I was more than a little stunned at the news. I didn’t know what to say or think. He didn’t seem like a criminal but a hardworking, kindhearted person…probation?
Should I run?Fuck.
I never invited trouble into my life, but this was Kayden, and even though he omitted the information, I still wanted to meet him. It’s not like we were going to fall madly in love and become a couple.
“What happened?” I already knew my brother would find out and tell me, but I wanted to see what Kayden would say.
“Well…it’s the reason my last relationship ended.”
Weeks ago, I did a search on him, but I didn’t find a damn thing. My supersleuth skills were seriously lacking if there was something to be found and I missed it.
“I won’t look it up. What happened?” I asked, trying to sound convincing because I’d already started searching on my phone while he talked.
Kayden explained everything to me. His girlfriend threw him out after a night of drinking, and he went back to their place anyway. He lived there too and had for years. But after he went back for his work clothes, the alcohol he’d been drinking got the better of him, and he threw her clothes in the swimming pool out of anger. The police picked him up hours later and arrested him for trespassing and property damage. The rest was history, and now he was on probation until he paid her back for all of her ruined clothes.
I mean, I’d been there. Been so pissed I couldn’t even see straight, let alone think coherently. I could understand how sometimes things went way beyond what we expected when alcohol factored into the equation. We’d all had an experience where we woke the next morning horrified by what we’d done the night before.
Did he have an anger problem?I hadn’t seen a glimmer of anger in the time we’d spent talking or chatting online—he seemed so easygoing. My brother found no trace of it in his phone calls, and everyone said he was a nice guy. That night could’ve been a single event caused by drinking too much.
I had no right to judge anyone on his or her life experiences. Life was a series of events that helped us become who we were meant to be.
“Are we still going to meet?” he asked in a sad voice.
My heart pounded. I responded quickly. “Yes.” I sealed my fate. I needed passion, and he just might be the cure.
6
Kayden
Melted
Ineededa good girl in my life, and I wanted somebody I could trust with my secrets and my heart. Sophia hadn’t been with many men, unlike the women I’d been involved with in my past, and that made her even more desirable. My judgment had been off for most of my life, but I was finally on the right path.
I worked all day as she drove to New Orleans. I asked to leave early, so I could get home to shower and clean the apartment. I lived with Tom, my coworker and friend, and he wasn’t known for his cleaning skills.
I wanted everything to be perfect.
“Dude, I can’t believe you convinced her to come here for a weekend,” Tom said, lying on the couch watching television.
I nodded, feeling a little shocked myself. “She’s fucking hot, man. She’s unlike any other girl I know.”
My phone rang, and I almost jumped out of the chair with excitement. She was here. I couldn’t believe she was here.
“Hello,” she said as soon as I answered. “I just got off the freeway, and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“I’ll be outside waiting, Sophia.”
“It’s the moment of truth,” Tom teased as soon as I hung up the phone. He didn’t believe she could actually be as hot as she was in the photos.
“Fuck off,” I told him before walking back into the bathroom to checked myself one last time in the mirror, taking a slug of mouthwash and swishing it quickly.
I ignored his comments as I made my way outside, not wanting to miss her pulling into the parking lot. I sat in my truck and watched the street, keeping an eye out for her. I could barely breathe as I waited. I didn’t remember another time in my life that I was so excited and nervous that I felt like I could jump out of my own skin.
She pulled into the drive, and I caught my first glimpse of her. She was even more beautiful in person than I had imagined.
Would she still like me when she met me? God, I hoped so.
She looked around, zooming in on me, and smiled. Thank God! She must not be disappointed.
