Thin Love (Thin Love, #1)(64)
“We weren’t together. Not really.”
He waved his hand, dismissing her. “Doesn’t matter. He’s better with you. He’s calmer. He smiles more and Keira, my brother never smiles easy. That’s me, not him.” That flirty smile returned to Luka’s face and Keira realized he was more lethal than Kona. She could imagine him using that smile to get out of everything stupid he landed in.
She didn’t care about Luka, not really and part of her really didn’t appreciate him butting into her life, into whatever had gone on between her and Kona. But Keira didn’t have any siblings. She didn’t know if this was something normal, something brothers did for each other when shit got messy.
“Did he send you?”
Luka’s laugh was loud, almost paranoid and Keira blew out a breath when his laughter didn’t taper off. “Are you serious? He would kick my ass if he knew I was here.” When she only stared at him, a tight frown making her mouth ache, Luka finally stopped smiling. “Shit, Keira I mentioned how hot you were to him yesterday at practice and he almost jumped me. In fact, I’d appreciate you not mentioning to him I was here.” He looked down, seemed to just realize he was sitting on her bed and Luka jumped up and leaned against the wall.
“What do you want from me, Luka? Kona and me - we aren’t speaking right now.” Keira pick up her pillow, ran her fingernail along the edge. “We don’t’ have any reason to talk to each other.”
“That’s a problem you can handle quick.” Keira meant to argue, to tell Luka she was finished with Kona. She couldn’t compete with his fan club and she was tired of trying. But Luka Hale was perceptive, he was smart enough to read her expression. He shook his head when she opened her mouth, effectively cutting off whatever stupid thing she was about to say. “I’m asking you for a favor. I’m asking you to not give up on him. I’m asking you to get him calm again.” There was something working behind Luka’s eyes, some small disclosure he seemed to debate and Keira’s curiosity was piqued. She let him consider what he wanted to say, didn’t press when he looked cautious about what he was going to tell her. “Kona’s dealing with some shit… well, I’m not about to spread rumors about my brother. But when you were around, he wasn’t as screwed up. He had someone to focus on, someone he cared about.”
Keira’s laugh was quick, biting, and Luka didn’t seem to like it. He got fidgety again, started shaking his foot, but Keira came off the bed, picked up her guitar as a distraction. Two quick strums and that sweet calm moved from the vibrations of the strings right into her fingers. “There are a thousand girls on this campus that would gladly take my place and he’s screwed most of them.”
Luka’s sigh was long, labored and Keira guessed that it wasn’t the first time he’d heard someone call his brother a slut. “You ever do something you weren’t proud of?” She nodded, but it was quick, barely a movement. “Kona was 6’4 by the time he was fourteen. He’s a decent looking guy and girls seem to like him for some strange reason. Personally, I think I’m the cute one, but Kona has had girls throwing themselves at him since he was a kid.” She let his joke pass and continued to play as Luka pushed off from the wall and leaned against the footboard. “Hell, even grown women have made *s of themselves over him. And Kona’s a pleaser. He wants to make people happy.” Another shrug and Luka’s foot stopped shaking. “I’m not saying that he’s always been smart about what’s he’s done, but it’s all he’s ever known. Until you. You’re good for him. You’re what he needs.”
Keira laid her fingers over the strings, needing the silence for Luka to hear her, to understand what a disaster she and Kona were together. “Luka, we are stupid with each other. Did he tell you about what happened at Nathan’s party?”
“He said you had a strong arm. And then he said he wanted to eat you alive.” Keira snorted, pick softly at her guitar, but she kept her attention on Luka and the return of his relaxed, easy smile. “This is what I’m saying, Keira. You do things to him that messes with his head. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. And okay, so maybe you both push each other’s buttons, but shit, isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? Isn’t that one person supposed to drive you crazy?”
Clearly, she thought, insanity runs in that thick Hawaiian blood. “I am so not Kona’s one.”
“Stranger things have happened. Hell, I’m not asking you to marry him. I’m asking you to give him a break when he gets a little crazy. I’m asking you not to give up on him.”
When Keira only stared at Luka, mouth once again quirked in that weird ache of frown, he slumped against the footboard, rubbing his eyes. She played “Black” by Pearl Jam, a song about goodbyes that fit Keira’s mood and her erratic thoughts about Kona.
“God, Keira, you’re stubborn as hell.”
She played louder, looking down at her hands like a kid just figuring finger movements just so she could tune out the pathetic whine in Luka’s voice. It reminded her of Kona, of the way he pouted when she refused to kiss him or when he wasn’t getting his way. “You sound like your brother.” She ignored Luka’s heavy exhale and continued playing the song. “Is that genetic? The whiny bullshit?”