**Completed** Colby Byers and Wyatt Matheson shared an enviable love-at least, until that fateful day. Torn apart by tragedy, the stubborn ex-lovers struggle to come to terms with their desire for one another, while reconciling their feelings with t...
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Wyatt
Women.
I swear, I could live a thousand lifetimes in a convent or a sorority, and I'd still never understand what makes them tick. I'd never learn to read the shit they hide between the lines when they speak, spending hours dissecting the hidden meanings with their friends.
How the phrase 'I like your new shoes' could mean you actually like them, or you can't believe they'd buy something so odious, only to be deciphered by the tone and word choice.
I think being a girl sucks, which is why I'm gonna give Colby some much-needed grace.
I can understand how she would misread what she witnessed between me and Wynona— a whole lotta nothing if you're Wynn or me. But Colby watched us dance and certainly saw us enjoying ourselves. When she approached, she got nothing but attitude from Wynn, who also failed to deny any of the accusations Colby was tossing our way. Adding to that equation is the fact that Wynn has essentially ignored her for a solid two weeks. The sum total of all those loosely connected circumstances: chick fight.
And I can assure you, all those damn movies painting that scenario as every boys' dream are BS.
Colby and I move several dozen yards away from the makeshift dance floor, seeking some much-needed privacy just inside the tree line. A bolt of lightning streaks across the sky in the distance, illuminating the outlines of the trees for a brief, flashing moment, and I see the hurt in her eyes. I know, just like she does, that the tenuous grasp we have on each other could slip away far too easily.
"What was that back there?" I ask, turning her toward me.
"Why don't you tell me?" she returns. Her words are cool, her tone even, but I know better. She's smoldering with barely contained anger and frustration, boiling just beneath her carefree façade. She raises her chin expectantly, arms folded.
"That was me helping out a friend, Colby, nothing more," I say, mildly irritated. I'm acutely aware of what she's insinuating and it's insulting. She of all people should recognize that Wynn and I have only ever been friends. Will only ever be friends. "That's more than I can say for you and Cole."
She looks stricken, and I know right away that I'm the biggest asshole in Tyler. Colby isn't mine and can date whomever she pleases. And the truth is, she really didn't have a choice in that stunt he pulled tonight. Everyone in that stadium knew it.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that," I say as I attempt to pull my stupid size thirteen foot outta my damn mouth.
"It's okay. You're right," she concedes, hastily looking away in embarrassment. "I've been stringing him along for weeks, and we were becoming more than friends. It wasn't right. That's over now though."
What?
"What do you mean over?" I ask, and I can only pray she means what I think she does.
