Chapter 17

I t was the night before Jock Jam, spring edition, and Lila still hadn't heard from King. Not even after their strange exchange in the parking lot. She could read the writing on the wall, but she wanted to hear it from him. Wanted him to have to say the words to her face, instead of just shrinking away like a thief in the night. He'd ghosted her once, and she wasn't going to let him do it again. Not this time.

She inhaled and exhaled a couple of times before knocking on his door. Since he had been dodging her texts, she knew she needed to just show up in order to catch up with him. Will had assured her that King was home, so she gathered her courage as she waited for the door to open.

King opened the door shirtless, his hair wet, his trim waist wrapped in a low-hanging towel, because of course, she'd be forced to look at his post-shower hair and perfect torso while the final nail in the coffin was driven in. He looked surprised and a little wary, but she cut him off before he could say anything. "Can we talk? I promise this won't take long."

He examined her for a minute before he nodded and stepped aside so she could enter.

"Do you want to, I don't know, put on clothes or something? Or sit down, at least?" Lila asked nervously. Because his body affected her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Especially after a two-plus week drought of feeling that perfect body against hers. Damn him and his perfect abs and mouthwatering Adonis belt.

"Naw, I'm good. Besides, you said this wouldn't take long." King just stood there, making no move to sit down, so Lila stood there a minute, letting his indifference steel her resolve.

She inhaled. "So, I basically just wanted to come here and hear you say it. Your silence has been pretty definitive, but I wanted to be totally sure."

"And what, exactly, would you like me to say, Lila?" The cold way he said her given name made her want to cry.

"That you're done with me, with this. I don't expect you to give me a reason, because a reason would imply that this meant more to you than it apparently does, but I thought that, after everything, you'd at least tell me to my face."

"You're right. I guess I do owe you that, all things considered." He shrugged.

"So, to make things perfectly clear, we're done here?"

King crossed his arms across his chest. "We're done," he affirmed.

Lila sucked in a painful breath. She'd expected it, but it still hurt like hell. "Great. Good talk. Can I, um… Could I please have my necklace back?" She couldn't bear the thought of him keeping it, not after this.

King's nostrils flared, just a little bit, and Lila wondered why that request would make him angry. After all, he was the one calling this. He was the one who'd been ignoring her, who had been too chickenshit to end things before now.

He looked at her for a beat then replied, "I lost it."

"You…lost it?" She couldn't help but hunch over slightly and place her hands on her stomach, just for a second. Because his confession felt like an actual blow to her body. She'd given him her most prized possession, and he hadn't even cared enough to keep it safe. It had been disregarded and discarded, just like her.

"Yeah. Sorry. I can give you some money for it or whatever if you want."

Lila felt her eyes water and desperately begged her tears to hold themselves at bay. He would not have the pleasure of seeing her break. She straightened her spine, pasted on a tight, fake smile, and looked him dead in the eye. "Don't bother," she said in a tone she hoped was nonchalant. "It's not important."

He didn't respond, just studied her, his expression inscrutable.

"I guess I'll see you around, then. Or not," Lila said, and then she turned and left without waiting for a response. She walked across the street to Knight's and pulled out her phone.

LILA: You home?

KNIGHT: Yup

LILA: Would you please open your door, then?

He opened the door, and she didn't even get inside before she started sobbing. "Sorry," she said between hiccups. "This is so embarrassing."

Knight wrapped his arms around her and gently led her inside. His house and King's had almost identical layouts, so the foyer similarly opened to a big great room and kitchen area with a large TV and a sectional. But his other roomies were all watching something, so he shielded her from them as best he could and led her up to his room.

Once she was sitting on the edge of his bed and Knight had rolled his desk chair over so he was sitting across from her, he spoke. "Can you tell me what happened, Li?"

"King," she shuttered. She lowered her face into her hands and tried to calm down. She recapped how King had been pulling away and how she'd called him on it, how he'd ended things. And then she mentioned her necklace, and Knight gritted his teeth.

"The necklace from your grandma? The one you love?" He made an angry sound when she nodded.

He got up. "Okay, Li. I've gotta go take care of something, and I will be right back. Please just hang out, and then we can go grab a bite, okay?"

"Okay," she sniffed. Once Knight had left the room, she called Wren and gave her the update. Her response was similar to Knight's, only with more swear words. By the time they hung up, Knight was back, the knuckles on his right hand bruised.

Lila stiffened. "Knight, what did you do?"

"What needed to be done. Bastard had it coming."

"But that's your throwing hand!"

"Season's over. And, as you recall, we won our bowl game, thank you very much. Besides, I pulled it a bit. His eye's gonna be black but not too swollen. He's still got an NCAA championship to win."

"Are you guys going to be okay? The last thing I want to do is cause problems between the two of you. I know you go way back."

"This was all a part of us working it out. Trust me." Knight's smile was 90% brotherly concern and 10% sympathy.

"You're a good man, Knight Patrick. One of the best I know." She quirked a brow in his direction, "Now, when are you going to tell Wren how you feel about her?"

"You picked up on that, did ya?"

"Obviously. Though admittedly, it took a minute. Maybe more like half a second." She winked.

Knight sighed. "I'll tell her when she's ready."

"Well, let me say, on the record, that I'm shipping this whole scenario hardcore. It would be absolutely blissful if my two favorite people ended up together."

"Noted." Knight extended a hand and pulled Lila up to standing. "Now, before we go eat, let's get you something for tomorrow's party." He held up a hand before she could protest. "You're coming. And you're going to have a great time."

"Plus, you want to see Wren."

"That is very perceptive of you."

He held out a large Bradley U football team T-shirt that had his name and number on the back of it. "Wear this with a pair of those over-the-knee boot thingies, assuming you have some." At Lila's nod, he continued, "Guys will be drooling all over you."

Lila's mouth formed a small smile as she absorbed his enthusiasm.

"Are you going to want this shirt back, or can I modify it for fashion purposes?"

"Do your worst. I've got like 70 million of these."

"Challenge accepted. Got another one I can give to Wren?"

His eyes sparked at the thought of that. "Hell yes."