Her face falls. “I’m annoying?” She reaches up with her free hand to poke my face again.

I push her hand away. “Yes, you’re annoying.”

She pouts again.

I roll my eyes.

“I just wanted to feel how deep your dimples are,” she murmurs. “Are you still mad at me?”

“No. I’m mad at myself because I should be mad at you, but I can’t be. And I’m frustrated because I want to kiss you so bad right now, but you don’t deserve it.”

“Ky?”

“Mm?”

She leans over me. Her gaze flicks between my lips to my eyes, and back again. Then she smiles, moves down, and presses her lips to mine.

“You’re evil,” I tell her.

She doesn’t skip a beat, just kisses me again. Once. Twice. And by the third time, I’ve already given in to her.

She pulls away, leaving me craving more. “Another one,” I ask.

“With pleasure.” She laughs.

***

Once we’ve finished eating breakfast and she’s cleaned up after us, she grabs the frame she bought yesterday and sits on the couch next to me. Making sure not to hurt me, she leans into me and rests her hand on my chest. “What do you think their story is?” she asks.

I look at the picture in the frame. This couple’s younger than the last. They’re on the dock at a lake. The girl’s sitting across the guy’s lap, and they’re holding each other, smiling, like the world’s never shown them an ounce of tragedy or regret.

I laugh once. “High school sweethearts. For sure.”

I can see her watching me from the corner of my eye, but I keep my gaze on the picture.

“You think?” she asks.

“Yeah. You can see it in their smiles. Reality hasn’t kicked their ass yet.”

She shifts beside me “She looks like Ashlee.”

My eyes snap to hers. “How do you—”

She moves back and away from me. Then stutters, “I—I was on—on your iPad yesterday and I clicked on this blue thing with the letter F—”

I raised my voice. “You went on my Facebook?”

She shrugs. “I guess that could be it.”

“Why the hell would you do that?”

“I—I didn’t know what it was. I just clicked it.”

“So you decided to go through my shit?”

She ignores my question. “There are pictures of you together...”

“Yeah. From five or six years ago. Did you see that? And it doesn’t matter, because that shit’s personal, Maddy. You shouldn’t be going—”

“I didn’t know what it was!”

I inhale sharply, pushing down the pain and trying to keep my anger in check. I’m pissed—at her for doing what she did—and because...”You know what? After last night, I thought I’d be okay with it. I’ve always been honest with you. You ask, I answer. That’s how this worked. But it’s not enough, huh? You had to go through my stuff!”

“Ky—”

“No, Maddy. You know everything about me. I’ve laid it all out for you. Everything. And after the shit with Ashlee—the hurt she fucking caused me—you should know that I wouldn’t deal with secrets. And I shouldn’t fucking have to.”

“I’m the one with secrets?” she yells. “She messaged you two days ago, Ky.”

“Jesus Christ, Maddy, you went through my messages!”

She flinches, then narrows her eyes at me. “So what if I did! Don’t get all high and mighty and act like you’re better than me when you’re talking to your ex!”

I stand up, pulling at my hair in frustration. I glare down at her and try to calm my racing heart. “You honestly think that I’d do whatever it is you’re suggesting? I’ve been all about you, Madison, ever since the first day I fucking saw you.”

She explodes. “So why are you talking to her?”

I start pacing. Her eyes follow me from her spot on the couch. Then I admit the truth. “Because it feels good, okay? It feels nice to have her talk to me—have her apologize and want me back. And for me to be able to tell her to fuck off because I thought I’d found someone better.”

Her gaze lowers.

It just makes me more pissed. “I don’t even know how to feel right now. You’re mad for whatever reason, and I’m supposed to feel bad when you’re the one that avoids anything personal.” I don’t even know if it’s the fact that she went through my stuff, or the fact that we’re talking about Ashlee, or the unresolved argument we had last night. But whatever it is, I keep going, keep pushing for her to fight back. “You don’t tell me anything about yourself or your past. I know fuck-all about you. You say you’re from around here, but then you tell me you don’t know the area that well...”

She visibly swallows.

I add, “What were you like in high school, Madison? Did you date? Did you have boys falling at your feet? Oh, I bet you were so damn sweet and innocent you didn’t know you had guys after you. Yeah…” I release a bitter laugh, nodding my head as I do. “I bet you were that girl.” I pause, watching her eyes turn to stone. “Have you got brothers and sisters? What are your parents like? How did you lose your virginity—”

“Stop it,” she bites out, her teeth clenched.

I stop pacing and face her. “Okay, so I guess all of those questions are off limits.” I tap my finger on my chin. “Let’s go with something easy then. How about what high school did you go to?”