“Im glad you’re okay, Kelton. Truly.”
“But?”
“I just need some time to process this.”
He nodded in understanding and dropped a kiss onto my forehead before stepping away.
My phone took me out of the moment and I saw Chyna was texting me.
Can we talk?The message read.
“Seems like she’s fine?” I showed Kelton the screen.
He nodded.
“You should at least hear here side of the story too. And maybe tell her to call Paul, he’s worried as hell.”
Walking to the door, I gave him one last look. “Be well, Kelton.”
In the car, I ugly cried just a little bit. Walking away from him and our relationship was probably the best thing that I could have done.
Where do you want to meet?
My fingers typed furiously over screen and I hit send.
The reply was almost instantaneous.Let’s meet at your apartment complex pool house, it’s closed for renovation. Give us a chance for a good talk and some privacy.
Odd, I thought but shrugged it off.
Naturally, I wanted to tell her to go to hell and avoid the pool house all together, after all I had my own damn apartment we could talk in.
Okay, that’s fine. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.
I’d heard Kelton out, the least I could do was hear out my ex-best friend. Nothing would change but maybe I’d get a little bit of closure. Right now, I felt like shit and just wanted to feel better.
I just wanted some sort of resolution….
Chapter18
Silver
Parking my SUV in front of the pool house, I took a deep breath. Before exiting I noted there were no lights on through the windows, making it look incredibly dark. Small shards of sunlight were trying to peek through the stormy gray clouds above but it had turned out to be an otherwise overcast day in Sacramento.
My stomach was kind of gurgling at the thought of confronting Chyna again, but Kelton’s words were playing in my head.
This had all happened before…us.
Was there ever really an us?I questioned.
I knew I was trying to lie to myself and pretend. I was utterly in love with Kelton Kline but he had gone and broken my heart just like men did.
Water sloshed under my feet from the storm earlier as I walked along the paved path to the building. Pulling on the front door of the pool house, I found it locked. The metal of the handle felt cool under my fingertips. When it didn’t open, I found myself confused.
Why would she tell me to come here?I wondered.
Chyna hadn’t even visited my complex before, but I went around to the back. There was a glass sliding door there. She’d always been one for sneaking into places. Freshman year we’d broken into the cafeteria for food, nearly getting caught by campus security.
A slight smile touched my lips, the memory giving me the hazy feeling of euphoria. The black gate to the back of the pool house area swung open, and the slosh of the pool could be heard. The distinct odor of chlorine hit my nose, and a slight stinging sensation occurred. They’d closed it a few days ago because someone had dropped a glass bottle into the pool. I hadn’t even had a chance to dip my toes in the water and now I’d have to wait even longer.
