Page 119 of Ordinary Secrets

Trey gestures for me to scoot closer, then pats his shoulder for me to lay my head on. Usually, I would. This time, I don’t budge.

“What’s wrong, angel?” Whenever he calls me that, I think about the necklace I haven’t taken off since he hooked it around my neck. It’s the most beautiful piece of jewelry anyone’s ever given me.

I sit up, hugging the bear to my chest, then click the lamp on. Trey does the same on his side. For a moment, I only stare at him, admiring his adorably messy hair, sexy stubble, and those blue-gray eyes. Something in them is deeply sad. I wish I knew why, and if it has anything to do with what he’s hiding or what’s strange about him. Maybe it’s both.

I draw in a breath and slowly let it out as I think of how to ask the question that’s been burning in my mind since our first night together in Long Beach. “Is there something I don’t know about you? Like, besides whatever mysterious reason you want to flee the country?”

In the time it takes for him to answer, I could have walked to Paris. His face says he’s impassive, but his eyes tell me he’s torn. “What makes you think there is?”

There he goes... answering a question with a question.“You’re just different sometimes.”

“Different how?”

I was hoping you’d tell me.“There are little things I’ve noticed about you. Things that don’t make sense.”

“Like?”

“Well, first, let’s talk about your late-night phone calls, and how you never want to tell me who it is.”

“It’s not your business,” he says, a little clipped.

“It is if you’re talking about me.”

His eyes go wide. “What did you hear?”

“Who were you talking to?”

With a heavy sigh, he gives in. “It was my uncle. He wants to meet you. I told him you need to recover first.”

Reasonable, I suppose. His uncle lives in Three Rivers, which is three hours away. If that’s the case, why all the secrecy? And why did he sound so exasperated? “Why is your uncle calling you at three in the morning?”

“He’s not much of a sleeper.”

“What about you? Doyouever sleep?”

“Of course.”

I arch my eyebrows. “Everynight?”

“I sleep with you every night, don’t I?”

“Not really. Some nights, I feel like you’re just laying there.”

His eyes fall to his hands, speechless. I’ll assume that means I’m right.

“Are you afraid of anything?”

“Everyone has fears, babe.”

“Not you. You walked into an apartment crawling with spiders and carried me out like it was nothing.”

He shrugs a shoulder. “Spiders don’t scare me.”

“Why do you tint your windows?”

Silence.

“Why don’t you ever sweat during your workouts?”

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