did enough of that when I was working the clubs.