I stared at him. Kyler came up here a lot during the season, sometimes alone and other times with Tanner and whatnot. I only did the Christmas trip, so it took no leap of imagination to think the bartender was familiar with Kyler.

Familiar with Kyler and Sasha together, apparently.

The bartender shook his head, grinning. “I think they were heading back to her place. She’s been without power too, but I doubt he’s checking that out.”

Yeah, I doubted that too because—oh God—because Kyler didn’t know shit when it came to electricity. He was with Sasha.

He was fucking Sasha.

I took a step back, my mouth open but I didn’t know what to say. My stomach roiled as a deep ache exploded in my chest. I was going to be sick.

“Hey,” the bartended said, putting his hand on my shoulder as I bent down. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” My voice sounded reedy and far away. “I’m okay.”

But I wasn’t. I was far from okay. That ache in my chest was crawling through my veins and up my throat. My eyes burned and my body felt numb.

“Oh, shit.” The bartender let go of my shoulder and cringed like he’d just told me I had some incurable disease. “Oh, shit, shit, shit. You’re with Kyler, aren’t you? Like with him?” He didn’t give me a chance to response. “Look, I’m just talking out of my ass. I’m sure he just went over there to check out the power thing and nothing else.”

I really didn’t hear any more of his backpedaling. My heart was thumping in my ears. The floor seemed to have moved out from under my feet, and even though I was still standing, it felt like I was falling. Part of me wanted to kick the messenger. Jump on him and slam my fists into his stomach and make him take back what he’d said, but it wasn’t his fault. I had to keep telling myself that.

“I’m not with him,” I blurted out.

He frowned. “What?”

“I’m not with him,” I repeated it, and it hurt. It physically hurt.

Like someone had stabbed a rusty knife in my chest and twisted, because it was the truth. I wasn’t with Kyler. I’d had sex with him, but I wasn’t with him. There’d been no labels between us, no promises. He said I’d deserved better than a hookup, but that’s what I was. I was nothing more than a hookup when it was said and done.

And this—this was typical Kyler, going from one girl to the next. It wouldn’t even be the first time he’d been with two girls in one day…or at one time. He’d been so quiet after the shower, so tense. Had he decided he’d had enough?