She lifted her brows, surprised by that. “Are you?”

“Not gay.”

“Ugh. It’d be easier if you were,” she said, leaning in to him. He smelled like Irish Spring soap and whatever deodorant he used. Familiar. It was beyond comforting. “Then it wouldn’t be as weird if I asked to sleep here.”

He stepped back and ran a hand through his mop of dark hair. “It doesn’t have to be weird. Best friends have sleepovers all the time.”

“You know it’s not the same. You’re a boy. There’s one bed. I can sleep on the floor, if you have extra blankets or something.”

He laughed and held his hands out to his sides. “What? You think I’m going to make some move on you, Breslin?”

She made a face. “Eww, gross, shut up.”

He rolled his eyes. “Get over yourself. You’re not sleeping on the floor. Come on. You can borrow some of my clothes. We’ll sleep back-to-back if that makes you feel better. And my door stays locked, so my parents won’t find you.”

Feeling better just being there with her Ash, she grinned. “Why you locking your door, Ash? I hope I wasn’t interrupting special time with internet porn or something.”

“Nope.” He walked over to his dresser and opened a drawer. “Porn time is eight thirty to nine on weeknights, ten to eleven on Saturdays. You’ve missed that window.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re disgusting.”

“Porn is disgusting actually. I’ve looked. It’s not worth getting a virus on your computer. You can find better stuff in books. A good story plus some imagination is much more effective.”

She made a sour face. “I really do not want to know about your pornographic imagination, Isaacs.”

He snorted. “You’re the one who brought up porn, not me.” He tossed her a pair of his boxer shorts and a T-shirt. She clutched them to her chest, and his face softened. “You sure you’re okay, KC? Like, for real?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I feel better now that I’m here.”

The smile he gave her lit up a dark place inside her. “Good.”

He left her alone for a few minutes to change, made sure the coast was clear for her to make a trip to the bathroom, and then she crawled under the covers with her best friend. Ash’s body heat was radiating against her even though they were facing each other and not touching. He laid his head on his arm, studying her face. “You gonna be able to sleep?”

“I hope so. My mind is racing still.” Kincaid rubbed her lips together, the taste of Xavier’s aggressive kisses lingering even though she’d finger-brushed her teeth with Ash’s toothpaste. “Tonight sucked. I want to believe it was just Xavier. That he’s a jerk, and it was a one-time thing. But he’s not the only one who’s said stuff to me like that before.”

Ash’s forehead wrinkled.

“Don’t look surprised. You’ve heard what they say. Guys only see me as one thing, you know? I feel…I don’t know. Like no one will ever see me. Like the actual me. They may think I’m pretty or whatever, but they really just want me ’cause I’ve got boobs and some bogus reputation.”