All of this would’ve come out anyway.
Although, having a visual of two of the girls Keanu slept with is something I could do without.
Nausea churns in my gut, but I force it away. I’ve enough anxiety about today as it is, without adding to it.
“No, it’s not.” He straightens up, pushing off the counter and grabbing a mug from the cabinet. “Coffee?”
I nod. “Thanks.”
I start peeling the onion, chopping it along with the tomatoes and the garlic.
Kent hands me a steaming mug of coffee, and I force a smile out. “I’m making omelets. Would you like one?”
“Ugh.” He rubs a hand over his flat stomach. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious, but I’ll pass. I’m a little delicate today.” He waggles his brows, and this time, a genuine smile dances across my lips.
“I figured,” I say, whisking eggs in a bowl. “I could smell the alcohol and weed the instant we stepped foot in the door last night.” I worry about Kent. Especially with the drugs. I know how easy it is to become addicted, and that’s not something I want to see happening to him.
“Not my finest hour,” he admits.
“From what Keanu told me, that kind of stuff was a regular occurrence.”
Kent has the decency to look sheepish. “Yeah.”
I sigh, chopping the spinach more vigorously than necessary.
“Hey.” Kent’s voice softens. “What did the spinach ever do to you?”
I bark out a laugh, placing the knife down and rolling my shoulders, hoping to ease some of the tension sitting there. “Things are a little strained right now,” I admit, sighing again as I clasp the mug between both hands. I lean back against the counter, mirroring Kent’s position.
“That’s my fault.”
I shake my head. “It’s not your fault or Keanu’s.It’s mine.” I shrug even though I’m locked up tighter than a bank vault. “It is what it is.”
“If it’s any consolation, he was miserable as sin the whole time he was apart from you. He adores you, Selena. You were all Keanu thought about that entire time. Trust me, he wasn’t into any of those girls he hooked up with. Like,at all, and, to be honest, I pretty much pushed him into a lot of it.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m a shitty brother.”
“You’re not a shitty brother.”
He drops his eyes to the floor. “I am. For a variety of reasons.”
“Well, if you’re a shitty brother then I’m a shitty girlfriend,” I blurt.
“Why would you say that?” Kent asks, genuine curiosity evident in his eyes.
I take a sip of my coffee, wondering if I should say this. But I’m guessing he already knows anyway. “If Keanu had been going out with any other girl, he wouldn’t have still been a virgin at eighteen.”
Surprise splays across Kent’s face. “If you weren’t ready, you weren’t ready.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
He nods slowly. “I know that now.” His tone is soft. “And Keanu doesn’t hold it against you. He never has, and he never would.”
“What if I’m never able to let it go, Kent? What if my past follows me around the rest of my life? How on Earth is that fair to him? Tome?” I slap a hand across my chest, fighting a swelling of emotion. “Because I deserve to be normal. I want to make love with my boyfriend and not worry about falling apart!” I blurt.
Oh God. I can’t believe I just said that. And to Keanu’s man-whore brother of all people. I look away, embarrassed and pissed.
“Selena.”
I tilt my head up.
