Dane
She has no idea what I already know about her. I take notice of everything, especially if my interest is piqued. I was fucking hooked from the minute she sauntered by my table on her way to the bathroom that unforgettable night.
When she pulled out that box of shit from her ex, I wasn’t about to tell her I already knew most of the story. As an attorney, I have ways of finding out about assholes like Jake. My blood boils again thinking about him and how he treated her. He deserves to rot in fucking hell, and I’m not above making that happen.
“So what else have you been paying attention to?”
“I’ve been paying attention to everything about you. What you love, what you hate, who your friends are, what you like to do, who you are in here.” I use my finger to circle her heart.
“Oh, well, you’ve been busy.” She places her hand over mine.
We’re interrupted by her phone. It must be a text message because I watch as she picks it up, reads what’s on the screen, and smiles. A genuine smile, not like the fake one she flashes to other people.
Anger is rolling up my neck, the same feeling I got when it all took a fucking nose dive with Maggie. She and my best friend. I couldn’t believe it when I found out. Betrayed by both of them. She would get text messages and act giddy. When I asked her about it, she’d say it was just her friends. But it was my best friend. That same dreadful fucking feeling is seeping into me right now. The longer she stares at that phone, the more tense my muscles feel.
“I’m right here, so who is making you smile like that?”
“Just my group chat with my girlfriends,” she says and texts them back.
She’s not Maggie!
The only way I can compose myself is if I distract myself. I use Logan as a cop-out. I grab my phone and make the call. Needing to walk away, I stroll to the living room.
“Bro, what’s going on? It’s Saturday.”
I snap. “I know what fucking day it is, idiot.”
“Ah…You okay?”
“I’m at Kendall’s and, fuck, I don’t know.”
I know, but to say it out loud. Logan has extensive relationship experience, and he’s married. That’s gotta count for something. I want this to work out between us because I think she is the one. I’m fairly certain Logan knows that.
“Du…de! What do you mean you’re at Kendall’s? I thought it wasn’t like that.”
“Fuck off!”
“I knew it. Man, do I know you well. And if you’re there, why are you calling me?”
“I needed an excuse to walk away for a few minutes; you’re my scapegoat.”
“You’re smitten, aren’t you?” Logan asks with a knowing tone.
“Who even uses that word anymore?” I grab the back of my neck and rub out the tension building. “And yeah, I guess I am.”
“Admitting it is the first step.”
What a smartass. I take the next few minutes to fill him in on everything with Kendall—the smile, the text message, and how I jumped to conclusions with all the shit Maggie did to me. At the end of the conversation, Logan says one word: “Communication.”
He talks about communication in relationships all the time. Not sure how he became so wise, but I’m taking his advice. After we hang up, I stalk straight to Kendall, and I run my hand through her hair. Her hand automatically drops the phone on the island and grabs hold of my arm.
She caresses my arm and snakes the other one around my waist, holding me tight. “What’s going on with you?”
I clear my throat, tightening the grip I have on her head. “Ugh, I have a history, and I know that’s my shit to deal with, but I want you, in every way.”
She softens ever so slightly. If I weren’t paying attention, I would have missed it. “Well, I have to say I like where things are going, but you know my history. There’s a lot of baggage. So tell me.”
The words that come out of her mouth are laced with kindness and want, yet stern and matter-of-fact. She is giving me a little grace here, but I need to be better, do better with her. If I want her by my side, I need to treat her like the queen she is.
