This Jason guy was a prick. Trent could tell by the cocky way he held his pool stick. Not to mention he didn’t have too many nice things to say about Bree. The girls were sitting on the other side of the room, laughing and telling stories, though every time he looked at Bree, she seemed tuned out, like she had something on her mind.

Jason was telling stories, too. “So anyway, she decides to bring her guitar, right, as if she’s going to serenade the poor homeless dudes downtown. And I don’t want to be there anyway. I’ve got more to do with my Saturdays than work a d*mn soup kitchen, but we have to because it’s a class assignment. And then, she’s shocked when some dumb*ss tries to steal her freaking guitar. I was like, ‘You’re the idiot who brought it with you, you know?’” He laughed hysterically, but none of the other guys thought it was funny.

“Did she get her guitar back?” Isaac asked, pausing in the middle of lining up his shot.

“Yeah, some other guy in our class chased the bum down and got it from him. I was like, ‘If you wanna get all sweaty tracking down that piece of sh*t guitar when I told her not to bring it, then so be it, dude.’” He shook his head a few times and snickered.

Isaac took his shot but missed. “Was it that guitar of her grandma’s?”

“Hell if I know,” Jason said, shaking his head. “I can’t keep it all straight.”

Trent wasn’t sure what that meant, but he was beginning to dislike this guy. He wondered what in the world Bree saw in him.

“How long have you two been dating?” Hank asked him, clearly as shocked as he was that Bree was with such a shallow guy. He was attractive, Trent supposed, not that he was used to checking out other guys. But… he wasn’t smart, considerate, polite…. So, what in the world was she doing with him?

“On and off for a couple of months,” Jason replied. “She’s hot. And I like a challenge.”

“A challenge?” Devon, Christy’s boyfriend, asked.

“Yeah. She’s not so quick to give it up, if you know what I mean. But… hey, I’m up for conquering that mountain. My friends said it can’t be done. I figure that bed upstairs is plenty big, though, am I right?” He raised his hand to Hank who looked at it awkwardly for a few moments before he finally caved and gave him five.

Trent hoped Bree’s resolve was stronger than Hank’s.

It was his turn, and he was eager for this game to be over so he could get away from this guy. There were enough other guys waiting to get into the action anyway so that anyone who wanted to keep playing would be able to.

So he made short work of the rest of the balls he and Isaac had on the table. As soon as the game was over, Jason was calling for a rematch, but Trent happily handed his pool stick off to someone else. He made his way into the kitchen to grab a beer but thought he might take a few minutes outside to catch his breath. After an hour or so of that Jason guy, he had had enough and was willing to do just about anything to stay away from him. Seriously, whatever Bree saw in him, she needed her head examined.

Trent grabbed a beer out of the fully stocked refrigerator and then went to get his coat out of the closet in the front room. He went out a back door, away from the pool room, so maybe he could get some peace and quiet before anyone came looking for him.

It was nice to see all of his friends from high school again. He didn’t see enough of them anymore, except for Isaac, who was his college roommate. Hank came to visit them pretty often as well. But the rest of them, especially the girls, he’d lost track of them over the last few years.

Especially Bree.

He’d meant to stay in touch. When she started college, he’d texted her often, and she’d replied. Then, he’d gotten a girlfriend who really didn’t want him talking to other girls, especially after she saw Bree’s picture. She was gorgeous, after all. They’d broken up, but then Bree had a boyfriend. He hadn’t wanted to get in the middle of that. They’d drifted apart…. He had no idea how long it had been since she’d broken up with that guy and started dating Jason, but whoever he was, he had to be better than this stupid prick.

The stars were bright, their twinkling lights so much easier to see out here in the mountains than at school where there was so much city light pollution. It sort of reminded him of being home in Shelbyville, which wasn’t near any big cities so the sky was clearer. How many nights had he looked up at the stars and wondered what Bree was up to, if she was looking at them, too?

Now, he was single and possibly even brave enough to tell her how he was feeling, but she was dating a jerk. If he had a chance to tell her the awful things Jason was just saying, would he do it? He should. He hoped he would. While he had a chance to make confessions, would he be prepared to tell her that his biggest regret in the world was not kissing her that night in the parking lot outside the high school gym?

The door behind him opened, and he turned to see Bree, arms folded against the chill. She was alone, and she seemed to be looking for him.

Perhaps now was his chance to come clean at last.