“Well, I definitely want to hear it now.”
I exhale sharply and tell him about kissing Kendall the other night. It looks like his eyes are about to pop out of his head.
“No way…” he murmurs. “You and Kendall kissed?”
My skin heats as I nod. “But then I fucked it up.”
I tell him how we were interrupted by that paparazzi fucker and what I said to make him go away.
Aidan’s expression falls. “Dude. How could you say that?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “You know what those guys are like. They’re parasites. They’ll latch onto anyone I hang out with. I didn’t want him hounding Kendall too. So I thought if I downplayed things, he’d go away. And he did. But then I hurt Kendall’s feelings at the same time.”
“Did you explain yourself?”
“I tried, but she was so upset, she didn’t want to hear it and walked off. We haven’t spoken since.”
“Damn,” Aidan mutters. He runs a hand through his wavy light brown hair, the look in his eyes dazed. “Sorry, man. That sucks,” he says.
“Yeah. It does.” I’m quiet for a long moment. “I just don’t know how to make it right. I want to explain everything to her and apologize, but she doesn’t want anything to do with me. How do I fix this when she doesn’t even want to be around me?”
Aidan rests a hand on my shoulder. “Look, I’m not a relationship expert.”
I frown at him. “You’re engaged to be married. You’re lightyears ahead of me.”
The corner of his mouth pulls up in a small smile. “Do what she says. And then after some time maybe you can approach her and try to explain yourself. And apologize. That’s really all you can do.”
“I was hoping for a magical answer that would instantly make everything better.”
He chuckles. “If that existed, everyone would be happily married.”
Jason walks up to us and orders a drink. He pulls Aidan into a conversation about work, so I walk up the pathway to the nearby bathrooms to take a piss.
When I come back, Aidan and Jason are gone. I dig my phone out of my pocket and see a text from Aidan.
Micah and Jordan sent us to get food, be back in a sec
A chorus of male cheers echoes from across the beach bar. I look up and see a group of guys standing around Kendall as she dances on top of the other bar.
Protectiveness flares up inside of me. I make a beeline to her.
“Damn, baby! Shake that ass!” one of the guys yells.
I notice her movements have gotten a little wobbly now. She’s been drinking a lot tonight. It must finally be hitting her.
Another guy holds his phone up at her. That asshole is filming her. That protectiveness turns to rage.
When I make it over to them, I see Micah frowning at the guy.
“Hey. Don’t film my friend,” she says.
“Don’t be such a buzzkill. Look, she loves it.”
I clap a hand on the guy’s shoulder and pull him back. He loses his balance and drops his phone.
“What the fuck’s your problem, dude?” The guy barks at me. He crouches down to pick up his phone.
I move in front of him, blocking his view of Kendall. “You heard what she said. Don’t film her.”
