Wasted Words by Staci Hart

What? I was going to a fancy dress-up dinner with Tyler Knight. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have considered going commando, too.

But just when I thought I was done for, I saw a pair of men’s shoes, and when a set of strong hands caught me, time started again.

I looked up, full of adrenaline and grateful thoughts, until I saw who grabbed me.

Kyle looked down at me, blond hair combed and shining and jaw like marble, smiling crooked as I leaned into his chest at the odd angle where he’d caught me.

“Whoa, you okay?

I immediately straightened up and took a step back. “I’m fine. Thanks for catching me.”

“Hey, no problem. You look incredible, Cam.”

I smiled tightly. “You too.” And he did. It wasn’t that he wasn’t handsome. It was that he was an asshole, which negated all hotness.

“I didn’t know you wore contacts,” he said.

I shrugged. “I usually don’t. Who did you bring tonight?”

“No one — I’m here stag. Where’s Tyler?”

“Over there with Jack. I was actually just about to get us some drinks, so—”

“Oh, good. I was heading there myself.”

I kept smiling like I was wearing a plastic mask. “Great.”

We stepped over to the bar and got in line. “How’s Tyler doing? We haven’t talked since he stormed out of the bar yesterday. Is he still pissed?”

I tried to keep my face together, though I was surprised. Not that they’d fought — I mean, I knew Kyle well enough to want to fight him every time I saw him — but that Tyler didn’t tell me.

“I don’t know. Have you asked him?”

He shrugged. “I texted him, but he didn’t answer. Did he mention it to you?”

I kept my eyes on the man’s back in front of me. “No.”

“It’s not all that weird, I guess. We were arguing about you.”

My head whipped around. “What?”

He was smiling, but it was a lie. “Yeah. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you. I thought you two were … close, or whatever.”

I didn’t respond, just waited on him.

“I’m just looking out for you, Cam. Tyler … he’s not like you. Sure, he hangs out in the bookstore, since there’s booze there, but that’s not his thing. He doesn’t like comics and the stuff you’re into. Look at him.”

He nodded toward the dance floor where Tyler stood among the beautiful people, football players and models, sportscasters. He looked in his element. He looked like he belonged.

“This is where he belongs,” Kyle said, as if he were reading my mind, his blue eyes ice-cold. “I’m not saying he’s not into you. I’m just trying to explain that at the end of the day, you’re not the kind of girl for him, and he’s not the kind of guy for you.”

“And what exactly is my type?”

We took a step closer to the bar. “I don’t know, Cam. But Tyler’s a hero. He wants to save the girl and be the good guy. You’re a project for him. Someone to rescue from loneliness, just like you fix up people in relationships. I heard about his date with Adrienne Christie. See, that makes sense. But look around you, Cam. I saw Jess come talk to you guys. That’s Tyler. Girls like her. You’re cute and all, don’t get me wrong. But it’s only a matter of time before Tyler breaks down and finds his way back to himself. I’ve known him for years, been with him through everything, all of it. And this isn’t him.”

“Maybe he’s changed.” I was trying to convince myself just as much as Kyle.

He chuckled and stepped up to the bar. “Maybe. But I doubt it.”

The bartender took his order as well as mine, and Kyle tipped as I stood there beside him, feeling like a fool for being there, a fool for listening to him, just a fool in a costume, pretending just as much as if I were dressed up as Rogue or Phoenix.

Kyle handed the drinks to me and gave me a look full of pity and maybe a little contempt. “Just think about it, Cam. You don’t want to get hurt.” He took a sip of his drink. “Good luck with him, and everything. And try to watch your step, all right?”

He smirked, and I squeezed the glasses, stopping myself from throwing one in his face. No whiskey deserved to be wasted on Kyle.

I walked away, heart banging, beelining for Tyler, ready to tell him everything. I was so angry at Kyle, stupid Kyle being a stupid, meddling jackass. A flush bloomed hot on my cheeks, realizing I’d been no better at times.

But then his words crept into my mind, and my anger twisted into shame and doubt. As much as I hated Kyle, he wasn’t wrong. I’d seen the girls Tyler dated, even met one tonight. Part of me wondered how he’d ever been with them — they were so different — and the other, louder part thought it was simple, that they were in a bracket of society that I didn’t belong to. My thoughts tripped and skipped, my eyes searching the crowd, lighting on woman after woman. So many of them were beautiful, movie star smiles and long, luscious hair. Long legs and designer dresses. And when you held me up to any of them, I fell short in more than just my height.

I was reminded of homecoming all those years ago, when my friends dragged me to the dance and I saw Will and Kenzie crowned. I felt just as alien and separate now as I did then, watching the boy I thought I loved, who I’d given myself to, the boy who threw me away the moment I did.

I shouldn’t have trusted Will. And as much as I wanted to trust Tyler, I realized that deep down, I doubted him still. He didn’t tell me about the fight with Kyle, maybe because part of him knew Kyle was right.