Page 9 of Undeniably

You can hear a pin drop in that moment. It’s almost as if the music also chooses that particular moment to pause slightly before switching to the next song.

The silence lingers until Tinsley speaks again. “Keat, did you hear me?”

My knuckles tighten slightly on the steering wheel, but I’m careful to leave the tension from my voice. “Yeah, I heard you. So what?”

“So, you don’t care if Morgan hangs out with us?”

I glance back and see the worried look on her face. “No. If you want to be friends with her, that’s fine. Just remember what she did to the last friend she had here,” I grumble.

I thought I left the anger behind, but seeing her again reopened that wound.

I remember the day she left. I texted her all day, but she never responded. Then I called her and got voice mail. It wasn’t until I showed up at her house the next day, worried about her well-being, that I found out the truth.

Mr. Wright opened the door and told me she had left. She wanted to go check out her new dorms at Hamilton Dance Academy—HDA. She hadn’t even told me she had been accepted. He said she would be back in a week.

I waited a week. Then two. The hurt grew when I finally realized she wasn’t coming back. Then I moved on. If she wanted to disappear, then I would forget she existed.

“Don’t you even want to ask her why? She had to have a reason to just up and leave. You guys were inseparable.”

I scoff, “No reason or excuse will make leaving without a trace forgivable, Tin Tin. Leave it alone.”

She sits back in her seat and huffs. “Well, I want to know, and I’m going to ask.”

I put the car in park before turning to her. “You can’t believe a word that comes out of her mouth. She’s not the same Morgan we grew up with. She made a decision that altered who she was and her place in this group. If you want her to hang around, then that’s on you, but make no mistake. She will never be a part of this group again. We have no loyalty to her, nor will we protect her. She’s on her own. The day she left us was the day she became dead to me.”

Without another word, I get out of the car and head inside. Finley and Tinsley stay in the car for a couple minutes, but I don’t wait. I go inside to get a table. I smile at Rita, one of the new servers, as she comes by to take my drink order.

“Rita, my beautiful Rita, how are you doing this evening?”

Rita blushes, but answers me. Rita’s in her thirties, but she still has a banging body. I know I can never go there, not with her working with Sage, but I love making her blush and stumble over her words.

“Stop charming the tits off my server, Yates.”

I allow my gaze to leave Rita’s before meeting Sage’s.

“Sage, my gorgeous sister-to-be.” I jump out of the booth, pick her up, and twirl her around. “I’ve missed you so damn much.”

She rolls her eyes. “I had dinner with you last night. Now put me down, you big oaf.”

I drop a kiss on her cheek before dropping her to the floor and taking my seat. Tinsley and Finley make their way over, each greeting the women in front of me.

“How was the first day of school?” Sage asks us, while Rita goes to get our drinks.

“Great. Morgan Wright is back in town. You will love her, Sage,” Tinsley begins to prattle again, but I don’t miss the confused look on Sage’s face.

I try to control my reaction, but Tinsley ruins any chance I had about Sage not finding out who Morgan is to me.

Was. Was to me,I remind myself.

“Morgan and Keaton used to be best friends until she moved away freshman year. Anyway, she’s back now, and I cannot wait for you to meet her.”

Sage’s blue eyes meet mine. I see the questions swirling inside them, but I give her a slight shake. This is not something I want to talk about. Ever. With anyone.

“How have I never heard about this Morgan chick before?” Sage asks, squeezing into the booth beside me, making it obvious she no longer plans to leave anytime soon.

“Keaton forbade us to speak her name,” Finley pipes in.

I shoot him a glare. He isn’t wrong, but Sage didn’t need to know that.

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