“Since when do you ask to ask something?” He grinned at me over the top of his beer.
I ignored that. “Do you like being in a fraternity?”
I held my breath, expecting him to show some sort of surprise at the question. I got none.
“No. I don’t, but not because of them. They’re okay. This just wasn’t my first choice. I don’t like belonging to anyone.”
“Then why are you here?”
He hesitated, studying me intently before his gaze slipped away. “Because my dad is a big deal with this fraternity, and someone had to join to make him happy.”
I wasn’t expecting that. “You joined because of your dad?”
“And for someone else.”
He didn’t say any more, and this was one of those moments when I should have read the signals. I should’ve held my tongue.
“Who?” My curiosity was killing me. “We can pretend we’re in a trust tree. I love those things. Go ahead. Ask me anything, and I’ll give you an honest answer. But I have to know. Who are you doing this for?”
Please don’t say a girl you loved from high school.
“My brother.”
“Marcus?”
“No.” He laughed softly at my disbelief. “Marcus’s twin, Colton.”
“You fought Marcus that one night about him, didn’t you? The night you beat Kevin up.”
“Kevin thought we were fighting about him. He had nothing to do with it, but he walked in and said the wrong shit. My patience was already gone, so he got the hit I really wanted to land on my brother.”
“On Marcus?”
“Yeah.” He grimaced. “I’d never hit Colton.”
He softened his tone and a far-off look came over his face. I knew he was thinking about his brother, but I was on a mission. I wanted more information. Caden wasn’t the sharing type. He’d stop talking, think everything through in his head, and forget we were having a conversation. He’d leave me hanging and start talking about something else, or just go back to watching the game.
I scooted to the edge of my seat and leaned forward. “Why not?”
“Why wouldn’t I hit my other brother?”
I nodded. “Does he go to school somewhere else?”
“No.” His tone wasn’t just soft now, it was filled with regret. “He’s at home. He doesn’t go to school. Joining our dad’s fraternity was his dream. He was supposed to do it. Our dad would’ve been happy. Colton would’ve been happy, and so would Marcus and I. I wouldn’t have had to join then.”
“Wait, when did you join?”
“Last year.”
“When you were a sophomore?”
He nodded. He wasn’t looking at me any more. I wasn’t even sure he was really in the room.
I needed to leave this alone. He had given me the clues—looking away, his jaw clenching, pain like I’d never heard from him sounding loud and clear. My instincts were telling me to shut up, but I couldn’t. I had this burning need to know more about Caden. I needed to get in there, past his walls, and I wanted to understand him.
I wanted to help him.
Caden was hurting, and I wanted to take that away.
“What happened?”
“He was hit.”
I pushed still. “By who?”
Caden turned his gaze to me now, and I felt branded by the pain I saw. His eyes were stricken. “Does it matter?”
“No.” My breath caught and held in my chest. I wanted to go to him, but I also wanted to slink away. I was stirring up his pain, but I had to know. “What happened, Caden?”
“Why do you have to know?”
“Because it’s hurting you.”
“What?”
I made a decision, though I had no idea what the ramifications were going to be. I stood, my legs going numb and my stomach clenching, and I moved to his side. He leaned back, his head falling to the couch, and he watched me.
The need to ease some of his hurt outweighed the fear of what would happen next. Swallowing tightly, I stepped over to straddle him and sat down.
“What are you doing?”
He asked that softly, still holding his beer. I took it from his hands and put it on the stand next to the couch. Then I just sat there. He had to do the rest. I’d already made the first move.
I glanced down at his hands, feeling like an idiot. “What happened to your brother?”
“Why are you pushing this?”
I looked back up to find confusion warring with need in his eyes. He wasn’t pushing me away, so I sank further into his lap.
“You haven’t told anyone else about this.” It wasn’t really a question, but I saw the confirmation in his eyes. My chest tightened, thinking about whatever secret he held. “Please tell me.”
“No.” He shifted forward, and I braced myself, expecting him to push me away. He didn’t. His hands grasped the backs of my legs and lifted me so I was more fully on his lap.
I could feel him between my legs, and my breasts almost pressed against his chest. I waited. I wanted to see what else he’d say
“But not because I don’t want you to know,” he added. “Because it’s not my secret to tell. It’s Colton’s.”
I nodded, my stomach doing somersaults now. “That makes sense. I can respect that.”
And there we were. His hands cupped my ass, and the pain in his gaze became something darker, something I felt too, something that began to turn off all rational thought.