Page 18 of Spark

“Kai sworeyousaid that tohim!”

“Lies!”

“Not only that, but Kai also said you confessed to being in love with him.”

“In love with him?” I scream. “Oh, hell no.”

“Actually, he said you confessed to being ‘desperately’ in love with him.”

“What the serious fuck?” I shove Kendrick’s broad shoulder. “And you believed him? This whole time, you’ve been thinking that I was ‘desperately in love’ with your idiot douchebag brother?”

“He’s exactly your type, Ruby.”

“No, he’s not. He’s an idiot.”

“When you get to know him, yes. But why would I doubt his story when all your boyfriends have been exactly like him, and you looked at Kai like you were extremely interested the first time you met him.”

“I did not.”

“You did, Ruby.”

“Oh my fucking god. Kai hit on me and lied to you about it for years, but I’m supposed to defend myself for the way I supposedly looked at him, back when I was a sixteen-year-old virgin who’d never been kissed?”

“What?”

“Whatwhat?”

“What about Dexter Brenner? You kissed him, didn’t you?”

“Dexter Brenner is gay, Kendrick.”

“Oh. I thought . . .”

“Jesus, your gaydar is the fucking worst. Now,focus.” I grab his chin. His eyes are half-mast from all the booze we drank downstairs. “Tell me what you said to Kai, right after he’d told you all those horrendous lies about me.”

“I think I was pretty much speechless.”

“Don’t you dare lie to me.”

“I’m not. I swear.”

“When did Kai tell you this bullshit story? And why?”

“It happened right after I dropped out of school and came back home. After I rejoined the band. I could tell something was off between you two at practices, so I asked Kai what happened while I was gone. He denied anything was weird, but I kept insisting it was, until finally?—"

“Why didn’t you just ask me?”

Kendrick pauses. “I don’t know. I wanted to hear it from Kai, I guess. And once I did, asking you about it was out of the question, since he made me promise not to talk to you about it. Why would I want to, anyway? I didn’t want to embarrass you, Ruby. That was the last thing I wanted.”

I shake my head. “I can’t believe, for all these years, you’ve been thinking I threw myself at your fuckboy brother after declaring myself ‘desperately in love’ with him.”

Kendrick shrugs. “I mean, women have always chased Kai. I know you think he’s an idiot because you know him well, but women who don’t know him think he’s irresistible. I’ve seen it my whole life. Kai’s a chick magnet. Not as much as Savage, but who is?”

Hearing Savage’s name makes me realize something. “You’ve told Savage this bullshit story, I presume?”

“Of course not. I told you, I promised Kai not to say a word to anyone.”

“But you did, anyway, didn’t you? Don’t lie to me, KC.” I squeeze Kendrick’s face between my fingers and thumb and stare him down. “Kendrick Alan Cook. Tell me the truth.”

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